#BUMPLIFE: My Baby Shower

I am so excited to share some photos from my baby shower with you! My mom and close friend Tamar (who is basically family) threw me the sweetest baby shower a few weeks ago. I may or may not have given just a *little bit* of guidance on what I was wanting (mentioning recipe ideas I’d seen on Pinterest here… flowers and decor style I had seen there…). I know you are obviously not supposed to plan your own baby shower but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t drop a few hints with my mom of what I had in mind.

I think I did this for a combination of reasons and it really wasn’t about being in control. I just wanted to make sure my friends and family enjoyed themselves and had plenty to eat and drink (we had a “MOM-osa” bar… pictures below). My mom works very long hours so I didn’t want it to be too much of a burden on her to plan. I also felt like this shower was for my little girl, not for me, so I wanted to make sure it was simple and feminine with a little bohemian feel to it (the typical baby shower decor that screams baby is just not me).

The baby shower was beautiful and so much fun. While I was sad that some of my family and best friends weren’t able to come (since they live out-of-state and obviously all of Ita’s family is in Israel…), I still felt surrounded by love and was overwhelmed with how kind and giving everyone was. It made me even more excited to bring this baby girl into the world.

There were tons of little details my mom put into this baby shower and definitely a few “Pinterest-worthy” moments! Here is a breakdown of all of the food, drinks, games and decor… feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!

THE FOOD

I mean to me this is one of the most important things at any event or party. I am all about a well-balanced brunch so it was a given my baby shower would serve just that. Here is a look at the menu…

Spiraled Brown Sugar Bacon – who doesn’t love bacon?! My mom figured out a way to make the bacon into little twirls and the brown sugar gives it just the right amount of flavor and adds a special touch for this special occasion.

Monte Cristo Brunch Sandwiches – pinned here

Empanadas – my sister-in-law is from Argentina and makes THE MOST AMAZING EMPANADAS EVER. She makes them for the family every Christmas Eve (they take a lot of work!) and she was kind of enough to make them for my baby shower. My brother has become quite the expert at making chimichurri (the sauce you dip them in) so we had that to go with them. Maybe one of these days I can convince her to show me how she makes them and I’ll share it on the blog…

Strawberry Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing – remember when I said I was dropping hints on Pinterest recipes? This was one of the recipes… my other sister-in-law is quite the baker and made these unbelievably delicious strawberry rolls with cream cheese from scratch. Everyone loved them and I can’t wait to try to make them myself! Get the recipe here.

Donut Tower – I love donuts and still to this day, I think the little donut shop from my hometown is still the best donuts I’ve ever had (Keller Donuts – you can’t go wrong with just plain glazed and chocolate!). These donuts are not only delicious but the donut tower itself is like a decoration. Just stack them up on a platter and place little flowers and greenery! My mom even had them make some with pink icing to match the baby shower decor.

Cheese and Fruit Platter – Tamar made a gorgeous cheese and fruit platter. Again, something that is delicious and beautiful full of cheese, fruit, nuts, crackers and veggies!

Hashbrown Eggs Nest – these little hash brown eggs nests were just the right amount of salty and perfect for individual portions!

THE DRINKS

Just because it’s a baby shower doesn’t mean you can’t have a little bubbly! While I personally stuck to juice, I wanted to make sure everyone could enjoy a little mimosa if they wanted to (is it really brunch if you don’t serve mimosas?). My mom made a “MOM-osa” bar with fresh squeezed orange, pineapple and guava juice, fresh fruit and prosecco and cava. If guava juice sounds bizarre to you I promise it’s so good! It’s very sweet but guava is very popular in Cuban culture (I’m half-Cuban) and goes great in a mimosa! We also served water and raspberry lemonade.

My mom found glass champagne flutes SUPER affordable at IKEA along with these adorable carafes! I also found THIS MOM-OSA specific stemless champagne flute that would be a perfect gift for a mama-to-be!

DECOR

Like I mentioned it was important to me that the baby shower didn’t feel too “baby-y” if that makes sense. Just simple decor with light shades of pink and greenery.

Flowers: ℅ Bouqs

Floral Wooden “BABY” – made by mom using wooden letters she found at Target. She painted them white and glued on flowers. So simple and cute! If you know what you’re naming your baby you could do that too!

“OH BABY” rose gold balloons – from Target (only $5!)

Pink Swan Vase – mom found it at Marshall’s and stuffed pink carnations in it for it’s “tail”. Shop identical one on Etsy HERE.

Floral Strand Balloons – how amazing are these giant balloons with floral strands?! My mom made them using greenery and fake flowers then tied giant balloons to the top. I ended up cutting off the balloons and keeping the strands of greenery with flowers and plan on using it in the nursery somewhere!

Canvas Photo Backdrop – unfortunately I don’t have many photos of this (you may have seen this one on Instagram) but my mom used a long canvas curtain (you could use a shower curtain!) and hung it up outside for a backdrop for photos. She created another little piece of greenery with flowers to add to the photos.

Floral Ice Cubes – I saw these on Pinterest and loved them! Just buy large ice molds and put your favorite flowers in them with DISTILLED water. This will help them to be clear and not turn out foggy. These were on display with the mimosa bar keeping the prosecco cold and looked so beautiful!

GAMES

My sisters-in-law surprised me with a really fun trivia game about me and my pregnancy. It was put up on the TV and everyone logged in via their phone to buzz in with answers. It was a lot of fun and definitely had me laughing. One of the questions was, “what did Ita do when he found out Natalie was pregnant?” And the answer choices were, “cried like a baby, called his parents, hugged me, or ran away and went to play soccer” lol (answer: he cried ;)).

FAVORS

I have been obsessed with little succulents for years now. I knew I wanted everyone to go home with a little favor that they didn’t necessarily want to throw away right away and would actually like. To keep with the bohemian baby shower feel each person got their own little succulent with a little tag on it that said “watch me grow”. Super cute, right?! My mom bought the succulents in bulk then bought little vases which she painted. I am sure you can find a place to buy them ready to go.

Minted did my baby shower invitations (see the style I chose here – I got them in pink) and provided little favor cards as well. My mom filled little bags with chocolates and attached the “thank you” tags for a little extra favor.

MY DRESS

I was feeling pretty large and in charge at this point so finding a dress wasn’t the easiest task. I fell in love with this flowy pink dress that had the prettiest chiffon waterfall cape. I think it would have looked great with a pair of statement earrings but I honestly forgot to shop for earrings or shoes… it wasn’t until the day of the baby shower that I realized I didn’t have anything but I think my go-to wedges and simple ear crawlers worked fine.

So I think that’s everything! If there is anything I missed or anything you have questions on please leave me a comment! A HUGE THANK YOU to my mom who made all of this happen and worked like crazy in the little spare time she has to add all of these special touches, Tamar for opening her house to my family and friends to host this special day, my family members who helped make food and a major thank you to my friend Becca who took all of these beautiful pictures and captured this happy day so I will never forget it! I’m so thankful for everyone that was there and they all have a special place in my heart. Here are a few more photos just because! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

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Photos by: Beckley Co.