Our Fourth Seasonal Season Party: Summer

A couple of weeks ago we had our fourth Seasonal Season Party, celebrating what we love about Summer. If you are new to the blog, I'd love to introduce you to our little Toney family tradition: Last fall, we decided to have a party at the beginning of each season, inspired by our favorite things of that season. We select a decor theme, discuss what foods remind us of that season, my husband picks out a playlist of the perfect seasonal songs and we get together with our friends and enjoy it all! You can take a look at Fall, Winter and Spring.

For summer, I wanted something laid back and easy (and not just because we were moving the next week!). We had a pool party complete with BBQ (hamburgers & hotdogs), otter pops & ice cream sandwiches and lawn games. It was so fun to just relax with our friends enjoying the beautiful weather.

Friend of ours graciously offered a family home that has an amazing backyard which overlooks a local lake:

Here is a look at our decor (my favorite part!):

For tablecloths for the food tables, I used cheap towels that coordinated with our color scheme:

I made two different styles of paper pinwheels and stuck them into sand pails filled with sand:

I also utilized the sand pails (from the Target $1 section!) to hold the plastic utensils (just stuck upright in sand):

I 100% stole this next idea from little tags I saw at a scrapbooking store:

I reworded them a bit to my liking :)

Mason jars for drinks (frozen margaritas, horchata and lemonade):

One of our good friends works for an up-and-coming upscale water company, Kiawii, and they graciously offered to sponsor our party:

It is really great water... and I'm not just saying that because we got it for free! And... get this- it even matched our decor!!!

Plates and napkins were all from Target:

I made these fruit kebob sticks by cutting out small circles with my cricut and taping them to the end of bamboo skewers. Not only was it cute, but it made a great holding spot.

Lots of delicious summer junk food:

And, finally, a cute frozen margarita (with umbrellas that I found on clearance at Pier One in december!):

All photos were taken by my good friend, Jenetta Penner Photography. Thanks so much Jenetta for always working a bit while attending our parties!

So, my question for you: now that you have seen all four seasons, which seasonal party was your favorite?

Summer Party Sneak Peak

Here is a little taste of our summer party:

Photo taken by the wonderful Jenetta Penner.

More to come! Happy monday!

Renegade Craft Fair

If you are in LA and looking for something fun to do this weekend, you have to swing by the Renegade Craft Fair. It is at the California Market Center on saturday and sunday and is FREE! There are hundreds of artists selling their handcrafted items.

Last month, by pure luck, I happened to be in New York during the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. We met up with a couple of local friends and headed over to check out all of the handmade goodness. Here are a few highlights:

I was thrilled to see wedding blog world favorite Goose Grease showing off their adorable cake toppers:

I loved kindling's super cool wood candle holders and bud vases:

These would be so perfect for a outdoor, very natural wedding!

I bought one of these for my son:

from The Chalk Board Tee 

I really loved looking at how people designed their displays:

up in the air somewhere 

something's hiding in here 

Berd and Bee (where we bought some amazing smelling candles)

I fell in love with these ribbons made by Kindly by Hayley Carmo:

Grabbing lunch midway through the day:

It was such a fun day! I left with a few shirts for Isaiah (and his first pair of little undies!), a beautiful necklace by So It's Gray, a poster for my husband that I then left on the plane and a few other goodies. I totally regret not getting this T-shirt for my son by Hello Banjo Baby:

My friend Clarissa scored a super cute dress, some fabric flowers and even a pillow made out of an 80's concert shirt. 

I wish I could go this weekend but I cannot make it up to LA. If you are going, please please please report back on monday and tell me how it was! There are three more fairs after this weekend: San Francisco, Chicago and a holiday sale in Chicago.

Our Third Seasonal Season Party: Spring!

It is Spring- do you know what that means? A party!

If you have just recently started reading our blog, I am thrilled to introduce you to our little tradition. At the beginning of every season, my husband and I host a party to celebrate and capture the essence of that season. Our fall party was the first and our winter soup party was amazing. 

For spring, the only thing we could imagine doing was to have a picnic. And picnic in style we did.

In addition to blankets, I found those adorable floor pillows at Target to use for seating. I placed trays and plates in the seating areas for guests to place their drinks on (and just to look cute!).

For lunch, each family was given a gable box filled with picnic goodies. Boxes and food containers were  purchased from Paper Mart. I added a little paper, some cricut letters and voila!

A glimpse inside:

Lunch consisted of the most delicious potato salad I have ever had (and I do not even like patato salad- thanks Shae!), strawberries, carrots and a homemade cookie. I had guests bring their own sandwiches. 

Round labels and cloth ribbon purchase from Paper Source.

I used wrapping paper from Target and Paper Source to wrap bottles and napkins:

Even little baby water bottles for the little guys:

A few more details:

And what is a picnic without bubbles?

What I loved about this party the most was that it was so mellow. We just relaxed, ate and played. Such a great day! The decor from this party can easily be transferred to a shower or birthday party as well.

Enjoy what is left of Spring everyone!