My Lovely Friend
Maia came to Seattle about a month before me. Our situations were very similar in that we both moved here from California to live with our respective dream dudes – who happen to be close friends. Over the three years we’ve lived here, Maia has become one of my most favorite people on the planet. She’s kind, genuine and never afraid to be silly – she’s so wonderful to connect with. I was so incredibly excited and honored that she allowed me to throw her baby shower. I was also incredibly nervous. Maia has always wanted to be a mother and this is her first kiddo – it’s a big deal! Oh yeah, and I had never hosted a baby shower before!
(All photographs were taken by James Whelan at F-Stop Seattle Photography. To see the full gallery of baby shower photos, head on over to his Facebook Gallery.)
Fun & Decor
Maia’s house on the day of the baby shower. Thanks for the sunshine, Seattle!
The decor was pretty simple – just a few streamers, balloons and some flowers. Maia’s home is lovely so I didn’t really need to do much in the way of decorations.
The flowers were from Pike Place Market, of course.
Name tag clothes pins in the lavender and cream theme colors.
For the shower favor, everyone got to fill up a mason jar with trail mix goodies. The containers were holdovers from my wedding that my mother-in-law was awesome enough to hang on to (thanks, Robin!), and all the goodies inside them came from Whole Foods. Cashews, walnuts, crasins, sour cherries, french vanilla granola, chocolate covered almonds, and gummies that tasted like Starbursts!
This was my absolute FAVORITE part of the shower. There are birthday cards for baby Isabelle – one for each year until she turns 26. The cards were all handmade by Robin and myself (I really do have the awesomest mother-in-law), and every card is unique. Each guest chose at least one card to fill with warm wishes and wisdom. My hope is that as she grows up and reads these cards, she’ll know how loved she is – and know some of the people who loved her before she was born.
Food
The food was an ADVENTURE! And it wouldn’t have worked so well if it hadn’t been for Maia’s mom, Joan, and all Maia’s family and friends who were so willing to help out!
Caprese kabobs, just as one would expect, but with the addition of peach slices!
Just your average fruit salad, which is always fantastic in the summer. We had two varieties of tea sandwiches: one was ham, brie, apple, and dijon on bread from Macrina, and the other was a delicious mango chutney egg salad on wheat. In the back left, you can see what’s left of Joan’s famous mac & cheese – so yummy!
Food table in mid-set-up! I borrowed the water dispenser from Robin and Joanna let me borrow her glass bottles for the rosemary infused lemonade.
Because I am me, the desserts were my favorite part! Two types of cookies: snickerdoodle (Maia’s favorite!) and chocolate cherry chip. Of course, that meant there also needed to be two types of cupcakes: snickerdoodle and root beer float! (Side note, root beer float cupcakes are an awesome idea. I highly recommend.) And also, because I am me, I insisted on making all the desserts. Fact.
Success!
I think it went pretty darn well. (Seriously, go check out James’ gallery on Facebook to see the rest of the photos. There are some amazing people shots I didn’t include here because it would have made this post crazy long.) I’ve asked Maia about a hundred times, “Are you really, really SURE your baby shower is what you wanted it to be?” and she keeps telling me she loved it. I loved it, too. I had so much fun trying to think of fun and creative ways to give my wonderful friend a special day. The success partially came from the planning, but mostly it was the amazing people who were there – Maia seems to collect only the best kind of people. Maia’s baby shower is definitely on my list of favorite experiences.
