Tuesday, October 23, 2012

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.

22 comments:

  1. Well, happy birthday! It sounds like you had a great party.

    And I wish I was still 22. I turned 25 a month ago. -.- People tell me, though, that they wish they were still 25, so I guess it's just one of those things.

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    1. thank you! yeah, weston is 25 and he still considers himself super young - which i guess he is! it's all in how you look at it! :)

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  2. happybirthday!
    looked like you had an amazing time!
    your hair looks amazing in those pictures!
    your dress is also very nice;)

    loved this post! {as always.
    lucy<3.

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    1. thank you! i'm glad my hair is finally growing out after i had chopped it all off a few years ago. and i'm still getting used to not having my front bangs but i'm almost there.. your compliments certainly helped. :) thanks again!

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  3. What a beautiful party and a lovely backyard - I love the dressing up and budget-friendly-and-beautiful decorations! Happy birthday, Kelle. You have a wonderful family and very sweet boyfriend :)

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    1. thank you so much, kristin! yes, budget-friendly is always my top priority! and you're right about my family and boyfriend, i am a lucky girl!

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  4. What a cuuuuuute idea! Oh it looks like so much fun.
    Your brother kind of resembles Ryan Reynolds in that close up photo, haha!

    Happy Birthday ♥

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    1. thank you! and that's so funny about my brother - surprisingly he hears that pretty often! we don't see it, but there's gotta be a resemblance there if people always mention it! haha

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  5. I love this post! Thank you for posting the pictures because I loved seeing everyone dressed up! You can imagine nobody I know over here cares about what they wear so it's nice to see some cute fashion. haha I hope you had a great birthday, it looks like you did. You and Weston looked great and I'm glad I got to see my boo dressed up!!!! He NEVER does!! I guess Halloween was another exception. Anyway, cute party! Wish I could have been there!

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  6. OH MY GOSH! What a fun idea! I love this.
    your blog rocks.

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    1. thank you so much! i'm glad it turned out the way i imagined it in my head, since i can't say that for many of my ideas... haha :)

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  7. this is the most magical party ever. i love moonrise kingdom. happy 22nd!

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  8. UHM amazing decorations and outfits! Looks like a really fun time. Happy birthday!

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  9. Happy Belated Birthday!! Your birthday party looks amazing- I love all of the vintage touches :)

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  10. This is sooo adorable!!

    I love the decorations!!!

    -Steph

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  11. Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! What a beautiful birthday you had! These are some great ideas!! Hope 22 is your best year, yet!

    Mariana

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  12. oh my goodness, this set up is aaaaaaamazing! i love moonrise kingdom! happy belated birthday! :)

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  13. good job with everything, kelle! your party looks perfect :)
    i love the s'mores idea (they're one of my favorites!) and the beautiful cake your mom made!

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  14. I think this is one of the best themes for a birthday ever! Happy belated birthday! :D

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  15. It sounds like an amazing party! Belated happy birthday!

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  16. Can you plan my next birthday party?! Such a cool idea.

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