Fancy Nancy Tea Party

Emma’s 6^th Birthday Party is tomorrow!!

It is so hard to believe that I am a mother of a six year old. How did that happen? I feel like just yesterday I was getting ready for her 1^st birthday.

As many of you know I’m obsessed with the need to throw Emma an elaborate party every year. I’m sure that I have this need because by nature I’m a planner! My need to plan could almost be classified as a fault. Back to Emma’s party though… two years ago my little four year looked up to me while at her Pirate Party and stated, “Okay, next year I want a circus party and when I turn six I want an all girls party.” Apparently she is a planner as well…

So by request, Emma will be having a “girls only” Birthday party this year. We have invited five of Emma’s friends to join us for a tea party. This is not your ordinary tea party however… it is a FANCY NANCY tea party!!!

Here is the game plan for the party:

Emma’s party will consist of a lot of fuchsia (a fancy word for purple) and Magenta (a fancy word for hot pink). I’ve had so much fun planning her party. I’ve picked out lots of pink and purple Ribbons, Streamers, balloons, flowers, fingernail polish, fancy food and colorful Cupcakes. As all our little Fancy Nancy's arrive we will read some of the Fancy Nancy Books. Next all of the girls will Design their Tiaras and put on their jewels at a dress up station. After the girls are all dressed up they will go to Charm School, where they will learn to curtsy, to walk with proper posture with books on their heads, to drink with their pinkie fingers lifted and learn some fancy vocabulary and French words. Then they will be escorted into the Posh Pampering Salon for their manicures and make-up which will consist of Finger nail Polish and lip gloss. Finally they will head to the Fancy Café for some yummy food and Colorful cupcakes The girls will be going home with a Fancy Nancy Book and other fancy accessories.

Picture forthcoming!

To Paint or not to paint...

As I mentioned on an earlier post Matt and I have put an offer on a short sale in Annandale.

Being the planner that I am I’ve already started looking for some design ideas and I’ve come across the most amazing/inspiring blog Young House Love. John and Sherry bought their 50-year old ranch home in Richmond and began working their magic on it. I’ve decided that I really like their design style and I LOVE the fact that they go into so much detail when writing about their own DIY home projects. Matt and I are planning on tackling most of the renovation projects on our own once we get the house and I will keep you updated on here…

In our (fingers crossed) soon to be home there is a HUGE brick fireplace in the den off the kitchen. The space is a room which will be utilized a lot and the idea of having this huge dark wall is a bit of a turn off for me…

John and Sherry had the same predicament with their property. See their before and after picks bellow.

Before den…

After Den...

It’s hard to believe this is the same room. They had another dark brick fireplace in the living room that received an equally stunning makeover.

Here is the living room fireplace before...

Living room after...

Now for the big question… if we get the house should we paint the fireplace??? We will have to completely paint the house before move in because there were smokers living there previously… THOUGHTS?

Few more Spring Break Photos

Spring Break Fun…

Last week was spring break!

Early in Emma’s Kindergarten year I decided that I wanted to take her spring break off. I thought that it was important to spend a week with just her and to just get away from all of our usual craziness. And believe me the beginning of 2010 has been particularly crazy in the Fleming/Park household so the week away was MUCH needed and could not have come at a better time!!!

Emma and I decided to spend our break in Savannah, GA. I was born in Savannah and have wonderful friends and family there so it was the logical place to visit. On Saturday we packed up the car and said good bye to Matt and Virginia for the week.

My mom had rented out the lower level of a historic row house in downtown Savannah for the month of March so we decided to join her for the final week of her rental. The house was across the street from Forsyth Park and Emma and I were able to start each day with a walk to a little café to get coffee and a bagel and we ate at the playground! This was a big change from the usual waking up at 5 a.m. to get to work.

My sister-in-law and niece also had spring break the same week and live in Savannah. We were able to spend time with them daily and the girls were able to take part in some special activities together. Bellow are two highlights:

Horse and Carriage Tour through Downtown Savannah- We had a private tour that came and picked the girls up from the house where we were staying. We decided to keep the girls in the dark and surprise them. When they walked outside and found the horse and carriage waiting they were so excited!ere even able to sit up front with the driver.

Tea- Savannah is the home of a number of tea rooms. We decided to take the girls to the Whimsical Tea Cup. Right when you walk in there is a dresser full of dress up clothes for the girls and books to keep the little ones occupied.

The girls had “Children’s Tea” complete with pink hot coco (warmed strawberry milk). The tea gave me some great ideas for Emma’s upcoming birthday party which will be a Fancy Nancy Tea Party. Here is a link detailing the various places to enjoy tea in Savannah. http://www.savannahmagazine.com/articles/tea-time-savannah-style

For me the highlights were family time, food and some special shopping that I will discuss in more detail in the coming months ;-)

Here are some of the great places where we ate though:

Forsyth park Café - Breakfast each morning

The Mansion - Sunday Brunch

Local 11 Ten - Half price bottles of wine on Monday Nights

Café Zeum - Jepson Center

WANG’s - Yummy Chinese food

Casa de Fleming- Yes, that would be my brother’s house. I think that I ended up eating there 4 nights.