Surprise!!! My mother in law is turning 60, and we wanted to start her 60th year out by showing her how much she is loved. It was a lot of work, a lot of sneaking around, and a lot of help from our incredible families but we pulled it off. When she saw all of her family and friends in one place she was, as you can imagine, completely shocked. I wish I could have gotten some more pictures, but the whole day was a bit of a whirlwind.

The Theme:
All the decorations were handmade and I really tried to incorporate one of her favorite hobbies, quilting. I wanted the party to be casual, bright, and not to overdone. Basically, I wanted everyone to be comfortable and feel like they were at home. The color scheme was grey, yellow, pink, & blue/teal and I tried to add personal touches anywhere I could. A flat screen TV was placed on the deck and pictures of the birthday girl played the entire night.

Food & Drinks:
The main food for the party was provided by a hotdog cart, which of course I didn't get a picture of. The cart had an entire list of specialty hotdogs, Chicago Dogs, New York Dogs, California Dogs, and Chili Cheese Dogs were just a few. Of course my better half had one of every kind they offered, just to ensure he got what he paid for, gotta love him. We also had a Champagne Bar, Dessert Bar, Salads, an Edible Arrangements fruit basket, and Fruit infused water. The kids table was decked out with candy and a painting project.

Funny Story:
The night before when I was making cheesecake pops for a "friends party", my mother in law kindly offered to make me a bundt cake to take. You can imagine my excitement and how completely impressed I was with my own sneakiness, I about jumped out of my own skin. Everyone got a kick out of hearing about how she made her own birthday cake.

The Surprise:
The day of the party a friend of my mother in laws convinced her to leave the house at 6:30am for a spontaneous trip to Disneyland. When she returned her son met her outside and said he had fixed something in the back yard. Of course when she came around the back there were 40 of her closest friends and family yelling surprise. She really started to cry when she realized her brother from Chicago had flown in just to wish her a Happy Birthday.

All in all it was a great day, but how can you go wrong with Champagne & an entire dessert table? 

Happy 60th to my wonderful mother in law!

Champagne Bar - Peach & Strawberry Puree, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Port, Fruit, Paper Straws, and sugar to top everyone's glasses.  The chalkboard signs were all hand written by our cousin Lora.

Champagne Glasses - All the glasses were hand tied with strips of fabric.

Dessert Bar - Made with love by the birthday girls family and friends.  Each family member brought their favorite dessert.  Can you just imagine all the WONDERFUL sugary calories consumed this day...heaven. 
*Note - enjoy the bundt cake provided, unknowingly, by the birthday girl herself!

Dessert Bar - Cheesecake Pops, Chocolate Covered Oreos, Strawberry & Vanilla Trifle, Bundt Cake, Snicerkdoodle Cookies, Turtle Brownies, Truffles, Tiger Butter, & Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Dessert Bar - So Yummy!

Dessert Bar Signs- next to each dessert was a wooden spool tied with fabric, topped with a chalkboard heart.  Each guest with a dessert wrote their name in chalk and placed it next to their dessert.

Birthday Cake - Our cousin Lora make these STUNNING ruffle cake.  Top layer was pink lemonade cake with red berry filling.  Bottom layer was chocolate cake with salted caramel filling.  The entire cake was covered in gorgeous pink butter cream ruffles.  Topped with a chalkboard 60, of course.  This cake was so good I ate a piece for lunch the next day.

Centerpieces - Mason jars filled with sliced lemons.  I arranged the flowers myself, daffodils, mums, and some other greens.  Each jar was tied with a stripe of fabric and a chalkboard with 60 on it was placed in the middle. 

Table Runners - I pieced together stripes of fabric to run down the middle of each table.  The ends were unfinished because I felt it gave it a more shabby chic feel.

Wooden Initials - Hand painted wooden initials were hung from our arbor.

Fabric Filled Hoops - Embroidery hoops with colorful fabric hung from the house over the champagne bar

Strip Fabric Garland - Each strip of fabric was knotted to twine and hung over the dessert bar.

Painted Pots - Each grandkid painted a pot for grandma's garden.