My Baby Shower

This past Saturday I had my baby shower. 

Wow, insane that I had a baby shower. OMG, I am having a baby?! :D 

Just kidding, but sometimes it's still surreal...!

The theme I came up with was girly tea party and I envisioned lots of prettiness and details. Here is what I pulled together!
(The pictures were taken by friends, how weird to see other people's perspectives via your own camera and memory card! Thanks for the photo help, Friends!) 

Well, for me food is pretty high up there with most important things at a party. It's gotta be good and there should be a lot of it!

I had some help from my Aunt who came to town for the occasion. She made this vegetable quiche seen below. Behind it is a pasta salad that rocked my socks. The recipe for it is here, Penne Fresca Salad.  I used fusilli and I doubled the recipe which was totally unnecessary, I could have easily made 1 1/2 and still had leftovers.

I had a "Salad Bar" with a big bowl of lettuce and smaller bowls and dishes of toppings. We had cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, broccoli, crutons, olives, cheese, boiled eggs, and salad dressings. I wanted to get fancy and make my own, but I just didn't have the time or energy in the end. 

To accompany the salads and quiche, the other salty option was fresh bread and flavored cream cheeses, as well as good old frozen garlic bread. 

I've yet to go to a party where the frozen garlic bread wasn't one of the first things to disappear. Stuff is delicious!

(And I got off so easy with it!)

Once the savory options were eaten, we started serving coffee and tea (from my pink fancy tea cups) with dessert.

My favorite were these sugar cookies. Which is odd, since I really have only ever liked store bought (if I am really particular Publix Bakery) sugar cookies and have been disappointed with many a recipe. 

This recipe: perfectly chewy and soft sugar cookies. 

Here is the link to the recipe at Novice Chef.

I decorated them with Wilton's pink sanding sugar. Ya know, since I'm having a girl. ;)

The cake was a huge disappointment for me.

Lemme just say... I prefer the flavor of Swiss buttercream, but when it wouldn't stick to my cake... I kinda lost it. I was only able to pipe the top and the sides were such a disaster that my mom had to take over since I threatened to throw the cake on the floor in my frustration.

Lemme just say, thank you Äiti for being there to help me set up!!

The cake itself was my go to chocolate cake recipe, Lucinda Scala Quinn's busy day chocolate cake.

I made two cakes and cut each in two to make a four layer cake. I filled it with Finnish vanilla "rahka" (like a sweetened flavored sour cream/creme fraiche) that I added a liberal amount of Bonne Maman cherry jam to. 

So it was a chocolate cake with vanilla cherry filling.

Yum.

My Aunt made some super tender "marble cake" although I like the Finnish name of "tiger cake". 

In the left corner you can see the macarons I slaved over.

Um, good thing the pictures not the best to showcase them because they didn't look at all like they should. People raved over them though and I guess the flavor was ok. I filled them with orange or raspberry marmalade.

But I was not a huge fan. I don't know if I liked them enough to attempt making them again.

But they are one of the ultimate baker challenges in my mind that I might have to one day, just for the challenge.

I used Martha Stewart's French macaron recipe and I think next time, I might stick to the more detailed Annie's Eats version.

This is a Finnish style blueberry pie. Again, used that rahka to make it. :)

After food, the other important design element of a party: decor.

This was the most liked idea, hanging a clothesline across the living room and displaying all of her pretty dresses.

I also made a paper doily banner like this one from pinterest, and we had some store bought shiny pink "it's a girl" decorations hanging. In some of the food pictures you could see the pretty table cloth and felt runner my mom brought. And like I said, we had the nicer pink china out for use.

We played some fun games at the shower. 

This was a guess the baby in the picture game. I had each guest bring a photo of them as babies and they had to guess who was who and the winner won a prize (chocolate bar and a face mask). 

Not everyone brought a picture (I kinda let people know last notice), but it worked well as a kind of ice breaker because there were a lot of people from different groups of friends so they kinda got to know each other's names and stuff.

I'm #5. :)

We played the traditional "guess how big Mama is" with pink yarn. It's a hard game but we had two people who were so close I had to go back for a re-count! 

And pictured below is the little card idea for her baby book. Each guest was asked to fill in the blanks and people came up with really cute answers as well as funny ones. 

E.g. "I hope you laugh at bad jokes, because it's polite". :D

Mama's midnight diapers were fun too!

Each guest could write me a message for midnight diaper changes. 

I got a lot of encouraging ones "you're a great mama" etc.

As well as advice: "wake up the hubby"

And phone numbers for people who are willing to babysit. :D

I also had a friend record hubby answering the questions from  link below. We played the video on the TV and paused after each question and I had to guess what the ol' hubster said. 

I got most of them right. :) And he got some of his answers wrong. ;)

The ideas for the games were found from this blog Driven by Decor via pinterest.

I don't have a picture of it, but we also had a calendar template on the fridge that I decorated, where guests could guess the baby's birth date, weight, and height. 

FOUR people guessed she'll go slightly over her June 11th due date and come June 13th.

Other than that, dates varied from June 1st (impatient me) to June 19th. 

Fortunately no one put her as a full two weeks overdue!

You can find the free template here.  

I got lots of presents, even though I had said we were really only missing diapers and children's books. People went nuts with diaper cakes (we got 3!) and I felt spoiled and special. :)

Many thanks to everyone!

My friend's 5 month old son picked this out for Baby Girl, his future girlfriend. ;)

Isn't that creative? Baby spelled with the sparkly star wire! :)

Lots of cute details.

Love the thought people put into their gifts. And the effort, I know those diaper cakes aren't easy!

And at the bottom you can see our Beatrix Potter book. :)

Like I said, spoiled and special.

My parents got us (another) pretty dress and the car seat (which was awesome!). 

We also had a baby shower in a box that my mother in law threw for us. She sent out invites to family and friends stateside and we got so much (much needed) stuff for the baby, it was awesome!

It's wonderful to be so supported by loved ones. ♥

So after the party was over, I took the camera out myself and took pictures of the design element no party is complete without: the flowers.

We had hot pink roses in several small vases.

I'm still enjoying them today. 

So thank you to everyone who was a part of welcoming the little one into the world!!

Kissa was happy the party was over! ;) 

2013: Garden post #3

On Monday, we went to the garden. But how we got there was a little different -- by boat!!

On the way to the boat, we saw some little woodland anemones in the woods. A sure sign of spring here in Finland.

We had a great time at the garden. 

It was sunny and warm. Lots of stuff to do!

The little Easter narcissi from last year that I planted in the fall have not only risen, but are the first to bloom...

The daffodils aren't too far behind. 

I am not one for yellow, I've mentioned my love/hate relationship with the color before... but I really really really like daffodils. Like they could possibly even be on the top 5 list of favorite flowers.

Tulips are ranked probably at #2 or 3. :)

Hubby built us a humble terrace (which was quickly covered in dirt from muddy boots). We are making a little patio of sorts and will have a bench + small table and chairs to sit on and picnic at. The edge seen in the back is the currant bushes (which will provide not only privacy but snacks) and the side facing the road will become a chicken wire wall with vines growing up it. For privacy, snacks, and prettiness. We need prettiness in this life!!

This delightful thorn bush is what I assume to be gooseberry. It's on our new plot.

And the rhubarb is rising so nicely. 

We have sooo many currant bushes now with the plots combined. It's just never-ending!

My dad's second favorite thing to grow after raspberries, is potatoes. 

Now that the raspberry situation is under control (still waiting on those new shoots), he went ahead and planted the seedling potatoes.

One perennial I've always wanted but never had: poppies. These gems are on the corner of the new plot. 

I can't wait for them to bloom!!

What's this? More daffodils? :)

The peonies have risen! Hopefully we get some blooms this year!!

This Saturday is my baby shower and I've been busy prepping and planning. 

I've also been working hard on a little strawberry mobile for my little summer strawberry. :)

Oh, and building my container garden on the balcony. Pansies galore! ♥ 

(For those who don't know, they're the absolute #1 favorite flower o'mine!)

Pictures to follow of all of the above! 

See ya next time! :)

2013: Garden post #2

Ok ok, so I know last time I said maybe this time I'd give you the tour of the house... but I was wrong! 

We went to the garden on May day and I just can't not share my garden dreams... ya see, that place is paradise to me!

We were having a partly cloudy, partly sunny day so do forgive the weird changing light in the photos! :)

These are the ever-rising daffodils. I can't remember now if I've mentioned it before, but we ripped up the old daffodil bed and separated the bulbs (it was way overgrown) and planted two new raised beds. 

Hubby constructed this simple little teepee for me. The plan is to place some chicken wire around the base and plant our seedling scarlet runner beans and peas up this. :) 

It should be a fun little hideout for anyone small enough to fit in there!

 

We had an AMAZING raspberry harvest last year, so no surprise that there were plenty of dead stalks this spring. However, we weren't expecting so many new shoots to be lost to the cold... and now we will probably have a terrible raspberry year. :( 

My dad is our main raspberry farmer and here he is tying the lonely branches to the support beams to stop them from getting damaged in the wind etc. 

He has plans to expand our raspberry area and add some new varieties!

Last year, I would have been helping the hubster turn the soil... This year, I'm not in the best shape for that *wink wink*. 

Here he is turning where we had cornflowers and actual corn last year (and peas!). 

This year, this little strip is going to get a couple rows of potatoes to hopefully help improve the soil quality. 

The tulips are rising rather promisingly.

...As well as the rhubarb. 

Since our new plot has so much rhubarb, we are actually getting rid of this little patch of it. 

FRIENDS: if you would like some rhubarb let me know ASAP and we will dig it up and get it to you. 

This little patch is going to become our new compost spot!

I spent time cutting the dead bits off the strawberries and admiring the little leaves and new growth.

Hubby tore up the chives and garlic area to make a new raised bed there. It happened to be some previous farmer's rock collection so as he was digging we collected them into a pile...

I'm thinking of decorating borders of beds with rocks?

While that construction was going on, I took a moment to appreciate the pussy-willow and blue sky combo.

As well as the windy spring day view of the road and (melted!) lake. 

Here is the new raised bed with neatly planted garlic.

...and a corner of chives.

Something else we have been finding this spring is lots of broken glass. 

I was just going to dispose of it properly, but then I caught a glimpse through the dirt of how pretty and antique the glass was...and now I'm thinking of making some kind of mosaic stone to place in the garden with it.

So I brought it home and washed it. Don't worry, I was careful not to cut myself! :)

My job in home care ended on Monday and my awesome and sweet work friends gave me a little present: lemon balm, strawberry mint, and curry! 

I think these will go on our balcony for our little herb garden I'm going to grow out there. :)

They were also awesome and got me a box of heart shaped doughnuts since that has admittedly been my #1 pregnancy craving... and believe you me, they've watched me eat some doughnuts! :D

Speaking of doughnuts, it's Finnish tradition to drink a homemade "soda" called sima on May day and eat some sugar coated doughnuts.
I take tradition seriously! ;)

Since we went through the trouble of making a yeast dough for the doughnuts, we made a batch of cinnamon rolls too.
Yeah, this is how I started my maternity leave:

Well, that's it for me today.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!