My in-laws love to throw a party. I, on the other hand, love to disappear while everything is being planned, and come out of hiding when it’s time to assemble the hors d’oeuvres and open the wine. I’m terrible at party planning, but pretty much the best at offering people a beverage, so I play to my strengths.

I tease the women in my husband’s family for the high-level attention to detail they show for baby and wedding showers, family reunions, and rehearsal dinners, but then I stand, mouth agape, staring at the loveliness their hard work has produced.

Here is one of these events.

My sister-in-law, Kim was thrown this baby shower for her daughter, Zoey. A good family friend, Jill, took some of these pictures, and generously allowed me to use them in this post. This shower was hosted by my husband’s mother and two sisters, and was special for me because I was able to fly home to attend it, and living 3000 miles away, those types of opportunities just don’t happen. It was also great because I Just Want to Pee Alone was given to the winners of the shower games. Lucky broads!

The invitations kicked off the theme.

 

The food was perfect.

I loved these cute little veggie and ranch cups, because they were super portable, and also because, ranch. Chicken salad croissant sandwiches were the anchor of the meal, and were rounded out with fruit kabobs, herbed cream cheese cucumber rounds, and curried rice salad. The food was perfect for walking around, or for eating perched on the edge of a sofa. Find the recipe for the salad at the end of this post.

 

Get the recipe for the cucumber bites at Annie’s Eats. It’s so easy, you guys. Three delectable ingredients. And then you get to pipe the good stuff onto the cucumbers, which is very fun. Finish creating these before you get too far into the wine.

 

This table held a variety of baby items, and we were to guess the cost. I sucked at this game, which shows you how quickly one forgets what it’s like to have a baby. Also, that I’m really bad at guessing prices. This fact has haunted me since elementary school, when my Price is Right guesses were wayyyy off. I could feel Bob Barker judging me through the wood-paneled television, and I still feel that judgement.

It was fine that I didn’t win. The prize was my book, and I already have a few copies.

These cupcakes were incredible. They looked amazing, they tasted great, and no one but me thought the little chicks looked like boobs. I wasn’t criticizing. It was a baby shower after all, and the boobie cupcakes were completely appropriate. I sometimes see boobs in baked goods. It’s kind of my thing.

Curried Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

• 1 package Rice-a-Roni Pilaf
• 1 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, saving liquid, and chopped coarsely
• 1 4 1/2 oz can chopped black olives, drained
• 1 6 oz can water chestnuts,drained and chopped coarsely
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• reserved artichoke hearts marinade
• 1 tbsp curry powder

Directions

1. Cook Rice-a-Roni as directed and let cool.
2. Add artichoke hearts, olives, water chestnuts, and green onions to rice pilaf, and stir to combine.
3. Mix dressing ingredients together in small bowl and add to the rice mixture.
4. Stir well and chill before serving.

Just to give you hint about how long it’s taken me to publish this post, Zoey is now nine months old. She’s still rocking the bird-theme, and is as cute as ever. Kim is so good about taking the monthly pictures of her babies, and it’s fun to see their progression the first year. I wish she would have come to my house and done this with my babies.

And get a load of this gorgeous quilt Zoey’s maternal grandmother made for her. I wonder if they’ll notice when I snatch it right off the wall and hide it in my bag next time we visit?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make some cucumber rounds and curried rice pilaf, because this post is making me hungry. It’s also making me miss my niece, but she’s across the country and there’s no solution for that in my kitchen.