It's A Girl: Anna's Baby Shower

My cousin Anna is having a baby girl!!!  And, of course, my sisters and I, along with our mother, could not have been more thrilled to throw her an all pink baby shower!  

Branding expert Loretta Hoover designed the invitations, flags, coasters, and other coordinating printed materials.  Paddi Cakes created the most delicious white almond vanilla and pink chocolate fudge cake pops, while Just Pop In supplied the strawberry and vanilla popcorn- yum!  Four Leaf Events' own Jaimee Dee was kind enough to share her talents and be our photographer for the day.

One of my favorite touches were the small bags of popcorn containing a different magnetized prayer request were passed out to remind the guests to keep them in their prayers "Before Anna Pops."

No baby shower is complete without a homemade diaper cake.  This one made by my sister was so personalized and adorable!

After a silly game of undressing and changing the baby doll's diaper while wearing oven mitts and an apron (a twist on a family Christmas game), my oldest sister presented a touching devotional about life as a parent.  When hosting a shower it is best to keep the details a personalized as possible.  After all, the purpose of a shower is to celebrate that person's next step in life, so why not focus the details around that person and their style!

I had to share these shots of my adorable nieces who were both big helps as mini hostesses for the shower.  Being an aunt is the greatest!

Congratulations to Anna & Kedric on their baby girl arriving very soon in September!  We cannot wait to meet her!

Jen

Chandeliers and Cake Zen

Last night Jen and I attended the Indy Getting Hitched premiere party at the wedding/event venue Community Life Center at Washington Park East. While the space is beautiful on both the inside and the outside, I couldn't shake the fact that it is located right in front of a cemetery and CONNECTED to a building that holds funerals. It just seems like an ominous place to hold a wedding/reception. But if you can get past the things I've mentioned, and for the right price, even I could, then it would be the perfect venue. There are many gorgeous chandeliers that glitter and catch every bit of light in the room and would probably make for some breathtaking photos. I also loved the rich tones that occupy the space which far exceed the average "ballroom" at a convention center or hotel. It truly was a beautiful space, but then there's that cemetery...

Photo from Community Life Center

I apologize for my somewhat negative review, so let me make it up to you by telling you about an event that has probably changed my life. Within the venue, various vendors (whoa, that's a lot of 'v's) were set up with their booths. I don't like cake. I never have and probably never will. As we were browsing, Jen and I stumbled upon Cake Zen. There were some cupcakes that were very aesthetically pleasing, but I didn't try them. However, I will say that I was very tempted because words like "chili powder" and "pow!" were being used to describe them. There were also mini lime meringues in adorable little double shot glass sized glasses. I also don't like meringue. BUT this meringue was different. The second the spoon touched my palette, I almost died from excitement and content at the same time. It tasted like someone crushed a pearl, mixed it with silk, threw in a dash of magic, and dropped it on my tongue. It even shimmered as though there really were pearls in the recipe. It was, hands down, the best pie-esque, nay, dessert I have ever had the honor and privilege of enjoying. From now on, I will always compare other desserts to this one, which is extremely unfortunate for all those to come after, because I'm fairly certain nothing will compare, and now I really wish I had tried the cupcakes. Someday, when I get married, I'm giving Jama a call. Not only are her culinary skills superb, but she was sweet as can be. Cake Zen gets 1,246 thumbs up (I realize I don't have that many thumbs, but if I did, they'd all be up).

Photo from Cake Zen Blog

Jaimee