Wine Tasting Party

For my 30th birthday, I hosted a small wine tasting party at our local wine shop.  It was a sweet, cozy little venue--perfect for a group to taste, talk and enjoy.

It was pretty easy, we brought in our own food, the wine shop folks led the tastings and at the end of the night, my house was clean--works for me! I made cupcakes, bottles of water, grapes, nuts, and we ordered a few pizzas from Lou Malnati's, heaven on earth. 

I was most proud of the cupcakes and bottles of water.  I bought the sticks for the cupcakes and water bottle labels from The Party Dress. Amazing stuff--I want to buy it all. And, totally have to give a shout out to my girlfriend, Andrea, who I completely copied on the cupcake idea from her daughter's baptism. She is great at this kind of stuff. Thanks Party Dress and A! 

 Cupcakes said: "30 is Sweet," "Lauren's Birthday" and "Sweet of You to Come" 

 My little sweet table with cupcakes and bottles of water

 The key for the cupcakes is to buy an icing gun. It makes them look professional, but still taste homemade!

 The white plates we brought really made the grapes pop.

 Nuts and water at the wine tasting station bar.

 Water bottles read: "30 is Refreshing"

Love of my life. John lugged, dragged, bought, picked  up, cleaned-up behind the scenes all day long. And, at the end of the night, he still toasted me, glasses raised and all. What else could a girl ask for?

 Love my girls!!! Sister-in-law Kate, Jodi, Andrea (with cupcakes), Jill, me, Kelley...

My Martha inspiration, Andrea! She's actually the one who told me about The Party Dress. 

When I was setting up at the wine shop, the gal actually called me Martha Stewart. Now, since we were paying her, I'm not counting it quite as my "Martha" moment, but my heart did stop beating for a second. Truthfully, I'd rather be Dianne Keaton in Something's Gotta Give. The beach house, the clothes, the furniture...the white on white with a little accent of white. Love. 

I feel blessed, and totally excited about my 30s. I remember once, when we were in college, John and I were stopping at a gas station. I was running in to get something, and he said to me, "I can't wait to see what you look like when you're 30." He was so confident we'd be together, I rolled in the moment like butter--playing it cool though, of course. On the morning of my birthday, I woke up and said, "Baby, here I am, 30 and all" which we died laughing as I was in the kitchen making breakfast for the kids, in sweats, without my teeth brushed and hair everywhere. But, baby, I couldn't be happier to be 30 and with my guy and my children I could have never imagined it all.

Anyway, it was a really fun party and I wanted to share with you in case you find some good ideas for any party's you have coming up!