Valentine's Dinner at Parent's

To break-up the monotony of these next few hum-drum months of winter, my parents throw a Valentine's dinner for our family.

 Brothers, sister, husband, wife, boyfriend and girlfriend and now grandchild will all come to celebrate.

Eleven in all!

Rachel's Baby Shower

     My mom is one of the most talented women I know. I've always admired her creativity, she has just the right touch. My siblings and I (I'm the oldest of four) were very fortunate to have her home with us growing up. 

     She made even the simplest things special and the special things even more so. For instance, I remember waking up one Valentine's Day morning to a wonderland of hearts. Handmade streamers hung from the ceiling, red & white covered the table from fabric napkins and place mats (also handmade) to breakfast and treats. These are the moments that I cherish and I can't wait to make things just as special for my own family. 

     She recently helped out her best friend with her daughter's baby shower and it was beautiful. She handcrafted the favors, place cards and hang tags and for those of us who know her, there was no mistaking, it had her touch.

The hang tags were attached with white ribbon to pretty pink scarves that decorated the backs of the chairs.

Baby carriages adorned everything including, invitations, place cards, thank you tags and centerpieces.

Rachel's mom Christine picked out the pink scarves and everyone loved them, by the end of the shower everyone was wearing theirs.

This was definitely a baby shower for a little girl, pink everything! The crackers (mom) at each place setting were done in all shades and patterns of the palest pink, with tulle tied with pink satin ribbons. Inside, chocolate kisses!

Chrisitne also found the sweetest baby carriages to use as part of the centerpieces. They sat atop a stack of pink and white polka dotted boxes. The vintage pail, a small part of a gift from my mom to the mother-to-be.

I lent a hand by making one of the game boards.

My sister, Monica, made the Bingo cards.

The candy table looked adorable, with a variety of pink and white sweet treats.

The pink and white baby carriage cake tasted as good as it looked.

The room itself was very cozy, draped in a natural twig garland that was dripping with icicles and glittered branches. I wish I had gotten better pictures of the room, this picture doesn't really do it justice.

January

   For me January brought not only the beginning of a new year, but the end of my maternity leave and days spent home with my little boy. How did the last five months fly by so quickly? 

    

    I have peace of mind knowing that he is being cared for daily by family, my mom, dad and in-laws, but I miss him terribly. I was beyond happy and excited for last week's snow day, an unexpected day home with my little one!

    Needless to say, as I have been settling into a new routine I haven't had as many opportunities and downtime to devote to my writings. But as the weeks go by I'm planning to carve out a wee bit more time for this, but of course that's after my wee one is fast asleep ;)

Renee