Thursday, October 10, 2013

A Vintage Inspired Garden Baby Shower

We are so totally over-the-moon thrilled about the sweet little baby girl who will soon be coming into our lives. Her name is Clare Elizabeth and she will be here in just a few weeks!

 
 This past Sunday, Megan and Baby Clare were showered with love from family and friends! 


Of course it would be vintage inspired. And we were really hoping for a garden baby shower. Well we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous fall day. So first thing in the morning we decorated the patio.
 
 
 

The color scheme of pink, yellow and white was repeated with flowers in milk glass, lanterns hung from the trees, tissue paper flowers and scrap book paper garlands.


 
I knew there was a good reason for holding on to all that milk glass!

 
 
On Saturday, Megan propped her feet up and went to town making the prettiest tissue paper flowers!
 
 
They look like big giant ruffles, don't you think!
 



 
 

 
 The chipmunks joined in the fun by munching on the corn as we worked!
 

Fall is just such a beautiful season for a garden party!

 
There were chalkboards ...


tiny pink chairs and vintage baby planters.









  
Inside, the mantel in the sunroom was my very favorite spot to decorate. I used a chalkboard, a mix of milk glass, mercury glass votive candles, vintage baby cards and dried hydrangeas from my garden.
 






There was also a recurring garden theme with flowers, gourds, pumpkins and bunnies inside and out.


Even cuter with presents all wrapped up in pretty paper and pink ribbons!
 
 

Even the carnations had a vintage feel!

 
Vintage baby cards were sprinkled throughout the house.





And this family loves to read, so children's books were a must. I raided my children's bookshelves and pulled some of their favorites. And my sweet book club girls threw me a "soon-to-be grandma" book shower just last week, so I had some fun new titles to choose from as well.



This weekend we also celebrated Megan and Liam's fourth wedding anniversary and Megan's birthday!




Pink lemonade with lemon slices on a stack of children's books.


Mason jars, baker's twine and striped straws...


 just too cute!


Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit inspired the rustic centerpiece.





I'm a details kind of girl, so of course there was a garden gate and a little brass button.


The menu included Mr. McGregor's garden veggies with cucumber dill yogurt dip, assorted cheese and crackers, a big harvest chopped salad with poppy seed dressing, chicken salad croissant sandwiches and mini broccoli cheddar quiches.




After lunch, the girls jumped right in on the bib decorating!
The bibs were purchased at Target and the fabric markers are from Michaels.



And they shared their best parenting advice with Megan and Liam, along with sweet wishes for Baby Clare.







Baby Clare will have the cutest assortment of bibs ever!




And yes, I actually made the napkins - a quick and easy project - unless of course you decide to make 50 of them -whew!


Back inside it was time for dessert, more pink of course!


Pink lemonade cupcakes with ribbon flags.




The invitations were the very first thing we decided on and they were the jumping off point for the entire shower. They were from Minted. The design is called Rustic Ribbons and Flora - even the name is cute. We absolutely loved them! Minted was a delight to work with and Megan already has her baby announcements all picked out!

 
Iced animal cookies and "It's a Girl!" chocolate kisses.


Frosted lemon sugar cookies, coconut sugar cookies, pink M&M  chocolate belly buttons and sugared pecans.


Pink and oh so sweet!


The dresser that serves as a sideboard in the dining room was decorated with beautiful rustic flowers, vintage baby cards and toys and books that were Megan's when she was a baby.



Liam's mom brought the beautiful rose bouquets.


 My friend Michele made this sign for my book club shower.
I'm going to frame it for Clare's nursery!
 

You know I have a thing for pint size chairs!


Wreaths and garlands too.


And a Beaver family celebration would not be complete without homemade ice cream. This time it was strawberry - because it's pink of course.


And ice cream has been Megan's one and only pregnancy craving!
 Baby Clare will surely love ice cream too!!!


And then it was time for presents!


Megan and Baby Clare were showered with all things pretty and pink. But mostly they were showered with love!





Little girls are made of Sugar & Spice
And all things nice!



A basket filled with sugared pecans awaited guests on the front porch as they made their way out. Thank goodness the chipmunks were busy eating the corn!


It was just the sweetest day! And Megan spent the weekend here. We had the best time pulling it all together!


And of course the bump is always the star of the show at a baby shower!


Can't wait to meet you,
Sweet Baby Clare!


*You can check out my Pinterest "Baby Girl Shower" board for links to many of the ideas and recipes used for the shower. ... I just love parties and this was by far my very favorite one ever!



 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Be Inspired Features and Link Party #90

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back for features and party day!
 
Elizabeth and Co.

If it's been a little quiet here, it's because I've been immersed in a sea of all things sweet, pink and girly! Here's a little sneak peek...

 
I'll have lots of pictures later in the week. In the meantime, let's check out this week's awesome party features ...

I love the crisp and clean simplicity of white on this piece from Mary at Orphans With MakeUp! My next project is a china cabinet and it's going bright white too!


 Elisha from Pneumatic Furniture Addict went really bold with this striped teal chest of drawers!


Terry from Forever Decorating gave this garage sale chair a beautiful update with a combination of new upholstery and painting the fabric. That's right, she painted the fabric!


Gail from My Repurposed Life turned an old chandelier into a rustic rope-wrapped candelabra  just perfect for hanging out on the porch!


More rustic goodness from Amber of Junkaholics Unanimous. She picked up this farm table at a garage sale for just $10. After a little love, it was beautifully decorated for fall. Can't you just imagine Thanksgiving dinner here!


Danielle from Silver Pennies took her family apple picking and then came home and made some yummy apple muffins!


Pricilla took her family out for some serious pumpkin picking and they ended up with 95 pumpkins in their front yard - how much fun is that!

 
And if you're looking for a little haunted inspiration, you need to head on over to Dixie Delights for a whole house full of frights and delights - enter if you dare!
 



Amanda also shared all the details for this awesome chalkboard!

  
Thanks so much to everyone who linked up and linked back!
If you've been featured, feel free to grab a cute little button from the sidebar!
 
Elizabeth and Co.
  
Now on to this week's party...
 
*Link up your furniture makeovers, DIY projects, home decor, crafts, recipes, thrifty finds, etc... We want to see whatever is inspiring you at the moment! 
 
*Grab a party button or link back in some way. You must have a visible link to be considered for a feature.
 
*And we'd love to have you follow along with us!
 
We'll be right here every Tuesday with features and a brand new party!
 

 
 
 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Be Inspired Features and Link Party #89

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back for features and party day!
 
Elizabeth and Co.

Thanks so much for all your kind words and encouragement for each and every tag sale. You all are the best! Sometimes I just can't believe we get to do what we love! ... Not sure what was up with the wonky spacing on the link party last week, but glad you didn't let it deter you. Now let's see what you've been up to ...

Barbara from Twenty One Rosemary Lane shared her lovely entry all decked out for the season!


I love everything about this beautiful hutch from Brooke over at Start @ Home!


Reeves from The Weathered Door reminded us that hardware can really make a statement. Don't you just love the way the white knobs pop on this mossy green dresser!


And how awesome are the big crystal knobs on this stunning tall black dresser!


Love the way the black shows through this perfectly distressed red desk from Karen at Redoux!


Laurel from The North End Loft proved that you don't need a huge budget to make big changes. She updated her bathroom for just $150 and it looks amazing! LOVE that shower curtain!

 
Lisa from Shine Your Light turned a changing table into a beautiful and functional beverage cart she uses all over her house!


And now I think we should all head over to Pink Postcard and spend some time on Denise's gorgeous farmhouse fall porch!


 
She's serving cider and donuts!
 

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up and linked back!
If you've been featured, feel free to grab a cute little button from the sidebar!

 
Elizabeth and Co.


Now on to this week's party...
 
*Link up your furniture makeovers, DIY projects, home decor, crafts, recipes, thrifty finds, etc... We want to see whatever is inspiring you at the moment! 

*Grab a party button or link back in some way. You must have a visible link to be considered for a feature.
 
*And we'd love to have you follow along with us!

We'll be right here every Tuesday with features and a brand new party!