No Time To Siesta - It's a Baby Shower Fiesta!

 Hey there princess!

If you couldn't already tell - we throw a lot of fiestas in my family! It's always an easy party theme, and who doesn't like Mexican food? Plus, by this time we have tons of decor to go around! 

This past March, my family threw me the absolute best couple's baby shower. This is my first child, and the first grandchild for my parents, and anticipating his arrival was such a fun time in my life. Pregnancy was absolutely awful, and with the end in sight I really enjoyed this party with all of my most favorite people!

If you know me, you know I was absolutely thrilled when I opened up my mail and saw this invitation! It is absolutely gorgeous, and came from Sweet Caroline Design. Caroline's invitations and Christmas cards have been a staple in my life and I love her use of color. This baby shower was held at one of my favorite restaurants, Escalante's, which is also conveniently located right next to my church! Even with my crazy pregnancy nausea, I was able to enjoy my fajitas. 

The shower was held in the party room in the back of the restaurant and our service was incredible. My family brought all of their fiesta decor, and they filled the room with colorful flowers and brightly painted vases. My mom even brought the party piñata that has been sort of the mascot at many of our fiestas over the years. 

One of the best gifts I received from my family was a baby book full of gorgeous illustrations from Over the Moon Gift (you can see it here). We had everyone who attended the shower sign the book so that we could keep the memory for our little boy. I also love this sleeping ceramic man that doubles as a planter/vase. My mom filled it with gorgeous roses that all of the female guests got to take home with them. Now, the sleeping man sits in my kitchen snoozing away in all of his cuteness!

Speaking of gifts, my mom also got these adorable honey pots with dippers and custom labels for guests to take home with them. These are not only precious to look at, but they are super practical! Everyone loves honey and it makes the perfect topping for sopapillas. You can find something similar on Etsy by clicking here.  When selecting a gift to give your guests at the conclusion of your event, I always prefer something that is practical. Either something edible or something that is useful for their daily lives! 

My favorite detail from the event was the tower of hand painted macaroons. These were absolutely gorgeous, and were created by the ever-talented Treney from Indulge Gourmet Desserts (click here for her info). Treney has created beautiful desserts for several of the parties that I have thrown over the years, and I have to say that these are my absolute favorite! During my pregnancy, I was incredibly sick, and one of the few things that would settle my stomach was Sonic's Cherry Limeade. Treney knew about this and created special macaroons that tasted just like them! I couldn't get enough!

Here is an up-close look at these gorgeous macaroons. Treney used inspiration from the shower invitation to decorate them and they absolutely stole the show! They were also a huge hit with my guests who thought they were delicious. 

Here is a photo of part of the party room (and a sneaky peek of my little brother helping with set-up). The room was absolutely perfect, and all of the little pops of color that my family added were just the right touch.

Here is a close-up of one of the floral arrangements that my mom put together for the table. This little donkey is also proudly prancing around my kitchen now! I love being surrounded by things that bring back happy and cherished memories. 

I had tons of fun at this shower, and with only about a month left in my pregnancy it really was the best way to wrap the pre-kid era of my life. I was so happy to spend the afternoon with the most important people in my life and enjoying everyone's company (and enjoying fajitas as well). 

When planning any party, the most important thing is always to keep your guests in the forefront of your mind. We all love events were we can talk, relax, and eat! Don't overthink things, or overcomplicate what is bound to be a fun and fabulous time. 

Also, my top party-planning tip is to keep your theming consistent from party to party. Try to purchase decor that you can reuse and invest in quality pieces. While some people might want to stray away from theming that feels repetitive, I promise that the creative hostess can introduce new elements each time to help things feel creative and new. 

Sparkle on!

Bachelorette Party in San Antonio: Pre-Planning and Bridesmaid Bags

 Hey there princess!

If you have been named Maid or Matron of Honor for an upcoming wedding, one of the first things that you might be thinking about is how to plan the perfect bachelorette party. After being responsible for planning one myself, the number one piece of advice I would give is - have fun and keep it as unique as possible! The theme I chose was "Final Fiesta" and we all travelled to San Antonio to spend a long weekend eating Mexican food and roaming up and down the Riverwalk. 

Remember, this party is for the bride, and should be something that is both fun for her and manageable for you. For me, pre-planning was essential because we were leaving Houston and traveling to San Antonio, and we were bringing along with us a group of girls from all over the United States. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what the plan was so that they could pack appropriately, set their expectations, and just relax and have tons of fun on the trip!

The first place I start when planning any event is with the invitation. After selecting the date and location, I wanted to give my guests as much advanced notice as possible since they would need to purchase flights and ask for time off of work. I always love going to Sweet Caroline Designs for invites. Her work is absolutely beautiful, and the paper quality is terrific! I addressed the envelopes myself using a style that is currently available in my Etsy shop here. 

Next, it was important to come up with an itinerary. I wanted to make sure that what I sent out to the girls was cute, easy to read, and something that they could keep saved to their phones for easy reference. I have used Canva for years, and always find it really user-friendly. For the actual schedule, I tried to create a balance between structured activities that I knew the bride would like, and downtime where the girls who still had energy could keep going, and the people who wanted to be more low-key could go back to the hotel and relax by the pool.

Next in my preparation activities, I wanted to create a bag for the bride and bridesmaids with all the essentials for the weekend. This included things like our matching shirts for when we visited the Alamo together, matching pajamas for photos the first morning, and a bunch of other things that just helped to make the girls feel special and cared for. 

My mom found these fun burlap bags for me to use, and I hand lettered each girl's name on them to set on their beds in the hotel. You can purchase the ribbon I used here.

Inside the bag were several goodies, and I really tried to shop small! I love supporting small businesses, and I find the best, most unique stuff on Etsy!

My mom found some multi-colored mirrors, and then I got decals from Etsy (click here to purchase) that I used to customize each mirror. 

Next, I got these incredible koozies - they were to die for, and made the perfect practical thing to use for drinks all weekend. I made sure to get an extra for the bride so that she had one that said "It's My Final Fiesta" and one with her name on it. I got them on Etsy here. 

All of the girls are major coffee drinkers and I thought it would be fun to create a snack and coffee bar for them in the hotel room (check back later for a post detailing what all that included). So that the cups wouldn't get mixed up, I got each girl a reusable Starbucks coffee cup (you can purchase these here) and put decals on them myself at home (these are the ones I bought). This was way cheaper than purchasing something completely custom online, and I really enjoyed the project!

I also got the girls these cute hair bands! This is a super practical accessory, and it was cute! You can find the ones I bought here. 

I am a super practical person at heart, and I had to include a hand sanitizer in each pack. However, we needed to cute it up and make it more on-theme so I found custom stickers on Etsy (you can find the ones I used here) and stuck them to some Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer. The scent I used was Watermelon Lemonade, which smells just like summertime!

One of my favorite things that I had made for the trip was custom cosmetic pouches. These came out so cute, and I always have use for little bags like this! I like being able to use something like this for my daily makeup, and for this weekend I filled the pouch up with some essentials. I was able to get travel-sized items on Amazon that were super useful over the weekend. In the pouches I included individually packaged Tylenol, Emergen-C, Neutrogena Face Wipes, Ring Pops, and Antacid.

Next, I got these super cute shirts for all of us to wear to the Alamo for pictures. You can find the same ones I got on Etsy. I chose these colors because they matched the bride's wedding colors, and I wanted them to be something we could reuse the weekend of the wedding. 

The real showstopper of the bags were these ginger jar pajamas from 8 Oak Lane. They aren't available on their website anymore, but I found them in another online store here.  The theme of the bride's wedding was ginger jars, so I thought these were great! Not only could the girls wear them during the bachelorette weekend, but they could be used for the wedding weekend as well. The quality on these was great, and I would love to buy other pjs from this company in the future. 

Check back later for more information on creating an incredible bachelorette weekend! If you have questions, or would like any help planning your own bachelorette weekend, or just a girl's trip - let me know! I love party planning!

Sparkle on!