{Party Bee} A HOOT of a time at Evan's 1st Birthday Party!

 This past weekend finally came and quickly went! After anxiously awaiting Evan's 1st birthday party for weeks, the day finally arrived and boy was it a HOOT of a time! The dessert table turned out just as I had hoped and the birthday boy was even ten times cuter!

Evan's mamas dressed him in a sweet shirt to match his owl themed party which they bought off of my favorite site, etsy.com. They even found cute little party favor bags that were customed designed with the children's names (also from etsy.com).

Owl Cake Pops were found on etsy.com from Bellas Treats. Lollipops were bought from the Candy Warehouse. Let me tell you, if you haven't checked out the Candy Warehouse you are in for a treat...or treats, because they have every candy in every color that you can imagine!

 

The party would not have been complete without a stuffed owl which I found from The Huggable Hoots Collection by Canelajoy on Etsy. It even came with a bedtime poem!

 

The birthday boy was a little hesitant to touch the cake, but with a little persuasion he found that he enjoyed the frosting. Although he remained very delicate with the cake which was very cute!

He got a little encouragement and assistance from his cousins! How sweet are they?!?!

What the cake looked like after...not too shabby after a few children picking at it!

What a beautiful family! Happy 1st Birthday, Evan!

Photographs courtesy of Joyce Day from On This Day Photography. Wonderful photos, Joyce!

{Busy Bee} Caketini

My wonderful cousin came down for my birthday this past week to have a nice girls' weekend and surprised me with a box of cupcakes from a new and upcoming cupcakery called, Caketini (they are also on Facebook). It is located in the San Tan Village Mall and is just a very charming looking shop. But even more importantly, they have the most delicious cupcakes I have tasted to date! Just be careful when eating these delectable and heavenly (or sinful) cupcakes because they aren't your ordinary size cupcakes, they are jumbo! It may be wise to split these big guys with a friend or too so that you can sample a variety of them and not feel guilty. Though, I am sure once you try one, you will want to try all of the flavors! I would definitely make it a point to try the peanut butter and chocolate as well as the rasberry and lemon. Yum!

Doesn't this place look so inviting! I just want to grab a book or my computer and pull up a chair, buy a cupcake and enjoy some coffee on a nice cool day!

{Queen Bee} The Big 3-0!

The day finally arrived! The day that ten years ago I thought would never come...at least it seemed like it would be forever until I was that old. Sure enough, the years flew by and here I am...thirty, flirty and thriving! Well, maybe minus the flirty part.

I know that many women, and men, find 30 to be an age to be depressed over or just sad that their 20's are now gone. But really, 30 feels great and this decade has so much in store for me and my growing family! Plus, you are really only as old as you feel...and good for me, I feel like I am 24! Hopefully, I still look that age as well since I have always had a baby face!

Since this birthday was a big one for me, my husband wanted to go all out and he threw me a surprise birthday party. I know, he actually pulled it off entirely on his own (o.k., maybe he did have a little bit of help)...what a husband! I had all my wonderful family and friends attend, tons of food and drinks, fun decorations that said 30, and a trivia game all about me to top it off. What a great birthday, right! Well, it gets even better because my husband bought me the one thing that I have been wanting and talking about for the past year...maybe even years. He gave me a KitchenAid Mixer! I don't know how I have gone all these years without one and using a hand held mixer? But like Tim Gunn says, I had to "make it work"!

Of course I have used this machine quite a few times since my party and I am in love! It is just so much fun and makes baking all that more enjoyable! I am telling you, if you don't have one of these, you should look into getting one...or maybe ask for one when you turn 30 (or for any birthday for that matter)!

{Sugar Bee} Mad Sweets for Brooklyn's 1st Birthday Party

This past weekend I had the pleasure of making cupcakes and a smash cake for my friend's niece, Brooklyn. She turned one and had a fabulous Alice in Wonderland/Mad Hatter themed party. The birthday girl looked adorable in her Alice costume and her grandma looked so very cute in a White Rabbit costume. The rest of the guests adorned their heads with fantastic and wild hats...very appropriate for a Mad Hatter party. It was so great to see everybody getting into the theme of the party. I love parties like that!

The decorations were so colorful, therefore the cupcake toppers I made were also colorful and created to work with the theme. It was also important to me to incorporate Brooklyn's name and age seeing that it was her first birthday! To add to the Mad Hatter theme, I made Brooklyn's smash cake to resemble a hat.

 The party looked like a lot of fun! Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

{Busy Bee} Whippy Cake

At first glance, this company sounds like a wonderful place to buy a cookie or a cupcake, but in fact, Whippy Cake, sells the most adorable hair accessories! The best part about this online shop is that the hair accessories work for girls of all ages. They look just as cute on an adult as they do on a little girl or baby. If you haven't checked out this site, you definitely need to stop what you are doing and go online!

I love my Whippy Cake hair accessory! I just can't wait to have a baby girl so that I can put one on her....maybe I will buy one for good luck for the next baby?

{Party Bee} Evan's Owl Themed 1st Birthday Party Sneak Peek

The Sugar Bee Bungalow has been working feverishly to put together Evan's owl themed 1st birthday party dessert table. Only a couple of weeks left until the big day! I am so excited about this party and can't wait to put Evan's dessert table together. Until then, I have a little sneak peek of what I am working on. I think it will come together so nicely!

Stay tuned for the final product at the end of the month!

{Queen Bee} Rosanna Inc.

It is no secret that I absolutely love tableware. I mean I am really obsessed with cake stands, cupcake stands, platters of all shapes and sizes, bowls, candlesticks, etc. Whenever I come across a cake stand I always think to myself, "I need this"..."I may actually need two of them". It may be an illness...a shopping addiction perhaps?!?! But who can resist tableware...it is so beautiful and unlike clothing, you never outgrow it. In fact, tableware may outgrow you...or your cabinet space anyway. But hey, I am willing to undertake a challenge and find a space for them!

In particular, my favorite brand of tableware comes from the company, Rosanna Inc. This website offers some of the most beautiful cake stands you will ever see. In addition to their gorgeous tableware, the boxes that they come in are just as pretty. The boxes can be displayed as beautifully as the tableware! This is especially great because it saves room in your cabinet space and works as a decorative element in a room.

One day I hope to own all of these...but until then I can at least ogle them!

{Busy Bee} The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle

There are a handful of cookie makers that I completely idolize and want to be like one day! One of my "cookie crushes" is the artist behind the cookies and blog, The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle. Her creations are so perfectly handcrafted and the detail is amazing. I mean, if you want to see flawless and ornate cookies just check out her blog. Once you look at her work, you will definitely want to get in the kitchen and practice your technique!

Tell me you don't want practice decorating some sugar cookies now! I think one of my New Year's resolutions will be to bake and decorate more cookies...hmmm, I wonder if that will conflict with my resolution to eat more healthfully and lose the baby weight?!?!