Joel's Baby Shower - The Results!

Oh my, have I been busy these past few weeks! What with planning Joel's shower, designing, printing, and addressing Zett's wedding invitations, turning 30 (!), Easter weekend, and full work weeks in between - it's been a lot to take in. The shower was a huge success and I would like to thank all of the lovely ladies who attended and made such a special day for my girl. She looked so adorable with her baby belly and we all had a wonderful time.

My intention is to supplement this post with some additional posts about some of the individual elements that went into the planning and execution of the party. So this will be a fun one with lots of photos! (I must admit, that I am not the best photographer, and I am terrible about remembering to take photos - so most of these photos are courtesy of my friend - the lovely and talented Danielle).

Also created by the lovely and talented Danielle were the invitations and thank-you cards. She used the crib quilt design that Jo registered for at Land of Nod as inspiration. 

Aren't they fantastic??!!

The shower was at lunchtime, and we had just enough people that I could make a large table in the kitchen to seat 12, and have the food served buffet style on the kitchen countertops. The dining room table was set with the desserts and the elements for a game, and then in the corner of the kitchen I set up a small table with the self-serve candy "bar" - as part of the favors. Gifts and appetizers were in the living room.

The menu:

Soups from Panera Bread: Cheese and Broccoli, Low Fat Chicken Noodle, French Onion, and Vegetarian Creamy Tomato.

Breads also from Panera Bread: French, Wheat, and Sourdough

Homemade sandwiches: Egg salad on whole grain white, smoked turkey and cheddar on wheat, and imported ham and swiss on rye.

Egyptian Bread Salad (recipe coming soon)

Field greens mix with balsamic vinaigrette

Dessert:

Two-tiered chocolate cake with fondant icing

Buttermilk vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing

I had such fun decorating the cupcakes and making the cake. Both were delicious. I'd never worked with fondant on a large scale before, so was thrilled with the end result. It also tasted great as I made the fondant from scratch - so much better than anything store bought. 

The chrysanthemum cupcakes were from Martha Stewart's Cupcake book - page 267 - yum! A bit tedious, but once I got in the groove with the piping they were done in no time.

The favors were lovely narcissus in pots, wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a ribbon. 

The other part of the favor was this candy bar, where guests were invited to take a selection of candies home with them.

Jelly beans, rock candy, jelly apple slices, candied grapefruit slices, meringues, gumdrops, chocolates and more - all in the same color palette as the shower. 

The table was decorated with a lovely paisley blue and green tablecloth. I had various white jugs, urns, and vases with gorgeous assortments of white, green, and yellow flowers. The giant pompoms hanging above were handmade by me - some also adorned the front porch to greet guests (forgot to get a photo).

I really loved the way the decor turned out - everything looked so crisp and elegant. The sunshine outside certainly helped also - a gorgeous day despite the chill in the air. (The yellow kitchen and newly painted white cabinets helped also!) :)

Flowers everywhere! Just some potted tulips - 3 pots per metal container - covered in some spanish moss to make them look like they are actually planted in the containers.

We decorated the four windows in the living room with clothes line and baby clothes in the same color palette as the shower decor. So cute!

Danielle made this lovely diaper cake - so easy and so adorable!

A success! We all had a great time, and can't wait for the arrival of Baby S in May!

Check back soon for updates to this post on the cake and cupcakes, recipes, decorations, and more!


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