An Honestly Beautiful Baby Shower

No, we did not coordinate our outfits.

Last Sunday I threw a baby shower for one of my dearest friends.  Maya and I were roommates in New York, and we've weathered many of life's ups and downs over the years.  It should clue you in that we are kindred spirits considering we decided to move in together while enjoying our third round of martinis in the VIP section of Spy Bar.  We've come a long way since then - she's a lawyer turned news anchor, we're both happily married, and she will soon be the Momma of a little boy - but we're still as close as ever.  Maya lives in Sydney, Australia now, so we only get to see each other once a year, but we always make it count.  When I heard she was expecting a little dude, I was super excited to throw her a baby shower.  I had dreams of throwing a Pinterest-worthy shindig at our house, but since I'm trying to be realistic about how much I can handle while also parenting a small, very active child, I opted to host a tea at The Peninsula instead.  Friends, I am so glad that I did not try to throw the shower at my home.  By the time it was all said and done, the cost was pretty much the same as if I'd had it catered, and I didn't have to clean anything up once the guests went home.  Everyone had a great time, and it made me so happy to celebrate Maya's baby boy.

Aren't the floral arrangements gorgeous?!  They are tightly-packed bouquets of carnations.  I had nothing to do with them - it was all The Peninsula's doing - but it totally looks like I planned the whole color scheme.  The coral looked so beautiful with all the different blues in the favor bags and the place cards.

I ordered a printable place card template from Etsy and then input all the guests names.  The template was only three dollars, and I will totally use it again, so that was definitely money well spent.

I printed a bunch of photographs of Maya and her Husband as little kids, and a few of the two of them as adults, and then I used tiny blue clothespins and clipped all the pictures to a long length of blue and white striped ribbon.  I topped off the photo collection with a 3D ultrasound of Maya's babe.  All the guests enjoyed seeing the photographs and laughing about the awkward 1980's hairstyles.

The Honest Company generously donated the favors for the shower, which was seriously amazing.  I absolutely love their products, and I was so excited to share two of my favorite goodies with the shower guests.  Inside each of the favor bags was a travel size hand sanitizer spray (a necessity when you are a parent) and a full size of their Face and Body Lotion.  Friends, if you have not tried The Honest Company products, I urge you to do so immediately.  You can order yourself a free sample pack of the items that interest you and then get signed up for a monthly delivery.  I have not been disappointed by anything of theirs that I've tried.  I'm especially partial to the sunscreen as it doesn't have any ingredients that are toxic for little ones.  I use it for Noah every day in the summer, but I also use it on myself and the Hubby!

The polkadot gift bags were from Vine American Party.  I loved that they were appropriate for a shower, but not babyish.  I hate babyish stuff.  Seriously, no baby animals, please. 

Maya is having three baby showers - one in Los Angeles, one in New York, and one in Sydney - so all of the hostesses got together to create a box of wishes for Maya and baby.  It will be a fun surprise for her after the last shower when she gets presented with all the well-wishes from her friends and loved ones across the globe.

A great time was had by all.  In fact, they asked us to leave because they had another reservation for our table.  Hey, at least we weren't thrown out for public intoxication and drug use like in the old days.