Love Is Sweet

My cousin Patrick is marring one of the sweetest girls I know, Natalie; and I am lucky enough to call her one of my best friends! Parties are always better when thrown for a special friend. As soon as she got engaged, I knew I wanted to host a Kitchen themed shower in honor of Natalie. Lets just say she might need some help in the kitchen, and every good wife needs a set of good recipes to follow.


Like any of my parties it starts with the invitation...

 Since I was told her kitchen colors were going to be blue and orange, my color scheme was set. A simple silverware stamp at the top and a paper band around it were all this invitation needed. Along with their invitation, each guest received a handmade recipe card to place with their gift. These recipe cards would later be used as part of another handmade gift to be given at the shower........Natalie's own one of a kind recipe book!

The table design and decorations for this event we all about the kitchen. The centerpieces for the tables contained the table setting elements for "dinner for two."  They included a stack of recipe books, two plates, two bread and butter plates, two bowls, two cups and saucers, two forks, two napkins, and two vases filled with fresh orange garden roses.

As for the table setting, a collection of salad plates, varying patterns of blue and white napkins, and a simple fork seemed just enough. The three different salad plates used for this shower were all unique in their own way. The  white ceramic plate with the blue an orange design were purchased form my favorite place to purchase plates....Anthropologie, the white set were my wedding china, and the clear were passed down to me by my best friend and grandmother, Iris.

A simple stack of recipe books and coordinating plates were were used as the centerpiece for the food table along with recipe cards for the food labels.  The menu was simple yet filling consisting of  a Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Cider Vinaigrette, Apple Walnut Mixed Green Salad with Maple Vinaigrette, Cucumber and Hummus on Pita, Caprese Skewers, Italian Pasta Salad, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, and my favorite Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad on croissants.

Now for dessert.... everything white...A menu of Red Velvet Cake, Laura's Lemon Cake, Wedding Cookies, Lemon Meltaways, Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes, Ooey Gooey Bars, and White Chocolate Cover Strawberries.  As for the backdrop, I created a handmade sign cornered with sweet paper flowers... Love is Sweet

Although I am not one for shower games, I knew that my guest of honor was. But of course they had to be kitchen related. As guest arrived to the shower, they were encouraged to peripatetic in our first game. A simple game of how many corks are in the jars OR as we like to call it "How many bottles of wine did we have to drink to get all these corks?"

The next game was a little more chalanging. It was entitled....Spice it Up! Each table recieved a tray of spices labeled 1-14. Each guest wrote down what spice they thought was in each cup. 

The last game was called Tasty Trivia. It was a game of fun kitchen and food related questions. Let's just say Natalie has much to learn about the kitchen.

The last of the festivities was any Bride's favorite.....THE GIFTS. There was no shortage of gifts at this shower. They were practically spilling out the door.  Most of them containing Natalie's new found love,  CHINA!

   

A special thanks to Posh Tot Events for allowing me to host such a fun and special shower in their venue in historic Roswell.