Most of you know that Bree & I have been busy as bees planning a baby shower for our best buddy LeiLani. For months we have been researching, planning, ordering and cooking and finally yesterday the big day came!

For those of you who came to the party, thank you so much for helping us celebrate the upcoming debut of Princess MiaBella (that’s her 3D ultrasound picture above!). And for those of you who helped us assemble sandwiches, clean platters, greet guests & more (in particular Regina, Melissa & Diane), you were troopers and there is no way we could have pulled it off without you.

A lot of you had questions like: where we got the plates, how did we make the grilled veggies, did Dan really make the jam and how did you find the energy/time to do it? Well, to be perfectly honest, I can’t answer that last one other than to say we’re both a little nuts and we love LeiLani to pieces. As for the rest…

The plates & napkins came from….drumroll please…. http://www.platesandnapkins.com/ ! No joke, that’s what it’s called. They really have an amazing selection of patterns, colors and themes. Check them out for your next event!

Bree’s Amazing-Husband-Dan (that’s what we call him now, we don’t use his given name) did in fact make all of the Bella Berry jam that we used as favors! You’ll have to ask him for the recipe or better yet, just order some for your next party! The itty-bitty jars came from http://www.sunburstbottle.com/ , as did the labels. Bree & I used their dimensions and designed the label in-house. The turn-around is fast with Sunburst Bottle, I think it took less than a week to get both the jars & labels and their selection is terrific. Dan also made the cupcake stand! But it’s even better than that, he made it once but wasn’t happy with it so he started all over again. Isn’t he something?! Bree added her special decorating touches to it. If you are looking for a well-made, beautiful dessert centerpiece, drop them a line….

The invitations were designed by Bree & myself in-house. LeiLani had chosen a pink/black damask theme for the baby’s room with a black hanging chandelier so naturally, we did our best to mimic that look. We mostly design wedding invitations, but we are available for other custom projects. You can inquire at http://www.weddingtulle.com/ or call Bree at the shop. Bree also put together all of the floral arrangements/vases using paper from Michael’s & flowers from all over town.

As for the food, yes, Bree & I cooked all the food. We put together a dual menu (Mexican/Italian) of foods that we know our little buddy loves. We even managed to get many of the ingredients at our local Farmer’s Market the day before. We had some help the day before from my sisters Natalie & Laura (thanks for cleaning up behind my whirlwind!) and Poppa Alex grilled all the veggies for me that morning before he left. Friend Melissa Cochrane & Grandma Martha (who also hosted) helped with the assembly of sandwiches the day of. I’ll do my best to list the menu and where to find the recipe:

• Honey-Cilantro Chicken Sandwiches– hybrid of recipes I adapted from Rachael Ray (chicken) & Barefoot Contessa (sauce).
• Mini Caprese Sandwich– tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil & a drizzle of balsamic reduction on Italian style bread.
• Orzo, Garbanzo Salad– recipe from Giada DeLaurentis.
• Spicy Corn Salad– another hybrid, email me if you want it.
• Grilled Veggies– picked the veggies we wanted then used this recipe from Giada DeLaurentis for the drizzle that went over them.
• Cupcakes– White cake mix, box of instant pudding. Yep, that simple.

So that’s what’s been taking up all of our time but we are happy to share the big day with our readers. With some brainstorming, great resources and good friends you can pull off a stunning, fun and fresh event for your wedding, bridal shower, birthdays & baby showers. We hope our little adventure can inspire you too!