Eloise’s First BEE-Day
- Ashley Comer
- Jun 24, 2019
- 4 min read
From the time my little Eloise was itty bitty, I felt like the word honeybee fit her sweet personality so well. When dreaming up her first birthday, a bee theme just seemed to fall into place. I have had so much fun thinking about and planning this party! Bee’s seemed to suddenly be all the craze this year, too! Which is great because we need to bring awareness to the declining bee population & how bee’s are so beneficial to our earth and us! Luckily, because of that, I was able to gain more inspiration from the world around me. Without further ado, here are some sweet as honey details from the party…
For decorations, I wanted to keep it more simple, yet pack a punch! With pops of black and yellow, I think it really fit the bee theme. I also incorporated party favors into my table setting- honey sticks! If you read my Vintage Boho Unicorn Birthday Party blog post, you may have read that I like to keep my party favors practical, and something everyone can use. What better way to do that for a bee party than honey sticks? Yum! I also think it would have been adorable to include a pack of native wildflower seeds for everyone to take home & plant because #savethebees!
Have you ever heard of a grazing table?! I’m pretty much obsessed now! I had originally planned on pinwheel sandwich type food for this party, but then, all thank to Pinterest, I found the idea of a grazing table! This is basically where you put all sorts of yummy finger foods out & let people graze. The best part about this if you ask me, is that there was hardly any preparing or cooking that had to go into it, since everything is already ready to eat! Yay for saving time! One of the items I did make, okay, my husband made it, was this honey lavender lemonade! No sugar, just pure, tart goodness! Here is the recipe I originally found. I modified it to a larger portion, and used lavender essential oil instead of lavender buds. Research ingesting essential oils. We rarely do it as we feel they need to be treated and consumed with respect.
Honey Lavender Lemonade
For the Honey Lavender Syrup
2 C water
2 C raw honey (local is best!)
5 drops lavender essential oil
Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently. That’s it!
For the Honey Lavender Lemonade
Honey Lavender Syrup
1Q water
1Q lemon juice, fresh squeezed if you can!
Combine all ingredients, mix well. Pour over ice, and enjoy!
Does this cake look like a beehive? I hope so, because that’s what I was going for with my very limited knowledge on backing and cake decorating skills! Ha! I baked this flourless, whole foods cake in a small, glass Pyrex bowl!
Let’s talk about the cake- The night before the party, about 11 pm, when I went to bake the cake (insert exhausted mama) I realized I was all out of coconut flour, which is what I had planned to use to bake the cake! We live in the boondocks, guys. Driving a half hour to a store at 11 pm was just not happening. I started racking my brain for what else I could possibly use that I would feel comfortable feeding my baby! (Per our personal decisions, we try to eat wholesome foods, stay away from sugars, artificial dyes, etc. Especially for our littles. Go gut health! Haha!) Applesauce! I had applesauce! Okay… so what could I do with that? I’ve used it for baking in the past. To google I go! I found a recipe that called for applesauce, ground oats, and eggs! I had all of those things! Can I get an amen?! Here’s the original recipe I found for the cake. This is how I modified the recipe…
Flourless No Sugar Applesauce Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting
Before I list the amounts of ingredients, these are rough estimates. If you make this, you may need to add more (or less) until it looks good to you. Keep in mind, too, this is for a small personal sized cake.
3/4 C Quick Cooking Oats ground to flour consistency
1/2 tsp baking soda
a couple pinches of baking powder
sprinkle of nutmeg
sprinkle of salt
1/2 C unsweetened Applesauce
4 Tbsp neutral flavored coconut oil (melted)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
honey to taste
Preheat oven to 325*. (If you’re using a glass dish, keep a close eye on it. Glass dishes tend to cook things faster.) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix wet ingredients and then combine to dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Pour mixture into small baking dish coated with coconut oil. Bake until golden brown and done throughout. About 30 minutes, or so.
For the frosting
1 can of full fat coconut cream, that has been chilled in fridge*
optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp turmeric* (or other natural food for coloring the frosting)
Scoop out coconut cream (there will be some liquid in the bottom of the can, you don’t want to use this in your frosting.)* Mix in vanilla & turmeric. Frost cooled cake, and refrigerate for 20 minutes so the frosting sets.
*If you didn’t have time to chill your coconut cream, you can also put it in the freezer for 20 minutes- don’t leave it too long though, or it’ll freeze!
*Use more or less turmeric depending on the shade of yellow you want
*Save the coconut water in the bottom of the can & use it in smoothies, popsicles, to drink, etc! It freezes well, too, if you don’t want to use it right away.
Tell me these bee family shirts aren’t the cutest?! Also, Eloise’s bee shorties! My heart! And their headbands! Basically was loving all the details in these outfits- the best part? All from small shops! We love supporting small shops when we can! I’ll have the shops listed below!
Lastly, I drew this on our chalk wall in our home. I thought this was a fun and creative way to add uniqueness to the party and toss in some ideas for people to help save the bees!
This party was all the buzz, at least in my eyes 😉 And we celebrated my sweet honeybee surrounded by family and friends that love her deeply. If you decide to plan your own honeybee party, tag me! Send the photos to me! Comment below! I’d love to see and hear!
Wood Honeycomb prop: built by my husband. Maybe for a commission, he’ll build one for your bee party, too!
Eloise’s First Bee Day Sign: a piece of plywood that I painted
Honey Sticks: Legacy Farms
Bee Shirts: Shop Nature Supply’s Pollinator Collection
Eloise’s shorties: Figs and Foxes
Shiloh’s Bloomers: Jamie Kay
Shiloh & Eloise’s headbands: Nature Crowns
Blessings, love, and light. Huge Hugs!
Xo, Ashley
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