So, Maddie turned 10 earlier this month.

I only cried once.  Okay, maybe twice.  But even at that, I feel pretty good about myself.  That feels like an accomplishment.

10 years, you guys.  How do I have a kid that is 1o YEARS OLD??  She’s asking for iPhones and laptops and wants to redecorate her bedroom because it’s too babyish.  HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Oh, and the theme for her birthday party?

Hashtag Double Digits.

As in, #doubledigits.

As in, my 10 YEAR OLD knows about hashtags and told me that if I used it enough her party might trend on Instagram.

And then she asked me when she could have SnapChat and I lost it.

Sigh.

If you’ve been following along, you know that I love to throw parties and entertain, and I’ve been sharing my girls birthday parties with you all for about five years now.  You can find some of the others here.

I always let the girls choose their theme, and we do our best to make it a fun party.  The girls help me with the decorating, and it’s fun (mostly) for all of us.  Since #doubledigits doesn’t have an obvious decor theme, Maddie chose bright colors, chevron and white backdrops.

Her cake was her favorite chocolate layer cake with vanilla buttercream.  We added a chocolate ganache to the top and I loved the little bit of extra fudge it added to the frosting.  It was delish!  You can find the recipe here.  The adorable candles came from Sweet Shop Lulu, one of my favorite party suppliers.  I also got the cute little balloons, streamers in the backdrop, striped boxes and giant blue balloons from them.  Love!

Over the years I’ve collected a lot of white platters, cake stands, and serving dishes for my parties – but my favorite find this year were the adorable mini cake stands from the discount aisle at Target.  They were $3 each.  SO cute when used in a grouping.

One of the most fun thing about this party was that I partnered with Original New York Seltzer.

Did you hear me?  ORIGINAL NEW YORK SELTZER IS BACK!  I spotted some at World Market a few weeks before the party, and I knew immediately that we needed to be BFF’s, so next thing I knew, they were the #officialdrink of Maddie’s #doubledigits party.

Ok, I’m not 10, but the seltzer takes me back to when I was.  I have fantastic memories of ONYS from my childhood, and I was completely excited to see that they are back in production.  There are several flavors – and every single one of them was a huge hit.  My favorites are the Vanilla Cream Soda and Peach.  My uncle loved the Blueberry, and my girls are partial to the Root Beer.

Plus, they have some pretty awesome apparel on their site, too.

Original New York Seltzer is clean and refreshing, sweet and perfectly flavored.  If you’d like to learn more about them and find location to purchase some of your own, check them out on Facebook and Twitter.  They’re a SUPER fun company, and I encourage you to seek some out and give them a try.

If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am.  I love the nostalgia, the fact that they haven’t changed the labels and the little glass bottles.  Love.  Love, love, love.

Thank you to my friends at ONYS for contributing to a great party!  #thankyou

One of my favorite tricks for my dessert tables and beverage tables is that you need to have some sort of back drop behind the table.  Most of us don’t have a clear wall, free of pictures that we are willing to mark up with push pins, tape or staples.

So, in a stroke of genius (My world is small, folks.  This was pure genius for me.) I went to the basement and grabbed two big sheets of insulation.  They come in 4×8 sheets, they’re relatively inexpensive, they’re light, and they’re easy to tuck away until the next time I need them.

I cover them with wrapping paper, dollar-store tablecloths, fabric – whatever fits my needs at the time, and they work PERFECTLY.  And, you can tape/pin/staple whatever you like to them and no damage is done to your walls.

See?  Genius.

We make our banners with our Cricut machine, scrapbook paper and ribbon.  They take a bit of time, but I love how they personalize the party.

Just want to say thank you again to Orignal New York Seltzer, and to my family for once again foregoing your lunch plans so you had enough room in your bellies for too much food and too many desserts.

It’s what I do, I can’t help it.

Happy Birthday, Madeline.  #loveyoubunches

Back soon with a recipe!  Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Erin