Shower Whatnots

August 20th, 2008

So as I’ve mentioned, the baby shower was this past Saturday. My friends made it lovely, fun, & yummy, & the guests made it quite pleasant. I wanted to leave a fingerprint of my own on the day, & I thought I’d share my contributions here:

Of course there had to be an element of craft included in the day, & of course Ella will be sporting American Apparel, so Ant & I nabbed a stash of onesies & set up a table in the corner designated to “baby couture” by family & friends. I’d seen this idea on an episode of “Gilmore Girls” & swore to myself & Anthony & anyone that would listen that we were going to have this at our shower when we became pregnant. I think it was a hit. I love that Ella will have lots of opportunities to represent her awesome family.

As favors, we set out Banana Bread Pots for guests to take home. I came across the potted bread idea here. It came down to me baking seven batches of banana bread the Friday afternoon before, which resulted in very puffy ankles at the shower, but it was well worth it. Somehow all that baking was somewhat relaxing.

I also made Cake Balls, or rather, Cake Pops. I’d stumbled upon Bakerella’s blog a long while ago & became set on making these confections for the shower the moment I saw them. Then one day I was home sick from work & watching Martha, & lo-&-behold, there was the Bakerella herself, mixing up these adorable lollipops with the queen of domesticity herself. It was thrilling! Martha knows a good thing when she sees it. Friday night saw me dipping & decorating the little balls of cake. Wee hours of Saturday morning saw Anthony hunched over the table, asleep next to me as I packaged each little ball individually. These took quite a good deal of time to create, start to finish, but if you break the steps up between two (or a few) days, they become less overwhelming.

I always get in over my head, & Anthony & my mom see this & warn me of it each time, but they let me dive in & in the end I am usually happy I did. I think I must secretly crave pressure (but only when it’s self-induced). But I am sure I will make both of these favors again…perhaps for other shower-type events or holidays or birthdays…

This next one I cannot say was my contribution. In the invites, my friend & fine hostess sent along a little note encouraging guests to bring a children’s book that would grant them entry into a contest for a spiffy giftcard. There was a basket for guests to drop their books in at the door & after gifts were opened, Anthony & I sifted through them only to find beautiful inscriptions on the inner pages. I couldn’t get through a few at the time, as my eyes well up instantaneously lately, but I dove in with a tissue handy the next day. I love love love children’s books & to have these special notes written directly to Ella, I can only imagine how loved she’ll feel when she’s old enough to read them herself.

I know I am repeating myself, but it was a very winsome day. And now I am off to eat more of my nanner bread pot. Sweet dreams……..

* More photos of the onesie corner & favors can be seen in our Flickr set.

I thought this was a party...LET’S DANCE!

Jumbled up, but loved

August 20th, 2008

I’ve been wanting to write this post for the past few days now, but I’ve been putting it off because I know it’s just going to come out jumbly & unorganized, & I so want to accurately describe the love I felt this weekend. Anthony & I, our family, & friends, celebrated Ella’s very impending arrival with a shower at our home this past Saturday. And I must say, it was just beautiful. I’ve been emotional lately anyway, but since Saturday, my hormones are flying high. I cry every day about one thing or another…I caught myself tearing up reading the instructional manual for the wipes warmer yesterday. This next month is going to be a bumpy ride.

I don’t feel like I will ever be able to adequately express how grateful I am to have such amazing people in our lives. I feel truly blessed to be a tiny factor in their lives, & I can’t imagine them not being in mine. My three best friends organized & threw the baby bash & it was perfect. The beautiful decorations & the way-too-good food set the perfect stage for a comfortable day of togetherness with people I needed to see & spend time with. My sister flew in from San Francisco & I couldn’t be more thrilled that she was there for the celebration. I can’t wait for Ella to meet all the incredible people her life has in store for her.

I’m getting teary now & I know there’s more to say, but I seem to be having trouble seeing the screen.

I guess in summary, I don’t think I could ever express the love I felt that day, because it was too outstanding. I could not have asked for a more perfect way to prepare for Ella’s arrival. When she is older, she will look at pictures from that day & read the notes addressed to her, & know just how loved she was even before she came into the world. And I will know for always how blessed I am to have such amazing friends & family in my very own world.

Thank you, ladies. I love you.

And thank you, Fooz, for capturing all the moments from the day.  I am missing you already.  Love.

I thought this was a party...LET’S DANCE!