Late Friday morning, I caught a plane to Sarasota, Florida for a weekend with some of my best friends from college. We all came in town to celebrate our beautiful friend Leah’s baby shower!
(Dress info for those who asked via Instagram: On me – Trina Turk Morena dress via RueLaLa; On Leah – Maeve Lene dress via Anthropologie)
The shower was hosted by our good friends Laurel and Merri and took place at Merri’s dad and his wife’s house. The weather was absolutely perfect for an indoor/outdoor shower so we were able to enjoy the lovely sunshine in the backyard throughout the afternoon!
Baby’s breath for a baby shower…
Placed in vases decorated by Laurel!
Remember that craft project I said I had to work on last week? It was for a mini book garland for Leah’s baby shower!
I stamped little blank white tags with “It’s A Boy” or baby feet stamps and alternated them with mini homemade blue and gray books that I made simply by cutting up cardstock and old book pages.
(You can see a great little tutorial for a garland very similar to this one on Martha Stewart’s website.)
My early arrival on Friday meant I was able to help Merri with some last-minute baby shower-related to-dos, including grocery shopping for the party food and brainstorming toppings for the grilled cheese bar which was quite easy to do thanks to your delicious suggestions on Twitter. Thanks so much for weighing in!
The grilled cheese bar was a huge hit among guests and also a super simple way to feed a large group of people. Everyone had fun creating their own sandwiches and playing with the tasty additions. I made a sandwich with Havarti cheese, caramelized onions and pear slices and it was heavenly.
Everyone sipped on drinks made with champagne (or sparking water for the mama-to-be) and a splash of various kinds of Italian soda.
The blood orange and grapefruit were my favorites!
Guests were encouraged to bring a book in lieu of a card and write a message to Leah’s baby boy on the inside.
I brought the children’s book Forever Young that included beautiful illustrations by Paul Rogers to the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s famous song, “Forever Young.” I thought it was such a neat find! And if you have a baby shower coming up for a mom-to-be with an rockin’ sense of humor, I highly recommend this book that our friend Kaitlyn brought that had all of us cracking up. (<— Bad language – be warned!)
Perhaps the most special book that made it into the crate was the handmade book. Our incredibly artistic friend Krystal created an alphabet book ahead of time and then guests were each in charge of decorating one page of the book for baby Theo!
I loved this idea and even though the cat I drew for the letter “C” looked more like a cat-bunny, it was a fun little project!
Once we were done decorating our alphabet book pages and eating our grilled cheese sandwiches, we headed outside to play some games!
Before the shower, we were all told to send Merri baby pictures of ourselves and then during the shower, we had to try to match the baby picture to each guest at the shower! It was way harder than I thought it would be and I’m pretty sure I lost.
At least I got one right…
Baby Julie!
On the back of the baby pictures was a quote by Roald Dahl (one of my favorite childhood authors!) that served as a bookmark guests could take home with them.
After games and dessert, it was time for Leah to open presents before some of the guests left and our group of girlfriends was left to hang out with the mama-to-be and soak up lots of quality time with each other for the rest of the weekend.
(Baby Lips lip balm shower favors = So creative! Love it!)
Congratulations again to Leah and Ricky. Baby Theo is already so loved!
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You guys really do go all out for baby showers!!! When is your friend due?
Shes due at the end of next month. 🙂
She’s so teeny tiny!!!
I love everything about that shower! The Baby Lips thank you gift is the coolest!
Your friend looks beautiful. Congrats to her on her soon-to-be baby boy!
The grilled cheese bar looks pretty tasty.
That alphabet book is such a great idea. I’m sure it’ll get read lots!
really sweet, you’re friend looks wonderful, such a wonderful name for little one also:)
Ahh this looks like such a fun baby shower! Every detail is perfect. I especially love the idea of a make-your-own grilled cheese bar!
I seriously can’t wait until either my brother or one of my older college friends has a baby. I’m ALL about the planning and crafty stuff 🙂
I love that book! That is such a cute idea!
Leah looks amazing! Great color on her. Sign me up for that grilled cheese bar. 🙂
Wow what a gorgeous shower!
What a fun shower!! I’m co-hosting a sprinkle for one of my girlfriends and am bookmarking this post for ideas! Thank you!
What a perfect baby shower! The ABC book is so creative. I bet my daughter would love that 🙂
It looks like a FABULOUSLY done baby shower and like it was a great time!
Also, your hair looks stunning! Did you curl it with a wand or straightener? I love that it looks so naturally wavy.
Thank you! I wrap my hair around the outside of a curling iron and spray the heck out of it with hairspray before brushing it out.
So sweet!!! I love the name theo!
He is being named after Leah’s husband’s grandpa! 🙂 I love it, too!
Looks like such a great shower! I love the handmade book – such a sweet idea!
The baby shower was so cute and creative! Being a book lover, I absolutely in love with the idea of the books instead of a card!
Me too!! I thought it was so creative!
That was an adorable baby shower! You guys are all so creative! 🙂
How adorable! SEriously – such awesome and well thought out shower ideas! I’m stealing those for sure! 🙂
Also – all your friends are just so gorgeous!
I just had my baby shower, so I’m loving this post!! How funny that of all things I didn’t find on Pinterest, were the “oh baby” flags I made & so did you guys!! Simpatico 😉 Here are all of my crafty things:
http://www.justmarried12.blogspot.com/2015/01/pintastic-baby-showergender-reveal.html?m=1
Awww those decorations are adorable, what a fun baby shower. You and your friends look so cute together!
Cute! A grilled-cheese bar? Never heard of this goodness. But LOVE the idea.
Everyone looked so beautiful! Your friend is a gorgeous and radiant mama to be! I love throwing showers from my friends because you really get to personalize them to create a special day. I recently threw my sister in law a bridal shower/bachelorette party and named it a Bridalette.. I had so much fun putting together all of the treats, decor, and games! Great memories. Congrats to your friend.
Aw love the idea of a bridalette 🙂
Too cute! Your friend looks fabulous and HAPPY! 🙂 What a good friend you are to make the trip down there 🙂
Such cute ideas! My cousin did the book thing too! I think it’s such a great idea!
I love how you didn’t show off your cat drawing 😛 LOL. Lets see it!!!
Oh it’s better for everyone if the cat bunny remains hidden. 🙂
Wow, this looked like an awesome baby shower! I seriously loved everything and the Baby balm..so creative!
Hey Julie! Such a cute baby shower, really! What did you guys use to grill the sandwiches? Thanks!
my friend laurel’s mom owns an extra large panini maker that we borrowed for the sandwiches. it worked really well!
What a beautiful shower! And that grilled cheese bar is a fantastic idea!
I love the grilled cheese bar idea! So fun and creative. What a cute shower!
All the parties you go too are always so detail oriented! They are so sweet and I wish that I had the energy for all that. Looks like you had a great time and I loved all the books and games!
Forever Young is my most favorite baby gift! So many friends whose children are older still tell me how much they love the book to this day!
Everything about this shower is adorable!! I especially love the juice in fancy decanters and the baby book crate. I’ll have to remember some of these for future baby showers!
I have a girlfriends shower coming up! Love the ideas! Thanks
Aw how cute!! I love everyone’s dresses, too…really makes me miss the warm weather. I’m in Springfield, MO where it was oh about 19 degrees this morning! I’m really digging the grilled cheese bar, I’ve seen it done before and it is definitely on my list the next time we have a get together!
What a cute shower! Way better than the melted candy bar “poopy” diaper games most play. 😉
So many great/cute ideas! This just reminded me that I will totally have to go back through some of your bridal party posts! I just found out I’m going to be a bridesmaid and I want my bridesmaid game to be on-point!
Adorable shower. I love the vintage look to it. 🙂
i love the grilled cheese bar….was there a toaster on the table to melt the cheese?? what were the toppings?? id love some more details about this idea!!! xoxo
a grilled cheese bar?! GENIUS!!!!
I love all the details that always go into your parties! That grilled cheese bar is such a great idea!!
I always buy books as part of a baby shower gift. Sandra Boyton is my favorite and Goodnight Gorilla. Plus I’m a strict believer in giving gender-neutral gifts 🙂
So many creative elements. Such a fun party! Thanks for sharing . http://Www.eatallovertheworld.com
Leah is so pretty! And looks FABULOUS, she wears pregnancy well!
What a cute baby shower! Your friend Leah looks great 🙂
That looks like so much fun!! The alphabet book idea is too cute 🙂 and seriously, I’m craving a grilled cheese right now.
I’m in love with everything in this post! Grilled Cheese Bar? BRILLIANT!
What a lovely shower, beautiful photos!
http://www.mintnotion.com
Loving the Italian soda idea, so cute!
A grilled cheese bar sounds SO delicious!
This shower had so many fun & creative ideas–love it! And totally adore the game of the baby pictures & the idea of bringing books in lieu of gifts. <3
That homemade book is such a great idea and is so precious! I also love the very creative favors! So much better than a pen, almonds, or a candle! I love your dress!
What a great way to have a baby shower without stress! This was full of so many great ideas I will be sure to use at my friends coming in May! Xo C
Here’s a question I’ve always wondered: how do you get all your friends and family to agree to be in pics, especially on the blog? I know so many camera shy people (and of course, females in general are plagued by self-criticism, that they rarely see the beauty in themselves long enough to be photographed.) I can only get my pals to appear on one annual photo – our Friends Thanksgiving photo. But that’s because they know it won’t be shared anywhere. I just tell them, “you’ll appreciate this when you’re 80!”
i feel SO lucky that my friends/family are very supportive of the blog! some of my girlfriends will actually look through my camera and tell me not to post certain pics and i also try to be a good friend and not post pics i personally wouldn’t want to wind up on the internet! i also tell them to call or text me to take down any photos they may see on the blog that they don’t like of themselves, though this has only really happened once or twice. i just try to be respectful of their wishes and there definitely are times when people aren’t in the mood for photos (myself DEFINITELY included) and i just try to respect that.
Thanks for the great tips – good to know that it’s the same for you too. My closest friends and I have a rule – everyone IN the photo has to agree for it to be shared, or it doesn’t get shared. Which just means we end up taking a hundred times more photos. lol But I have a friend in the entertainment biz and she says it’s only natural, because photographers take 300 pics for every one that actually gets used somewhere. So we don’t feel bad taking 30 to get one. lol Change the angle, change the cropping, change the setting – something always works!