baby, baby, baby oooh

Last weekend my sister Erin and I (+ mom) hosted a baby shower for our little sister, Jill.

Newsflash: Jill and Alex are having a baby and I am finally getting a local niece or nephew!!! Thanks guys.

As you may know, I love planning a party so I got to it early on… so early, that I may of leaked the big news to some of her friends accidentally. Busted.

* * *

First up, the invite: And because I truly believe in mailing out invites – I am including a sample of the envelope too. The invitees has custom address labels. Tip: I like to purchase somewhat-related stamps when sending invites!
Decor: I made a few banners for the party room and the front window. I bought some flowers and pulled out that springy table clothes. Easy! We also had some balloons and raindrop banners outside but again, I forgot to take a pictures. Tip: Buy a cute crib sheet (last photo) and use as a table covering – then give it to the mom when the party is over!Favours: This is when Pinterest makes you do things you don’t need to do… like favours for a baby shower. Simple but cute although Mike’s comment was that the popcorn has already popped and I should of filled the bags with kernels. Um, no – not pretty. Tip: Avoid Pinterest and ignore your husband. Games: Erin planned a few games – one being Trivia because Jill is a trivia nut. It’s a fun addition to a party and no one in my house was forced to smell diapers with random brown stuff in them. Tip: Have paper and pens ready to go so your games look legit.

Erin’s Ten Trivia Questions

Q: How many children did Queen Victoria have? Bonus point if you can name one.
A: Nine – Victoria, Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, Beatrice

Q: Name one of the top three baby girls name in 1916?
A: Mary, Helen, Dorothy

Q: Originally Pampers diapers used pins. In what decade was the pin replaced with Tape?
A: 1970s

Q: What percentage of babies are born on their due date?
A: 5%

Q: In 1928 the Gerber company introduced its first line of strained foods. Name one the first varieties.
A: peas, prunes, carrots, spinach and beef vegetable soup

Q: How much did the heaviest baby born on record weigh?
A: 22 pounds, 8 ounces (Italy, 1955) (Somebody sure carb loaded!)

Q: In what year did Uncle Jessie and Aunt Becky (from Full House) give birth to twins. Bonus points if you can name them.
A: 1991 – Nicky and Alex

Q: What is a baby owl called?
A: Owlet of Fledging

Q: What Michael Jackson song topped the charts the month Jill was born (May 1983)?
A: Beat It!

Q: Jill’s baby is due in July. What is the birthstone of this month?
A: Ruby

Food: We had 32 guests from the age of 7 months to 91 years-young! All female, except the dog. We served mimosas, perrier, tea and juice packs for drinks and all of the food was utensil-free. The spread included chocolate and carrot cupcakes made by mom, lemon poppy seed loaf, homemade sprinkle fortune cookies, cheese and charcuterie boards, traditional devilled eggs, beet-pickled devilled eggs, a cheese ball with maple syrup, guacamole, artichoke dip, veggies, a baguette and skewers (feta + watermelon + mint) (bocconcini + tomato + basil) (an idea I got from another baby shower I attended). Tip: If you decided to make homemade sprinkle fortune cookies, be sure to let your guests know you put fortunes in them! So that’s it. Another party over. I said I’d host 12 parties in 2016 and this is party #3. I have to step it up!

My apologies – I got so caught up in serving mimosas and catching up with all the lovely ladies that I didn’t take any pictures at the event BUT as a dedicated blogger / designer / party planner – I got lots of detail shots! Hah.

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

when new becomes old

Posted by meghanrushton

Way back (like over 5 years ago) the first big renovation in our house was the upstairs bathroom. Since this all happened before hello sunshine, let me rewind and fill you in…

The bathroom, although charming with an original clawfoot tub, was pretty grimy. Plus, the clawfoot was hidden and its condition matched its age. It was (and still is) our only full bathroom (there is an itty bitty powder room downstairs) and with a baby in the house, we felt it needed a facelift. David was about seven-months-old and now looking back, I see this renovation as major foreshadowing to the renovation we endured a few short years later.* You see, here’s the thing, as it was our only bathroom with a shower/tub and we survived several weeks without. I lugged baby David to my parent’s apartment for daily washing and Mike boycotted showing altogether during the duration of the renovation as solidarity to his project (he sponged bathed in the sink).

We worked with our friend and designer Erica on the design and made the most of our small space. Mike and his dad did everything on their own and although tiling was a bit of a learning curve, I think it turned out well!

I loved my little bathroom and still love it but as David has grown into an independent messy boy, I feel like a refresh is in order. The walls and trim need painting plus, when we replaced the window, the mess around the frame was never fixed. I like the colour but I think it’s too magazine.

Note: Magazine is when it looks good in a photo but in reality, it shows the filth of everyday life.

So with all the being said, I have some ideas. Before Mike freaks out, the good news is it is almost all cosmetic. I am keeping the sink, toilet, tub, cabinet and tile but just want to update the decor.

My first thought was wallpaper! I am itching to hang wallpaper somewhere in the house and this one has been on my radar for years:

However, I am saving it for the powder room. It will be mine.

I also love these:

But with a shower, I think paint is the smarter choice and I’ve been wanting a kelly green room for awhile. There’s something about kelly green and navy that just screams bathroom.

Then I saw this:

Again, wallpaper but isn’t it amazing. It’s Scalamandre Zebra in Kate Spade’s bathroom so of course it’s amazing.

So back to Kelly. I can still use the shower curtain above and update my linen. Then the only other thing I would like is a new shower head. I regret not getting the rain shower / handheld combo and am trying to convince Mike it’d be a good investment.

While I work on convincing Mike to move forward on this … we are also finishing David’s room. An old house (or at least my house) is never done!

A. Marimekko Pieni Unikko (Red) / B. Hygge and West Peonies (Mint) by Rifle Paper Co. / C. Hygge and West Daydream (Blue) by Julia Rothman / D. Waves of Chic removable wallpaper / E. Whitby Wallpaper – Washed Denim / F. Flamingos wallpaper by Albany / G. Anchors Aweigh removable wallpaper

H. Zoe Atlantis Rain Shower Head / I. Ikea Godmorgon Mirror Cabinet (our wall cabinet already installed is Godmorgon) / J. Anthropologie Monarch Mercury Jar / K. Threshold Color Block Shower Curtain from Target / L. Casa White Tissue House from CB2 / M. Anthropologie Medora Bathmat / N. Stripped Dobby Waffleweave Towels from Pottery Barn / O. Kelly Green by Benjamin Moore

*The renovation that followed this left us seven months without a kitchen!

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

banner up

Posted by meghanrushton

The third wedding shower post this week is all about the banner.

When we (the Bride and one of her bridesmaids) visited the venue in March, I noticed there was a great place to hang a banner along the beam that separates the raised platform from the rest of the pavilion. The head table will be up on the platform with the Bride and Groom at centre stage so I thought it be fun to hang a lovely message over their heads: CAYLUM LOVES AIMEE. And, to make things easy for the guests, it will be the official hashtag of the event. #caylumlovesaimee

Anyway… back to the banner.

Aimee and Caylum’s wedding is at a vineyard so imagine gold, cream, champagne, corks, burlap, barrels and wine. With this in mind, I decided to go with a burlap backing and printed letters on top. Here are the steps:

First, I found a roll of burlap at Michaels
I cut the burlap into 4 x 5 inch squares
I printed and cut each letter to fit individually on a burlap square
I rounded the corners of each letter with a rounded paper cutter
I used Mod Podge to glue the letters to the burlap
With a small hole punch, I punched the top corners of each letter
And finally, I weaved twine through the holes and separated the letters appropriately

Voilà! An easy banner!

Click here and here to read more about the shower.

psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

picture perfect

Posted by meghanrushton

Earlier this week I mentioned that I’d show you how to make a simple photo booth backdrop.

You will need

2 X Gold Foil Doorway Curtains (I got mine from Party City)
Oh Joy! for Target 12 piece Wall Decals
Tape
Clothespins (or something to hang the curtains from)
Tripod and camera
Silly props (optional)

For me, the easiest place to hang a photo booth backdrop was from the frame of a window. That way, I didn’t need to tape anything to the walls. However, because I used a window frame, I had to hang a large grey blanket behind the tinsel to hide any background outside. Our windows have great ledges so it was easy to hang both the blanket and foil curtains with clothespins.

I found (on clearance!) these wall decals and taped them to the foil for a bit more excitement.And voila! An easy photo booth back drop. Oh, and here is David testing out the props before the party.psst. If you like what you’re reading, please subscribe and share. xomeg

a shower for the bride

Posted by meghanrushton

It is Aimee and Caylum’s wedding in three weeks and to celebrate the bride, we hosted a shower this weekend at my place and I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of the day.

Here is the invitation I made which was sent out by email. We started the day off at the spa getting mani and pedis.Then we went back to the house. The evening was spent with a great group of Aimee’s friends, family and family-to-be.

The baby’s breath will be at the wedding so we filled the house with arrangements.And added some corks because the wedding will be at a vineyard.I made a banner for the shower and wedding venue – plus, it’s a reminder of the hashtag for the event. #caylumlovesaimeeErin made the Barefoot Contessa’s Rossinis as the custom cocktail.And she made three amazing quiche (mushroom and fontana cheese, spinach red pepper and feta, and arugula and bacon)The menu also included

Hot goat cheese dip and baguettes
Roasted red pepper dip with pita
Green salad with lemon dressing
Bruchetta
Brownies (Aimee’s mom’s recipe)
Feta, mint, water melon and tomato, basil,bocconcini skewers*

Mini cupcakes came from Layers Cakes in Halifax.

The favour was a bottle of nail polish.And, what is a party these days without a photo booth.Come back later this week for DIY details on how to make the banner and photo booth