Celebrations :: Baby Shower 1 of 2

Last weekend, I was booked to the brim. I had a friend’s birthday party, preparation for the baby shower, the baby shower(!), backyard bash and a casual dinner party.  You can say I was pretty busy. But I was absolutely in love with every moment. Hosting parties and making sure my friends and family are comfortable and filling their drinks to the brim makes me dizzy with happiness.

If you don’t remember the original post, be sure to click here for my party inspiration and mood board. This post kept me on track with my ideas and guided me through the process. If you want a free mood board or detailed mood board: Head here! The next few posts will reflect on the party and go through the details as I originally planned.

The party was held outside in the backyard. The weather in Portland (a few days earlier) almost beat our record (of 107 degrees). It was 106 degrees. It was unbelievably hot. All I could do is pray and do a cool weather dance in hopes the weather would cool down, so our guests wouldn’t cook in the sun. I made sure the drink station was continuously stocked with ice cold beverages and ice.

Paper lanterns are from Luna Bazaar and the mini pom pom garland is from my Etsy shop.

Watermelon Cooler (1 whole seedless watermelon, 1/2 cup of water, juice of 2 limes, blend until frothy), stir before serving.

The Beverage Dispenser (Amazon) housed the ice water with sliced limes, ready to quench the guests thirst.

Stemless wine glasses were from World Market and the beverage tubs were from Target. The two tubs held color coordinated drinks (Pink drinks: Juice Squeeze and Fuzes; Green Drinks: green tea, Jamaican ginger beer and Peregrino).

Chocolate kisses and hugs were placed in mini favor boxes with shredded lime paper and wrapped with zebra wrapping paper and finished with monogram tags. Thanks for my Cricut for the letters and circles.

Freshly dyed DIY cloth napkins in Fuchsia #12 worked well with the lime green napkins from Jessica’s Wedding were perfect on the table.

A few months a go, my husband and I bought 25 plates from Ikea, so we can avoid buy paper and throw away products for our parties. We entertain so often, it was worth the cost. Plus, at .79 cents a plate AND being green, who can beat that?

Diana, the mother-in-law, wanted to contribute by donating 18 boxes of Double Chocolate Espresso and Chewy Nut Chocolate chip favor boxes. I couldn’t say no! Each box had 4 cookies! Oh my. Send A Cookie Card is her business and she bakes these scrumptious cookies and sends them in the mail. I rather get this in the mail than a Thank you. What a sweeter way to say thank you? Needless to say, I inhaled two cookies as soon as the last guest left.

Trader Joe’s Pink Lemonade served as prizes and sat on the gift table. If you plan on doing prizes for games. I suggest getting edible gifts. Unlike personalized items (shot glasses), strong candles or bath products, edible gifts are affordable and can be enjoyed by most people. Tied with ribbon and zebra print curling ribbon tie the gifts with the theme.

Fresh cut locals dahlias from Swan Island (Gitt’s Attention, White Lightning, Tiny Treasures, Sugar Lips and Herbert Smith) created pops of pink in the wire hurricanes.

Zebra print fabric were cut into customized table runners. They were a snap to make and no sewing was needed! A little bit of pressing from a hot iron and an even fold made this table runner simple and snazzy.

Come back soon! More details to come!

(Updated – See the 2nd posting for more details)

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