A Shower For Baby Boy!

A couple weeks ago, I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for my best friend, Nicole and her, yet to be born baby boy, Jackson.  I had never thrown a baby shower before, and actually have only been to a very small handful of them, so I was going into it a little bit blind.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!   Well, sort of... I feel like Pinterest can also make one feel very inadequate.  I had to realize that I didn't have a group of 10 people helping me and an unlimited budget.  I actually had a really good time planning and shopping, I forgot how much I love throwing parties!  Except of course for the fact that it seems no one can RSVP anymore.  Really people, it isn't hard, and it makes everyone's lives easier.  Anyway, Jackson has since arrived in the world, and I hope the shower was a chance for mama to enjoy some time with her friends and get some awesome gifts and food.

The invites, from Vistaprint.com

We did a Baby's Birth Day Pool and the Clothespin game.  Grandma Wendy won the Birth Day Pool!

For the main "game" I channeled one of Nicole's favorite shows, Gilmore Girls.  I have never watched the show, but thankfully our mutual friend Lindsey does and told me about it.  It was a Onesie decorating contest.  I also included bibs in the game and ordered some cute woodland creature iron-ons from Etsy, got some fabric paint, fabric markers, and blank iron-on paper from Michaels.

We had a lot of fun decorating these, and Megan and myself ended up winning!

I dug up some baby pictures of Jason and Nicole to decorate with, since almost nobody at the shower would have ver seen these before.

I had a hard time with the decorations.  Early on, I was informed that I had to have a theme, so I went with the Woodland Creature theme, but the decorations for the most part were just blue streamers, fans, balls, table coverings, ribbon, balloons,  etc.  It all actually came together quite nicely.

The food was the fun part.  I wanted a few things that I knew Nicole was really loving while she was pregnant, and also some that everyone would like.  I made Easter Crack, changed to Baby Boy Crack (terrible name I know), blue chocolate covered pretzels, chips and homemade dill pickle dip, strawberries and pineapple and blue Rice Krispie squares.  I had Nicole's mom bring two of our favorite Canadian treats, Ketchup chips and Butter Tarts. Thanks to Imelda who brought some cheese and cracker trays.  I also ordered some cute woodland creature cupcakes from a local girl with a home based business here in Waldorf called Fancy Hat Cupcakes.  They were delicious and adorable, not to mention very reasonably priced.  I also made some Baby Boy Punch, made with a Bottle of blue Hawaiian Punch, A bottle of 7UP and a big can of Pineapple juice.  Vodka was of course optional.  Thanks to Blanca for bringing the fix in's for Mimosas.

Nicole had lots of gifts to open, so as she was doing that, I snapped some pictures.

After a few hours of visiting, opening gifts, eating and decorating onesies and bibs, everyone started to trickle out.  And of course they couldn't forget their party favors!

Thanks to everyone for coming, I hope everyone had a good time, especially Nicole! And a big thanks to Pinterest and the internet for all the help!

Fab Friday Faves 5.12.17

Happy Friday everyone, and a very happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mom's out there, especially mine, my mother in laws, grandmas and mother figures in my life!  And, long time no see.  I have not blogged since April 21st apparently, and all I can say is that I have been really busy.  Two weeks ago we were moving apartments (don't get me started on how terrible The Apartments of St. Charles are, their customer service and their give-a-damn about the people the pay them thousands of dollars every year is absolutely non existent).  Our apartment is fine though, basically the same as our last one, just on the first floor, hard wood floors throughout and the kitchen is slightly different.  Last Friday I was decorating and prepping for Nicole's baby shower, which by the way, turned out awesome. This week, I've been just hanging out, which feels strange after being stressed and super busy for the last month.  We have been to a couple Blue Crabs Baseball games, and I've been spending lots of time with my very pregnant bestie, before that time comes!  Alright, everyone have a  great weekend, and again, Happy Mom's Day!

1. Last Sunday, Josh and I went out to Smallwood State Park for a little hike.  This is another super close park that we somehow hadn't been to before and it is so lush and green and beautiful.  It is also where General Smallwood, who was also the Governor of Maryland in 1785, lived and is buried.  

2. I can't omit Nicole's shower from the list, even though I plan on doing a whole blog about it next week.  I think it was a pretty good time and it was great to get together with some lovely ladies and celebrate the upcoming baby boy.

 3.  I have obtained some cute new jewelry since I blogged last.  I bought myself the cute pineapple choker at the Pierce Street Market in Clearwater,  Josh got me the adorable black and blue diamond owl necklace, Nicole and Jason got me the rose gold LC earrings, and Imelda got me the Kendra Scott earrings for a belated birthday present.  How spoiled am I?

3. How amazing is my new custom made Noelle and Lola bag?  I am obsessed with lemons this season and this fabric is hand painted by an artist in North Carolina with brown leather.  Check out her Instagram page too and if you are in the Tampa/St. Pete area, watch for her at local artisan markets. 

5. I got this Aloha Colada Whip from the Pineapple Shack when they were down at the Pierce Street Market and it was DELICIOUS!  Dole Whip (one of my obsessions), pineapple juice, whipped cream and toasted coconut.  What could possible be more yummy than that?


Today I'm linking up with:

 

 

 

/ Sincerely, Paula / Simply Sweet Home / Carolina Charm / Bright On A Budget / Style Elixir / Momfessionals / The Farmer's Wife /

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