It's Time to Celebrate...

My mom, sister, and I recently hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law.  We had SO much fun planning it and my sister-in-law loved it! 

It all started with the baby's sheets from PB Kids.  The elephants and giraffes inspired us to do a safari themed baby shower for our new Mommy-to-be!

Invitations from Tiny Prints

For the wishing well, we asked guests to bring one of their favorite children's books to fill a beautifully painted bookshelf decorated with giraffes and elephants for our new little man.

Instead of table numbers, we used a different safari animal to distinguish between each table.  The children's book at the center of each table doubled as guest books.  We asked each guest to inscribe a special message to the baby in the front of their table's book!

We had cookie favors made for each table too! Each "giraffe" received a giraffe cookie to take home, and so on...

And for dessert, we enjoyed cupcakes & sundaes. YUM!!!

To top things off, some of the guests even carried the safari theme into their gifts.  Check out this ADORABLE shirt from Spoon Sisters.  The elephant ears double as drool clothes...too cute!!!

What a fantastical day!  We can't wait to welcome our new baby boy into the world.  Thank you to all the guests for making this day simply wonderful for our parents-to-be & our little bambino :-)

LOVEYAS!

The Art of Stuffing a Stocking

Years ago, my husband and I decided to only exchange stocking stuffers at Christmas. I really enjoy this because it requires a little extra thought and creativity. Not only does the gift need to be sentimental and/or useful, but it must be small too...a little extra challenge!

Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffers...

For the baby in your life, the Doidy Cup is an amazing product that eases the transition from bottle to cup without major spills!

For the organizer in your life, Magnutz are super small magnets with UNBELIEVABLE strength.

For the love of your life, the "I'm nuts about you!" key ring says it all. The packaging is simply adorable, and the key ring itself is the perfect size-small enough to be unobtrusive, but big enough to remind your honey how lucky he or she is!

For the cook in your life, a silicon basting brush is a MUST-have!

For the men in your life, try these easy to match dress socks. Once he tries them, he will never go back to traditional gold-toes. Not only are they thin and soft, but they make matching socks fun and SIMPLE!

For the child in your life, include these adorable mini lunch notes.  Nothing is better than finding a fun-loving note in your lunch from someone you love...a guaranteed smile every day of the week!

Please share some of your favorites too! With a little help from each other, we can all have ROCKIN' full stockings this year.

Midnight Snack Attack!

Between this past March and this upcoming November, we will welcome a total of 7 new babies among all my girlfriends. So very exciting!

The arrival of all of these babies has started me thinking about the perfect "welcome home baby" gifts...

I vividly remember the beginning months of parenthood being full of tiresome days and wakeful nights. Its unavoidable. Every transition takes time. Mommy, Daddy, and Baby need time to get to know one another and to settle into a schedule that works for the family.

For one couple, I created a personalized "Snack Attack" basket to add a little fun to those tiresome days and wakeful nights. I filled a basket with some of our friends' favorite snacks. I included a box of cupcake onesies...fun & food themed, yet practical! As a final touch, I burned a cd of fun children songs related to eating that my daughter and I enjoy singing together. I entitled the cd "Snack Attack!"

Both parents very much appreciated the snacks and their baby girl LOVES the cd. A perfect gift for mommy, daddy, and baby!

If you don't have time to make it, Dean & Deluca offer great snack gift options (although, beware, they can be quite pricey!).