Simply Suzanne's AT HOME: hello kitty party

Wow! It's hard to believe that another year has passed, and Charley is now 5 years old!

It feels like yesterday when I was planning for, and then writing about, Charley's 4th birthday!

We celebrated Charley's 5th birthday with lots of pink (and turquoise), her closest friends (and family too!), Hello Kitty . . . and 160 sugar cookies!

This year's birthday was extra special.

Charley's enthusiasm and excitement is always a driving force for me, but she was so eager to help me every step of the way . . . and that's what made this year's celebration so memorable for me.

When I asked her what her favorite part of her birthday was, she excitedly told me "Blowing out the candles on my pretty cake, and baking all those cookies!"

It was truly a special day!

We honored this little lady on her birthday with a special lunch, cookie decorating, a friendly cookie decorating competition, and dessert!

Here's a peak into our day . . .

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Our menu

(inspired by Barefoot Contessa)

Parmesan Crisps

Green Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Curried Egg Salad with tomato slices on butter lettuce

Chicken Salad with Tarragon on Croissant

Fresh Strawberries

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the Little Ladies Menu

(menu created by Charley)

Pretzel Twists

Fresh Strawberries

Peanut butter and Strawberry Jam sandwiches

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches

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With Valentine's Day just a few days away,
I turned skewers and heart cut-outs into LOVE arrows!

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our drink menu

ice water

Pineapple sherbet punch

Cotton Candy Shirley Temples

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~ hand-made fancy paper straws ~

~ Cotton Candy Shirley Temple ~

Charley's friends donned their cutest aprons and joined her in decorating sugar cookies!

I baked 160+ sugar cookies for this party . . . YES, 160+ sugar cookies!

Eight little ladies sat around a long table filled with cookies, bowls of bright colored cream cheese frostings, and over 15 kinds of sprinkles and edible decorations . . . and we giggled, laughed, and decorated hearts (small & big), tiaras, flowers, and cupcakes.

~ Charley's apron ~

~ so many cute aprons made an appearance! ~

~ Look at this cute one from Italy! ~

~ Let the cookie decorating begin! ~

Hello Kitty balloons!

I thought of this idea the night before Charley's party! It's fun to see what you can do with a Mylar balloon and scrapbook paper! I tied them to clear cookie cans filled with white sugar, and then finished them with bows.

I used a roll of thick wrapping paper to cover the top of the table, and it worked great! Such easy clean up too!

I used paper baking cups to hold the sprinkles. They worked great because they're thicker and sturdier than cupcake liners.

~ I wish my camera could have truly captured the bright colors

of the table cover, frostings, and sprinkles.

It was such a beautiful sight! ~

. . . and the winners were . . .

We opened gifts and enjoyed dessert after all that hard work!

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On to the good stuff . . . DESSERT!

It's tradition in our home for Auntie Alex to make our children's birthday cakes (warm smile) . . . so she made Charley a two tier strawberry cake with vanilla rose water Swiss buttercream (YUM!!!), frosted in white chocolate ganache, and covered in vanilla fondant.

You can't have a Hello Kitty inspired cake without bows, so Auntie Alex adorned each tier with a big pink bow! She added darling polka dots . . . and pretty ruffled roses . . .

and well, Miss Hello Kitty found the perfect place to sit at the base, right next to a bow (smile). I love her glasses . . . aren't they cute!

Isn't the cake beautiful!?! and its flavors tasted wonderful too!