As someone who grew up in a very large circle of family and friends, I’ve never had the chance to pull together the quaint shindig that’s been brewing in my mind for years.  It’s hard, especially in Indian culture, because you are required to invite everyone you know!  I’ve learned that the more people there are, the less personal a party becomes.  Now some parties require that everyone you know attend.  For example, our wedding.

I tried pulling together something that slightly resembled a well thought out and quaint gathering at our fall wedding, but there is only so much you can do with a guest list of 350 people.  However, I did what I could considering the amount of people present.  And a lovely day it was.  Whimsical wedding stationary designed by a friend, fall wildflowers, Potbelly cookie favors packaged in parchment paper, fall apples in red and green as place settings, a photo guest book depicting the 5 years we’d known each other, framed photos of our parents on their wedding day, etc.

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But, now it’s my turn.

My little girlybean will be turning 6 months on June 25th, and in celebration of her half birthday, Greg and I are throwing her a summer garden party with a small group of her girl counterparts, and their mamas.  Of course she won’t remember a lick of it, but I foresee it becoming a quaint tradition she’ll grow to love.

Let’s see if I can pull this thing together the way I see it in my mind!  And to help me organize my thoughts, I turn to something I’ve been keeping for a long time now — a “CREATE” folder on my desktop.  In this folder are photos I’ve gathered along the years of things I would like to sew, knit, craft, construct and create.  This folder gives me ideas when I need them most, because these are the things that inspire me and the colors, textures, mediums that I find beautiful.  My perfect party entails the warmth, delicate light, pretty linens, natural ambiance, and freshness found in these photos:

I have exactly 1 month to get everything done!  Next up, my summer garden party to-do list.