Rollins' Floral First Birthday

My sweet Rollins turned one last October.  Now that she's 15 months old, I guess it's time I finally share some of her first birthday party details with you guys.

Like all of my parties, I like to pick a theme that isn't super commercialized so I can personalize it a little more.  Auden had a pumpkin first birthday since she was a fall baby and was often called "pumpkin."  Since Rollins is also a fall baby, I had to think of something else.  I decided a simple floral theme with watercolor touches would be just perfect for our sweet girl.

chalkboard first birthday with flower garland

I used greenery from our yard and some Dollar Tree flowers to make all of the floral swags.

One of my favorite details from the party was this floral photo wreath (idea sourced by Jessica).  I used images from her first year, converted them all to black and white and used Persnickety Prints for printing them.

They have a lot of great options, but I chose the 3" press print with thick border and matte finish.  I couldn't have been more pleased with the quality and customer service.

persnickety prints 3 inch floral photo ring

Jessica helped again by allowing me to use some jasmine from her yard to adorn the table and big balloon by Rollins' highchair.

This birthday poster I made hung above the food table, detailing her first year milestones.

first birthday poster with flowers

I kept the menu simple and fresh with cold subs, fruit, a cheese and cracker tray, pasta salad and spinach dip with pita chips.

floral first birthday food table
floral first birthday dirty iced cake

Everything is prettier with a bow, right?

styled sub sandwiches with bakers twine
cheese and cracker tray with fresh herbs

Of course, it's not a Reutter party without some custom sugar cookies.  I loved how the sweet monogram and flower details turned out.  Christa Lynn's on Etsy did a great job making my vision a reality and was very reasonably priced.

floral first birthday monogram sugar cookies
floral sugar cookie with monogram

For the main treat, my mom and I tried our hand at a dirty iced cake.  And I have to say,  I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  I love when family and friends can lend a hand in helping with a celebration.  It creates even more memories to cherish.  Much like my wedding (where the flowers and decor were done by me and my friends and family), this too will be a memory I'll never forget.

I ordered the light cherry wood cake topper from Alexis Mattox Designs on Etsy.  I threw on some fresh flowers, and there you have it.

dirty iced cake with flowers

Along with custom cakes and cookies, I also love a good signature cocktail.  I decided on a Rosemary Greyhound for the taste and look (I wanted it to match the decor).  But since the party was for Rollins, I added her nickname to the moniker, calling it a "Rolly Rosemary." You can get the watercolor tent labels here.

Rosemary Greyhound Recipe*

Ingredients

Rosemary Simple Syrup

  • 2 cups of water

  • 2 cups of sugar

  • 6 sprigs of rosemary

Cocktail

  • 2 ounces vodka

  • ½ ounce rosemary simple syrup

  • 4 ounces grapefruit juice

  • sprig of rosemary for garnish

Instructions

  1. Simple Syrup: In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, dissolve the sugar into the water for about 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil or crystals will form. In a heat safe container, pour the warm sugar water mixture over the rosemary sprigs and let it steep for at least 1 hour. The rosemary simple syrup will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 10 days.

  2. Cocktail: In tall glass filled with ice combine the vodka, rosemary simple syrup and grapefruit juice. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

*This recipe is for a single cocktail but we just multiplied the amounts enough for our needs. 

I was so glad I finally got to use my vintage French Arcoroc champagne glasses I scored off Craigslist!

I ordered a 5" white buttercream cake from Publix for her smash cake.  Auden had one from there too, and she loved it!  I wanted to keep it simple, so I'm just added adorned it with a few flowers.  The pink glass cake stand was a TJMaxx find a few months before her party.

floral first birthday smash cake pink glass stand

Rollins in her birthday outfit.

floral first birthday wooden highchair

We don't call her sweet cheeks for nothing.

floral birthday wooden highchair

After getting into her true birthday suit, she was ready for the cake!  Her baby's breath crown didn't last long after daddy put the cake in front of her, so I'm glad I saved some money and made it myself with a little floral wire, scotch tape and babies breath clippings.

This is one of my favorite shots of my sweets enjoying her first sweets.

smash cake photography

I'd say this picture sums up how she feels about it pretty perfectly :)

smash cake photography
smash cake photography

She delicately ate away at the icing for a good 30 minutes paying no mind while the party carried on.  :)

rollins floral first birthday

The cleanup crew was anxiously waiting for a taste themselves.

After she indulged a bit, we moved her into the living room for prime view of her one year video.

I made one for Auden and it's something we all still love watching, so I knew it was a must for Rollins as well.  Between the music and the memories, it's almost always a surefire cry session every time I watch. 

Here's the 3A Girls at the celebration...just missing Jessica's oldest.

For the favors, I created this favor sign to match her invitation. I did mini canvases, a paint brush and paint pods to carry out the watercolor theme.

mini canvas and paint party favors

We're so happy to have been given these last 15 months with Rollins and cannot wait to see her life unfold.  I could not have dreamed up a better addition to complete our little family!

signature Mallory.png

Why We Blog

Recently, we met for our yearly kickoff where we reflected on the previous year, talked about the things we like about our business, talked about the things we want to change and our goals for the coming year. In 2015 we experienced a lot of growth and with growth comes changes. The biggest change for us was Dana deciding she needed to leave the company after her second baby and focus on her family full-time. We fully support her decision for doing what is best for her family, and we remain friends.  She even still helps us out from time to time. 

Also during the meeting, we discussed our blog and what we want to bring to the table for you and for us in the new year.  In the discussion we narrowed down, quite simply, "Why we blog." For transparency and inspiration, we thought we'd share the reasons with you, and hope you come along for the ride this year!  If you haven't already, you can subscribe to receive blog updates by email by entering your address in the "Let's stay in touch!" section of the sidebar on your screen (or the bottom of the blog on your smartphone).

To share our work and love for design

To inspire others

To share snippets from this journey called life and motherhood

To make friends with common interests along the way  

Here's to a great 2016!

xo, Mallory and Jessica