Once Upon A Time: Sip & See

A few weekends ago, Gretchen, Adalyn, and I headed off to Arkansas to host a sip & see for my niece and her precious new baby, Allison. 

Allison was born in January in Hawaii, and just recently made it back home to Arkansas and we couldn't be more thrilled to celebrate her and Shelby (her momma!) Shelby loves books, so we wanted to throw a super girly book theme sip & see!

These girls were huge helpers and made the best road trip buddies. 

Megan stayed behind with DJ so she wouldn't miss gymnastics, but we sure did miss her! Here's Gee ( my mom) with 3 of her 5 granddaughters. 

The entry table was all set and ready for our guests to arrive. We bought the book "Guess How Much I Love You" for all of the guests to sign and for baby Allison to keep. 

My talented mother made corsages for Shelby and her mom to wear. We used gorgeous flowers that my mom had on her dining room table to complete the entry way.

We also had a jar of hershey kisses for the guests to guess how many kisses were in the jar; the winner was ble to take the kisses home with them. 

My mother also made bookmarks for party favors, and I made lavender bath salts. 

I mean, you can't get much better than a good book and bath salts when you need to relax! 

We opted for a naked cake, and it turned out gorgeous! My mother baked and decorated it and we added fresh flowers, and we designed a book cake topper with Allison's monogram. 

Lots of yummy food! 

We stacked a few of our favorite children's books around the table to add varying heights to the table, and to touch up our book theme. 

My sister and I are obsessed with my mom's cheeseball, so we had to have it at the sip & see too! 

Aren't Little Golden books the best! They make a cute stand all stacked up too! 

Our punch was pink with gold specks, and it was delicious! 

We served chicken salad sandwiches that everyone devoured. 

My sister, my niece, and my grand-niece! 

The girls were big helpers when it was time to open presents. 

We used a balloon arch and banner to decorate the present area. The kit came with everything you need to put it together and it was a huge statement for not a lot of money! 

And, let's face it, the entire point of the sip & see is to pass around the sweet baby! Allison was spoiled with lots of loving and cuddles while her mommy opened presents. 

My brother came in at the end of the shower, so we had to have a sibling picture- we don't get these often enough since I live out of state, but man, I sure do love these two. 

And then I had to squeeze in lots more cuddle time with Allison! 

We are so thankful for the guests that took time out of their day to spoil Shelby and Allison. The book theme shower was so fun and sweet. 

 

Tickled Pink!

While we were in Arkansas last week, I hosted a baby shower for my sister in law who's expecting a baby girl in July! Pretty much the same day as Adalyn's first birthday, and I'm so excited to have another niece! 

I did what any good hostess would do, and browsed Pinterest and made an entire Pinboard for ideas!  I decided that I wanted a vintage natural theme for the shower.

I printed out invitations on chevron scrapbook paper and mailed them in brown paper envelopes. Each envelope was sealed with an "It's A Girl" sticker. 

The entry table was decorated with a pink table cloth and a lace runner, and decorated with flowers.

Each guest was asked to fill out a paper of their hopes for the baby! Things like, "I hope you never forget……., I hope you love……… I hope you remember……"

My sister in law came up with this idea, and it was the perfect alternative to games!

The great-grandmother sent an arrangement of daffodils, so we used that on our entry table.

We also placed envelopes, so guests could pre-address the thank-you cards!

We used a large table at the front of the room for food. 

We covered the table in a lace table cloth and used a huge decorative vase for the centerpiece. The vase held white and pink flowers and large twigs. On each side of the vase, was a candle.

The food was served on china, pewter, and crystal dishes, and we used gold serving pieces. 

I wrapped mason jars in burlap, and added pink bows for the forks and spoons.

On the other end of the table, a mason jar held pink paper straws. 

We served chicken salad with pita chips or croissants, fruit salsa with cinnamon pita chips, mini ham sandwiches, had veggie trays and dips, cheese, and pickles, and baby blue, green, and pink chocolates!

The cake was breathtaking! My mother in law did a fantastic job picking out the cake! 

A pearl pink fondant bow graced the top of the cake.

Other decorations include more lace adorned tables with burlap and lace wrapped mason jars and twigs.

We dipped marshmallows in pink chocolate and added pearl sprinkles as parting gifts for our guests!

The marshmallows were wrapped in cellophane, tied with pink ribbon, and "It's a Girl" stickers were added.

This was very much a DIY shower and I personally loved every detail! I hope that my sister in law loved it too! I know that she and baby to be were showered with so many presents and many loved ones attended! Much thanks to Linda H, Roxanne L, and Dianna W for helping to host the shower! They allowed me to put all of my ideas into place and helped in so many ways! I am so thankful for all that they did!

Mason Jar Tutorial: Ask your grandma or friends for any old unused mason/canning jars! Wash them out and let them dry. I purchased burlap ribbon by the roll from Hobby Lobby and hot glued them on. I made a tails-down bow and hot glued it on the front.

Marshmallow Party Favor Tutorial: You can buy a bag of colored chocolate from Hobby Lobby. Do not add food coloring to white chocolate, it does not turn out well- trust me! Melt about half the bag of chocolates in the microwave. Cook for 30 seconds, stir, 30 more seconds, etc. Dip half of the marshmallow into the chocolate. Set on wax paper- make sure the chocolate part is up, and the marshmallow part is on the wax paper. Sprinkle with sprinkles. Allow them to dry, and then insert a lollipop stick. 

"Mommy To Be" Shower

One of the elementary schools I work for graciously offered to host Adalyn a baby shower! I was very surprised and so excited!

The school psychologist actually made the cake! It was so delicious!

They served pink lemonade cookies, fruit and dip, and veggies! So yummy!!!

The table decorations had these adorable little elephants!

They also had a book, and all of the teachers signed the book with some of their own advice for Adalyn!

Adalyn received lots of good presents! Clothes (who can resist baby girl clothes?!) We also received shampoo and lotion, a cup for washing hair, a bassinet, and an Ergo carrier- just to name a few!

I think Adalyn's all set!

A Shower for Adalyn

This past weekend, we traveled to Arkansas (again) for my first baby shower for Adalyn! My mom's best friend offered to throw us a shower, and even though she's our third girl, we still have a few things on our wish list, and let's just be honest, showers are such a fun way to celebrate a new baby, whether it's your first, or 19th (Michelle Duggar!)

The cake.

It's simply gorgeous. I don't think i've seen a more precious cake.

And, it tasted fabulous!

Chocolate cake- makes this prego very happy!

Mrs. Libby was also thoughtful enough to set up a little kids table for G, MC, and A (my niece)

And, all the food.

My mom and I didn't have time for lunch and we were starving! I was so glad there was tons of yummy food to eat!

We had fruit with dip, spinach dip with crackers and pita chips, ham & poppy seed sandwiches, and a cheese ball.

I was also given this corsage to wear, and I honestly thought it was real until I went to take it off, and realized that it wasn't! Mrs. Libby had made the corsage. I'm so glad that it is fake, because it will be placed in Addy's bedroom.

Here's G and I before the shower.

MC fell asleep in the car on our way over, and she's a bear without her nap, so I let her sleep a little while longer once we arrived, which just means that I have no pictures of her before the shower, but us mamma's know that naps come first!

My best friend, Laura, was able to come!

My mom, G, myself, my grandma, my niece, and sister in law.

(MC was still napping!)

Presents.

We are so blessed.

Opening presents.

By this time, MC was awake, and she was more than happy to help open presents. G ran off to play with some little toy trucks, and totally missed me opening presents.

We received crib sheets for Addy's bed, a toy, two outfits, a gorgeous handmade crocheted hat and blanket, a lamp for her room, a strawberry bathing suit and hat, and a few handmade chevron goodies from my mom.

And apparently, when it's your third baby, the mom gets a little pampered as well! My sister in law, bought me three new chevron bangles, and I was given a gift certificate for a mani/pedi!

My mom has made the girls a wreath for the hospital door, and then it hangs in their bedroom. This is Adalyn's wreath.

Does anyone else do this, or is it just a southern tradition?

I know back when I was growing up and my older cousins were having babies, the trend was large bows with the baby's name, DOB, weight, etc. on the ribbon, but we just do wreaths now!

Here's me with Mrs. Libby- the hostess with the mostess.

Seriously, she's such a great friend to my mom (and me as I've gotten older!)