Be'be' Time

Paris has been on my mind. Paris and Babies.
We have a little bundle on the way, the stork is sure to drop by any day now...
A couple of weeks ago (I'm late in posting), My aunt and I planned a baby shower for my cousin Eileen. As I've said before, Eileen is like my sister so this had to be a special one since she was packing up the baby making machine and throwing away the key.

The shower had to be girly, all pink and feminine. I found a tea rental service in our area and put in an order for tea cups, tea pots, tea spoons, creamer and sugar bowls/pots and food stands

The Tea menu consisted of Raspberry Green Tea and Ginger Peach Tea. I think I drank 10 cups of the Ginger Peach Tea it was that good.

The Food - Fruit was skewered, tea sandwiches made, cookies purchased, cheese tray assembled and salad mixed. The highlight was my mom's homemade baked potato soup.

I pulled out my craft skills and made little signs for the food and last minute Parisian cards from an old calender I had.

The Favors were little teapot measuring tapes with a little message from Eileen and baby.

The Guest Book was a children's book I found at Target. It was called Fancy Nancy Tea Parties and shows little girls how to do their own tea parties. Each guest signed a little note for mom and baby girl.
I procrastinated (not unusual for me) so I was like a crazy woman trying to put this together. I ran to Michael's (our craft store) and had a big idea to make topiaries. I have never attempted to make topiaries and just bought what I thought I would need.

• Styrofoam balls (way to expensive if you ask me)


• Stems of pink silk hydrangeas


• Green moss


• Long Dowels (which were cut in half)


• Clay pots

Purchased the following last minute:

• Ribbon


• Pink tissue paper

Pulled out the hot glue and my mom and I tackled the job. A massive mess later, this is what came out...
Everything came together so beautifully. I was so happy with the outcome and was told several times that I should do party planning... sparked a little idea in my head and I quickly put it out.

Here are a few of my favorite parts of the shower...

Full view (this was at a friend's house)

Gorgeous tea pots and little cards I made

(you'll notice I mixed up the pot tops... oops.)

One of the outfits I bought for my niece. I want this sweater for myself! :)

Mom's incredible Baked Potato Soup

The Baby Girl will be here any day now!

Birthday Girl

Today is my cousin Eileen's birthday. The above photo is from a maternity photo session I did with her a couple of months ago. She is about ready to pop now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Eileen, my cousin, sister, and friend! I LOVE YOU.

Backyard Wedding

My cousin Eileen and her long time boyfriend, Frank were married in a small ceremony at my home this past weekend.
::
I made these arrangements last minute, a little frantically. :) The bride was getting her self all spiffed up for her wedding and it dawned on me we had flowers to put together. I threw together five arrangements in 30 minutes. Whooo! It was tight.

Eileen is having a big reception in October, so the ceremony was small and intimate. I was her maid of honor and my sister-in-law Sonia was her bridesmaid.

We had little cones on the back of each chair with rose petals to throw once the ceremony was done and earlier that day we hung up white lights from the trees to brighten it up a bit. By the time I had crawled up and down that ladder a zillion times I was done. Once I realized that I had strung the wrong end and we had no plug to plug in... the tears almost came and then the frantic "What are we going to do now?!" Oh boy. I ended up crawling up and down that ladder again and re-hanging the lights... in addition... this past week was the hottest week in SoCal. Sweaty hot mess. lol

The beautiful bride is five months pregnant and finding a dress was a little difficult... but she ended finding one that my mom altered for her and looked gorgeous!

The wedding party got to wear whatever they wanted, good thing it blended pretty good.

My brother Peter and his wife, Sonia

My cousin and her son, Cristian

Cutting a scrumptious red velvet cake.

They were supposed to be in Cabo today for their honeymoon but the hurricane messed all those plans up. Instead they went into work today... and are planning on booking another honeymoon soon here. Nature's way of throwing a wrench in!

Cabo Shower

(My aunt and cousin, Eileen)

Two weeks ago I threw a shower with family and friends for my cousin, Eileen at my home. She got married this weekend and honeymooning in Cabo. The theme was a honeymoon shower since she didn't want lingerie or home goods. I was racking my brain for an idea to add some Mexican flair and my mom suggested peppers in the centerpieces... what a great idea! I went to a local Mexican food store and bought serano chili's and habeneros and added them to the floral arrangements. I did cupcakes instead of a cake. I like the look better and they are easier! I made the butter cream late Thursday night and nearly left it there unfinished, but pressed on and finally finished it.

Each guest went home with a "love notes" pad and a little box with my peanut butter balls. It was a beautiful night with good food and laughs!

Wedding to be posted soon...