My Parisian Baby Shower

When it came time to pick a theme for my baby shower, I couldn’t think of anything more suitable (or pretty) than Paris! After all, this little baby was with me on my adventure to the City of Light and her nursery is Paris inspired, so why not just run with it? My hostesses were kind enough to oblige and together we put on a lovely day! I felt so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so many fabulous friends! Plus, I also got to use all my vintage goodies to decorate with – such fun! Here’s a peek at how the day turned out…

Obviously the dessert table played a lead role in the decor! What’s Paris without sweets? Oh and pink champagne!

My dear friend Katie was kind enough to make up a batch of petal pink macarons for the event! Aren’t they gorgeous? They tasted amazing too!

Speaking of sweets these lemon bars were to die for and made up fresh by my gracious hostess, Kathy! Thank you Kathy – I now have a new addiction. I will be making up a batch of these this week for sure. The recipe is here.

Here are my beautiful hostesses! Thank you Lauren and Kathy – I could not have wished for a better shower…

And to all my friends, thank you for all your love and support. My life is more beautiful because of you.

Feeling like a lucky girl…

xo,

Advertisement

Escape to the beach

Yesterday it hit 100 degrees in Portland! Lucky for us, we decided a day at the shore was exactly the remedy for the record heat.

We headed out, kids loaded up, DVD player on and large coffees in hand.

We explored the quaint beach side town, while we waited for the sun to make its appearance.

As the day warmed, we headed to the beach.

It was very typical Oregon coast weather – the clouds fighting with the sun for the sky. The clouds won but we didn’t mind. The sand was warm, the wind was gentle and the kids were instantly having a blast.

Sand castles were built, feet were buried and clothes were soaking wet.  Amidst the tearful episodes from sand in the eyes, it was a successful beach day. Katie and I even got momentary glimpses at some magazines!

After ice cream, we loaded up some very sleepy kiddos and made our way back to the blistering heat of Pdx.

It was a pleasantly exhausting day and a relief to feel the cool ocean air on our faces. Now, I’ve got to get back to cleaning out all the sand from my purse.

Have a fantastic weekend.

xo,

Ivy

P.S Thank you, Katie for a great day! xo

I am grateful for you.

Forgive my absence. I’ve been processing my last post and all the wonderfully supportive comments I received. I was literally overwhelmed with gratitude.

The idea that people would stop what they are doing in their busy lives, to leave me some words of wisdom and encouragement blows me away. So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you!

You all made me feel so much better and I loved hearing about your own thoughts and ideas. Through this bizarre world of the internet true connection can be found and cherished and well…that is just pretty damn amazing.

I’m off to the coast tomorrow with a dear friend, so I hope to capture some great pics. I will share them with you on Friday.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

xo,

P.S. Image via: Etsy – Merry Blues Art (she makes fabulous eco-friendly cards…see below)

A cake fit for a queen…or a princess.

I went dark there for a while with all the family coming in and then our vacation to Hawaii so I’ve got some blogging to catch up on.

I know this happened back in April but I had to share the cake that our dear friend Katie made for Grace’s 4th birthday. It was truly inspiring and Grace was beyond delighted.

I can’t even imagine how many hours she put into this cake…

She made each tiny little flower by hand and then painted them too!

Grace was amazed by the cake and couldn’t take her eyes off of it…so cute.

Katie let her apply some of the delicate little blooms to the castle walls.

A VERY happy Birthday girl!

Thank you again, Katie for all your hard work, talent and friendship. I know Grace will always remember this cake!

Check out Katie’s fabulous blog for more info on how she designed and constructed this gorgeous creation.

xo,

Ivy