Party in the USA, Part One.

I put my hands up, they're playin' my song, I know I'm gonna be okay, Yeaaaaah, it's baby showers here in this hizz-ay.

Remember when Miley hadn't gone off the deep end?  I miss those days.

Parties are one of those thangs I love doing up for my friends.  Not too long ago in the before-we-had mounds-of-snow-in-our-yard era, I hosted two different theme-y baby showers for my friends, one was a Parisian Owl theme and the other a Jungle Theme.

Let's visit France first...

I let Zazzle handle the invitations for these, because as much as I'd love to do handmade invites, those don't happen with all the other pre-party prep that happens.  Instead of "look whoooo's having a baby," I typed up invites declaring, "Whooo La La!"

Also, just a side note, the pic is from Zazzle's site, so don't try and come visit me in Santa Barbara, CA.  After this Chiberian winter, I definitely wish I lived there right now.

So, why the French Owl theme, you ask?  Well, my bestie was doing an owl themed nursery for her little one, and I had just gotten back from a trip to Paris, so BAM, French Owl it is.

For the food items, I kept it simple and visited our local charcuterie (a la Trader Joe's) and fromagerie (Trader Joe's again) to pick up the meat and cheese spread.  Croissants, french bread, and dijon mustard were a must have.

The table was decorated with thrifted milk glass bottles and vintage tray, as well as, some French lavender from my garden.  My mom lent me her French provincial tablecloth too.

The eclairs and macaroons were purchased from a French bakery in Chicago.  The hydrangeas came from my mom's garden.

Fireplace decor designed by moi.

      

My gal pals and I purchased a shiny white changing table/dresser for our friend's big gift too.

I asked the guests to write down a wish for the baby and drop it into a vase, so the new mom could save them for a future scrapbook.  The white signs in a bunch of my posted photos are being re-used from my wedding back in the day and were originally bought from Ikea.

Fuzzy owl from Pier 1.  This owl is seriously the softest little guy.

I also made a mobile for a baby gift out of a quilt hoop and a LOT of pretty ribbons.  I even found a beautiful owl ribbon from Michaels.  This baby mobile was pretty easy.  I used a whole lotta glue gunning (and a few burned fingers) to put this baby together.

Here it is in it's natural habitat...

For guests' parting favors, I hand painted river pebbles to look like little owls, with a "Take One, S'il Vouz Plait" sign.

This party was a hoot, but that's owl for now.  I'll be back with Part Two sooooon.