Ariela's Shower

I've had the pleasure of helping plan a baby shower for one of my dearest friend Ariela, and two weeks ago we had the wonderful celebration. Ariela was one of my college roommates and I'm so fortunate that she (as well as my other roomies) have remained very close ever since, despite being geographically distant. Ariela is the last of our little group to get married and have a baby and I could not be happier for her as she begins this new chapter in her life.

The gal to the far right is our good friend April - she wasn't one of our roommates but we also met her at Davis and have remained close with her as well.

I planned the shower along with Ariela's best friends from high school and it was a fun, intimate event. After much research we settled on Sugar Cafe in San Francisco as the venue. By day it is a cool, hip little cafe near Union Square that serves coffee, breakfast, sandwiches and other light meals. In the evening it turns into a night spot with small savory bites and alcohol - so versatile! We kept the shower to the daytime portion =)

There were only about 15 guests and we had a private room/balcony space that was open and overlooked the cafe below. We snacked on puff pastries filled with mac-and-cheese, mushroom empanadas, chicken skewers and mini sliders. Ariela's sister brought mini cupcakes from Kara's Cupcakes for dessert. I was in charge of games and we played some of my "oldies but goodies": word scramble, Name that Baby Animal, crossword puzzle and the ever popular memory game that I've dubbed "Pregnancy Brain". It's like the old-fashioned card game Memory, but baby-related of course, and also related to a candy bar. I know, I know, you're like "whaa?? You lost me at baby-related". Check this out for a very similar version that I just tweaked a little to get an idea of what I'm talking about. It's soooo much fun! It's also pretty unique in that most people haven't ever played it before. 

For a guest activity I found a great tutorial here to make your own baby hair clips. Since Ariela is having a little girl I thought it was perfect. It was so easy, fun and anyone can do it. The guests enjoyed the activity and now baby girl will have hair clips made for her by her many "aunties"! 

April, Lucas and I

April, Cruz and the mama-to-be

Since Ariela has recently moved to the East Coast I am especially glad that I had a chance to celebrate with her on this very special occasion. I cannot wait to meet her new bundle of joy at the end of the year!