The Heusens

On August 8th, we threw a first birthday party for Saya in L.A., so our family and friends in Southern California could celebrate with us. The preceding Thursday and Friday were consumed with shopping for decorations, food, and favors.

I have become an official fan of the Martha Stewart Craft Line at Michaels. Amazing stuff at amazing prices. We bought a kit to make these paper flowers, which complemented our hydrangea bouquets perfectly. My parents just moved, and their new house has a patio adjacent to the kitchen. It was a lovely setup.


P.S. If you ever need to make any of these pompoms, you should ask Brian. He is AWESOME at it!

For favors, my mom baked her mother's famous oatmeal cookies:


The food was the highlight of this party. Kris made some AMAZING food, and the whole family pitched in for a frenzied pre-party food preparation.

We had the Barefoot Contessa's roasted vegetable orzo (our standby); roasted beet salad with arugula, pistachios, and goat cheese; roast beef sandwiches (Kris made the roast beef himself and it was amazing) with homemade horseradish-blue cheese spread and arugula; caprese sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, and balsamic reduction-garlic glaze; BLTAs (bacon-lettuce-tomato-avocado); my mom's famous crab dip; fresh fruit salad; and white sangria:


With two chocolate cakes, courtesy of Marsha's recipe (but not up to Marsha's standards):


Guests included beloved family and friends (except for Kris's socially awkward uncle who told me that I looked "SO MUCH BETTER" now that I finally had the baby. W.T.F.? The last time I saw him, he told me that I looked very "plump". I am not a fan of his).


Miguel and Juliana drove up from Carlsbad:


Andrew and Michelle (plus Catia and Trajan) emerged from behind the Orange Curtain:


And we saw Marsha for the first time in awhile.


The gifts were amazing. Among our favorites: the book "Bossy Bear" from Maryn, and three amazing shirts from Andrew and Michelle (including one labeled "iPood").


We survived the first year!


(No, you are not seeing double. Yes, Saya and I are wearing the same dresses we wore for her Bloomington bash. So sue us.)


Saya + Grandaddy = love.

See the rest of the birthday pictures here on our Picasa album.

Posted by Ashlyn on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 7:05 AM | Permalink