The Florida Girl

𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 • 𝕞𝕠𝕞 • 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕣 • 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟

you’re ONE in a million

How do you design a party without a theme? You use your kid’s face, that’s how!

Get ready for the most dreamy & sophisticated yet kid-friendly party consisting of a color pallet of soft creams, buttery tones and warm brown accented with a fun blue-teal pop of color. Custom handmade details like the welcome sign, hanging backdrop, “one year of Bodhi” sign, handwritten acrylic food signage, & party favors are what create the special & personalized touches.

Our son, Bodhi is ONE in a million. I snapped a picture of him lying in our bed holding his feet when he was 7 months old and KNEW that picture would be the inspiration that drove all of the details of his 1st birthday party. My goal was to have a sophisticated & kid-friendly party that everyone would swoon over.

I recently attended an event at Bluebell hq and was blown away. I immediately determined I wanted to have the party in their space. It was the perfect blank canvas for me to create the my dream 1st birthday for our son!

Food is life, am I right? Just check out this spread! It was seriously a dream come true!

Although design is my passion and career and I love having my hand in all aspects of the event, the reality of it is, I also know I can’t do it all. This allows me to collaborate with some of the most talented people and brands to help me bring my vision to life.

My biggest tip to start planning as early as possible. When I began planning nearly 5 months ahead, some thought I was crazy, but if you pace yourself and spread it out a little at a time, the small details (which create the “WOW FACTOR” at the event) seem less daunting. Getting such an early start also allows me to stay organized, reach out to brands I want to collaborate with, and be sure all of the individual items are going to flow together.

Concept, Design, Styling, & Photography: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl (www.florida-girl.com) @the_floridagirl (www.instagram/thefloridagirl.com)

Event Space: Bluebell hq (www.bluebellhq.com)

Balloon Garland: Aquarelle (www.instagram/aquarelle.com)

Charcuterie Spread: Apricot & Olive (www.instagram/apricotandolive.com)

Round Acrylic Sign & Drink Stirrers: Floral Dust (www.floraldust.com)

Acrylic Sign at Photo Backdrop: Modern Birch Co. (www.modernbirchco.com)

Floral Design: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl (www.florida-girl.com) @the_floridagirl (www.instagram/thefloridagirl.com)

Roses: Grace Rose Farm (www.gracerosefarm.com)

Paper Tableware for kids table & dessert table: Oh Happy Day Party Shop (www.shop.ohhappyday.com)

Cake: Sugar & Bloom Cakes (www.sugarandbloomcakes.squarespace.com)

Cookies: Sugar Cookies by Anne (www.etsy.com/shop/sugarcookiesbyanne)

Key Lime Pies: Key Lime to Happiness (www.keylimetohappiness.com)

Donuts: Dandee Donut Factory  (www.dandeedonuts.com) & Donut Bragger (www.donutbragger.com)

Kids Sensory Dough Kits: MamaMaliDough (www.etsy.com/shop/mamamalidough)

Knit Dolls: Cuddle and Kind (www.cuddleandkind.com)

Come dance with me, I’m 3!

Baby girl, you ARE the party!

Tutu & Jacket by IlovePlum Shoes by Vans

Our daughter, Hendrix has always been the life of the party so naturally a dance theme birthday was the perfect way to celebrate her, and she was all for it! Plus, there’s nothing like getting all dolled up, blaring music, and dancing your butt off, am I right?

I’m not sure what you might expect at a 3-year old’s dance party, but I think it had to include tons of frills, endless sweets, and a tremendous amount of bling. Hands down, the disco ball had to have been the most widely used décor item of 2020, needless to say, it was the perfect accessory to create all the magic and bling.

One of my biggest tips when planning party is to create several zones. One way to tie décor together from each zone is by using various hues of your color palette. Danielle, owner of The Stylish Detail, created this gorgeous custom fringe backdrop for the dance floor area by using desaturated colors that tied in with the florals and the wooden divider.

Yup, that is the face I made too. I know baby girl, it’s true, we made the divider wall from scratch. It actually wasn’t that hard to make (says the one who designed it and wasn’t really the one who “made” it). I did paint it though (that counts, right? LOL) This simple DIY divider will forever be the best idea. It blocked and hid our sliding glass doors. I plan to use it time and time again to hide things I don’t want to visually see and add texture and color. I need to paint the blush panel out now for my son’s first birthday in a few weeks! I have a DIY Backdrop highlight reel on my Instagram about how we made these!

Setting the table and creating the backdrop in that zone was an event in itself! It was an incredibly windy day… like 10-20 mph gusts crazy…all day! Mama was slightly freaking out (aka a lot)! One would never know from these photos though! My hubby created a PVC miracle and mounted it to our hurricane shutter pegs! Yes, you heard that correct. I had visions of hanging disco balls and handmade pompoms from “something”. After many hours of brainstorming together he made it happen!

Modern Birch Co. nailed it with this custom acrylic name for the backdrop wall. Scroll to see the custom drink stirrers she made us also!

Table setting is all about layering and creating lots of texture, levels and movement. So many details of a tablescape get overlooked so here are some amazing angles and close-ups!

The DIY Candle block centerpiece was probably one of the most talked about and asked about item of the party! I saw this idea on Instagram and knew my hubby could make it for me for just a few bucks, and he sure did! Check out the IG Highlight Reel about the Party Deets where I cover all the details of how we made it.

There are those Modern Birch Co. drink stir sticks! Pro tip: Mix real tableware with paper goods and use a cute accessory like a mini disco ball to hold down paper cups (especially on windy days)!

My closest girlfriend Shauna of @stayinghomesawyer made these adorable music note cut-out placemats for me with her cricut! If you remember, she made me some of the same ones with lemons for our Blogger Summer Soiree.

That sign though!! Floral Dust knew exactly what I wanted when I described my vision to her! This 18″ diameter custom acrylic sign with hand painted background and gold leaf was the perfect showstopper! She also created our gorgeous cake topper.

When we do sweets, we go big or go home! Our local bakery, Two Fat Cookies, always knocks my vision out of the park! This custom cake was the sweetest part of Hendrix’s day!

At every great party, there is a V.I.B (very important babe) lounge, right? We took our little outdoor seating area and dolled it up with some cute pillows, a cozy blanket & some florals, of course! (PS., these décor & home accessories were all things we previously had – that is the best and easiest way to decorate a party and add tons of texture & color – shop your own home…bring the indoors out!)

Needless to say we are all looking around dumbfounded how we already have a sweet 3 year old (Ummmm, actually 3-1/2 year old now due to how slow I was to get this blog out)! Where did that year go!?

Hop in and get excited! Simple DIY bunny headband

These simple DIY bunny ears are sure to get you egg-cited! Follow along to make your own DIY Easter Bunny ear headband!

What you’ll need:

  • Plastic bunny ear headband
  • Yarn to wrap around headband
  • Felt – two colors (I used classic brown and pink – you can use any set of colors)
  • A pen
  • Hot glue gun
  • Scissors
  • *Opt. decorative “fuzzy fur” yarn” & other ribbon or embellishments

Instructions:

  1. Use a piece of scrap paper to cut the shape of a bunny ear.
  2. Trace onto brown felt.
  3. Use that same piece of paper and trim it a little smaller to make the template for the inside of the ear.
  4. Trace onto pink felt.
  5. Use hot glue gun to glue the pink cutouts onto the brown ones.
  6. Start by placing a small bit of hot glue on the end of the headband and begin wrapping the headband with yarn.
  7. Continue until the entire headband section is wrapped and covered. *No need to cover the ears.
  8. Use hot glue to attach the felt cutout ears onto the plastic ears of the headband.
  9. Add fuzzy “fur” yarn as an accent on the ears if you would like.
  10. Add embellishments like other decorative ribbon or flowers if you would like.

Some bunny thinks they can get away with slackin’ & snackin’.

Well, I guess you can when you are this cute!

What do you mean Easter carrots? I wanted Easter candy!

Easter Basket For Kids

Easter is no longer just about candy for me anymore since having kids. I love to see the joy and excitement on their faces when they see their holiday gift baskets. Last years Easter basket had huge meaning for us! Check out the blog post here, Easter Basket Gender Reveal. I knew it would be hard to top that set of baskets, but these come pretty darn close! They are filled with all the best goodies!

These are my top 4 simple tips in order to create the perfect holiday basket:

1) Buy items you would already be purchasing or need anyway.

2) Purchase shoes in the next size to get longer use.

3) Purchase one seasonal/holiday item.

4) Add a little sweet treat or novelty item for a special surprise.

When it comes time to staging them and having all of the items show (especially if you are photographing them) use old rolled up hand towels and filler to stuff and fill the baskets. I used brown construction paper to fill the bottom of the baskets and bring all of the goodies up to the top to be more visible. I rolled hand towels and used them to fill and prop the items up as well.

Here are all the items I snagged for Bodhi’s basket:

And check out all the goods for Hendrix:

For more holiday basket inspiration, head to these posts: Valentine’s Day “Love Day Gift Basket” or “Let Me Love You Valentine’s Day Basket” , St. Patty’s Day “Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide”

Love Day Gift Basket

One of my favorite quotes is “Love always, in all ways”…and I’ve got nothin’ but love so I sprinkle it like confetti!

Are kids Valentine’s Day baskets necessary? No. Are they fun? Yes! My babes are only so young once and I love spoiling them when I can and spreading the love. That is why I enjoy creating and giving special gift baskets like these for the holidays.

Some of the basics I like to include in my holiday themed baskets are:
An original/unique “basket” of some sort
Cute name tags
Books
Pajamas
Flowers
Sweet treats (this year hot cocoa bombs were all the rage!)
Holiday Pennant Wands (see my Instagram highlight reel for DIY)
Themed Cups or Tableware
*The links to most all of my items in our baskets this year are below*

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Here are a few other holiday baskets I have created in the past! Happy viewing! Hop to it, Spring! Easter Basket Gender Reveal Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

How many trees are too many? Asking for a friend (just kidding, I am asking for me). I saw these cute Christmas tree cupcakes by Preppy Kitchen on Pinterest and HAD to make them! They were a hit, obvi!

Ingredients:
Homemade Red Velvet Cake (See Preppy Kit Link above) or store-bought
Dinky Dippers Mini Cones
Homemade White Icing (See Preppy Kit Link above) or store-bought
2 Pastry Bags
2 Cake Decorating Tips (1 standard round opening, 1 star tip)
Cupcake Baking Pan
Cupcake Liners
Confectioners Sugar for Dusting “Snow”
*I cut one corner and made a box kit of red velvet cupcakes! Sue me! LOL

Directions:
Make cupcakes per Preppy Kit instructions or box
Pipe or spread white icing on cupcakes
Coat mini cones with green icing using a butterknife
Set green iced cone on top of the iced cupcake
Use a pastry bag with a star tip to create the tree texture
Dust with confectioners sugar for a “snow” look
Eat your face off!

These little Christmas tree cupcakes fit right in with all of our bottle brush trees…but only for a very short time before they were scarfed down. Not only are these cuties easy to make they are super yummy!

And who doesn’t eat cupcakes with an I Love Plum tutu on? I know I would if they came in my size! LOL, Our new favorite tutu is the L.O.L Tutu dress in Pixie Pink! Look at the little cut-out shoulder detail! So cute.

Nothing to see here…just a girl dressed adorably eating a delicious cupcake.

DIY Fall playhouse decor

Florida fall…it’s is a real thing. Well, it actually might require asking a friend to mail you some fall leaves but, hey. This year I was determined to bring all the fall feels to South Florida and deco out Hendrix’s new playhouse! Here are the steps to creating this gorgeous fall boho wreath & boho initial door emblem.

Brand New Iloveplum Pearl Ivory Tutu & Plie Twist Crop Sweater
Items Needed:
-fresh Fall leaves 
(or store-bought fake ones here)
-hot glue gun
-scrap cardboard
-decorative yarn
-floral wreath hoop
-scisscors
-boho dried flowers, pampas, palms or pinecones
-twine
FALL BOHO WREATH
Directions:
-Use hot glue gun to glue dried flowers & palms to floral hoop
-use twine to wrap the stems (this is decorative and functional,
it helps keep the flowers on tight)
-keep the design very asymmetrical and simple
-use fall leaves for final accent
BOHO INITIAL DOOR EMBLEM
Directions:
-use scrap cardboard to draw initial (can be in script or print)
-use sciscors to cut out the initial
-use hot glue gun & start wrapping the cardboard initial with decorative yarn
-use a piece of twine as the "hook"
-add a few leaves as an accent to conveal command hook

I layered the boho wreath with some cool textural pumpkins on the ledge of our playhouse and used the initial emblem on her front door!

The most fun part of it all was seeing Hendrix’s face as she threw the leaves up in the air like confetti!

Very cooky, not spooky, boo-nanas

Items Needed:
Baking Sheet w/ cooling rack
Parchment paper
Fresh bananas
Meltable chocolate
Popsicle sticks
Sprinkles
Decorative googly-eye candies

Directions:
-Melt chocolate according to package directions
-Cut bananas in half
-Dip a portion of the stick into the melted chocolate to act as a “glue” and insert into banana
-Dip banana into melted chocolate
-Decorate with sprinkles as cooky as possible 🙂
-Refrigerate for 2-4 hours to set
-Enjoy

Pop, Bang, Boom!

This summer feels super invigorating and the crafting game is going strong. Maybe because it’s the first year where my daughter Hendrix is becoming more aware and excited about the holidays.

Here is a simple little craft you can do for Father’s Day, a birthday, and or 4th of July! Or combine any of them!

Supplies for bomb pop garland:
scissors
single hole punch
twine or rope for stringing and hanging
paper cutter (or cut free-hand with scissors)
red, white & blue strips of paper approx 5-1/2″ long x 1-1/2″ wide
(*I used slightly muted down colors to go with my Instagram feed)
hot glue gun or glue sticks
wood popsicle sticks

Directions for bomb pop garland:
cut strips of the red, white & blue paper
hot glue all 3 together 
roll and hot glue the edge of the red, white, & blue paper into a roll
hole punch on each side at top of red color strip
hot glue popsicle sticks – (*repeat for as many times as you would like the length of garland)
string with twine or rope you have
hang in the desired location

Additional Supplies (if adding the finger paint portrait ornament):
7″ wood star ornament from dollar tree
various paint colors
twine to glue to the edge of the star

Directions for star portrait:
use kid’s hands in whatever color paint to make a shirt & jeans
use fingers to paint a round face w/ ears
use a thumbprint to make hands
use a thumbprint to make shoes/feet
use 3 fingers to make hair
wait several hours for the paint to completely dry *(I used a blowdryer to speed up the process)
use a sharpie to add face & tie details
hang alone or add with bomb pop garland

Not only is this little bomb pop garland/banner the perfect decor piece, but it also makes for adorable accessories for flat lays! Check out all these little goodies! Baby girl is sure to be a firecracker in this adorable white iloveplum tutu, sunnies, bows, and sandals!

Ladies love brunch

Am I right or am I right…ladies love brunch? If you saw my Ain’t Life Peachy post, you’ll know I have been preparing for this day for a few weeks now! I don’t mess around! If you have been wondering what simple things I put together to make a huge impact, here is how it all turned out!

Outfit Details:
You can find my crop top HERE and my skirt HERE

The most important item at brunch is the food, duh! Check out this spread of biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, ombré pancakes, fresh fruit, and bacon! All the basics and a little touch of “extra” with the ombré pancakes…but they sure do add a punch (and help keep up the peachy theme)!

A few drops of red food coloring and voila, you have ombré pancakes! It makes such a huge impact. I am sure there is a natural food color you can use like beets or even blueberries or raspberries, but for time sake I just used red food coloring.

The second most important brunch item for me is FLOWERS! Trader Joe’s has some of the most economical stems by far! Do yourself a favor and run there now! If you are not feeling creative they have some prearranged bouquets too. I love creating floral arrangements so I purchase a ton of different flowers (not only are they the best-priced flowers around they have some of the more unique stems too) like these peonies and ranunculus.

Check out my “We are here for the fun” Blog post to see some of my must-have neutral houseware items for serving a party!

Last, but certainly not least on my list of must-haves for brunch is a good cocktail (or mocktail in this case). I have been posting new mocktail recipes on Instagram every day around lunchtime. I even have a few story highlight reels where I have saved them all. One of my favorite recipes lately was a blackberry pineapple lemonade drink. I knew it would be perfect for brunch.

Oh, and I can’t forget laughs! Every good brunch is to be filled with your favorite friends and family, which ultimately will create the belly laughs!