My dear friend was having a girl after THREE boys.  With a 4th baby and a different gender a sprinkle was a must, so a few friends and I put one on. She loves purple and named her sweetheart Violet, so a floral theme just seemed appropriate.  We added lavender, mint, and kraft, did a few DIYs, and called it a sprinkle.  Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago my mom, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-law threw me a beautiful "Welcome to the World Baby D" baby shower.  While I saw bits and pieces of what my mom was pulling together (and let's be honest--helped with a couple of tiny DIYs), I was mostly in the dark!  Can I just say, not knowing the details is quite painful for a party planner?!  I suppose it's nice not to have to stress about it but I think I stressed more with hoping it was going to turn out okay, hoping my mom wasn't feeling overwhelmed, and hoping all the co-planners were doing ok!  In the end, stress wasn't at all necessary!  Besides it being on a weekend in the way-too-short-and-way-too-precious-new-England summer (i.e. many people already having other plans), it was beyond perfect.  And the people who could make it (including one of my dearest college friends who was visiting that weekend!) were the perfect mix of people I hold dear! It was a lovely shower and a lovely time and I'm so thankful!  So enough chatting.  Here's a peek!

Remember this post: A Modern Take on a Baby Shower Classic?  Well I made another pretty diaper cake forever ago. I made sure to take process photos and then proceeded to forget all about it!  But I figure it's never too late to share inspiration.  I don't even know if diaper cakes are still "in." Regardless, I still find them adorable...and a cute way to give the gift of diapers--a gift every mama can use.

I didn't get a photo with the refrigerated desserts but you get the idea!

I'm no Amy Atlas but I've done a few dessert buffets in my day and I've learned a thing or two that   I wanted to share.  I'm all about you learning from my mistakes!  I recently created one for Thrive- Shiloh's women's conference, which is what prompted this post.  It was the first time I created one for something other than my own kids' parties.  I was a bit nervous but it came out great!  So here's what I've learned:

- Choose a theme or color scheme and stick to it!  Don't be tempted to do every cool thing you've seen on Pinterest or the big blog world. I've done pink/vintage princess, pumpkin themed, pink & brown (i.e. chocolate) [picture at the end], and bright and summery [pictured]. Also check out Megan's beautiful (and delicious) pink and yellow buffet from Grace's sunshine party!

- Keep it simple.  This advice varies depending on your budget, taste, and style.  You may have the budget to hire the best confectioners and bakers in your town and if so, go for it! However even if you do have the budget you still want to streamline the table so that it's not overwhelming.  I made the mistake of doing a bit too much for Genevieve's first birthday (the photo in the blog post doesn't even show all the desserts-they wouldn't fit on one table!) and realized for her 2nd birthday that a little goes a long way.  You don't want all your cute and tasty creations not to get the 'play,' they deserve because there's too much going on.

-Create a menu comprised of store bought, semi-homemade, and homemade items.  Obviously you can do all of any of those mentioned but in my experience the mix mentioned above helps with three things: 1. the dessert bar is "special" because you included some homemade treats that people can't just go buy at the store.  2. You don't drive yourself insane making every little thing from scratch. 3. It saves money. (The one exception is if you are doing a dessert bar comprised of candy only.  If you are Willy Wonka you can go crazy making candy but there are so many cool bulk candy sources that sell beautiful, tasty, and color coordinated candy)! Which brings me to my next point:

- Know your audience.  In my experience adults don't eat a ton of hard candy, so although it's easy AND gorgeous AND super easy to color coordinate to your party, you may end up with tons of leftovers.  Kids eat candy but kids also have parents who are sure to try to limit their sugar intake.  The exception is chocolate--both kids and adults love chocolate.  BUT it's also pricey.  (I guess this isn't advice so much as something to keep in mind...

- Use various heights to create a balanced display.  Cake plates, platters, cupcake stands, footed plates/bowls, etc.  Get creative here...(and see this post for a DIY cake/cupcake stand). I've also made these which were so easy and pretty!

-Use a pretty backdrop if at all possible.  I've used: banners, balloons, drapes, and poms, but have also seen streamers, chalkboards, fabric pennants, paper pinwheels, etc...Also paper products go a long way! Tent cards/labels not only make everything pretty but saves you from answering 'what is this?' questions over and over again!

- Map out which desserts will go in which dishes ahead of time.  Double check any details ahead of time.  For the thrive conference I realized at the very last minute that the foam I bought for my cake pops wasn't thick enough and they wouldn't stand up in it!  I was trying not to panic as a few of my friends (and attendees of the conference) helped me come up with something cute that would work for the table set up.  Phew!! Love you Jill, Danielle, and Melissa!! ;)

I am so so SO excited to be an aunt yet again very soon!  My dear sister is expecting her first baby, a little boy, sometime before the end of this month.  I was privileged enough to throw her baby shower in October along with my mom, sister and our sister-in-law.  Thankfully Colleen shares my lack of love for anything overly traditional when it comes to showers, so I knew she'd be fine if we skipped the pastel colors and did something a bit more out of the box.  The date worked perfectly for an autumn themed event, with primary colors of chocolate and apple green, and delicious fall food galore.


Complete details after the jump!

Over the summer I helped plan a shower for Meg and have been meaning to blog about it ever since. Grace is Meg's second baby, but first girl so we wanted to throw an intimate feminine shower for her so she could get those adorable girly items she'd need for baby number two! When trying to decide on a theme, we decided to go with pink and lime green. Not only do I LOVE that color combo but planning a baby shower around a color scheme is much easier and less expensive than choosing something really specific.














The first place I always look for party planning ideas is the hwtm blog. There are so many ideas that can be altered or replicated to throw an adorable and unique baby shower. One of the decisions we made was to create a pink and green menu that would serve the purpose of light fare and a design element. That was a challenge, but so fun. I literally googled "pink and green food ideas," and came up with a lot of options there.

Our menu consisted of mint julep cupcakes, watermelon lemonade (Meg's sister made this from scratch! I was SO impressed), jello cake with whipped cream and kiwi topping, strawberry with field greens salad, and any green and pink fruit we could think of--kiwi, strawberries, watermelon, honeydew, grapes, and green apples, with fruit dip.

Other design elements included a pink and green tulle swag over the fireplace, pink and green placemats, and lovely pink and green floral arrangements. My gift to Meg, a modern diaper cake, was used as a decorative element as well.

For favors, Meg's sister found a lotion and nail grooming kit set from Bath and Body Works on sale and made adorable little favor tags that matched the invitations.

For invitations, I simply layered vellum and pearlized pink and green cardstock and used a ribbon to attach them. I found a little baby footprint graphic online for the 'title page' of the invitation. I personally don't have the technical skills to create something too elaborate but making invitations is a cinch if you simply choose attractive paper, a fun embellishment, and a pretty font.

Planning a shower is fun but can be overwhelming. My advice is to keep it simple and google, google, google! If you you have good taste, you can make anything look good (and if you don't, just copy someone who does!). There's no need to spend a ton of money or wear yourself out. Color combinations are always fun and easy and a light menu can help keep things simple as well. And really, it's not about the decor or food so much as showering someone you love and helping her celebrate this special time in her life.