A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Don’t worry mom, not my baby.

We ended 2019 with a whirlwind of parties. We went right from Thanksgiving to a baby shower, then a kid’s holiday party with Santa, a neighborhood adults only party where I cooked for 40 people, Christmas Eve with the cousins and Christmas Day with good friends. I needed most of January to recover.

We have one of the best neighborhoods – summer block parties, holiday parties, Thirsty Thursdays – I couldn’t ask for a better community for my kids to grow up in. So, when our new neighbor found out she was having a baby, I wanted to give back and host – since the other ladies of the neighborhood were kind enough to throw me a shower (for my third no less).

I hosted with another young mom/friend in the neighborhood and she loves a good theme for a party. We decided to go with blue and gold.

I had been waiting for just the right moment to order macarons from Mac Lab, an amazing bakery in Georgia. These geode macarons come in a variety of colors and are almost to pretty to eat. They are mailed individually wrapped, so you don’t have to worry about them breaking in the mail. The gold macarons are hand painted and are coffee flavored.

I’m a big fan of candy boards – just a fun thing for the guest to pick at while they are gathered around the kitchen island. This time I chose blue rock candy lollipops, blue fruit slices, Jelly Belly jelly beans in a few different colors, sour laces, blue cubze by Happy Chocolatier and prosecco balls from Sukker & Sweet.

While the candy bar is fun, I wanted guests to be able to take home soem treats too – so I added some Lindt chocolates to the table as well. The sequin runner was from amazon and I made the baby letters using wooden letters from Michaels, spray adhesive, scrapbook paper and an exacto knife.

My friend who made the cake also made these delicious chocolate covered pretzels. They’re my absolute favorite!

Don’t worry, we did have real food at the shower as well. Keeping with the board theme, I went to my favorite cheese shop in Wellesley, Wasik’s, to pick up some things for the charcuterie board. We went with a Bavarian Blue from Germany, a Brie de Lyon from France (cow cheese) and Ossau – Iraty from France, a sheep milk cheese. I added blueberries, mixed olives, spicy soppressata, truffle salami, dried apricots, raincoast crisp crackers, and Effie’s Oatcakes.

I love edible (or drinkable) favors for parties. We went with LaMarca prosecco, blue and gold paper straws attache with some cute blue heart washi tape.

5 Things to Bring in Your Hospital Bag

I packed all of my things in a Sea Bag XL tote, it was big enough to hold all of my things and if it got dirty, you just wipe it down – no muss, no fuss!

1. Phone Charger: Seems obvious, but buy an extra one to just leave in your bag so you don’t have to race around looking for it when you go into labor. While you’re at it, download some shows to binge watch while you’re at the hospital!
2. Snacks: There will be moments when you get hungry and the cafeteria isn’t serving meals – and all the nurses station has is saltine crackers. But also, line up those friends to bring in sushi or cheese or whatever you’ve been craving for after your delivery!
3. Your Own Towel: When we got married, the woman who helped us register told me I HAD to get the bath sheets – you know, those enormous towels that you can only put on in the washer? Never used it…until I had a baby. The towel that they provided was like…the size of a face cloth…and that’s not what you need right after you’ve given birth.
4. The Most Luxurious Bath Products You Can Find: That first shower after you have given birth, for me, was life changing. I think I stood in the shower for a good hour, probably using up all of the hot water. I turn to look for soap and they have one of those hand dispensers with that “hospital smelling” soap in it. Trust me, enjoy this moment with the nicest smelling things you can find.
5. Clothes: Bring that cute matching outfit for you and the baby for that Instagram photo, but bring a couple of extra outfits for the baby. Also, bring clothes that you don’t mind throwing away…because after giving birth, things can get messy.

Tags: 5 things, baby shower, cake, candy, grazing board, macaron, party