Baby Shower Weekend

This weekend was a baby shower weekend for both my husband and I.  While he helped throw a boy's baby shower featuring smoked meat, backyard games, beer, and baseball at Fenway, I helped co-host the girl's baby shower.  New babies are springing up everywhere with my husband's classmates, and this time, the guest of honor was the lovely Mailee! We're thrilled that she's expecting a little baby girl when June rolls around.  

I teamed up with three other talented ladies, Jessica, Robyn, and Renee, and we had the best time planning a fun, girly afternoon.  Jessica did a fabulous job with invitations, using a darling baby animal-themed design from tinyprints. She also decorated the party and arranged beautiful spring bouquets in pink, purple, yellow, and green. 

The menu was a coordinated effort between all of us, featuring dainty artichoke puff pastry tarts, bacon-wrapped potato bites with a spicy sour cream dip, baked brie in a puff pastry shell (topped with puff pastry baby elephants for an added touch of cuteness), fruit salad, tomato mozzarella stacks, baked chickpeas, buttery cheddar biscuits, chile-lime popcorn, and homemade pizza rolls. 

To satisfy everyone's sweet tooth, Robyn whipped up the best chocolate-dipped pretzels, frosted sugar cookie flowers, giraffes, onesies, and elephants, and purple-iced cupcakes. And Renee put together adorable little party favors, candy-filled baby owl boxes, to hand out following the shower.

We set up a serving tray to hold the plates, silver cutlery (perfect for semi-fancy girly affairs), and cocktail napkins in yellow, green, and pink.

For drinks, I made Citrus Cucumber Water (2 lemons, 2 limes, and 2 cucumbers, thinly sliced, added to a drink dispenser filled with ice water) and Sparkling Citrus Punch.  The punch, a mixture of freshly squeezed grapefruit, orange, and lemon juice, topped with ginger ale (in place of champagne), and garnished with sliced oranges, grapefruit, and strawberries, was deliciously crisp and bright.  I served drinks in ever-popular mason jars with citrus wedges and happy yellow-striped paper straws.

Folks began rolling in around 2:00, mixing and mingling over food and drinks while catching up on all the latest girl talk. The cutest lady at the party was little Miss Evie, just a few months old and turning all the grown-up ladies green with envy over her pink tutu skirt.

Mailee opened her presents, where the hit of the afternoon was a teeny tiny pair of silver shoes. This will be one stylish little baby!

Spring has finally arrived in Boston, so trees and bushes were all abloom when we posed for a group shot outside. It was a beautiful backdrop for a beautiful group of ladies. It's sad to think that in just a few weeks everyone will be scattering across the country following graduation. What a pleasure it has been getting to know all of these girls!

After a fun afternoon, we packed up the decorations, helped Mailee get her loot up to her apartment  divvied up leftover food (the biggest perk of hosting a baby shower), posed for a hostesses and guest of honor picture, and headed home. It won't be long until Mailee's little baby girl arrives, and I can't wait to meet her!