planning a baby shower and need ideas?

Are you hosting a baby shower anytime soon? Are you looking for a theme, location, or invitation ideas? I love love love a good party and I thought I would share my beautiful baby shower with all of you. I can't tell you how grateful I am for the friends and family I have. My mother and mother-in-law hosted a wonderful shower when I was expecting Little Miss L. Every detail was perfect and they knew exactly what I would love.

First they decided on a location. I love when I am able to mingle with all of my guests and can see everyone in one room, so my mother-in-law so kindly held it at her place which has a perfect open area. Hosting a shower at home can help you save a considerable amount of your budget. Just remember if you decide to take this route, you will have to provide plates, cups, napkins, utensils, and may even have to rent tables, chairs, and linens. It is a lot of hard work, but it is totally worth it in the end.

Second job to tackle was the theme of the shower. I love love love summer, and what better way to celebrate my favourite season than to bring the outside in. They went with vibrant colours such as orange, pink, green and also added touches of brown for an earth tone. The decorations had an organic feel as they used fresh flowers that were in season and fruits such as green apples and limes.

Beautiful centerpieces with peonies flowers and green apples.

Vases filled with limes and hydrangeas were placed on tables with candles throughout the home. 

The room looked amazing - I loved the hanging lanterns in the bright orange and pink. It added great texture to the room.

The tables were set beautifully with white lienens, brown overlay, and then a pink runner to finish it off.

Then it was onto the invitations. I loved my invites, they were pink and brown to stick with theme and reminded me of a stamp. They were elegant and simple - just the way I like it.

They placed my invitation in a picture frame to display on the sign-in table providing such a special touch and a keepsake I will cherish forever.

Sign-in table decorated with orange candles, fresh flowers, and limes.

I must say I had the cutest party favors a girl could ask for. A friend of mine who is an excellent baker made individual cookies - they consisted of a baby bottle and a onesie. They were tied with pink curling ribbon and attached was a small thank you note that replicated the baby shower invite.

Cute onesie.

Baby bottle.

Each detail was thought out and I love love love when everything is so organized. It was the perfect way to celebrate my pregnancy and to welcome my little girl into this world.

Baby shower cake- it was delicious.

Every detail was thought out- even down to the vibrant pink punch!

I hope I was able to provide you with some baby shower ideas. Just remember to stick to your budget, plan ahead and have a good time!

pitter patter

I am so excited because in a few months, my good friend will be welcoming her very first child. I love being at this stage in my life where I am able to see my good friends start their careers, marry their best friends, and start their own families. There is nothing better than hearing your child's first cry and I can't wait for my girlfriends to experience that moment for themselves.
There are many things in life I love, but I am sucker for a good party. I thought I would share my girlfriend's recent baby shower; it was full of laughter, great food, and awesome baby goodies!

This is the beautiful momma-to-be, she is expecting a daughter in early February.

 

This is the amazing food we dined on; I believe I had three platefulls of my favourite fattoush salad.

 

You have to love playing all those baby shower games! The dirty diapers were quite interesting! Everyone had to guess what kind of chocolate bar was inside.

 

This is the momma-to-be checking out all the goodies for the new addition. Tip: if you are looking for a baby shower gift, you can't go wrong with onesies.

No party would be complete without an awesome cake and some yummy favours. It was a beautiful party, and momma-to-be was glowing the whole time!

great party favour idea

This past weekend, I had the honour of making the favours for my girlfriend's baby shower. I have an incredible sweet tooth and love, love, love to eat baked goods. I thought cookies would be the perfect gift of appreciation for coming to the party, and really, who doesn't want to leave with a tasty treat in their hand? Cookies are great to use as a party favour because you can custom make them to fit the theme of any party. So, if you are looking for a unique party favour for any occasion, look no further...get your cookie cutters out!

Here's how it all went down in my kitchen.

 

First I prepared my sugar cookie dough. I let the dough sit overnight and then rolled it out the next day. I decided, seeing as how it was a baby shower, that cute little feet would be appropriate.

 

After cutting out 40 little feet, they were off to the oven. Nine minutes later, I was in heaven as I opened the oven to the sweet smell of sugar cookies. Once the cookies were baked, they made their way to the fridge to cool down before I could start the decorating process.

After the cookies had cooled, I prepared the royal icing. Remember when using royal icing, to cover your containers with a damp paper towel to ensure the icing does not dry out. I then outlined the cookies. Once all cookies were outlined, I let them sit for about 30 minutes before moving onto the next step of flooding the cookies.

 

Once all cookies were flooded, I had to let them sit for another 2 hours to make sure they were completely dry before moving onto the piped design I wanted to create.

 

I thought it would be cute if I added a little white flower to each cookie (as you can see I am not great at the little designs but I am working on it).

 

And there you have it, the finished product. By no means am I a professional, this was actually the first time I attempted to make cookies using royal icing. With a little practice, I think this might just become a new obsession of mine. After the cookies were completed, I packed them in a clear bag which I tied shut with cute ribbon. Let me know if the guests at your next party appreciated the unique, edible favour.