Shower Hour

There are a lot of reasons why I can't wait for Winter to be over and Spring to come, but the biggest by far is the much- anticipated arrival of my first baby niece in March. This past Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for my brother and sister-in-law that only increased my impatience to meet this little person!
The party was nontraditional in a lot of ways- it was co-ed and there was no big present-opening- both of which made it a lot more fun and festive than a typical baby shower. But the sentiment was the same- everyone was there to share their excitement and welcome this little girl to the world.

I made these little felt baby booties as one of my little gifts- they were remarkably easy to sew on a sewing machine. It's hard to imagine the feet small enough to fit inside them. Click here to download the pattern.

I also made these cute bird's nest cupcakes for the shower (among several other desserts). For the cake, I used this Coconut Cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart (I got it from the current issue which has a whole feature on cupcakes). I used my own basic buttercream frosting recipe (1 stick butter, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla), and topped it with a toasted coconut "nest" and little chocolate eggs (or you could use jelly beans, instead).

For party favors, I wrapped store-bought chocolate bars with labels I printed featuring the baby pics of my bro (blue) and sister-in-law (pink). I think this would be a sweet favor for a birthday party or bridal shower, too ( it helps that both of them were really cute babies).

My SIL's mom made a huge Italian feast, and her friends decorated with the cutest clothesline strung with baby clothes (new ones and special things that had been saved from when she was a baby) and everyone toasted the baby with champagne and peach "belly-ni" cocktails. I don't think anyone missed the gift opening.