As some of you who follow me on Instagram know, my daughter recently turned 1 (which, as a side-note, is totally nuts... can't believe how fast that flew by!). I often like to share personal posts about parties I host in order to keep it real - to show you what I do to keep the stress low and the good times high. We ended up doing what you aren't supposed to do for a first birthday - invite a ton of people. But my husband's extended family all lives in the area, and we thought it would be a fun excuse to get family together. We did, however, try to embrace it being a casual affair, what with it being a 1 year old's birthday party!

To keep things simple, we ordered food from Pork Barrell BBQ - a great BBQ joint in our Del Ray neighborhood. We picked up some pulled pork and buns, mac and cheese, cole slaw and other fixings and it was a huge hit. My husband made some deviled eggs, and we had some simple chips and dip and salsa out for guests when they arrived. Beer was on the back porch in coolers. And we used paper plates and napkins and utensils (except we did use real wine glasses since not too many people were drinking wine and it's just so much nicer to drink out of real glasses!). My husband baked the cake which I decked out in some Target treasures - a yellow "1" candle and mini gold bunting.

For decor I also tried to keep it simple. We went with a yellow (her favorite color), pink and gold theme. I picked up some simple bunting (again, from Target), and we got some balloons from a nearby party store. My Mom swooped in and saved the day by helping me repurpose some of the bunting she made for my baby shower (!), adding pink "1's" she cut out and glued on (while I napped. Best. Mom. Ever). Similar to the food, we decided to also delegate the flowers and I reached out to one of my favorite florists, Emily at Love Blooms, to see if she'd be willing to make a fun pink and yellow centerpiece (and did she ever!).

Tallulah was enough entertainment, but in addition to her cake eating (which, btw, she ended up picking up the entire slice of cake and diving in... killed me!), I put out some notecards and asked guests to write a note for her to open on her 10th birthday. I was so surprised and delighted by how many people took it really seriously. I'd see family members go off in a corner, deep in thought - and one of my friends wrote on the front and back! This was a really simple way to create what will hopefully be a fun treasure for her later in life. I like to go for meaningful activities and this one was perfect.

So there you have it. Enjoy some glimpses into the party details below - and remember that even event planners take it easy when it comes to throwing a bash!