A SUMMER BABY GIRL SHOWER

A group of friends and I threw a baby shower for our dear friend Whitney last weekend.

It was simple and sweet and beautiful and fun, and this group of friends is about as talented and generous as they come in terms of party-throwing.

We played to Whitney's nursery theme of grey, white, gold, and pink in the decor. Giant, fragrant bouquets of peonies filled the tables, along with small mercury glass votives.

It was really fun for me to design and letter the invites. You can't tell from the photo, but each invite had two hand-painted watercolor edges in light pink. I placed them in grey envelopes and lettered the names and addresses in pink watercolor. Loved how they turned out.

We had a buffet of mini quiches, fruit kabobs, spinach salad, scones, and these delightful chocolate dipped coconut macaroons. We sat outside, sipped mimosas, and brunched at long tables on the back deck. We had 18 guests in total, which is a great turnout for a summer Saturday, and two guests even flew in from out of state (!!) Whitney is so loved.

A really neat idea one of the girls' who co-hosted suggested was to have blank cards in envelopes numbered 1-12 for guests to write encouraging notes to Whitney on, for her to open when her baby is one month old, two months, etc. I loved that idea and watercolored the numbers onto small envelopes, and guests wrote funny/sweet/encouraging words on them.  I feel like if there's one thing new moms need, it's encouragement, and this is one small way to add to that.

I love watching my friends become first time moms! This is the second baby shower this group of girls has co-hosted for one of the five of us, and I look forward to each one. I've said this before, but there is so much to celebrate in your twenties and thirties; one reason why I love this age so much. Between engagements, weddings, careers, and babies, there is so much newness to this season and so many good things worth throwing a party for. What an exciting and fun stage of life. Thankful for sweet friends who celebrate each other so well.

29

I turned 29 on the 29th last week, and my husband and I threw a backyard dinner party. More details on that party to come, but here is a teaser photo. Loved this night.

We're still traveling but are very much looking forward to getting back and returning to the routine of daily life at home. There are so many photos and words to share about this trip, both that are taking up space on my phone and in my thoughts. Can't wait to share.