Little Sweet Sailboats for Baby Alexandra

I haven’t worked in an office setting since my first son was born in 2008. I left to stay home with him when he was born, and although I made some really awesome friends at that office, I never would have thought that five years later, we would still get together and hang out. (But I’m eternally grateful that we do!) There have been more babies, Christmas nights out, patio parties…usually accompanied by wine, food, and more wine. Recently, we had one of the funnest reasons to throw a party: a new baby is on the way. I jumped all over the invitation (surprise, surprise) and instantly thought of pink sailboats. The new Mom and Dad have a very classic, clean and chic style, like they just stepped out of a J Crew catalog, lol. So I thought a soft, nautical vibe would be perfect. I drew up a sail boat illustration with some clouds and sunshine, and a ship’s wheel for the return address. For some cute karma I incorporated leftover pink card stock from their wedding invitations as a backing mat for the shower invitation, and added a jute bow as an embellishment. I can’t resist envelope liners so I added a purple one to the inside and sealed up the envelopes with pink washi tape.

For party accessories, I wanted to do a version of the nail polish favor I’ve seen on Pinterest. OPI brand makes a pretty pink shade called “It’s a Girl!” and according to the pin, you just add a little round thank you tag and there you have it. I wanted to get a little more creative with it (and honestly, the $9 price tag on OPI polish was undesirable). So I wandered around Ulta (a makeup store) and found a nice pastel array of colors that worked perfect. I got pastel pink, yellow, purple and blue. I also found mini nail files which fit next to the bottle nicely. I wrapped them both in the same jute and attached a little flag on a toothpick that said “To Pretty Up Your Piggies”.

One of my other ideas was to drink our beverages out of mason jars. Thankfully my best friend cans her own jelly, so she had a bunch of jars for me to borrow. She also suggested putting a cupcake liner over the top of the jar BEFORE screwing the lid on, and then poking a straw through the paper. SO CUTE. I found some pink “It’s a Girl!” liners at Hobby Lobby and also picked up some blue striped paper straws. (I’m in love with paper straws.) I pulled out the jute again and wrapped the jar up to make it coordinate. We served sparkling lemonade (and wine!) in the jars and in case you’re curious, yes you can drink wine with a straw!

I popped some more flags onto cupcakes for dessert and my part was done. Our amazing party hostess (she should get paid for these things, she’s up there with Martha Stewart) served the best lunch and decorated perfectly. The weather cooperated for once and we had a great day. Now we’re all waiting for little Baby Alexandra to make an appearance so we can get together again…