Baby Shower :: Cover Girl Theme

Calling all cover girls! My beautiful and chic friend Susannah is expecting a daughter soon and I was so excited to a part of the planning! Since she lives in Arizona, we took the party on the road and had help from many people who already love this little baby so much!Sus had chosen some really fun Barbie prints for the nursery so we riffed off those and tied in a “cover girl” theme. The nursery is going to be grey and lavender so the colors were a no-brainer… just added a splash of cream.We used tissue fans and made garland out of doilies to kind of keep it on the shabby chic side of the spectrum.Susannah’s amazingly talented sister-in-law Alicia was a godsend when it came to planning since she also lives in Arizona and is a craft goddess. She refinished an old wooden highchair and table to make into the dessert bar. Totally unreal right? Oh and that wreath? Yeah. She made that too! So so cute! When she starts a party planning biz, I will be the first to give her a shout out! She was a dream to work with!I really wanted to put the tissue fans all over the wood but in a test, we noticed that the glue dots were probably going to ruin the cabinets. Had I been there a day earlier, I probably would have figured out a way to do it but I think it still looked cute. One of the things that came “on the road” with me was my grandma’s vintage Dior suitcase. I thought it would be a perfect prop for the shower. We used it as a water bottle holder and it did the trick!Dried lavender, a vanity mirror and pearls dressed up the mimosa bar as well.Outside we set up simple table with Serena & Lily fabric I found for $8 a yard instead of $50! Deal! We put white roses into lacey Ikea vases and called it a day. We were going to add makeup and pearls but took it all away. Sometimes simplicity is key. (Did I just say that?! Ha!) Less was definitely more in this instance.We also used her nursery art to dress up the outdoor fireplace.Back inside we did two activites.   One was the “Wishes for Baby” and the other was where we asked Sus’ husband Brent questions and Sus had to guess what he may have answered. It was such a hit because Brent is such a funny and heartfelt guy. The answers were hilarious!Alicia was the go-to-girl for all the dessert items and she knocked it out of the park! From the cake stands to the mannequin bust, the entire (refinished!!!) table looked adorable. The showstopper? That cake!If you’re in the Phoenix area, Amanda from The Cake Baketress will blow your everloving mind! Alicia showed her the invite and talked a little about what we envisioned and poof! What we got was perfection! Simply adorable and I felt so bad to it sliced up.Oh yeah… I forgot! We actually ate too! One of Sus’ favorite places is Postino Wine Cafe so she got them to cater with a Bruchetta Bar. Perfect and amazing food.It was such a wonderful day for an even more wonderful person. We couldn’t get enough of her teeny tiny bump!Sus provided the favors for everyone which were Essie nail polishes. Very Cover Girl, don’t you think?Such a fun first party to throw “on the road!” And so thankful for all the in-state help! We love this little baby cover girl so much already!

Baby Shower :: Russian Nesting Doll Theme

Today I am sharing a really special baby shower with you! I think it might be the most darling thing you’ll ever lay eyes on… but I may be a bit biased. This is the “sprinkle” my mom, sister, and sis-in-law threw for ME! I was in shock and overwhelmed from the minute I opened up the invitation my mom made. (Ugh! Forgot to take pics of that but will get to it one day!) Also note that THIS WAS ALL THEM! Again, I had nothing to do with throwing this party… which was especially cool because I just got to show up, get spoiled, and have the best time ever with all of my local girlfriends. If you follow along, you’ll know that I have two young boys already, so to be surrounded by so much pink is a total thrill for me! When I walked up to the house, I knew I was in for a beautiful evening.Probably my favorite thing they did was create beautiful paper chains with a kick! How much do you love the detail on the pink paper? They turned the booth area into a little lounge and it just looked beyond darling. My mom covered the cushions and curtains with the same fabric I am using in my little lady’s nursery. They also kept with the navy blue & pink color scheme throughout.Steal this idea! It’s so dang cute! She has a craft punch that made that design in the pink paper. Talk about time consuming! Using all the blue & white ceramic pieces my mom has collected, they went heavy on pink hydrangeas and really went with a lush, layered, über-textured look throughout. I positively LOVED it!Everything was beyond adorable!Nesting dolls (or Matryoshka dolls) were placed throughout the house which now are living among the flamingos in my daughter-t0-be’s nursery. As you know by now, many of my close friends and family call me “Cakes” so they made the party for “Baby Cakes.” So so fun! My mom made that beautiful quilt and both darling pillows above for her newest granddaughter. I am obsessed.And here are the other lovely hostesses! Love these ladies!The mantle was filled with pretty presents for the little miss to wear. I cannot get over the adorableness of girly stuff!For favors, my mom made each guest a ‘babushka’ scarf thing for their hair. It was so cute to see everyone wearing them! And look how they displayed them… I thought they were pennant banners at first. Such a unique idea for a favor. Loved it!Everything foodwise was super cute!They even had a cotton candy machine – but of course we never took photos of the actual cotton candy! Oh well! It was darling… and I guess people gobbled it up before we could snap photos.My mom even tracked down my silver baby cup so she got to come to the party as well!Remember when I threw this party in that enormous power outage last year? Well, guess what? I must have that electric touch because an hour after the party began, the power went out for the rest of the night! Never fear! My mom has enough candles to light the entire state of California so the party continued through the dark! Totally hilarious! It was probably the only day in July that it’s rained in many, many years. That being said, it was still super hot and muggy. Super weird weather! But everyone kept saying how fitting it was that it “Sprinkled on my sprinkle!” True that!I cannot believe how lucky I am to have a shower like this thrown in my honor. I was truly overwhelmed by all the love surrounding my baby girl that night… so much so that I couldn’t sleep because I was so grateful. It makes me glad to know that this little lady will have so many wonderful women in her life to guide her and love her. What a stunning, fun, and wonderful night. I’m still welling up just thinking about it.

Baby Shower/Sprinkle :: Orange, Pink, & White Squirrels!

For reasons I won’t go into, we’ve always called my brother “The Squirrel.” My sister-in-law Kelly has embraced this odd fact and without her knowing about it, my mom, sister, and I planned a Squirrely Sprinkle for her second baby! This time she gets a girl! Because this is her second pregnancy, we wanted to keep the sprinkle very small and very mellow. Therefore, we went with a ‘cozy breakfast!’ And it was just that! Super cute and cozy!Keeping things bright with an orange, fuchsia, and pink color scheme. The fabric on the tablecloth and the fur used for place mats was ordered from fabric.com. The curtains were actually taken down from the nursery in my house since we’re changing it to pink but they worked perfect so we just put them up.We bought about 5 funky squirrels from eBay and HomeGoods and spray painted them white to keep things fresh. We wanted it squirrel-modern (ha! Did I just write that?) but not woodland. For a quick pop of color we chose bright orange gerber daisies and placed them into spray-painted votive candle glasses, then put moss on top.Cutting that fur into place mats was SUPER messy but it was a funky touch to the table so worth the fuzz all over the floor. I found paper napkins as well as the lanterns at Target and it was like they knew we were throwing this party! Perfect colors! As party favors, Crafty Jan whipped up ribbon-wrapped wooden bracelets which we used as napkin rings – then sent home on the arm of each guest. I love when party props work double duty.Water bottles were at each place setting and the squirrels served up pastries.Since we had such an early start time (and since Kelly is usually the go-to-girl for the food portion of these parties) we kept things simple by ordering out what we could. My sister dialed up Panera and they delivered us the perfect breakfast… ….various pastries and amazing personal quiches……added to melon balls scooped into french fry bags that my mom made using her cricut machine.Throw in some mimosas and we’re all set!Simple! Especially for a 9:30am party.The mantle mimicked the table. Yay for Kelly!It was such a great morning! And don’t parties look so much better with people at them? I think so!Yay for the newest squirrel on the block! And in case you’re wondering, YES – my sister, sister-in-law, and I are all having babies this summer. No, we did not plan it. Yes, it’s a little creepy now, but will be super fun when these wee ones are on the flip side! And YES, my sister Ellie’s sprinkle is this week so there are more parties coming! Stay tuned!

Baby Shower :: Ugly Dolls & Zolos Baby Boy Shower

Well, well, well. Today I am going to share my baby shower with you that took place about 3 years ago! Now, please forgive the photo quality in these. I did not yet know I would ever start a party blog where photos (or I!) needed to look decent, and I certainly didn’t have the “baby camera” yet. (You know? You have a baby, then a big fat DSLR comes out right after? It always happens that way!) Anyway, if you can look beyond the quality, you might just take a few brilliant ideas away. So let’s go back in time, shall we?My mom and my sister put together a shower that was beyond perfect for me. I have to admit I was in a bit of a state of shock for the entire 9 months I was pregnant with my first son. I was so excited about the baby… I just didn’t really understand all the gear that came with one. I had a mini-breakdown while registering, so all I registered for were Ugly Dolls. True story. I did NOT want a shower or presents at all, but my wise mom & sis decided otherwise on my behalf. Lucky for me, because this shower was so un-baby-ish and totally cool and super fun. It felt like a… well… a party! And a party I wanted to be at. It was perfect!As a young girl, I absolutely LOVED Zolos. Did anyone else have this incredible toy? They make plastic ones now but I had (and still have!) the original wood set. I was totally thrilled to walk in and be surprised by Zolos and Ugly Dolls all over the tables. They are so colorful yet funky so they made the most fun centerpieces. Using wheat grass, gerber daisies, and making flower balls out of floral oasis’, the created the most hip tables. The only bummer was that it ended up being a 90 degree day – which never happens by the beach – so all the grass and flowers were pretty wilted by the time the guests arrived and these photos were snapped. You can still get the idea though. Just pretend the wheat grass is standing up! It really was darling.How fun are those daisy balls? (Did I really just write that sentence?)This was the place setting. Too dang cute right? That’s a real diaper cloth and pin used for the napkin and a cookie favor tucked inside to take home. I love these funky cafeteria trays too. They just added to the fun vibe.Speaking of cookies, I could NOT get over the ones my mom made for this shower. She made some look like Zolos with sticks coming out of them, some bottles, some baby carriages……but look at that baby head! Love it!They also had a candy counter filled with orange, green, black, blue, and white candies.Cute, cute, cute.The drink station was equally fun. I love that fabric they used. I think it was from Ikea. (Don’t they have the best fabrics?)That black little Ugly Doll up there had a sign around him that said “Get your drink on.” I love funny details like that.They hung a clothesline outside with baby boy clothes. I ended up snapping a photo of my son on that blanket every single week for the first year of his life. I didn’t know then how special it would be to me now.They hung lanterns from the kitchen and one of my favorite things was that my sister came up with “10 reasons Meatball will be oh so lucky!” and framed it on the wall. (PS: We nicknamed him Meatball while he was in my tummy. I assure you we came up with a better name for him than that.) What a really sweet detail.The guests had a great time, I was in Heaven and it was really such a cute and funky day. And I love how the hostesses dressed in the colors of the shower. I always think that’s so fun!I think the biggest take-away from this shower is to go with what you know the guest-of-honor will love… no matter how bizarre. The strangest ideas can be the best ones! Thanks for time-traveling with me! Have a great Wednesday!

Baby Shower :: Orange, Blue & White Baby Boy Shower

Happy Monday and get ready for some serious cute hitting your eyeballs! Today I am featuring a baby shower for my friend Stephanie that I was lucky enough to attend (but had absolutely no role in) and let me tell you, it was a true feast for the eyes!I could comb over this shower’s darling details for days, but let’s hit some highlights! First I looooooove how they put some of the pom poms on the ground! What a way to move the eye around and highlight the fun vintage cases. It really made the whole display super cohesive.One of Steph’s best friends was one of the hostesses and is also, very conveniently, a very talented floral designer. Aly of The Vine’s Leaf was responsible for all of the floral beauty. One of the cutest touches was the each vase was a mason jar because guess what Stephanie named her son? Yep, Mason! How cute is that!? Her mother-in-law even tracked down beautiful vintage mason jars for his nursery (which is just as darling!)Favors were mini mason jars filled with blue jelly beans. Just perfect! I really love how they used burlap to make the whole shower a little more rustic chic. It was such a beautiful balance of manly yet sweet for a baby boy. I didn’t stray far from the desert table. Not only was everything delicious but also so pretty to look at. It almost felt criminal to eat those cute giraffes!A bakery out of Long Beach called Sweet And Saucy Shop made all the beautiful desserts. I might just go broke in gas bills driving to the LBC for these delicious and gorgeous treats.And those sticks in those oranges? Such a great idea!They rented all the vintage furniture and props at a place called Found Vintage Rentals and it really made such an impact! The problem with this though, is that you have to give all this incredible furniture back! That would break my heart!Look at that awesome cart where all the presents ended up living! So truly fabulous! Don’t you just want to put your feet up and sip on some lemonade?Oh and let’s not forget the incredible lunch they served! They used Anything But Ordinary Catering and not only was everything to-die-for-delish, it was also so beautifully arranged. Again, too pretty to eat! It was one of the most stunning showers I have ever been too. Every detail was thought of, everyone had a smile on their face, and the mom-to-be was just as gorgeous as the shower itself! Speaking of Steph, she is talented photographer behind all of this pictures. One day soon we are going to force her to just admit to being a professional photographer and start up a business! She’s fantastic!

Baby Shower :: Birds & Bees Tea

Last March I got to meet my adorable niece but before her big debut, we got to celebrate her mom-to-be. My sister has the family nickname of “Bee” so a “Birds & Bees Tea” was a given when it came to choosing a theme.Us hosts (my mom, my sister-in-law Kelly, and I) knew we wanted to decorate with tons of birds, bees, and pennant flags so I incorporated all of those elements into the design of the invite.We wanted it to feel like you walked into Gramercy Tavern in New York (they always have the most amazing flowers) from the moment you walked through the door. The whole walkway (not pictured) up to the door was littered with potted tulips, azaleas, ranunculus, and other spring flowers. This was one of the biggest costs of the party but the great thing about buying potted plants as opposed to cut flowers is that you can plant them in your garden as soon as the party is over. Win win!We sewed birds & bees out of felt, whip-stitched them, put wire in their wings and hung them from fishing line both outside and throughout the house. The wreath was on sale after Easter years ago but it suited the theme perfect with those blue robin’s eggs. We set up the bar in the entry way and served blueberry, orange, and pomegranate mimosas, wine, lemonade, iced tea, and sparkling water. You can’t really tell but we put sheet moss all over the table so it looked like you were picking your drinks up from a grassy field. We hung more birds, bees, and pennant flags that my mom made with scraps of fabric throughout the house.The Bee (my sister Ellie) walked through the door and my mom threw a nest on her head. She owned it! Could she look any cuter? I do not think so!We hung more pennant flags throughout the house……and decorated every nook of the house with eggs, beehives, nests, birdhouses, and more flowers and moss.You may be thinking, “where the heck did they find all these things?” Well… first of all, whenever you can, repurpose things you already have. My mom had a ton of these decorations from her Easter displays over the years. She found the bee skeps at Tuesday Morning randomly but she had collected the birdhouses and Easter egg things over the years. Pretty much everything you’ll see on this blog is either from Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, or Marshalls and sometimes Cost Plus, Michael’s and JoAnn’s (but only if we have a coupon.) Also, borrow, borrow, borrow! Everyone likes to help a friend out so if you know someone who loves birdhouses, ask if you can borrow a few.The swirly branches on the mantle is just an unwound wreath from Michael’s. (This is also a great trick for a wine-tasting party. Just add fake grapes and you have a grape-vine.) The font used on the banner was purchased for $2.99 from TwoPeasInABucket. They have lots of cutesy fonts… pretty perfect when it comes to girly showers.My grandma was cleaning out her house and had two really old beat up brown bird cages that she didn’t want. We’ll take them! We spray-painted one green and one pink and put flowers inside. Easy.More from the shower…We played two ‘games’ that weren’t really games. (You’ll see recreations of these two games at just about every baby shower we throw.) The first one was an idea from the girls at lilSugar. I used to work for Sugar Inc. and the lil girls had me design PDFs for baby showers. I loved this idea of theirs so much that I keep recreating it. It’s a “Wishes for Baby” sheet and gives you prompts like “I hope you love ________.” and “I hope you learn__________.” Everyone fills one out for the baby-to-be and afterwards we bind it into a book for the mom to keep. It’s so sweet to see what the guests come up with and becomes a keepsake long after the shower is over.We also “diaper doodled” where you write messages on newborn diapers so that the mom will have something to laugh at at 2am when she’s changing diapers. I’ll post an example of this at a later date.
As far as food went, well this time we totally lucked out because my sister-in-law is pretty much a gourmet chef! She handled all of it and not only was everything delish, it was also so cute!It was an afternoon shower so the fare was light but totally yummy! Grape & goat cheese crostinis, deviled eggs, endive, blue cheese and walnut appetizers… plus loads of sweet things as well.I loved these bird nest cupcakes with jelly bean eggs and gum ball bird heads. I can take NO credit for anything on this table. It was adorable.And my mom, the cookie queen strikes again…She’s insane.A look out to the patio, clothesline strung & bird cage in place!Vintage tea cups that my mom has collected over the years were our vessels of choice. You can recreate this by borrowing mismatched tea cups from friends or scouring thrift shops. (I’ll say though, that the mimosa bar got a little more play than these pretty cups did!) As favors, we made white chocolate covered pretzels with colorful sprinkles and put them into cellophane bags.We capped the bags with the names of the guest. Underneath their name, we wrote what their name meant. I never knew my name meant “Frickin’ Awesome” so that was a nice surprise for me. (I kid. I kid.)More details…It was a beautiful shower for a beautiful girl. And as a quick aside, THANK YOU to all of you lovely, lovely people who are already following this blog. I am so excited about it and I am even more excited to have such insane support and love right out of the gates. This is going to be a fun ride and that’s thanks to you! More tomorrow!