Update

You might be wondering why my blog, which was originally intended to be about writing, has morphed into me talking mostly about whatever the crap I want.

Well. Partly it's because I've picked up a couple of writing jobs and the desire to write creatively has dropped dramatically. And partly it's because I'm not feeling particularly inspired.

So that's it!

Disney Princess Birthday Party - Part 2 - Cute Costumes & Theme Ideas

Party Planning Tip #2 - Cute Costumes & Theme Ideas

So the invitations have gone out and now it is time to get organised! When I have a theme party, I expect all the guests to dress up - after all, the kids love to see Mummy & Daddy looking silly. We are also the party family in that we always dress up for a theme party - even if the other guests do not. You may remember the rock star party costume idea featuring Lulu from a while back - that was an example where my hubby and I dressed up - he, like Alice Cooper & me like an 80's Bon Jovi groupie - only to find when we arrived that mainly the kids were dressed up, and only a couple of the adults. Not to worry, we still had a great time, as we always do. But getting back to the Disney Princess theme - for the adult costumes I found some beautiful Belle & Snow White costumes from Costume City, a US based online store. I did pay extra for express shipping as I am in Sydney, Australia but I was happy to say they arrived well before the party date, in record time. Having said that, you can save some $$$ by ordering with more time up your sleeve - express shipping is pretty pricey. As you can see from the photo the costumes are authentic and look great. As for Gigi's mermaid ball gown, I found this on ebay for around $30 AUD - a bargain for a brand-new-with-tags child's costume. The tiara was a last minute addition - she got this on the day from her other Nonna and it matched perfectly. Same for the cute Tinkerbell outfit for Lulu - around the same price, including the wings and a matching fairy wand, on ebay. Costume City do have children's costumes but the price on ebay was much better. Kiki's traditional Ariel costume was from Kmart, where you can get lots of the Disney Princess signature costumes.
All the children dressed up for the occasion too - we had a handsome prince, a dashing king and a beautiful baby ballerina, amongst others...
Also, we had a brother & sister Lord & Lady of the Manor, an Aladdin prince, Woody from Toy Story & even Peter Pan made an appearance. It was lovely to see all the kids dressed up and they had a wonderful time.
Daddy is a bit camera shy but I wanted to show you how we improvised with his Eric costume (Ariel, the Little Mermaid's prince). Gigi insisted that Daddy be her prince so we Googled Eric images to see what he wore. We liked the casual Eric outfit the best, as opposed to the wedding/formal Eric but it was going to cost too much to buy and/or hire an outfit. You are going to laugh but all I did was buy a yellow duster mop head, cut it in half and voila - the shoulder pads fit for a prince! With a bit of double sided taped onto a plain white shirt, I also used some yellow fluorescent safety tape, a black texta and there we go. Added to a pair of my black jodhpurs, a red sash and calf high motorcycle boots, there we have it - Prince Eric on a budget!

As far as theming goes, I made a poster for the front door, with pictures of all the Disney princesses on it, and lettering that read "Welcome to Your Surname Castle, Princes and Princesses most welcome". Inside, all guests were greeted formally and when everyone had arrived, I announced all the children individually as you would be announced at a royal function, to applause and with a photograph. We had a jumping castle ready but on the day decided we wouldn't need it with all the other activities going on (of which I will be going into detail in Part 4 of my series). At our local party goods store I came across some great re-usable Disney Princess stickers which we plastered all around the house - on windows, walls, anywhere that the kids were going to be playing. They are still up on our toy room walls as we speak and Gigi loves to move them around. I also purchased the Disney Princess party favours pack - party plates, serviettes/napkins, cups & straws (which to be honest, I didn't really need because the kids had poppa drinks anyway), party blowers, party hats and loot bags. I also ordered the Disney Princess Castle cake kit off ebay (more on that in Part 3). For all our parties we hire a helium tank and have lots and lots of balloons - the kids love them and the signature Disney Princess Happy Birthday Banner completed the room. Tomorrow in Part 3 of my series I will discuss party food, drinks, loot bag tips and the all important birthday cake
Related Posts: Part 1 - Invitations, Part 3 - Food & The Cake, Part 4 - Fun & Games
Content in this post is for the most part created by gigi+lulu - Copyright 2008

KAAAAANYE!!!!! ARGHH!!!

So yes, I'm a little bit excited.
As Sydneydoll pointed out, the Killer's new album Day and Age is out this week. The two tracks I've heard, 'Human' and 'Spaceman' seem like a return to the awesome dance-pop-synth-rock of Hot Fuss. Their second album Sam's Town was attacked by the critics for not being "exactly the same but even more awesome than we expected". Instead it was a different direction, one that I thought worked quite well. I really enjoyed both albums. This time around I hope they'll find some sort of mid-point.

And yes, I might be a tad excited about Kanye's 808s and Heartbreaks. Here's why.
Mr West's first album, The College Dropout, was definitely a rap album. Skits, short songs with random bits, a bunch of rapping. Yep, it was a rap album for sure. And a good one too. Sharp, punchy, and lovingly prepared, The College Dropout was Kanye as the young firebrand coming to shake the game up. 'Jesus Walks' asked why he couldn't talk about Jesus in a personal way over a killer thumping beat, 'Through the Wire' was recorded only weeks after his mouth was smashed off in a car crash, and 'We Don't Care' was playfully aimed at those selling drugs AND the college crowd.
His second album was Late Registration and already Kanye was moving towards more pop sensibilities. He got Jon Brion to co-produce, a man known for producing film scores, Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple, rather than rap albums. 'Gold Digger' and 'Touch the Sky' were the standout hits, although the two versions of 'Diamonds from Sierre Leone' were better songs, in my opinion. Musically Kanye was expanding his horizons, with large parts of 'Gone' and 'Roses' sounding like film scores. It was still a rap-heavy album, with lots of cameos from established rappers like Cam'Ron, Common, Consequence, Jay-Z, Nas, Paul Wall, Game and... Adam Levine. It also launched Lupe Fiasco's career. After the album came out, Kanye started adding live string performances in his concerts, and was experimenting with new sounds.
By the time Graduation came out, Kanye was full-on into pop production. He sampled Daft Punk for 'Stronger', which became a hit around the world and did more to propel him into the pop charts outside America than any of his other singles so far. Already by then it was clear he was moving more into singing than rapping, or at least a combination of both. This was a feel-good pop album with lots of rapping, rather than the other way around. 'The Good Life', 'Champion' and 'Homecoming' were upbeat dance tracks with catchy, singalong choruses and easy to follow raps. The introspective stuff like 'I Wonder' and 'Everything I am' showed him trying out new rapping styles, but his rapping generally took a back seat to the production, including the excellent 'Flashing Lights'. For Australians, Sneaky Sound System lead singer Connie Mitchell sang vocals on quite a few tracks on Graduation. This album sold stacks and helped send Kanye to a new level of popularity.
However in the leadup to his wedding to his long-time fiance, Kanye's mother Donda West decided to get some liposuction to look in shape before the wedding. Donda, a professor of English at a Chicago University, died on the operating table in the hands of a shonky surgeon. Since then, Kanye and his fiance have broken up. The performance of 'Hey Mama' at the Grammy's this year was powerful.
808s and Heartbreaks is Kanye's breakup album. He's had his heart broken with the death of his mother and the loss of a long-term relationship. He's said it's not a rap album, it's a pop album. And it's causing some controversy. Kanye's made use of AutoTune to sing most of the album, and there's barely any rapping. I'm tipping 'Robocop' and 'Paranoid' to be the catchy hits, although it wouldn't surprise me if 'Heartless' and 'Coldest Winter' made it big. 'Coldest Winter' is about his mother dying ("Memories made in the coldest winter, goodbye my friend, will I ever love again?"). Some fans are hoping he comes out with a rap album next year. Personally, I don't know. I think the reaction to this album will determine that. Kanye cares a lot about what people think. I think he's on a quest to make the perfect pop song, but that's just me.

One thing is for sure - he knows how to make good music. And I'm enjoying watching him develop his skills and become the producer he's certain he can be.