Baby Shower - Welcome To The World

As hard as it sometimes is for me to believe, I'm already in my thirties!  Growing into adulthood in New York City has been a fun ride with lots of ups and downs and too many adventures to count.  But best of all are the wonderful friends that I've met and kept close through the years.  I'm currently in a happily unattached phase of my life, but even if you're not ready to settle down with Mr Right just yet, one inevitable truth to growing older is that some of those wonderful friends around you will eventually get there before you.  Suddenly all of my best friends were finding husbands and getting married.  And what's the next step in that chain of domestic life?  In my case it's keeping a house plant that doesn't die, but for others the next natural step is a baby!

My first friend to reach that point was my friend Andrea, a fellow fashion designer and long time love of my life.  You might remember her from my previous post My Best Friend's Wedding, about her stylish wedding to her fantastic husband Joaquin.  When they announced that they were expecting their first son Cruz, our clique was beyond excited.  Congratulations are in order, all around!  My best friend Dawn and I have a passion for event design, and we immediately offered to host the shower.

Andrea is from Connecticut and her husband is from Argentina, both now living in the New York metropolitan area.  To celebrate baby Cruz's eclectic heritage we decided on a "Welcome To The World" theme for the shower.  We pulled together antiques with a worldly inspired common theme,a and clustered them over natural burlap for the main table spread.  The party was a brunch so we served breakfast foods from different nations across the world, including New York bagels and Andrea's mother's famous French Toast Casserole.  (Both are enthusiastic favorites of mine.)  A "Mom-osa" juice and champagne bar was set up for guests to enjoy along with delicious coffee.

Dawn and I collected stunning antiques from various sources, including my treasured vintage snakeskin luggage set bought from Brooklyn Flea years ago.  I created a mini flag banner with the theme title neatly displayed for all to see, hanging from top of the standing luggage piece.  Globes of the Earth in various sizes and ages worked well to add interest and variation to the main table.  One of the newer globes was gifted to Cruz's nursery, a fond token of his first party.  Dawn's set of vintage children's books offered the perfect amount of nostalgic whimsy, stacked in the center of the arrangement.  Old found jars were used as flower vases for a rustic feel.

Mason Jars are a new staple for simplistic drinking glasses at any party, but we were lucky that this year happened to be the 100th Anniversary of the Ball Jar.  In celebration they released limited edition "Heritage" jars in a light blue hue in remembrance of the original glass color used in the beginning of the company.  This color worked perfectly for the shower, as Andrea was expecting a baby boy!  Baby blue swirly straws, another popular constant in modern party planning, were used for the drinks.  Small tags were tied to the rim of each glass with decorative twine, in order to give guests a chance to personalize and keep track of their beverage.

Decorative tulle balls were hung from the ceiling in a matching pastel color palette of white, light blue, and mint green.  Additionally "Oh The Places You'll Go", a popular book by Dr Suess, offered inspiration to the youthful travel theme.  A banner with this title was draped across a wide mirror using miniature clothespins, and we added a personal touch by replacing the word "you" with the baby's sonogram.

Across the opposing window I created a curtain of baby onesies, each featuring the word "Welcome" in five different languages.  I illustrated thematic images on each onesie, including globes, clouds, and hot air balloons.  The best part about this decoration was that the onesies were functional and could be worn by baby Cruz after birth.

Dawn is an amazing artist, and she illustrated many beautiful images for the party and turned them into a garland which was draped across the other window.  Hearts, hot air balloons, Eiffel towers, and New York City taxis danced fancifully over guests heads throughout the party.  The hot air balloon was also used on the invitation, which Dawn expertly designed.  This motif was so well received, it was actually used for the baby's mobile design in his nursery.  To see Dawn's beautiful illustrations, shop her Etsy store AvocadoChange offering a stunning collection of greeting cards.

Inspired by Joaquin's nationality we decided the favors of the shower would be Dulce de Leche, a confection hailing from Argentina.  All in all the shower was a great success.  All of the wonderful little details came together perfectly, and mommy-to-be was as thrilled with the decor.  Best of all, a few months later a new super cool new person was born.  Welcome to the World, Cruz!