Review: Kiwi Crate Party Favors

So here's the thing, your child has inevitably come home from birthday parties with lots of plastic trinkets that end up either under you bare foot (ouch!) or in the trash can shortly thereafter. For Millie's recent birthday party, I didn't want to fill a favor bag with lots of generic "stuff," and I also didn't have enough time to come up with a cute DIY gift myself. Thankfully, Kiwi Crate came to the rescue. The monthly crafting box company (which is so well thought out and creative for kids) also makes mini boxes that are specifically made for party favors.

Very reasonably priced (from $5.95-$10.95), the line offers something for everyone (rockets and capes and wings, oh my)! And, in my humble opinion, is a much more creative and thoughtful gift that a bunch of plastic in a bag. We gave "fairy wands" away at Millie's party, and her guests loved them (actually, so did the birthday girl):

Disclaimer: Kiwi Crate gave me party favor boxes for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Fabulously Four Years Old

October might just be my favorite month. The first half is spent celebrating the girls' birthdays, leaves are changing colors in the most beautiful way, I'm wearing jeans again and the end of the month brings a full-on candy binge otherwise known as Halloween. Cheers all around!

This year, Millie didn't have a singular obsession (remember her dinosaur birthday?), so I had a bit more free range with the party planning. She does love Dora the Explorer, but I couldn't bring myself to do a full-on Dora party (!) --  instead, I used a pink/orange/purple color scheme and threw in Dora dessert plates. Other than that, Millie requested I serve Goldfish, so she was low on demands and an easy client to please. Ha! We hired a lady who lives in our neighborhood to do face painting and "music time" and the kids had a blast. I have to admit, if you can find affordable entertainment, it takes a lot of pressure off the party planning.

I decorated with supplies from Oriental Trading, Target and 3 Sweet Memories on Etsy and kept things fairly simple (I always look to Weelicious and Pinterest for recipe ideas). We once again used our building's community room so as not to have a gaggle of screaming children running through our apartment for 3 hours, and I think that was a wise choice (particularly if you happen to be my downstairs neighbor). The photo backdrop was a simple crepe paper DIY and the girls dresses came from wearhop. More on that fun site coming soon!

Face painting transformation:

Dinosaur complete with bling:

Party preparations coming along... 

Millie had a blast celebrating with her friends, and the adults enjoyed the mimosas and coffee we had on hand. More on the contents of the fun Kiwi Crate goody bags we gave her guests coming soon... they look intriguing, right?!

Happy Birthday to my fabulous 4 YEAR OLD, Millie!

a pumpkin patch birthday

the birthday girl

October is birthday month in these parts, and as such, we've just spent the last two weekends celebrating our little girls turning 2 and 4. How THAT happened so fast I'll never know... But before I dissolve into tears, a quick recap:

We spent Vivian's special day at Outhouse Orchards, which is about an hour's drive from NYC and a really perfect spot for a mini getaway. We don't own a car, so it was ZipCar all the way (whenever we rent a ZipCar we think to ourselves "Why don't we do this more often?" and then we promptly forget all about it when we get home).

The girls had a blast walking through the massive pumpkin patch selecting their pumpkins. Afterwards, we hit up their giant cow-shaped bouncy castle and hayride, which was my personal favorite. Let me just say that yuppies love their apple picking/pumpkin selecting, so it was a good thing we arrived early before the masses descended. By the time we left, there was police directing traffic and cars moving at a snail's pace to get out of there... craziness!

Best part of all? Enjoying a change of scenery, celebrating fall and most of all, our brand new 2 year old. Happy Birthday to my sweet and spunky Vivian Ella!

 

 

big apple books: herman and rosie

Herman and Rosie
Written & illustrated by Gus Gordon

"Once upon a time in a very busy city,
on a very busy street,
in two very small apartments,
lived Herman Shubert...

and Rosie Bloom."

It's been a while since I've reviewed a Big Apple book (insert big ol' sad face here), and I'm hoping that with Gus Gordon's HERMAN AND ROSIE, I'll be back in the swing of things.

Let me say simply that I adore this book... a completely sweet tale that's as much a love song to New York as anything else, Herman and Rosie are just two talented animals trying to pursue their dreams in NYC. A musician and singer respectively, they work hard just so they can have a little time once a week to do what they really love.

When times get tough, they take to walking the streets of Manhattan before ultimately finding each other. Beautifully and whimsically illustrated, Gordon captures what it is to have a dream and refuse to give up on it. Also, I love that sometimes the one you love can live right under your nose. NYC is mysterious and wonderful like that... even if you're a crocodile or a deer (insert happy face here).