Peach Citrus Sangria

At my sister's baby shower, we served Peach Citrus Sangria, and it was delicious.  My mom and I wanted to offer a refreshing cocktail that was easy to make, festive, and light enough for a midday party (so, that ruled out anything with tequila or vodka).  We took Eddie Ross's Fresca-based Sangria recipe (that I made for Brooke's Baby Shower) and tweaked it a bit.  We gave it a peach flavor and made it pink!  The drink was such a huge hit that we actually ran out towards the end of the party.  I swear.  These ladies went through two huge batches, it was that yummy.

So, here's the recipe:

You can play with the proportions a bit, if you would like.  And you can also replace the original Fresca with Peach Fresca (although, we decided against it since Peach Fresca doesn't come in 2 liter bottles).  But, any way you mix it, this drink is really wonderful and perfect for sipping on the patio this summer.  Enjoy!

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My Sister's Baby Shower

My sister is having a baby(!!!), so we all came together this past weekend to celebrate with a Baby Shower in Bonita Springs, Florida.  My mom and I co-hosted the big event and flew into town late last week to start the party preparations.  We had been planning the big day for months, so we arrived in Florida with checklists in hand and boxes full of party supplies. :)

My younger sister Alyssa is very cool and unfussy, so we wanted the party to feel the same way.  Taking a cue from Lilly Pulitzer and "1960s Florida" we kept the palette fresh with lots of citrus hues and classic gingham prints.  Even though she's having a baby boy, we wanted the party to feel grown-up and gender neutral-- because after all, it's also a celebration of new motherhood!  So, we were allowing ourselves to feel a little girly too.  :)  We reserved the stunning screened-in pavilion at Estero Bay Park (a hidden gem in the beautiful community of Bonita Bay) and it was the perfect party venue.  I snapped a few pictures before the guests arrived and thought I would share them here...  Enjoy!

We used vintage Ball Jars to hold fresh hydrangeas on all the tables (the blue glass sparkled in the sunlight!).  We served refreshing peach sangria, fresh lemonade, tiny bottles of San Pellegrino and Diet Coke.  Guests helped themselves to appetizers that included baby vegetables, tiny watermelon slices, and bite-sized tea sandwiches.  We made all of the food from scratch, and for lunch we served strawberry salad, chicken salad (my sister's favorite recipe) and homemade quiche.  The quiche recipe ROCKED and many people asked for the recipe.  It's from Paula Deen and you can find it HERE.   For dessert, we made homemade red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and shaved coconut (again, Alyssa's favorite).  And, we served raspberry shortbread cookies alongside carrot cake!

I custom designed all of the menus, invitations, and labels (I love doing that kind of stuff).  To decorate, we used baby blue gingham fabric for table runners, silver plated serving accessories (to dress it up a bit) and vintage milk glass.  The modern white frames are from Ikea, and they held all the table menus (only 99 cents each!).  The brown gift bags and baby blue swirly straws are from Hey Yo Yo.  And, the "Baby Michael" cocktail napkins were custom designed by us at ForYourParty.com.   All of the rentals were from Taylor Party Rentals.  All photographs were taken by me, which explains for the grainy quality of some.  Sorry about that.  :)

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I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the pictures from my sister's baby shower!  It was a very special day for my family, and one that we will never forget.   We are so blessed to welcome this precious gift into our family (baby Michael, named after my dad!).  My sister Alyssa and her husband Chris are going to be phenomenal parents.  :)

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Table Setting

So inspired by this simple table setting.  Isn't it lovely?

I love a good skinny stripe, especially.

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Bump Smitten!

Thank you, Bump Smitten!  Today, they are featuring the baby shower I styled for my dear friend, Brooke.  As many of you know, Bump Smitten is one of my favorite party inspiration blogs.  And when I needed inspiration for planning this very special baby shower, I turned to them for help!

Check out the Bump Smitten post HERE.

This bit of news comes at the perfect time.  Brooke gave birth to this very special baby last Friday.  His name is Liam James, and I don't think they come much cuter than this:

Congratulations, Brooke & Dean.  And, welcome baby Liam.

(And, thank you again Amanda Bevington for taking such beautiful photos of the baby shower!)

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Have A Sweet Weekend!

4th of July "fireworks cookies", from Martha Stewart (of course).

Even though these cookies look intimidating, the decorating process actually sounds quite easy.  I might try it.

find the recipe HERE!

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DIY: Custom Linen Door Banner

Of all the handmade projects I did for my friend's baby shower, this one was one of my favorites.  It's SO easy, everyone can do it.  To make this door banner, you'll need a fragment of linen, a pack of Sharpies, and a wooden dowel.

I started with a design that I made on the computer.  I used Adobe Illustrator, but you could use any program (including the basic, boring Microsoft Word).

Since I can't print out a sheet of paper measuring 26 x 18 inches on my tiny home printer, I printed my design in "tiles".  Then, I taped each sheet of paper to the window:

Next, cut a piece of linen to size (mine was 18 x 26 inches).  I used a fragment of ivory linen that I had laying around my office, but any simple fabric remnant will do. 

Layer the cut linen over your design and TRACE.  Yes, trace.  It's as simple as that!!!

I used these Sharpie markers.  Ultra-fine point is the best and will give you the most control on those fine fonts... also, I was thrilled to see how the pigment was absorbed by the linen.  The black was nice and dark, and the yellow was well saturated.  I had initially thought about painting the banner, but using Sharpies was about one thousand times easier.  And, much cleaner.

(picture taken after I had finished tracing the design, and before I had given this thing a good iron)

Next, you'll need to attach your banner to a hanging dowel.  I purchased mine at this fine establishment:

where, clearly, everything's $1.00

including this plastic flag, which was attached to lovely wooden hanging dowel:

I kindly removed the flag, and using fabric glue (I like Fabri-Tac), glued the top edge of the banner to the dowel.  Then, I rolled the fabric over the glue line for about 1 inch (to hide the messy glue and create a clean look).

You're done!

It doesn't get any easier.

Wouldn't this be a fun little project for birthday parties?

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*first image and last two images, courtesy of Amanda Bevington Modern Photography*

Custom Onesie Clothesline

To add a little bit of spunk to my friend's recent baby shower, I made a group of custom onesies and hung them on a clothesline near the beverage bar.  Keeping with the "Bb" theme... each one said something a little different.  And, our Bumble Bee (that also made an appearance on the invites, menus, and note cards) was again a major star of the clothesline:

They were a festive accent to the party... and in about 8 months, they'll make cute little outfits for the new baby.

This DIY project was super easy. 

Here's how I did it...

I bought a 5-pack of white Gerber onesies at Michael's for $10.99...

And a pack of iron-on transfer sheets for $4.99...

Once I was back in my office, I opened the pack of onesies and got to work.  On the computer, I created four different onesie designs.  I used Adobe Illustrator, but any basic program would work (I've said it before, but Microsoft PowerPoint is a really versatile program that let's you import images, manipulate text, etc.  You could easily use PowerPoint if you don't have any fancy programs like Adobe Illustrator)

So, here's what I came up with...

I created four designs-- repeating the Bumble Bee to create a symmetrical look and emphasize the "Bb" theme:

Then-- this step is KEY-- I flipped each image so that it would print out correctly onto the transfer paper.  Flipping images in Illustrator is easy, but if you're using PowerPoint you'll need to go into "Format" and under the tab "Rotate" click "flip vertical".  It's as easy as that.  When you're done flipping, each one looks like this:

Load your printer with transfer paper, and hit "print".  Once printed, I cut out each design, getting my scissors as close as possible to the graphic.  I didn't want a lot of extra transfer paper around the design-- by cutting each image close, you'll create a clean transfer that's more professional looking. 

Place each cut out with the image side down:

image is centered and ready for a hot iron

I ironed and ironed and ironed again.  It took several sessions to get each image to stick.

once the transfer has completely cooled, carefully peel off the backer paper.

And, that's it.

Adorable custom onesie.

*hand wash in cool water, and line dry*

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last two images courtesy of Amanda Bevington Modern Photography

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