Lemon and lime party

 

With the tremendous help of my dear family at Rambellwood, I threw a summer citrus-themed party to celebrate my son's first birthday and the arrival of my niece. Double the fun!

Invitation | Lemons and limes set the theme (and color scheme). No custom design this time around--I just found a seasonal invitation, from Shutterfly.com.

Decorations | A homemade pennant banner using lime green polka dot print and an alternating solid yellow. Three paper lanterns float above the food table. Miniature chalk boards painted in green and yellow display the names of the two guests of honor: Henry and Lily.

Food and Drinks | What's better than homemade ice cream AND lemonade!? Sweet and tart combo...so delicious.

 

Food and Drinks | Work your way through the chicken salad sandwiches, pineapple and spinach salad. Then, indulge in these key lime tarts topped with zest! 

Games | My creative cousins came up with a fun game for partygoers, old and young! Each guest was given a lime or lemon pin to wear, essentially dividing them into teams for games. The Limes and Lemons battled at Pin the Lemon/Lime on the Tree (see photo), a songwriting challenge and pictionary to boot!

Happy birthday, little man!

Photos courtesy of Johanna Ramsey.

End-of-Summer Watermelon Lime Slush

Earlier in the summer, we froze some leftover seedless watermelon that I've been meaning to make slushes out of. It was only appropriate, since we're still having weather in the 90s around here (despite the fact that it's officially autumn), that I'd choose this afternoon to break out the watermelon and create a cool treat.

Here's my recipe:

- 4 cups frozen watermelon chunks

- 2 cups flat Sprite (or simple syrup to taste)

- Juice of 3-4 limes, depending on how tart you like it!

Just throw all the ingredients in a blender and blitz it until smooth. You can strain out the small bits of watermelon, or--if you're like me--you can be a little lazy and leave them in for texture. My daughter certainly didn't mind either way, especially when I gave her a straw (her fave)! And Mommy got to pretend she was enjoying a mixed drink--it's all in the presentation, right? :)