Extravagant gifts of deliciousness!

(We've been watching "Megamind" lately... haven't you?)  : )

It has shamefully been almost 2 weeks since the kids' lemon-lime shindig and I haven't mustered the energy for a party recap.  But at least I satisified all of you with pictures!!  Who cares about the wordy stuff, right??? 

Well, the professional pics from Keren are here and it's time to officially wrap this baby up!  So, let's start with the centerpiece, the highlight, the cause for many a headache/toothache/bellyache... the candy buffet! 

(pictures by Keren Fenton Photography & by me!)

Here's how it all went down...



1. (the #1 is in the bottom right corner... stupid place for it, but whatever.)  The "candy scoops," aka shovels!  I found buckets w/shovels at Michael's for $1 each.  I couldn't believe how functional these bad boys were.  The pails worked for the egg hunt, the shovels as candy scoops, and then the kids all got to take them home as a favor. 



2. My DIY "Sweet Shoppe" sign.  Designed it in Fireworks (like photoshop) and printed it out on the computer.  Last minute idea to throw it in the frame.  Genius.
 


3. Swirly lollipops and the stands I made (remember this post?)



4. Old-fashioned candy sticks in Ikea buckets (pineapple, pina colada, & sour apple.)



5. Lemon & key lime fruit slices on a rectangular tray from Target.  I almost didn't get to try them, but luckily there was 1 left of each flavor.  Yummy, but super tart!!  I bought two trays, thinking I'd use a tray for each flavor, but I'm glad they all fit on one. 




6. Taffy - watermelon laffy taffy & key lime salt water taffy (laffy taffy - yum.  Salt water taffy?  Disgusting.  I was so bummed!  That's the problem with ordering online.)



7. The cake plate that held Lilah's lemon smash cake.  No, I am not a professional cake decorator. 



8. Pineapple slices - yum!  My favorite.  I found this vase in the closet at the last minute and it was perfect.



9. Sour Nerds



10. Gumballs - white (Double Bubble original), yellow banana, and green apple.  Note: 2 1/2 lbs. of gumballs x 3 flavors = TOO MUCH.  I had 5 lbs. leftover.  But I needed all three colors, right??



11. Sour Patch Apples (this wasn't their official name, but that's what I called them.  Chadly's favorite.)  Borrowed this cute little apothecary jar from my mom.



12. Jelly Bellies (lemon, lemon drop, lemon-lime, juicy pear, and margarita. I boycotted buttered popcorn, despite Chad's pleading.  Yuck.)  I originally had a tag on this jar and the lemonheads next door, but I liked the look of them without bulky signs blocking their colorfulness.  Thought 2 lbs. of jelly bellies would be enough, but Chad insisted on 4 lbs. - yes, he really got into this candy buffet thing!  Good thing Top Foods is close!!  And sure enough, all 4 lbs. were GONE.



13. Lemonheads - did 4 lbs. of these as well and had leftovers.  Love how full they looked, though!
14. Laffy taffy ropes - these were my "height" compromise over the tall unicorn lollipops I really wanted (they were too pricey.)



15. Gummy frogs - unfortunately, I forgot to take them out of their blue packaging until halfway through the party, when Keren looked puzzled and said, "What's in there??"  Too bad the jar was too big for the 2 lb. amount, but no leftovers = happy mama.  : )



16. Groovy Pops - another find from Michael's.  Had my eye on these and the Sour Nerds when the lemon-lime theme came along.



17. Toothbrushes!  Printed out a sign that said, "4 out of 5 dentists recommend this candy buffet," but I thought it looked too busy.  Everyone thought they were hilarious anyway, and people actually took them!  By some miracle, I found these two-packs of yellow & green toothbrushes at the dollar store.



18. Lilah's Land of Nod suitcases came in handy for adding some height to the display.  I used two underneath the toothbrushes, and then the big one under the Nerds jar.  But the suitcases are pretty flimsy, so I shoved a kid-size shoebox inside the big one to hold up the jar.  Worked like a charm!  I also wrapped the handles in yellow ribbon... couldn't have BLUE handles in my lemon-lime buffet!  Scandalous.
19. Lifesavers Wint-O-Green mints and Spearmint Balls (both invidually wrapped.)  I got slightly addicted to the lifesavers and finished off the leftovers all by myself.  My poor diet.
20. Lemon Drops.  Loved these as a kid.  Borrowed another apothecary jar from my mom.



21. Apparently I skipped #21.  Oops.
22. Bags for the candy, on clearance at Michael's.  Sweet!  I could've used lunch sacks, but these craft bags were a little more heavy duty. 
23. Tablecloth from Target.  I originally bought this to hang on the wall above the white shelf in the playroom, so I could have a backdrop to the candy buffet.  But I soon scrapped that idea when I realized my jars wouldn't fit on that shelf (and it would be within the kids' reach.  Not good.)  Wish I had taken the time to iron the stupid thing.




(you might need to scroll back up to the original numbered photo, just to see what the heck I'm referring to)
24. No, Aidan does NOT watch Barney.  It's just a preview on one of his Thomas DVDs.  Just to be clear.
25. My sister-in-law Lindsay asked me if I changed out the mats on these pictures to match the theme.  Although, it sounds like something I would've done, they were already yellow & green.
26. I inherited these tab-top valances from the previous owner and I'm so over them!!!  Just had to point that out.  I want woven shades or something more modern.



27. My tissue paper puff balls!  So in love with them that I can't take them down.  Might be up until Christmas.



I also used green m&ms to fill some of the eggs for the lemon-lime hunt, and added the leftovers to the buffet (using a jar I found in my bathroom that morning.) 



And don't forget about the cupcakes!! 



I intended on recovering my cupcake stand in yellow & green, but just ran of out time.  So I put them on green trays behind the candy.  I called them my "cow pie" cakes... the frosting was a little too thin to make a really nice "pouf."  I made vanilla cupcakes and a lemon smash cake and wish I had reversed it -- the lemon cake turned out really yummy, but no one got to eat it!  Well, except for these two...


  
One yummy treat that didn't make the cut were these marshmallow pops (the green are dipped in candy melts and rolled in sprinkles, the yellow are sprinkled with water and then yellow sprinkles.)  I tried them out at Easter and while I thought they were tasty, only the preteen cousins ate them.  And I wasn't thrilled with the shade of green.  And, as my mom said, "You have enough already!!!"



Soooo... now that I've done it once, I'm wondering if candy buffets will be expected around here?  I could live with that.  I'm already scheming next year's bash...

(Oh wait, I told Chad, "This will be the LAST BIG PARTY.  I promise."  Oops.  Can I pull the "I had my fingers crossed" trick??)

More to come...