Kelly's Baby Shower

Four days before Seth arrived, I helped to throw a baby shower for my sweet friend, Kelly.  She and her husband, JP, are expecting their first child in the middle of May, and since Kelly is not a big nursery theme person and does love girly things, we decided to go with a girly-girl, pretty-in-pink shower.  

I found a beautiful invitation online, and my friend Kylie used it as a guide for creating the perfect tone-setting invitation for friends and family.

We did everything in pink and brown, mostly because baby Reagan's bedding will be pink and brown (and maybe partly because I craved Neopolitan ice cream during my pregnancy??).  ;-)

I ordered different sized paper lanterns online for a really great price, and we hung them over the counter to add texture and visual interest.

Kylie and a few other friends made some delicious food, and I made food tents and little flags to tie in our colors.

My friend Emily was charged with making the cake, and it was divine to look at AND eat!!  I found a pastel layer cake on Martha Stewart that I thought would be perfect in shades of pink, and Emily absolutely outdid herself.  I think hers is one of the prettiest and yummiest "white" cakes I have ever eaten.

Emily used the leftover cake batter to make a belly cake just for Kelly.  It was almost too cute to eat (look at the tiny footprint on the belly!!), so Kelly decided to freeze it and eat it on Reagan's birth day.  Perfect.

We made "Princess Punch" to go with the cake, and it was really good.  It looks so foamy in the picture compared to the recipe online, but it tasted wonderful.

In lieu of a shower game, we had guests each make a hair bow for baby Reagan.  Emily and I covered alligator clips with grosgrain ribbon and left bows, rhinestones, buttons, hot glue, and simple instructions for guests.

My favorite part of the decor was a giant tutu table skirt.  It took tons of tulle and several hours to make, but I think it was worth it.  It looked almost ethereal with the sunlight streaming through it.

 

Plus, it made a lovely skirt for a glowing mom-to-be.  :-)

For favors we gave everyone a chocolate chip cookie mix.  We used baggies to save money (two dozen mason jars were too much for the budget), and I tied simple instructions on with a pink ribbon.  Hopefully everyone appreciated a useful and delicious favor!

This shower was a great way to stay busy right up until Seth's arrival.  Now it's time for Seth to meet his little playmate!  :-)