April Showers...

...bring friends and family together to celebrate a beautiful Bride -To-Be. I had the sheer pleasure of hostessing a bridal shower for my cousin Adam's fiancee', Christina this past Sunday. This 'job' put me smack dab in the middle of my element, PLANNING! Oh and that began two months ago; guest list, menu, cupcake menu, cleaning schedule, and on and on and on. Have I ever mentioned that I am a planner (and I secretly LOVE IT!)? So as the big day got closer, I hit up some close friends and neighbors, and gathered fun goodies to help decorate my yard and buffet table. Have I ever mentioned that I have the ABSOLUTE BEST FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS EVER!!! No really! They will volunteer at the drop of a hat to help with ANYTHING! They even show up the night before the big event and relax in our ever so small (but quaintly-cozy) kitchen and wait painstakingly while cupcakes are made and cooled and frosted, and THEN they help taste-test and help determine the nest cupcake of the three. Boy Oh Boy, the sacrifice! HEE HEE! Jas and I loved every second of it.

OK, back to the shower...My Aunt and Christina showed up around 2pm and helped me with the last minute touches before the ladies began to arrive. We had a great time! I love both of these women.

The gals began arriving around 3pm and snacked on a variety of veggies and fruits. Then after an hour of visiting we ate. Oh and how we ate. I had made a tomato-feta salad (mmmm), my mom made a delicious broccoli salad, and chicken ceasar salad sandwiches (my dearest thanks to the Barefoot Contessa for this one).

After we'd finished, we showered Christina with some wonderful and very thoughtful gifts. My favorite gift that she received was a pair of 'chic' rubber gloves, complete with a decorative band of zebra print. They were adorable...and they matched this other 'lacy number' that....let's just say, she won't be wearing while doing dishes. At least I hope not! "Christina, you can thank me later for NOT posting that picture...although, it IS beautiful! Both were gifts from the most vivacious guest, Debbie Haggin, who owns an unique boutique in Kent Commons called Marie Haggin Accessories. I am eager to pay her a visit.

I was excited to make a personalized gift for my newest cousin-to-be. I LOVE ANYTHING PERSONALIZED...and I hope Christina did, too. I did some research and found that their master bedroom colors will be a variety of shades of blue and "Hibbitt" is her soon-to-be last name. So

TA-DA! I really do hope she liked it.

We finished off the party with a trio of delicious cupcakes.

They were:

A Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcake...










A White Cupcake (Christina's request) with a Raspberry-Lemon Frosting...








and A Banana Cupcake with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting....my personal favorite!





Oh they were good...and gave me an opportunity to use my cake decorating kit.

I can't express enough how thrilled I was to be able to throw this shower for such a dear woman, and I am so excited to officially welcome her to our CRAZY family in only a few short weeks.

Blog Post to highlight the, sure to be, beautiful reception, soon to follow.

Hope the weekend found you all outside and enjoying a little bit of the spring sunshine that we were Blessed with.