Hello, estranged friends! Oh, wait, maybe I’m the estranged one… Anyways, I’m back!

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have noticed I hosted a baby shower for my sweet co-worker and friend, Stacy, in our home yesterday.

Seth and I met Stacy on our very first day of work here in Shreveport. Though it was her second week with the company, she was in our orientation group. We’ve laughed recently over how thankful we are for having sat together that day. Over the last year, we’ve been able to find comfort in the idea that we each know what it’s like to be one of the few women in a man’s world. (Dirty. It’s dirty. THEY are dirty.)

Back in the spring, Stacy and I began running after work and on our lunch breaks. Though she has been in the military for many years and much more physically fit than me, she never let on and continually pushed me to bust my butt. Stacy is the “Don’t quit, you’re almost there!” girl to my “Shut up! We’re not even half way!” After a run one day, she confided in me that she would probably be easing up on running for a while because…. there’s a BABY on the way!

I knew then that I wanted to host a shower for her at our house to help prepare for the arrival of the new bundle of joy. Coincidentally, just before finding out she was pregnant with Baby #2, Stacy had given away most all of Mattox’s, her oldest son, baby things. Knowing this, I was even more excited to host this event for her.

Though I’ve hosted or helped host many showers, I’ve never had the opportunity to host in our own home before. Boy, was I excited! I love all things decorating and especially love to tell the stories of the things in our home, so loving Stacy and her little family by opening our home seemed perfect.

I chose a woodland theme, because really… how cute are these invitations? I usually like to attempt these things on my own, but gave in this time and purchased them over at Sunshine Parties on Etsy.

From there, I began to pull out the various creatures I’ve collected and here’s what became of it…

A few weeks ago, I shared this photo on Instagram featuring our metal sign from JDH Designs that we bought at Magnolia Market in Waco. I really love buying pieces of art on our various adventures, so the saying on this one was quite fitting for us. We finally hung it recently, and I find myself staring, smiling, and recounting the day we met Jimmy Don there at The Silos. He even took the time to sign the back of it for us!

It looks like this particular one is no longer available on the website, but I’d personally LOVE to have this one as well.

This guy is one of my favorites and usually a staple in my Thanksgiving tablescape. I can’t remember where I found him (most likely a yard sale). He was originally various shades or browns and oranges, but like everything else I own… if it stands still long enough, I’ll paint it white. Meet Turkey Lurkey.

You may can see from the multiple pictures that I was very proud of how the cake turned out! I made the banner, borrowed the deer from my favorite little Guy boys, and strategically placed some leatherleaf to disguise the fact the cake was from Sam’s Club. I had multiple inquires of whether or not the cake was homemade, so I’ll take that as a compliment! Special thanks to a co-worker of my Mom’s, Mrs. Ginger, for the cake plate it sits on!

I used these ADORABLE gift tags from The Happy Mail Paperie to top off the chocolate covered pretzel sticks I made for favors. Be sure to like her Instagram. We are preparing to do a give away soon!

Two things:

1. How cute is this cheese board? I found it at Bed, Bath and Beyond and knew it just HAD to be mine!
2. If you’ve never bought this blueberry goat cheese from Sam’s Club, you’ve never lived. Wow… admittedly, I only bought it because it was pretty, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be incredible! I paired it with rosemary crackers I found at Kroger and that was definitely the winning combination!

I mentioned that I love to tell the stories of the things in our home. I attribute this partially to the fact that many of our things are DIY projects or great finds, but also to the idea that I love knowing most everything in our house is special in some way.

When Seth and I first lived together, we had very little. Neither of us came from families where we given furnishings or money to buy those things, so what we’ve built together over the years means a great deal to us. We are proud of our many projects and finds and often reminisce about how they made their way into our home and how we’ve used them since.

In the picture above, notice the wooden board peeking from under the peppers. Seth made that board to hold our wedding cake when we lived in Thomasville. There, he had a space to do woodworking and this is one of the only projects he did that we actually kept (the other is the white board behind our metal “adventure” sign!). I love that it is a product of his hands. I love that it was the foundation for our wedding cake. And I love that it continues to be used in our home to remind us of those times.

In that same fashion, I find great joy in appreciating the things we have that have been gifted to us by others. For instance, the dish holding the bread was a wedding gift from our friends Whitney and Danny. As I’m moving the piece around, filling it, or placing it on a shelf, I think back over the occasion and the person, making a special note to call or text a simple “how are you” or another note of appreciate for their gift. For anyone who’s ever given us things, please know that they are appreciated over and over again and you are thought of often.

We played two games at the shower. In the bags below, I placed a baby item that began with the corresponding letters in Baby Bellow’s first name. Everyone had a chance to guess the item in the bag and the person with the most correct answers got to choose from one of the prizes in the bottom right hand corner. As it turns out, L-O-G-A-N contains pretty difficult letters in the baby world, so the most correct guesses only turned out to be 2!

In the bags were:

L- lotion

O- onesie

G- gas drops

A- apple sauce

N- nail clippers AND a nasal aspirator

The contents went to Mommy Bellow, and a good laugh was had by all.

I also created this printable on the fly to match the animals with the names of their babies. If you’d like a copy, leave me a comment below!

 

Along with the “thank you” tags, I got these personalized gift tags from The Happy Mail Paperie! They were the perfect complement to my packages!

I have been so blessed by all of these ladies over the last year!

Stacy’s first born, Mattox, loved seeing all the things for new baby brother Logan! And isn’t he such a handsome little thing?!

We also got to meet this beautiful little one, Iolla. Her beautiful mommy, Zoe, works with us at Benteler. Iolla enjoyed climbing the stairs, and when she got to the top said, “Look everyone!” Too cute!

And above all else, I have to give the LOUDEST shout out to my wonderful, precious, loving husband. He has been my greatest helper over the last few weeks as we prepared. He has spent hours dusting (So much dust, y’all. Where does it all come from??), sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing, etc. He’s always been there for my “Hey, Babe, can you help me with this?,” “Can you hold this for me?,” “Will you go get that for me?,” and so much more! He has listened to me brainstorm and whine. As the shower approached, I’m pretty sure he was as excited as I was or more! I am wonderfully and undeservingly blessed to be married to such a genuine, kind-hearted man.

As we cleaned up, he said, “I know I get aggravated with your home projects, and sometimes, I don’t want to help. At the end of it all, though, I’m glad that I do, because you’ve done such a good job making our house a home.” Y’all. THAT is the incredible man I married. *all the heat eyes*

Annnnddddd…. in true Seth form, in order to have a “Daddy’s Day Out,” he made Peanut a spa day appointment. After booking it online the other day, he sent me a text saying, “Ok, Peanut is booked for a cut, wash, mohawk, and very berry facial! Daddy’s going to the movies!”

🙂 Look at that handsome boy… mohawk, very berry facial, and all!

Until next time…

Happy travels, my lovely friends!

Jubilant Jennifer