Baby Shower Planning

We have our date, we have our location, and things are snapping into place. Though we have our huge, wild dogs, I think having it at our house will be easiest, and most comfortable considering the summer heat. I'm still thinking it will be a cozy lil crowd, so our living room will be the perfect size. The invites came in the mail (I had those printed, I wanted to make my own but with work there's just no time), and have started hand-writing notes and addresses on them. I think I'm supposed to have someone else do this, but honestly, I enjoy writing letters, especially to my loved ones that are all so far away. Keep on the lookout for yours, I think they turned out really cute!

There are so many tips online for decorating and planning, and most of them seem so incredibly wasteful to me. Decorations that go straight into the trash after the party. Instead of all that wasteful crap, I'm thinking that I will string a clothes line in our house across our support beam that runs above our living room, and clothes pin a bunch of white onsies. Our guests can take them down and paint/draw on them, then pin them back up. Cute decorations that we will use and not throw away, and a fun baby shower activity. Plus, I want to have a small clothes line I can put outside for cloth diapering, so I will reuse the line and clothes pins as well. Maybe some balloons? But again, straight to the trash, and I think they might scare my big scaredy cat dog.

I've decided that I want to have it be a tea party, so lots of iced tea and light snacks. Also, I want to have cheesecakes! I've already contacted Capital City Bakery to get prices. I'm not really a cake/cupcake person. I always liked the ice cream part of birthday parties much more than the cake. Unless there's a cheesecake! So why not? Plus cold cheesecakes sounds so much better for a summer party, and a tea party at that!

I've already been told that a bunch of hand-me-downs are being sent my way. I'm so excited! My sister who has a 2 year old little girl is mailing me a bunch of her old baby clothes, and a belly belt (for pregnant back support), among some other baby items that lil Gigi has now outgrown. Our good friend from the bay area who moved to Dallas a year or two before we moved to Austin has a 2 year old little girl as well, and we're going to get together in the next weekend or two, as she wants to give us a bunch of Jody's outgrown things. Perhaps even a crib! Though we are so far away from where I imagined I'd have kids (with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents around all the time), it feels good to know that we are not alone regardless of distance.  I'm also so much happier to recycle baby items, than buy the majority of new stuff that will only be short-lived anyway (and it adds up!). I've done dozens of clothing swaps for me and my girlfriends, but where are the baby clothing swaps? There are so many vintage clothing stores in Austin, but where are the baby vintage stores? THAT would be awesome. Who wants to go into business with me? :)