moonrise kingdom birthday party.

i turned twenty-two yesterday.

it's been funny because i keep thinking i'm turning 23, so i've kind of been freaking myself out about how quickly life is moving and then i realize i'm a year ahead of myself somehow. hahaha although, weston did pull a gray hair out of the top of my head the other day. :( just call me grams.

i've been wanting to throw a little party for a while and my birthday gave me a good excuse to plan something cute and have friends over. i decided to go with a moonrise kingdom theme because 1) it's one of my favorite movies, 2) it came out on dvd last week, and 3) it's fun and childlike and will remind me that twenty-two is still stinkin' young and i need to stop complaining about my one gray hair.

all of the decorations were either things i had at home, things i borrowed, things i made, or things i bought from the dollar store. my dad constructed an awesome 'camp ivanhoe' sign out of tree branches that had coincidentally been placed in our yard after a neighbor trimmed one of their trees last week. my dad also made a really cute little tent that toby thought belonged to him, but that actually turned into more of a photo prop.

and thus, the night before my birthday was spent like this.

weston concocted a really delicious sangria that is a mix of a few different recipes he'd read. i was in and out of the kitchen as he was mixing but i'll ask him what the recipe was and share it here because i think it was that delicious. 

 my mom is amazing. every year she asks what i want my cake to be like, i tell her my vision and she makes it a sweet and tasty reality. i think this is my favorite cake yet - so simple and pretty.

my birthday is only a week away from halloween and i've never once utilized that - so after getting positive feedback about possibly having a dress-up party, i decided to finally go for it. everyone dressed in clothing inspired by the movie. there were knee socks, peter-pan collars, and plaid galore. plus a couple 'khaki scouts' and my brother dressed up like bruce willis who plays a cop in the movie. everyone looked so great!

after it got dark enough, we sat around the firepit and roasted marshmallows while the movie played on our outdoor screen. i had been worried that it would either rain (ominous clouds all morning!) or it would be too cold, but with blankets and the fire, everyone was nice and warm. my mom also made one of my favorite meals - her potato cheese soup, adding to the coziness.

after the movie, bryan showed up with a bottle of champagne, made an inappropriate toast (as expected) and we sat around the fire until after midnight, when the group had dwindled down to just my family and weston and it was officially my birthday.

here's to another year.

thanks for celebrating with me, friends.