A special Croquet and Pie birthday party

This is a year of celebration for me, kicked off with a very fun birthday party last month at the Cheltenham Croquet Club near our house. My nearest and dearest dressed in "English Lawn Party" attire and brought along homemade pies for the pie tasting competition. There were trophies! And rosettes! And of course there was croquet.

Here are some gorgeous photos from my friends Anni and Matthew from Milk & Honey Photography to share with you. First up, the four of us getting ready to blow out the candles. The kids think it's their job!

The scene was set with the old-world kitsch of the Cheltenham Croquet Club and bright blue Autumn skies. Oh, and a flamingo or two...

And then the pies started to arrive! There was a delicious blueberry pie with a beautiful criss cross lid...

And caramel-bottom skillet apple pie...

And pecan pie...

And beautifully-presented lemon meringue pie...

And some amazing savoury pies including chicken and leek, Mexican, and lamb pie among others...

We ate our fill of pie, being careful to take tasting notes for the competition, and imbibed on fresh lemonade and Pimm's cups.

Compliments were given to all with but first prize went to Ant's super-tasty Mexican pie, second place to Estelle's lemon meringue pie, and third prize by a slim margin to Laura's gorgeous blueberry pie.

 

And then it was time for a spot of croquet. Harris kept the kids busy with egg-and-spoon and sack races and some soccer drills. The adults teamed up into groups of four and played a leisurely game under the expert tutelage of the Cheltenham Croquet ladies.

My Dad gave me some beautiful Belgian Callebaut dark chocolate, so I made my own layered chocolate birthday cake with raspberries (that's normal, isn't it?) to add to our full tummies. (But not without a phone call to cake Queen Alison Lawson after my first pathetic-excuse-of-a-hockey-puck-cake went into the bin)...

Thank you so much Milk & Honey Photography for these beautiful momentos! I had so much fun chatting to all my buddies that I didn't document my party well (best excuse, I reckon), but here are a few more happy snaps that I took and a few from friends (click 'Read More' below)...

 

Thank you so much to all my friends who were able to come (and those who were there in spirit) and for bringing such amazing pies, lending drink dispensers (thanks Carmen!) and flamingos (thanks Renay!) and of course my friend Lisa who arrive early to help set up and who hand-wrote all the pie flags and chalk board and strung up garlands and bunting. And of course I can't forget my handsome husband Harris who wowed in his argyle vest and did a large amount of on-the-day organising, packing and unpacking. I also have to thank my friend Amanda for sharing with me the croquet and pie event that she went to in Arizona last year - I knew straight away I had to have my own. So much fun!