friends – Elizabeth Hafner

William’s LEGO Party

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019Tagged bike, birthday, cake, celebrate, family, friends, iPhone, lego, park, seven, Texas, WilliamLeave a comment

William requested a LEGO party this year and I am so thankful he didn’t ask for a LEGO man cake, just some bricks. Can do!

Thankfully we had a nice day because he wanted to do the park again.

I found the tutorial for the cake on the Betty Crocker site. It was fairly easy to do but the icing took longer than I expected. Still, he was happy with the final result and that’s all that matters.

We did two games, one was guessing how many LEGOs were in this container and the second was a LEGO relay game of sorts. Each kid tried to race a spoon of LEGOs to another container. The one who got the most, won. The kids loved both of them!

Lucas’ Second Birthday | 11.27.16

April 26, 2017March 14, 2019Tagged baby, birthday, blue truck, family, friends, Lucas, november, party, twoLeave a comment

For Lucas’ second birthday, I used one of his favorite books as the theme. The Little Blue Truck. There is a link in the back of the book you can go to, to download the cupcake toppers, hats and bunting. Even though I kept it pretty simple, it was still a little time consuming cutting it all out. But in the end, I really love how it all came together and was really sweet, perfect for our little dude.

We kept the bunting up for a while after the party and Lucas loved saying beep, beep, beep all the time.

He’s closer to 2.5 years now and looks so different from this little face!

The frosting was a hit. I don’t think he ate much of the cake.

Showing Oma and Opa his messy face.

We had so many wonderful friends and family members come to celebrate with us. It was a fun evening followed by a mini pizza party.

Out of this World Birthday Party | William Turns 4

March 16, 2016March 14, 2019Tagged birthday, family, four, friends, March, park, rocket, space, WilliamLeave a comment

James has always been a space geek so it’s no surprise that is William’s current favorite thing…well, he likes rockets. He also likes Space Racers now so I thought doing an outer space/rocket theme for his party would be fun.

We were originally hosting the party at our house, but after a week of rain our backyard wasn’t in any shape for kiddos, so we moved to our neighborhood park. It was a beautiful day! The past three years, William has always had rain on his birthday or day of his party.

I used an idea from a Kraft recipes site to make the shape of the rocket cake. The boys gave their input on design and I had to add the Falcon 9 logo somewhere as well. William declared the cake beautiful! The space tablecloth was a $5 find from Amazon.

A lot of my original decoration and activity plans were cancelled since we moved locations but I did stick to making jet packs for all the kiddos. So happy my sister, Jessica helped me with these! They turned out so cute and the kids loved them. A lot of the tutorials I found online suggested using a 2L soda bottle but I went with the 16 fl oz ones instead. They were a much better size for the 2-4 year olds.

Here they are in action!

Wagon rides were the hit of the day….a big thank you to all the parents who took turns pulling the kiddos around the park!

The wind made it difficult to get the candles lit but with 6 hands involved it worked!

I love this photo. It makes me smile….opening presents. How close can everyone get?

What a fun day with family and friends! I am so happy with how everything turned out, the beautiful day and easy clean up. Score! I know the birthday boy had a blast too.

Evening with Friends

October 24, 2014March 14, 2019Tagged autumn, baby, baby shower, fall, family, flowers, food, friends, girls night, party, pregnancy, pregnant, pumpkin, sisterLeave a comment

With baby number 2 on the way soon, I wanted to have a girl’s night just for fun and to also celebrate the baby without it being a baby shower. I guess it was more about time with some special ladies, good food and lots of laughs. I know it was much needed for myself and I think everyone had a great time.

Jessica welcomed us all into her home and I put together a simple menu of finger foods. Not pictured are the multiple bowls of candy scattered around the kitchen and living room. Gummy candy was a must!

I wanted to play off the nursery woodland theme and add a touch of fall with the table setting.

I love how it turned out! It brings me such joy to entertain and be able to share this with friends. I love putting pretty things together. It’s my way of saying thank you and telling people how special they are to me.

I chose 3 or 4 desserts and sent them to Jessica and told her to pick one and surprise me. She went with a pumpkin tiramisu that was amazing!! It was so light and flavorful. I adore pumpkin. She is a dessert master.

It truly was a wonderful evening. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful community of ladies around me who are such an encouragement and support. Love you all!!

A Weekend for Us

September 17, 2013Tagged brunch, family, French toast, friends, home, Instagram, iPhone, Maria, Weekend, William1 Comment

Weekends are so much better when you aren’t fighting a cold. Friday we were able to spend time with my sister, her husband and Maria. They came into town for the weekend. Cousin time is very important and they actually play together more now! I love this shot. Adriana is reading the Wheels on the Bus to Maria and William is listening. Of course he found a puppy dog to hang onto.

After nap time we went back to Grandma’s for dinner. Matt and Adriana were in town because some friends of theirs were also in town from Spain where they are missionaries. Her friend, Dziu made Tomato Gazpacho and tortilla with tapas. Spanish tortillas are quite different – egg and potato. More like a frittata. Delicious!

Maria girl is such a hoot! She is so funny. At one point during the evening she was running around with a bucket on her head, yelling bucket! Later on she had a flashlight and was yelling light. Such joy.

Saturday morning I was determined to be productive. My intention was to trim the bushes on one side of the house. Well, I never made it to that side. Instead we cut down a crepe myrtle that was too close the house. It needed to be done and James got to use power tools so it’s all good. William announced it “all gone!”

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend. We invited our neighbors over for brunch so the boys could have a play date. Their son, Conor is 3 months younger than William.

I love to entertain. I love to set a pretty table. I love to cook good food for people. It’s my thing. Sometimes I worry that I do too much and intimidate people but I can’t help it. I just don’t feel right not making it special.

I set the table Saturday night because one, I have an 18 month old and two, it’s just so much fun. I also chose menu items that were easy to prepare or that could be prepared the night before. One thing I hate to have happen is that I am rushed when guests arrive or that I am still cooking. I want to be with my guests, not in the kitchen.

I ended up going with a slightly fall feel on the table. All oranges, reds and browns. I absolutely love fall.

The night before I also prepped all my fruit and made the French Toast Muffins.

On the menu:
Coffee
Mimosas
Fruit salad
French Toast Muffins
Avocado Breakfast Casserole

Ya’ll, I felt so proud with how everything came out. Seriously, it was so delicious. I will be making the French Toast and Casserole again and again. Anyone want to come for brunch soon?

It was a great morning and we had so much fun watching the boys play together. How handsome are they in their plaid shirts and khaki shorts?

This was exactly the kind of weekend we needed. It was so rejuvenating. Now, onto a busy week!

Hop on over to the Vignette blog and check out William’s 18 month photos. You’ll want to see these!

Galveston Weekend

June 27, 2013March 14, 2019Tagged Alisa, bachelorette, beach, friends, Galveston, iPhone, June, life, point and shoot, road trip, summerLeave a comment

This past weekend was my friend and fellow work out buddy’s bachelorette party. Well it was a whole weekend actually in Galveston. It was my first over night trip away from William since he was born so it was kind of a big deal. I was a little nervous about going but had a great time and really didn’t worry that much at all. James did a wonderful job (no surprise) being home alone with the boy. It was good for all of us and reminded me of what doing absolutely nothing felt like….bliss.

There were five of us in all and we stayed in a cute little house on a canal. The upper deck was gorgeous in the evening.

Part of our job for the weekend was to help Alisa decide on a signature cocktail for the wedding. Hard work, guys. One of them she mixed together earlier in the day for us to try that night…

The morning was spent on the beach and then after lunch we retired to the pool. I was ready for some shade. The first two are from my phone…the only photos I took on the beach.

That night we dined on some amazing lasagna that Alisa’s mom made. I had two servings of everything…preparing for all the drink tasting I had to do later.

I completely forgot to get a photo of our neighbors set up. On the bottom level of their house they had a tiki bar set up. It was pretty serious stuff. And they were British so eavesdropping on their conversations was fun.

The first of the drinks…cucumber jalapeno margarita. Oh my goodness, I couldn’t get enough of this one, definitely my favorite. I think it was everyone’s favorite actually.

Peach Ginger Fizz…not so much. We weren’t fans but Alisa thought maybe substituting the ginger beer out and adding club soda may have improved it.

Just a few views from our upper deck…

And the coconut martini. Really tasty but a bit sweet and heavy.

Cheers…do I look burnt? Because I was….just a bit. Love the sun!

I am so glad I made this trip. It was a lot of fun and really good times with some lovely ladies. I can’t wait for Alisa’s wedding! It will be the first one I’ve attended as a guest in a long while.

Mother’s Day | 05.12.2013

May 16, 2013March 14, 2019Tagged austin, baby, BBQ, food, friends, froyo, iPhone, May, Mother's Day, point and shoot, Salt Lick, summer, William1 Comment

William and I had some serious mother/son time on Mother’s Day. James was playing 4 services at Austin Stone so that meant we only got to see him at lunch time. We missed him but had plenty of fun together.

After a nice morning together – he even napped for me! – we headed off to the Salt Lick for lunch with a bunch of friends. BBQ on Mother’s Day? Yes, please!! William made a new friend and ate beans and bread. I think he liked it.

I wish William would fall asleep anywhere…

Little wiggle worm…

Some bloopers before James got a good one.

I took the longer way home so he could get a decent nap. The drive on 967 and 1626 back to I35 was gorgeous! I love wildflowers and would just stop and stare at a field of them for hours if I could. And also take too many photos. I don’t know what it is, it’s a scene I’ll never grow tired of. Had William not been passed out in the backseat, we would have made a few stops.

He slept a bit longer once we got home then it was time for some post-nap snuggles and Toasted O’s.

After dinner, I felt a froyo date with my guy was in order. I think he agreed.

To finish off our lovely day together, some exploring, walking practice, people watching, puppy dog barking, bird spying and stair climbing.

I am one blessed mama!

Looking Back | Washington 2006

April 26, 2013March 14, 2019Tagged 35mm, april, film, Friday Harbor, friends, Nikon, Orcas, personal, Pike Market, San Juan, Seattle, Shaw, Space Needle, travel, WashingtonLeave a comment

Seven years ago I forced myself to face my fear of flying and took a trip to Washington to visit a friend. I went to Shaw Island, Orcas Island, Friday Harbor and Seattle. It was a great trip and I think the first time I ever traveled anywhere alone….at least on a plane.

All of these photos were taken on my Nikon 35mm camera…oh the days when all I shot was film and was always broke. I kind of miss them.

Shaw Island

Orcas Island

Friday Harbor on San Juan

Seattle

This car was the funny story of the trip. The thing you’ll never forget. It had a roll bar, racing seats, a button that we were told not to push, a fire extinguisher, oh, and blue lights on the under carriage. Not the most comfortable drive and certainly something you don’t drive unless you want to be noticed. Not that we were trying…it was just lent to us for the weekend. I just laugh. Good times.

Alisa’s Bridal Shower | 03.16.2013

April 1, 2013March 14, 2019Tagged austin, bridal shower, friends, lifestyle, party, spring, Vignette Photography, weddingLeave a comment

My friend and work out buddy, Alisa is getting married in July. It’s been so much fun hearing about her plans and I can’t wait to actually attend a wedding! I know it’s going to be a beautiful event much like her bridal shower. She has such sweet family and friends. I was so happy to be able to join in the celebration.

It’s a Zoo!

March 14, 2013March 14, 2019Tagged austin, Austin Zoo, family, friends, hill country, photography, point and shoot, Texas, WilliamLeave a comment

William had his first zoo adventure this Monday. We met up with Aunt Adriana, Maria, Aunt Jessica, Uncle Nathan, Kyle and Zoe at the Austin Zoo to check out some animals.

I am pretty sure the adults were way more into the animals than the kiddos but it was a fun experience. We also had some gorgeous weather! All the animals were out enjoying the sunshine too.

We had a picnic with some bees…

And William did some rock tasting.

This boy loves being outside and is happiest when he is free and able to explore. One of his favorite things to do is to move stuff. He will move leaves or rocks from one spot to another and then back again.

I’ve been in Austin forever and this was my first time visiting the Austin Zoo. I was quite impressed. It’s a lot larger than I thought it would be. It’s quite sad to learn about some of the stories of the rescued animals but it’s better seeing them in a happy place and being taken care of. I’ll definitely visit again as William gets older and maybe more interested in animals instead of rocks.