Next year Lydia will be Four and Fabulous (right now Pinterest already is fabulous!)

 So, My husband is probably going to be disappointed.  I made a really good case for Lydia's next party being an Ice Cream Parlor them (I scream, you scream FOUR ice cream).  But several things have me thinking next summer should be Four and Fabulous.  I have it stuck in my head that the colors should be hot (or haute) pink, black, and white (and zebra and polka dots and maybe some lime green thrown in for fun)

So the collecting of images and ideas has begun! Only with a new twist because I just got started on Pinterest.  My dad and my sister seem sort of baffled by my need for yet another social media type outlet (with my recent introduction to Google+ I admit feeling a little overwhelmed).  Pinterest is like a virtual bulletin board, only you can have multiple bulletin boards and it doesn't get cluttered if you "pin" a ton of stuff to your "board".  I search the internet like I always do and when I see an image that sparks my imagination, I click this "pin it" button on my tool bar and the picture AND a link to the original website AND my description all get saved to my board.

Then there IS a whole social network element which I haven't quite figured out.  Pinterest instinctually knows who I might know and suggests them to me.  I know that people can "follow" other people, but no one has to accept the other person.  I assume you can also search pinterest, both for people and for boards that are interest you.  Say for example, several moms are planning pink and zebra parties.  I can see what they have on their boards and they can see mine.  If I like something on someone's board, then I can copy it to my board and I retain all the original information so I can also link back to the original website for more info.

Like I said, I am still learning, but this seems SO much better than my old system of saving image files on whatever computer I happened to be on when I saw a neat idea and then never knowing where something originated or which computer I had it saved on.  So.  Back to the images I am finding.  These are all PP (Pre-Pinterest) and I am SO computered out that I am not even going to try to put up links.  If you LOVE this stuff and want to know more, get on Pinterest and find my board for this party and get all the info there. So far we have seen zebra shoes, which I think I can totally copy with a pair of Keds, a Sharpie marker and some pink ribbon.  Next were some invitation inspiration.  I will keep my eyes open for something in the general vicinity of what is pictured above.  Next are some vintage beauty signs.  I want to have a make-up table for everyone to get fabulous and then get their picture taken.  I'm not sure how to work in vintage glam signs, but its an idea.

Now the food.  My theme is mostly color related, so pink food is good.

I think zebra food will be fun.  Most of these ideas are all sweets, so I will have to work on what "real food" we can serve.  Maybe "haute" dogs?  

Finally, one of my favorite ideas is making a zebra cake!  You just work with 2 different colored cake batters and pour them in alternating a 1/4 cup of each right on top of the other.  Not making sense?  Go to Pinterest and find this picture to be taken to the original website with the full tutorial!