photo by Beth Liebetrau
Friends! We hinted at it last week with our baby food jar bud vases but the big new is that wrote an article about hosting a Sip & See party for PaulaDeen.com! We are just thrilled to be talking Southern traditions on the same site as the Queen of Southern cooking. Check the story here and please leave us a comments (so Paula knows you stopped by).
Have you been to a Sip & See? Have you ever hosted one? We want all the details.
xo,
Lydia & Sarah
I paint dipped some baby food jars for a article we wrote about How to Host a Sip & See Party and am now obsessed with the technique. Baby food jars make darling bud vases for any baby related celebration. Dipped in a thick layer of latex paint they look elegant and sophisticated, like grown up vases. Below is a step by step “How To” tutorial should anyone want to try this at home.
Use a strong cleaner to get the labels and glue off the jars. Wash and dry well.
Place your chosen color of latex paint in a shallow disposable container.
Dip the base of the clean jar in the paint and start swirling it around.
I like them to look a little uneven so I made some sides higher, you can easily go for a uniform look.
Place the jars upside down on a paper towel and allow to dry for 24-36 hours (this much paint takes awhile to dry.)
The finished product! I love the drips and imperfections.
Repeat with any other colors. For the mint green I added some water to the paint to get more coverage on the jars. A little water goes a long way so be careful to add a teaspoon at a time.
photo by Beth Liebetrau
Once totally dry, fill the jars with water and a few simple blooms.
photo by Beth Liebetrau
Simple white flowers looked fresh in the mint and gold jars.
Photo by Beth Liebetrau
I can’t get over how pretty they look all lined up (credit goes to Beth Liebetrau for the excellent pictures.)
photo by Beth Liebetrau
The only problem with latex paint is it will come off if washed in warm water so be very careful not to get the outsides of the jars wet! I learned that lesson the hard way…
xo,
Lydia
Beautiful hostesses and one mama-to-be (Halie, Lydia, Marah, me, Julie, Sarah, and Jenn)
Where to begin? Saturday was my baby shower and my girlfriends collaborated on what was the most stunning and thoughtful event I’ve ever seen.
Recognizing each of the girls in the little details- sweet invitations, whimsical (and snuggly) centerpieces, a totally original baby game and guest book, my dream dessert display, homemade cupcakes and favorite childhood treats, a fun music mix, and custom menus- reminded me how lucky I am to have such creative, generous women in my life.
My sister, me, and our beautiful mom
Sarah posted her gorgeous DIY macaron towers, my sister’s pictures went live this morning, and Lydia will be here later this week to give you an in-depth tour of the planning and details.
Instagram album
For now, one great party tip from the hosts: have guests hashtag their photos on Instagram to create an immediate, collaborative on-line album. To see ours, use Instagram on your iPhone and search hashtag slshower (#SLSHOWER).
My edible baby niece.
If you’re not an iPhone user, I hope a snap of Ruby in her party dress will tide you over until Lydia is here to share more. Ruby loved being with all the big girls.
Thank you to my talented friends and family. I can’t wait for this baby to love you like her mama does.
xxSarah
Invite in true Miami colors
Thanks for all your kind words yesterday, my friends. Both me and my little GIRL are feeling very loved! Here are some pix from the pop-up baby shower my mom, sister, aunts and cousins threw for me last weekend in Miami.
My aunt Nancy pawed through hundreds of antique baby block beads to make us all an adorable name necklace.
I got three: one for me, one for Baby Lagro Fletcher and a bracelet to bring home for Angus. They’ll look cute layered over the corner of a family picture in the baby’s room!
Poufs, baby bottles filled with candies and amazingly good sugar cookies. The girls brought everything with them to Miami and transformed the restaurant table in minutes.
Shamrock tissue paper covered an Irish sweater
…exactly like the one Angus wore in 1977.
Happy cousins. Katie on the left is responsible for actually getting me to the party. I wanted to sleep through what was supposed to be a family cocktail hour (pregnant ladies are tired!), but she texted my sister, who was about ready to kill me for ruining all their hard work, that Martha Stewart was in the bar. I was only about 10 minutes late and very surprised to see a party and, alas, no Martha. Clever girls.
Thank you, ladies, for such a beautiful and thoughtful surprise! I loved it!
xx Sarah
Well, my loves, my little secret is out! And getting less little by the day, I might add. Angus and I are expecting a wee one of our own this Halloween.
(Don’t let the photo confuse you. We find out today if this chubbub is a boy or a girl. I just happen to be holding a pink pouf.)
We’re throwing around words like happy and excited in completely non-ironic ways on a daily basis. Familiar things? They now seem magical. We’ve had the baby’s first pancake, first bite of pineapple, first plane ride, first Bruce concert, etc. The list goes on and on and this tidbit has yet to draw breath.
I’m going to drive everyone nuts once he or she is here, guaranteed.
The best part, though, is wondering what firsts the baby will love. Will this little person play sports? Be able to sing? Build things? Prefer strawberry to mint chip?
Will this babe even like to read?
I can’t begin to fathom the surprises in store for Angus and me.
Off to the doctor now. Can’t wait to share what I’m having. In the meantime, tell me, what aspects of baby planning would you like me to share?
Tomorrow, images from my “pop up” baby shower in Miami last weekend.
xx Sarah
Wow, friends, that was quite a hack! We hope we’re back for good this time. We’ve missed you!
Let’s get to it. You saw detail pix from the shower and now it’s time to talk games. I know I’m not alone when I say I don’t love shower themes. But once my sister and I chose the games we wanted to play the theme emerged organically and was….the word “baby”.
Game #1. Don’t Say “Baby”
It’s exactly what it sounds like- Taboo with the word “baby”. We gave each guest a teething ring to wear as a bracelet. The objective? To call out your fellow partiers when they say “baby” and take their ring. We had a clear winner. A friend who basically stopped talking once the game began and snatched all but two of the teethers to create a rainbow chainlink necklace. She walked away with the grand prize which I’ll reveal below.
Game #2. Name that (Baby) Tune
We made a mix of our favorite baby songs and played only the first 5 seconds. The guest who named the most tunes (without actually saying baby) won Babycakes cookie mix. Or, as the winners called it, Childcakes cooke mix.
Song Ideas:
“Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears
“Baby, Baby” – Amy Grant
“Be My Baby” – The Ronettes
“Baby Love” – The Supremes
“Always Be My Baby” – Mariah Carey
“I’m Your Baby Tonight” – Whitney Houston
“Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” – Barry White
“I Got You Babe” – Sonny and Cher
“It Ain’t Me, Babe” – Johnny Cash
“Don’t Worry Baby” – The Beach Boys
Game #3. Daddy Knows Best.
You’ve probably played this one. We sent a list of questions to the dad-to-be and then asked his wife to guess his answers. Guests estimate the number of questions the future mama guesses right and the one with the number closest wins….Babycakes brownie mix.
This is a fun one to save for when Dad arrives at the end of the party.
Sample Questions:
How many diapers does a baby need each day?
How many hours does a baby sleep each day on average?
At what age does a baby start eating solid food?
Do you think your baby will be born with a lot of hair?
How many kids do you want to have?
Who’ll be the firm parent, and who’ll be the pushover?
Who will be the first to hear the baby cry in the middle of the night?
Who is going to cry more when the baby is born? Mom, dad or baby? Or a grandparent?
Where would you like your first family vacation to be?
If Dad could choose one trait to pass on to the baby what would it be?
If Mom could choose one trait to pass on to the baby what would it be?
If Dad could choose one trait of his to NOT pass on to the baby what would it be?
If Mom could choose one trait of her to NOT pass on to the baby what would it be?
What was Mom’s nickname as a baby?
What was Dad’s nickname as a baby?
What was Mom’s first word?
What was Dad’s first word?
And the grand prize? It was a DVD. You may have seen it coming.
Because nobody puts you-know-who in the corner.
Tell us, do you know any good shower games?
xo Sarah
Last week my sister and I hosted a baby shower for our sister-in-law. The “guestbook” was a thumbprint tree from Bleu de Toi. There’s even a baby bird snuggled in between the mama and the papa where the parents can stamp the baby’s thumb. Adorable!
We set the bar with striped straws, snapdragons and baby pictures of the parents-to-be and their mothers.
Fresh tangerine and ruby-red grapefruit juice plus prosecco for making your own mimosas. We also had iced bottles of French lemonade, sparkling fruit sodas, homemade peach iced tea and sparkling water. The bar tablecloth was pink and blue because we don’t know yet if the baby will be a boy or a girl.
Recognize those nuts?
My mom made her now-famous crab dip which we served with homemade potato chips. For lunch we had 4 kinds of quiche: a classic Lorraine, spinach and cheddar, broccoli and cheddar and sweet potato with Swiss chard and goat cheese.
Goodies for the mom-to-be.
Goodies for the guests: mini English toffees my mom smuggled in her suitcase from FoodStuffs, our favorite gourmet foodshop back in Chicago.
Next week, the games and prizes. Hint, the theme was the word “baby.”
Tell us, do you have any experience throwing baby showers? What worked well and what didn’t? More importantly, are you an aunt? I’m getting very excited about that!
Have a wonderful weekend!
xo Sarah
xoxo
I mentioned that we served a Banh Mi Sandwich buffet at Anjali’s bridal shower last month but I didn’t share any pictures of the buffet itself. A DIY sandwich buffet is a unique and easy way to feed a large crowd. Take some help from your local Vietnamese restaurant and order the baguettes and the meat from the restaurant to cut down on your cooking duties.
Set up your table in a way that guests start with the baguettes and then move from filling to filling to layer up their sandwiches as they please.
Vietnamese baguettes from Xoia in Echo Park are extra crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We cut them onto sandwich sized portions and then horizontally down the middle so they were ready to fill.
I made roasted garlic “aioli” by slow roasting a head of garlic and then pureeing it into Vegenaise with a splash of lemon. I made Sriracha “aioli” by mixing Sriracha chili sauce and lime juice into Vegenaise. I used Vegenaise because it tastes good and I wanted to make sure to accommodate any vegan shower guests.
After the aoili’s were spread onto baguettes, the guests chose between sliced tofu, roast beef in lemongrass broth (from Xoia) or pickled shrimp to top their sandwiches. All proteins were served cold or at room temperature (much easier on the hostesses.)
Next guests topped their sandwiches with shredded carrots, long matchsticks of cucumber and whole stems of crisp cilantro.
An artfully arranged shrimp sandwich on a Bambu plate. The sandwiches were delicious and satisfying, custom built to satisfy everyone’s tastes and dietary needs. All the plates returned empty. Success.
xo,
LEH
Trendy sure, but a candy buffet is a delightful addition to any party. Guests can’t help but exclaim with glee at the sight of multi-colored chocolates and chews to be scooped to their heart’s content. Surprise your friends by offering it instead of dessert at a cocktail or dinner party. Or use it as a favor for any shower, birthday party, wedding or other celebration to send guests home with a sweet taste in their mouth.
I recently created the above buffet for a Baby Shower our client was hosting. It was a huge hit at the shower but was surprisingly more work than I had originally imaged. See all my tips, ideas and resources to create your own fun candy buffets in detail at The Daily Meal.
xo,
LEH