Alexandra's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Alex's birthday at our house with a small shin-dig with neighbors, a few family members and friends on Saturday, September 19th.  We were super pleased how all the details came together and how beautiful (and hot!) of a day it was. Alex was a little overwhelmed with all of the attention and people and wasn't her usual smiley self, however no tears were shed.

Our menu included smoked pulled pork sliders, veggies and dip, homemade mac and cheese, watermelon and broccoli slaw, all made by my hubby and wonderful mother in law. I put them in charge of food for the party because they are much better chefs than me.  Our cakes were made by whole foods, it was a special order of their chantilly cream. If you've never had it, go to Whole Foods right now and try it, it is the best cake I've ever had. It has fresh blueberries and raspberries between two layers and is the best vanilla flavor with a slight hint of almond.  The icing is also to die for. We had a big cake for the guests and a mini 4 inch cake made.  Favors were pink lollipops and jelly beans.

Almost all of my decor came from Etsy. I am putting links to the shops if you are interested.  I was asked a lot if I made the stuff, and no I am not crafty, but I can think of really good ideas and buy them :) Cake topper for Smash Cake here. 

 1st birthday printable available here. 

One banner available here.

12 months banner available here. 

Note the Ohio State score on the TV.

Onesie, tutu available here.  

Shoutout to all of our party guests 

Paige, our neighbor. Will be a great babysitter in a few years. Alex loves her. 

Most of the kids at the party! 

More neighborhood kids. 

Ethan and Alex=love.

Baby love with Alexandra and Louis. 

Susanne and Holly (also photobombing is Dolly)

The Renshaw Clan + a few.

Alex loves her Grandma Suz

The CAKE SMASH. 

And at lasts, the presents. 

Thank you to everyone who came, for making it such a memorable first birthday!

Our Labor Day weekend trip to Palisade, Colorado

Palisade, Colorado, the land of the juiciest peaches, the gorgeous western slopes and the best fruit wineries in the Rocky Mountain region. Sounds like the makings of a blissful, relaxing weekend, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! We have now visited Palisade twice; Labor day weekend 2013 and Labor day weekend 2015.  In 2013, we rode our  bikes to the wineries on their bike route. This year, we drove and pushed a stroller with our little one.  Although different experiences, both were equally enjoyable

During both years, we stayed at the Wine Country Inn, the best of the best in Palisade. I cannot say enough good things about this hotel. First of all, it is located in the most gorgeous setting, with a vineyard and a mountainous  region as it's backdrop. It also has the best customer service around and includes an outdoor heated pool, hot tub and superb continental breakfast.  There is also a restaurant located inside the hotel. Talk about convenience with an almost one year old! Many people have weddings there in the fall, but it was still quiet and peaceful during our stay, even though there were several weddings occurring.

As far as the wineries, go, they are all amazing.  Really, you cannot go wrong.  I am not sure on the exact number, but I would say there are close to 15 located in Palisade alone.  We probably went to 7-8 of them. We stayed Friday night in Rifle, Colorado (about 45 minutes from Palisade) and then stayed Saturday night in Palisade. We came back early Sunday to avoid the traffic and we did :)

Our first stop, Canyon Wind Cellars- where we had a tour of where they make the wine. 

A dolly at a winery, always a good idea. 

A peach, enjoying a peach.

Ruffle butt

A personal Fast family favorite, is Carlson Vineyards.  We were able to do a tasting with the owner this year.  We ended up with about 10 bottles of wine at the end of this trip,  but about half were from Carlson vineyard. I would highly, highly recommend the Peach Wine, it literally might be my favorite wine of all time.  It tastes just like a fresh Palisade peach and it is not too sweet, like some fruit wines tend to be.  Other favorites from this winery include the Calico and Sweet Baby Red.  We  be back again soon, Palisade!

In other news, my 11 month old is walking! Yay!