Newest Newon! (Photo HEAVY)

About a week ago I had the privilege of throwing a baby shower for my best friend Danica. It's no secret that I love planning events. After my wedding was over, while I did have a sigh of relief, I also was sad thinking that I would no longer have an event to plan or a reason to spend time in my craft cave. Well, shortly after our wedding, Danica told me that she was expecting and the baby shower planning began!

Her and her husband chose not to find out the sex of their baby and while that has been driving me crazy, it gave me an excuse to throw a shower simply celebrating the mommy to be. Instead of a pink or blue theme, or a baby everything theme, I decided to go with a grown up, girly theme with touches of dogs (more specifically Danica's dogs George and Sophie). You'll see what I mean later...

For the color scheme, I decided to go with navy, hues of peach and (of course) gold. 

From there my friend Erin created these UH-MAZING invites:

She kills it every time. (If you missed it she also created my fabulous wedding invites.)

The enclosure and printing was done by Cards & Pockets.

Because gold was also a primary color used in my wedding, I already had TONS of wonderful gold items to use for the shower AND since I am a lover of all things gold, I didn't mind picking up a few extra things along the way. 

Lets just get to the photos shall we??

As always my Cricut Explore was my best friend for most of my projects, like this "Oh Baby" sign that I hung from the gate that guests entered through.

I re-used some gold photo frames from my wedding and also spray painted some little dog figurines (gold of course). 

I created a custom "Guest Book" using silhouettes of Danica's dogs and some pre cut balloon shapes for each guest to sign to latter be added. 

Here is what the final product ended up looking like.

And here are the models themselves :)

The "Mom"osa Bar was complete with champagne, juice, and lemonade and water as well. 

I had guests choose what they thought the baby was by choosing a drink stir that was also made out of silhouette of Danicas dogs, George for a boy and Sophie for a girl. 

My Cricut of course helped me to create these custom juice labels (carafes from Ikea). 

That gold polka dot drink dispenser was a Marshall's find that I just couldn't pass up. (Similar)

I don't think I got a good photo of them but I also made custom water bottle wraps that you can kind of see in this photo. 

The final set up. 

My wedding florist LeeLina went above and BEYOND what I expected with florals. I mean come on... how gorgeous, right?

The shower favor was a succulent (with, of course, another doggy silhouette) in a gold pot no less. (Sorry the photo is kind of blurry)

The flowers tho... I meeeeean...

Quite possibly my favorite detail of the whole shower was this chair. I added a "Baby Mama" banner (one of Danica and I's favorite movies) and LeeLina added the extra little flower and ribbon detail and it just looked amazing. 

And if you know me, you know a photo backdrop is a necessity and this event of course was no exception. 

Baby alphabet book station. 

Another favorite part of the shower... the flower crown station. Not sure where I got the idea but from the beginning of the shower planning process a flower crown station was a MUST. 

Before I made my crown. Danicas was made by LeeLina and was absolutely gorgeous (as expected).

Party host Me ;)

Aren't the flower crowns just such an awesome touch??

Details

Isn't the chair just amazing?

Some girls enjoying the Baby Alphabet Book station. 

We, obviously, had our own photoshoot...

The somewhat inappropriate gift I gave to Danica. 

Cutting into the delicious cake (with, of course, a custom cake topper made by me and my Cricut). 

Sadly I didn't get a great photo of most of the desserts... but here are a couple...

Strawberry Shortcake shooters (whip cream was added later). 

Hitting the timer button and running back and trying to crouch for the photo clearly didn't do much for my posing but, you get the idea. 

My favorite Baby Mama <3

I'd say the shower was a success (aside from the fact it felt like we were on the sun for most of it, but seeing as how it rained the weekend before, I'd rather have the heat)! We all had so much fun and it was exactly what Danica wanted, a relaxed environment, a small group, no pressure, no games, just hanging out and having fun and celebrating the mama to be! 

Now... all thats left is the arrival of the Newest Newon!

Vendor Love: Invitations // Florist // Rentals // Design + Planning // Cake

Back to School Must Haves

Lana Del Rey sums it up best... 

"Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness. 
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best"

Like a ninja, summer snuck up on us and as quickly as it snuck up on us, it was gone. Here in sunny California it feels more like summer than ever before with temperatures reaching almost 100 degrees and yet kids are zipping their backpacks, grabbing their lunch-pails and filing back into their classrooms. 

I'm sure I'm not alone in missing that back to school excitement. A closet full of new clothes, a shiny new pair of shoes and a perfectly sharpened box of Crayolas, it was hard not to feel invincible. But just because we're grown ups doesn't mean we cant have some back to school goodies of our own! Here are just a few of my favorite adult "back to school" items this year. 

1. These awesome Hello Kitty scissors. I'm not sure they're a great fit for adult hands but they'd be cute even just to have on your desk. // 2. Gold polka dot binders. It's no secret. I love gold and I love polka dots and who could say no to these fun colors? // 3. Hedgehog erasers. Don't ask me why but I have a newly acquired obsession for hedgehogs. Even though I rarely even write using pencil, these little guys are a fun desk accessory.  // 4. WTF stamp because, why not? // 5. Gold leopard ipad case. Again, you can't go wrong with a touch of gold.  // 6. Kate Spade 17 month planner (its 2014 but it'll be here before you know it) And yes, even more gold polka dots. // 7. Kate Spade notes to self iphone case. Ever since I was little I loved composition books. It's probably because of my affinity for Harriet the Spy and her spy notebook. // 8. Some fun washi tape, you really can never have enough. How cute is the cursive handwriting? // 9. And lastly, this awesome washi tape dispenser to store all your fun new washi tape!  

Nothing will ever beat the days of freshly sharpened pencils, brand new erasers, opening a glue stick for the first time or the smell of a Mr. Sketch scented marker but as grown ups we deserve a little back to school fun of our own. So get out there! Buy yourself some back to school goodies, even if you aren't actually going back to school. 

Obsessed Much?

Now, I know you can't ACTUALLY be in love with inanimate objects BUT, I'm as close as you can get to in love with everything here:

1. These amazing Kate Spade earrings. Gold? Hot pink? Don't mind if I do. // 2. These perfect bar glasses mix two of my favorite things. Chevron and gold. Of course they're out of stock, but that's the story of my life.  // 3. I've been wanting a food processor and while on the hunt I found this little beauty. Isn't she pretty? (she comes in 18 fun colors!) // 4. This adorable idea from Bonjour Balloon. You can send one of these, essentially, balloons in a box for any occasion. What a fun way to put a smile on someones face! // 5. A FLORAL turntable?! Be still my heart.  // 6. Instant Cameras are all the rage (yet again) and who could say no to this Fujifilm little cutie?? // 7. A Manhattan while picnicking... why not? I love the idea of having a booze picnic basket.  // 8. This bra is amazingness. Unfortunately it's one of those damn pins on pinterest that doesn't actually say where it's from. The one I found said H&M but I couldn't find it there, and my search to find it elsewhere was also fruitless. I guess I will just keep dreaming about it. If someone finds it, help a sister out and let me know! // 9. This gray tufted chair from Target. I don't know why but every time I see it, I fall in love all over again.

Well, that's everything I'm currently loving. What have you been obsessed with lately?

Also, don't forget to check out and enter my giveaway!! We're talking a HUNDRED dollar Target gift card here people! Can't wait to see who wins! Good Luck!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

These are a few of my favorite things!

So, I've been wanting to do a "favorite things" post for SO long but I just have SO many stinkin' favorite things!

My friend Kristy had a Summer Favorite Things post. That's a good way to narrow it down, make it "Summer" Favorite Things.

My internet girl-crush Kandee Johnson does monthly favorites, which narrows it down even more and the adorable Mandy, from Miss Indie does "Friday Favorites" which is a good way to break it down even further, into weeks.

Since this is my first "Favorites" I decided to start broad and start with my "2011 Favorites".
So, here it goes! :)

If you know me, you know that one of my main obsessions is my gold jewelry :)

My Gold Michael Kors Watch is one of my prize possessions. 

My grandma got it for me this last Christmas (ok so that was 2010 but, close enough;) ). When I opened it I almost started crying because it was so unexpected. I love it.

My Jane Hollinger Teenie Heart Bracelet (in Gold)

I bought this on a whim at Fred Segal one night with my friend Stefana. I don't usually make a lot of big purchases but I fell in LOVE with this and it just so happens that I found it right after I got my tax return check. Sounds like a sign to me :) This is one of my absolute favorite things that I ever bought myself. 

My Gold Diamond Ring

This year I turned 25 AND my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. My mom bought the two of us the cutest daintiest gold rings that both happen to have 25 little diamonds in them! My mom and I both wear them every day, it's so special :)

My Yellow Jessica Simpson Massi Heels 

Most years on my birthday I buy myself a little something special. These were my birthday gift to myself and I love them. My best friend/roommate Danica knows far too well about my obsession with heels :)

My Singer Simple 2263 Sewing Machine

I have lots of sewing machines but this one is my favorite. It's a basic, easy to use machine and the colors are just to die for, PLUS I got it on sale at Walmart :)

My "you are what you craft" Sweet Perversion Print

One of my favorite things to do is go to arts and crafts festivals. I love seeing the creativity of others and the beauty in creativity. One of my favorites is Patchwork- Indie Arts and Crafts Festival . I got this print at the most recent Patchwork festival in Santa Ana. Sweet Perversion makes SO many funny (and somewhat crass) prints. They're hysterical. My friends and I spent so much time at their booth. 

So, now that I've shared a few of MY favorite things, tell me, what are YOUR favorite things? I definitely would love to do more of these posts and do them more frequently so that I can share new things with you all. I hope that you all are enjoying your summer. More soon! :)

xoxo, 

shea