A Girly Weekend

July 17-18, 2009

I have said repeatedly that I am not a girly girl, but I am constantly being put in situations that challenge this belief. This weekend was one such situation.

Bella and Janine

This weekend was my niece Bella's 11th Birthday Party and I offered to help my cousin Janine (Bella's mom) with the party. This year's celebration was little more extensive than most. It was Bella's Golden Birthday. {Sidenote: A golden birthday is when you turn 30 on the 30th or 20 on the 20th, etc. } In Bella's case, she turned 11 on the 11th. By the time her party had rolled around, Bella had already spent the day at Disneyland with her mom Janine.

Shirts I designed for Janine and Bella

The party was at their neighborhood beach club. No, they don't live at the beach. Their neighborhood has a lagoon style pool with a man made beach.

Janine had rented a party room.

Guest Sign-in Board that Janine made

I brought a fruit from Porto's Bakery in Glendale. Bella's become a big fan of this tart. {Muhahahaha, this is my eviilllll influence.}

Bella's guests consisted of a few friends from school and some family friends

Don't even think about having some of my cake. ~Bella

One of my other contributions to the party was a photobooth. My friend Pamela and I wanted to experiment with some ideas we had. I thought the party was a perfect place to try them out.

I picked up some fabric in the Fabric District, created a custom banner, and printed pictures on the fly. Here are a few of the pics.

I also gave Bella a DIY stuffed animal kit, which I purchased from Super Buzzy. Bella has been learning how to sew.

I am fairly certain that next year's party will be a lot more low-key. We finished the night by having an slumber party with me, Janine, Jasmine and Bella.

The next day, I visited Brooklyn, my cousin Jasmine's daughter. I had great timing because Brooklyn was awake. I was able to take a few photographs with her eyes open.

It was a long and exhausting couple of days, but I had great time and was reminded how much I enjoy spending time with the women in my family.