Alexis Rose: January 2011

As with every birthday, it should be celebrated - A LOT! With that in mind, Joe's 30th birthday on January 30th needed to be BIG! I mean it only makes sense to leave your 20s behind with a BANG!

After thinking it over for a couple of months with his sister and sister-in-law, we had a plan...a simple party at my house followed by a limo ride and night out in Atlantic City!

I love party planning and some parties take more time and effort than others, especially when you have a hard time making a final decision. That was a slight problem with Joe’s 30th birthday.

While keeping it a secret, Joe’s sister, Lori, and I, batted back and forth with ideas of what would be the most fun or what Joe would enjoy the most. Trying to use some cues he provided while also figuring everyone wouldn’t be able to do everything – we came up with two ideas. We decided to have a small get-together with some light food and drinks prior to part two which involved jumping in a limo and hanging out in AC!

Delegating tasks was super helpful especially since I had a baby shower during the day (remember the diaper cake piece). I purchased paper products and decorations during the weeks leading up the party and came up with the perfect theme - courtesy of Party City - "30…the party continues” with blue, purple and silver used as main colors.

**Note: Party City is a great place to pick up key pieces for any type of party especially since they have so many categories and everything matches.**

Everyone chipped in: Since Joe put a cake request in to Lori - he wanted either a chocolate and peanut butter combination or mocha - and since we decided cupcakes would be easier for the party, she incorporated both. Espresso beans were in the center of the icing on the mocha cupcakes and the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes were topped with peanut butter icing, a mini reese's cup with an extra surprise in the center. Surrounded in blue and black wrappers, they were scrumptious and a big hit among everyone! (I hope to include a future blog with the icing recipe!)

Lori also handled the "kicked up" sangria and ordered pretzels spelled out in “Happy Birthday Joe!” from the Philly Pretzel Factory while I covered the main food - hoagie trays and salads - and the mini color coordinated candy table. Complete with blue and white york peppermint pieces; purple, blue and silver M&Ms; 30 mints (from Party City); dark Hershey kisses with appropriately colored purple wrappers; chocolate covered raisins and pretzels with Hershey kisses and M&Ms. I also made little signs for each – just in case you didn’t know what a Hershey kiss was!

Joe’s sister-in-law Maia was responsible for the beloved taco dip and veggie tray while his brother Freddy compiled a few mix cds for the limo ride. His parents picked up what many would consider the most important part - the beverages and ice!

To celebrate his first 30 years, I put together a photo collage of pictures from when Joe was a little tyke – thanks to his mom and dad for sending the little man photos my way - combined with more recent solo shots, pictures of us and his family.

After mingling, singing happy birthday and opening his gifts, off we went to the B Bar at the Borgata. Eight of us drove in the limo while several more met us down there. We had a great time and I would recommend the B Bar for any type of birthday or fun-filled event. It’s not as crazy as a club, but pumping enough to have a great time and that we did!

30th Birthday Cupcakes

Mocha and Peanut Butter, Chocolate...Yum!