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My Grandmother’s 80th Birthday Party

02/16/16 | family

On Friday night I had the pleasure of celebrating my grandmother’s 80th birthday with dinner and a lovely family gathering afterwards.  Her husband and all three daughters were there to celebrate the milestone along with four of her five grand children. It was an absolutely wonderful night and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful Memé, our affectionate name for my maternal grandmother. 

Kelly and Meme?Meme? Birthday Cousin PictureMeme? Birthday Family PhotoMeme? Birthday - Katie Kelly AliMeme? Birthday Family Photo 01

After half an hour of cocktails the 30 guests took seats at four large tables and enjoyed a delicious three course meal.  We were able to choose our dishes ahead of time and I ordered the apple pecan salad, the prime rib of beef with horseradish, and the home sweet apple pie with vanilla ice cream. All three courses were divine. 

Meme? Birthday Apple Pecan SaladMeme? Birthday Prime RibMeme? Birthday Apple Pie

My favorite part of the evening was when each of my family members stood up and spoke about one of their favorite memories of my grandmother. One aunt spoke about candle making as a child, another about my grandmother’s favorite sayings, my cousin about learning how to pickle and my grandfather about hitchhiking across three state lines to see her for a weekend while they were dating.  All the stories had one thing in common – my grandmother is very loved!

Meme? Birthday KissingMeme? Birthday Young Photos

When it was my turn I shared story about how my Memé reads Sparkles and Shoes.  I have shared on social media before some of her very witty responses to my posts but for background, she subscribes to the blog every day by email and then emails me back with what she thought about the post. Most of the time she does not agree with the latest fashion trend I am writing about or has some humorous insight on the topic of the day but two weeks ago she had a response that topped them all, “Giant Hugs and Have a Great Day and don’t let the Bastards get you down!!” This is a classic Meme comment and one I love.  And that is all you really need to know about my grandmother – she is the best! 

Happy Birthday Memé!

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Comments

  1. Michèle says

    February 17, 2016 at 5:36 am

    aww. looks like you all had fun. :))
    http://www.thefashionfraction.com

  2. Trang Do says

    February 17, 2016 at 1:26 am

    Hey you both looks same!! Belated happy birthday to your grand mother!!
    Xoxo,
    Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

  3. Mary Kate says

    February 16, 2016 at 11:36 pm

    Wow, what an accomplishment! It looks like such a fun party!

    Mary Kate
    http://www.mynewchicagolife.com

  4. Sarah says

    February 16, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    Your grandma looks amazing! She’s as beautiful now as she was at 22! Thanks for sharing this post!

    XO, Sarah http://www.thebellainsider.com

  5. Darlene says

    February 16, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    aawww this is so nice! your grandma looks so young to be 80!

    http://www.thenewgirl.me

  6. Krisztina Williams says

    February 16, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    What a sweet post and fun party 🙂 and oh my that food looks amazing!!

  7. Adele Miner says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    Such a cute post, great pictures! I really like your blog, let me know if you would like to follow each other!

    adelelydia.blogspot.com

  8. Ela says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    Happy belated birthday to your grandmother 🙂 She is looking gorgeous! Your grandfather must really love her a lot to hitchhike across three states to see her, what a beautiful story.

    http://www.elabellaworld.com

  9. Jalisa says

    February 16, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    This is such a lovely post, Kelly! I wish your grandmother a very happy and healthy birthday, may she have many, many more filed with lots of joy and health! I think it’s so cute and funny that she doesn’t like the current trends in fashion. They really are so funny at this stage in life and have MANY opinions, haha! I have a friend who’s 77 years old and she always gives me such great advice, but she tells me to say things to people that only someone who’s older could get away with saying, haha! Anyway, thanks so much for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful day, beautiful!

    XO,

    Jalisa
    http://www.thestylecontour.com

  10. kerona says

    February 16, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    Lovely post its so nice that you could celebrate that milestone with her and beautiful photos and family

  11. Tesla says

    February 16, 2016 at 10:18 am

    So fun! I love grandmother’s, they are so special!
    Love your blog!

    xo
    dots & details
    http://www.dotsandetails.com
    Tesla

  12. Aubrey says

    February 16, 2016 at 9:57 am

    That pie looks so good :)!

    xx. The Coastal Confidence
    http://the-coastalconfidence.com/

  13. Courtney says

    February 16, 2016 at 9:37 am

    This sounds like such a fun party! Happy birthday to your grandmother!

    http://thecourtneydiaries.com

  14. ellesees.net says

    February 16, 2016 at 8:39 am

    how precious! she sounds like a hoot! happy birthday to her.

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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