a bridal shower

I attended a lovely bridal shower this weekend...one of my *new* friends is getting hitched in a few short weeks....sooooo exciting!!

I haven't attended ooodles of showers...a few...and my own of course.  I like showers - getting a little dressed up...picking out a gift for my friend...mingling with nice ladies...and watching the bride-to-be in all of her glowing excitement.  I had fun at this shower - it reminded me of how much fun I had at my shower last spring (and it made me miss my friends back home!) 

My gift to the bride was a Megan Hamilton sketch of her jaw-dropping GLORIOUS pink wedding dress.  It was a hit!  I was super sneaky in finding out her dress, so everyone was surprised (there were a couple gasps...gotta love a "gasp" reaction!)  She loved it!!  So did everyone else!  Dress sketches are a crowd/bride pleasing gift that is sure to be treasured for years to come. (I had my dress sketched, and gave my mom a sketch of her dress too!!)

I could shoot myself for not scanning the image before giving Ashely her sketch this weekend - I would have loved to show you (it was a pretty pretty pink!)  Instead, enjoy these sketches I found from Megan Hamilton's Etsy shop.

how to make kick ass ceviche (and sangria!)

Ooops!  Sera's dreamy post reminded to me to share these yummies!

My sister's boyfriend knows his way around the kitchen.  He helped her cater my bridal shower...and has since been forced to recreate the ceviche magic a couple of times for our family gatherings.

ROBBY'S KICK ASS CEVICHE

Ingredients

•  half pount Alaskan cod and 1 pound of shrimp
• 5-6 limes (enough juice to cover fish)
• 1 cup diced fresh tomato
• 1 green pepper, sweet, chopped
• 4 Tblspoon chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (or more to suit your taste buds)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Dice the fish (approximately 1/2-inch dice if using shrimp use cleaned shrimp).
2. Marinate fish in the lime juice in the fridge overnight (this step cooks the fish).
3. Stir often.
4. Pour off most of the lime juice (just leave it moist).
5. Add remaining ingredients. Do this a few hours before serving & refrigerate
6. Toss well
7. Feast.

 That might look like a lot of alcohol for 12 ladies to share on a Saturday afternoon.

Nobody even touched the Izzy!

BEST SANGRIA EVER

• 2 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine (he used merlot)
• 2 cups rum
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained
• 2 cups rum
• 2 cups orange juice

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, mix the red wine, 2 cups rum, 2 cups orange juice, and sugar. Refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
2. In a large bowl, mix the strawberries, pineapple chunks, and maraschino cherries. Cover with 2 cups rum and 2 cups orange juice. Refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Drain the fruit. Mix the fruit into the pitcher with the sangria to serve. 
4. Party.   

my bridal shower: activities

"If Tommy could pick one word to describe you, what would it be?"

My answer: "AMAZING!"

Tommy's answer: "Best!"

I win.  Amazing, I'm pretty sure, is the right answer there. *wink*

My biggest fear about going to "showers" are the awkward games. Fortunately the majority of events at my shin dig were spent in laughter and conversation and catching up. My sisters are rock stars and didn't pick loads of lame awkward games. They picked a couple little activities that were fun, no stress, and moved quickly.

GAME: Q&A

- lots of cards were laid out on a large table with a "question" on one side and the blank side facing down.
- while people were mingling and drinking they were invited to "answer" these questions about the Bride/Groom on the blank side
- example questions:

"Where did the couple meet?

"Who is on top?"

"What is the couple's song"

"What is the Bride's biggest pet peeve?"

"Who is the better driver?"

...you get the idea...

Question:  What's your guilty pleasure?

My answer:  "blogging?"
Tommy's answer for me:  "American Idol."
I fail.  Tommy wins point. (I clearly don't feel guilty about blogging anymore)

- the groom's responses to those questions were answered earlier and photographed using a white board with his answers. these pictures were then uploaded to a computer using powerpoint (I've seen a similar game played using a video)
- the bride is then given the white board, and is asked the same question and writes her answer on the white board and keeps it a secret
- the bride then reads the responses compiled by the guests (which were always hilarious... and frequently... sexual??)
- then the bride shares her answer with the guests
- then the picture of the groom holding his response to the question is shown.
- the point is to see how many the bride and groom can answer the same (yo - Tommy and I did end up winning this game...seriously.)

*maybe it was the Sangria and the wine consumed by the guests - but this was really really amusing. Especially the pseudo inappropriate questions and answers. Not awkward. Totally fun.  (well....potentially awkward for my mother...but with three crazy daughters I think she has come to terms with our humor)

...moving on...

cute little bags that we will be re-using for out of town bags...and no I'm not replacing the pink...
I don't actually care that much...though I though about it.

ACTIVITY: Scrapbook Cookbook

This was actually a surprise that I knew nothing about.

My sisters requested everyone come to the shower with a recipe to share with me (very classic bridal shower ritual...every shower I've ever been to has done this!)   But THEN, little paper bags were passed out that had all sorts of scrapbooking goodies inside. So, the ladies were to decorate their recipe on a fun 8.5x11 scrapbook paper to add to "My Family" cookbook (which is a collection of our families recipes that my little sister compiled a couple years ago as a Christmas present.) This activity didn't take much time, maybe 15 minutes or so.


And now I have such a beautiful treasure! I LOVED this. I even got the recipe for our wedding cake - how cool is that? Oh. And what was extra special was that they included Tommy's relatives, and my Aunt, who all live far away, to participate in this activity. And they each sent their own special recipes on pages that they decorated themselves for my cookbook. How sweet right!? I really really love this.

Such a great day with my best girls.  I got some great group shots (thanks Dad)!  Since not everyone is into being on blogs... I'll end this post with a pic of my bridesmaids...(minus Jane who lives far far away in Rhode Island.)

Four of my bridesmaids...love these girls.

my bridal shower: gifts

Me taking a picture of my pile-o-presents...do you see that smile on my face...hehehe.

Some of these thoughtful gifts made me flat out cry. Many times I felt my eyes welling up just reading the thoughtful cards (I am SUCH a friggen' sap.) All of the gifts were lovely...and I will remember their acquisition forever. They are my new special things. Things that could last us our lifetime. Things that we can appreciate on a daily basis. Beautiful dining table decor, fabulously useful kitchen items, a print of San Francisco (our honeymoon spot!), and dance lessons (yep...Tommy and I will actually know how to dance at our wedding!)

Umm...the candy bra from my cousins isn't exactly a new treasure...but it was kinda funny....and made me laugh and get a grip on my emotions.

I assured my sisters that favors were not required at bridal showers! But, they loved these little bud vases. So, they bought a bunch, filled them with pretty blooms and scattered them everywhere. Every guest got to take one home. I got a yellow one. Aren't they sweet?


As a "thank you" to my sisters and cousin, I got them each a rad EarthLust stainless steel water-bottle. I picked these pretty lil things up at HipGreenDeals awhile back (and it just so happens that my sisters used a pink and yellow color scheme for the party...hollah...perfecto.) Personally, I don't know if it's appropriate or necessary to give thank you gifts to the people who throw you a bridal shower. But after all the work my sisters put into it, I really wanted to give them something in appreciation - and these are practical, usable and really pretty (ummm...I bought for myself one too.)

*ENTER TO WIN A PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION FROM cameron+kelly studios HERE!*

my bridal shower: yummies

The food at my bridal shower was delicious. Holy cow.

I suggested to my sisters to buy some frozen hors derves from Costco...some cheesecake bites...a platter of fruit and call it a day. But. They chose to make everything from scratch. (awwww...they love me...they decided to cook all night instead of sleep...so sweet.)

My mom and sister finishing up in the kitchen before the party began.
But really, how cute is my mom in that lil green apron!?

Of course it helped that my party was on the smaller size. I have been to bridal showers with upwards of 60 guests - needless to say I didn't get to spend much time with the bride at those gatherings! The size of mine was quaint, 12 total, a relatively perfect size to self-cater light fair finger foods.

My sister slaved over the food ...but swears it was fun (as she roped in her practically gourmet chef boyfriend to help her with it!) It was a real labor of love. Her bf shared his own personal Ceviche recipe with us...and his Sangria recipe (OHMYGOD the Sangria!!!!) Add that to my sister's various spreads and dips and it was a yummy assortment.

My mom getting the Sangria organized....sooooo super yummy.

I drank this all day. Are you interested in this recipe? I am.
If I can get it from him, I will share it with you all.

My sister calls herself the "cupcake queen" for good reason - she is quite the cupcake connoisseur. She delighted us with two types of homemade cupcakes with homemade frosting. A.Maz.Ing. (The strawberry cupcakes with the strawberry frosting were the hit of the day.)

My sis dried pineapple slices to create these "flowers" to top off the lemon with cream-cheese frosting cupcakes. (I think it's a Martha Stewart recipe?)

Ceviche. Hummm....maybe this was the hit of the day? They put them in little single serving glasses...and we scoped them out with yummy tostadas. Also...because I like you girls...I will attempt to get this recipe and share it with the masses. It is to die for.

My cousin even made her famous danishes.

I ate too many of them. The icing is actually addicting.

How could I forget the pizza?

I didn't eat for the rest of the day. And I'm pretty sure nobody else did either.

*ENTER TO WIN A cameron+kelly studios PHOTO SESSION HERE*

re: my bridal shower

pink and yellow streamers...everywhere.

I was nervous about having a bridal shower, I'll be honest about that. Mostly because the whole "being the center of attention" isn't usually my thing. And also because the thought of my sisters having to put so much effort into something made me uneasy (and I couldn't be in charge...ha!) So. I begged them to keep things uuuuuber easy.

I wanted them to know this shin dig did not have to be a big deal. I just wanted to hang with my fave females in one room...giggle a little bit about the thought of me becoming a Mrs...and celebrate the process of getting married.

Sooooo....how did it go?

my sisters, mom, and me....perfect Arizona day!

*note: this was taken by my dad...he manages to cut our feet out of pictures...
which is too bad because my sisters and I were wearing stellar shoes.

It was bliss. It was amazing to know I have all of these women supporting me...this day was one of my favorites ever.

*addendum: I WILL be sharing more pictures...and recipes...and some of the cutesy games and activities my sisters planned!! I didn't really see a whole lot of bridal shower resources out there when I was attempting to help them - I thought for sure I'd find stuff on the bridal blogs...but I didn't. So maybe some of their ideas will help you?

*ENTER TO WIN A FLAGSTAFF PHOTO SESSION FROM cameron + kelly studios HERE!*

bridal shower invitation

sorta like this one from Wedding Paper Divas

A few weeks ago my little sister came to me with a collection of 5 different "bridal shower" invitations that she picked up. All varying in styles and colors...ranging from recycled paper with hand drawn flowers on it (totally my taste and made me happy my sister would know that), to an invitation with a huge wedding dress drawn on it (and there may have even been rhinestones or lace or bows glued on it somewhere?).

She told me to "pick one."

I looked at them for maybe 5 whole minutes (which was a rather long time to gawk at bridal shower invitations in all honesty). I finally pointed to the one that had the huge white dress.

My sister looked at me with huge searching eyes...in disbelief...

sis - REALLY!?

me - yea, what?

sis - But you hate bridey stuff and this is way bridey!

me - yea, I know, but this seems fun and girly for my bridal shower! *grinning*

sis - does this mean we can get you a crown and a sash too!!! *squealing*

me - noooo thank you. *grin gives way to expression of horror*

*I have a feeling that there will be more times in my life where invitations are used...and recycled paper with hand drawn flowers might be the perfect choice for those occasions - however, cards with big white wedding dresses are a once in a lifetime thing.

ENTER QUIRKYBEAUTY'S CONTEST HERE!!

let's talk bridal showers

Truth be told, I've only been to a couple bridal showers. Brimming with yum yummy food, (no really - like amazing food), a couple sweet banners of congratulations, tables full of perfectly wrapped gifts, and rooms full of loving women. Pretty cute actually.

Recently my sisters were trying to get my feel for this tradition. They know that I'm not the biggest fan of being the center of attention, and they wanted to know if this was something I wanted to do.

Ummmm...yes.

Whereas the silly games typically played at these occasions tend to be more of the awkward variety, it's still sounds like a blast to have all the women in my life in one place. Well - obviously it won't be all the women in my life - but a handful of them at any rate. We will most likely have this party in Phoenix where my sisters and I live, and where several of my girlfriends live. But I'm bummed not to include all of my east coast ladies (my closest friends and My Guy's family - the women in his fam are a blast!)...and what about the women in my family living far far away? Or my old friends in my hometown? Just thinking about it makes my heart swell that I have so many incredible ladies close to my heart.

Bring on the silly games! The yummy food! The smiles and hugs! I'm excited. Well...maybe ex the silly games and let everyone drink martinis and consume insane amounts of delish whatevers.

Found a few super cute shower invitations from Wedding Paper Divas. Doesn't a bridal shower give you the perfect excuse to be super girlie?