This post originally appeared as "Showered in Love" on our old blog Born to be a Bride.
📷With my lovelies! A lot of people asked about my outfit. This is an ASOS maternity dress currently on sale for $19. I also reco the maternity tights (denier 120) that I’m wearing here. The ensemble was under $45 and I felt great in it!
I’ve written a post with this same title and it wasn’t all that long ago — 16 months to be exact. That was the last time a group of women were brought together to shower me with well wishes as I embarked on an important journey. My bridal shower in Long Island seems at once to have been ages ago and just yesterday. But now -- let’s talk babies.
Pookie and Mini, my two closest friends, threw me a shower to end all showers. I arrived half an hour early in maternity leggings, a Brooklyn Nets tee, and a leather bomber, shielding my freshly blown hair from the pending rain. After being led blindfolded to a guest bath where I could change and do my makeup while they continued to set up, I was hit with the most intense, sincere adoration for these girls. Both have seen me through some incredibly difficult times, both had heard me cry on countless occasions, worrying that I would never have a baby. And here we were — they surely didn’t disappoint. (Below: photos with each of the hostesses)
Since Josh and I call our little one “Chicken,” the theme of the party was “feathering the nest.” A beautiful, neutral color scheme of brown and taupe with pops of lime green and white was absolutely perfect. On the invite, the girls asked guests to bring their favorite children’s book in lieu of a card. What a sweet touch — our little chicken’s library is already growing and I can’t wait to read her these special books and tell her which one of her “aunties” gave her each one. (Below: Alani and Nadine, two of my bridesmaids and best friends)
I’m not a massive fan of games at baby shower so the girls instead planned an activity. They hired a beautiful, whimsical creature who came floating into the apartment in floral pants with a crown of flowers in her hair and reimagined Mini’s dining table into a craft station designed for creating said. She taught us how to make our crowns using bunches of fresh flowers (I did pink roses, lavender, baby’s breath, and sprigs of other pink and purple selections whose names I don’t know). While we were working on them, she was secretly at work on a tiny one for my friend’s five-month-old who was there, and she had another for Baby Gerson.
📷The flower crown station! This took my breath away. Check out Crowns by Christy for more.
Before, while, and after we made our crowns, the guests munched on homemade green goddess dip with sliced vegetables, Pookie’s famous deviled eggs, a delightful green salad with pinenuts and parmesan, endive boats filled with chicken salad, and cantaloupe with prosciutto. For dessert, Mini’s piece de resistance was a tower of from-scratch, gluten-free vanilla cupcakes with Starbucks coffee icing. I ate three. No joke.
It’s hard to have a party at Mini’s magnificent apartment and not feel like you’re in heaven, because it’s just such a beautiful space. But extra design details including signage announcing “Baby Gerson” with a bump shot of Josh and me at its center, a “Welcome Baby” banner, and a diaper cake with golden butterfly and pink ribbon detail, made of floral-print newborn diapers from the Honest company, naturally.
The non-pregnant ladies sipped champagne while my fellow preg Marlene and I enjoyed Izze sodas and sparkling apple cider. Every gift was selected and wrapped with care, and each one was filled with so much meaning and love it was hard for me to keep it together. When Josh walked through the door with wine for the ladies and to spend an hour catching up before we headed off to a second birthday dinner with family, my heart was bursting. Watching him talk prenatal yoga and stroller politics with my girlfriends was both hilarious and touching.
Sometimes we walk through life unsure of what we’ve done, where we’re going, who we are. On a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, I found myself surrounded by beautiful, caring, funny women who are all a part of my life for a reason. I couldn’t be more touched by the incredible party they threw for me, and am so excited for my little girl to come out and meet Mommy’s friends. May she find herself one day feeling similarly lucky for the female friendships she’s cultivated… if she does, I’ll know I’ve done at least one thing right.
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