Simple and Fun Baby Boy Shower

On Sunday I threw what I have to say was the perfect baby shower! I had never thrown a baby shower before, but with a friend of mine we were able to get everything pretty much done the day of the wedding (with a few DIY projects the day before).

Maggie, Amanda and I - shades of blue! 

If you're ever in a time crunch - these are the perfect ways to throw an amazing party!

Refreshments and Snacks

 Blue lemonade
Mason jars with name tags
Boy Baby Shower straws

Blue lemonade: frozen lemonade mix, water and blue food coloring. 

Snacks - pasta salad, veggie platter, fruit plate, chips and dip

We decided to do snacks because it would be too expensive to feed everyone a meal, and more time consuming. We chopped up celery, carrots and cucumbers. Although we didn't have the tools this time, one of my favorite ways to make a veggie tray is to core a cucumber and stick a carrot through it, then using a special cutting tool, crinkle cut the two. It looks like this:

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Decorations

 We had minimal decorations, but it was the perfect touch so that it wasn't overwhelming.


Polka dot garland

"It's a Boy!" banner and balloons

Table top - marble scatter, blue baskets for chips, clear dishes for dip, "It's a Boy" kisses

Treats! 

Pretzel stick favors, Vanilla baby cake

My mom made the cake. She has a side business of treat making! She makes the best desserts. For this cake, she used her frosting recipe, and gum paste to make the feet and buttons.


Our DIY Projects


The dipped pretzel favors are beyond easy to make!



Ingredients:

• Pretzel Rods (I used Snyder's of Hanover, found at the grocery store) 
• Melting Candy (I got two color's at Michael's for 2.99 each) 
• Sprinkles 

Directions:

1. Microwave the candy. Pour them into a microwave safe dish and microwave at 1/2 power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave at 1/2 power for 30 seconds. Stir. Keep microwaving in 30 second intervals and stirring until liquid. *It is important to use half power so you do not burn the candy!* 
   
   
2. Dip pretzel rods into dish to cover. Let drip into the dish so that it doesn't look runny. 
   
   
3. Sprinkle with sprinkles 
   
   
4. Let dry for 24 hours. 

Mason jar name tags!

Supplies:

• String (we also used this for a baby game) 
• Textured paper 

Directions:

1. Cut circles on textured paper
2. Hole punch
3. Tie string around mason jar, putting the name tag on the string at this time. Knot.
4. Tie a small bow with the string. 

Baby Shower games! 

I do not have any pictures of the games, but we played Bingo!, a cute game called pass the gift and the traditional "measure the belly" game. I have a few more games we didn't play, but that I've played at another baby shower. Here is the free download I put together. 

For our prizes, we bought cheap candles at Michael's and wrapped them up. 

And that's a wrap! But here is an adorable picture of my niece who is about to be a big sister!! 

She had a lot of sugar while we were cleaning up, so we tied the balloons to her so she couldn't run as fast. 

Have a great Tuesday! 

Columbus Eats

I'm not sure if you saw on the FB page yesterday, but I was swamped. Technically, I'm swamped today but I'm sneaking in this goodness because I can't miss another day of my awesome OHIO STATE WEEK that I have planned.

Okay, so if you're not an Ohio State fan, I accept your lack of reading my blog for the next week. But I am way too excited, and it will be fun Ohio State stuff, I swear. Plus I will still have Wedding Wednesday and you guys probably aren't as excited about college football as I am...but I am.

Without further ado...my favorite Ohio State / Columbus FOOD. Some of which you can get outside of the good ole OH

OSU Food Gone National

Buffalo Wild Wings -- I loved this place so much I now work there.

Delicious -- especially if you want to watch the game, stuff your face with wings, and have an awesome environment!!

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BONUS FACT: Jim and Scott's first Bdubs was at the Ohio State Campus, it has since been moved to Lane, but I still say that I've been to the original, because I've stood in the spot where the original was, before campus expanded.

Charley’s Subs -- My favorite place to get fries before I even attended OSU.

I had no idea that this place was from Ohio. I had only ever seen it at the Food Court at our outdoor mall. But man were their cheddar bacon fries perfect.

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BONUS FACT: The original was started as a class project, across the street from OSU and it is still there today! I spent many a lunch there.

Raising Cane's -- I think it was my happiest food day when I saw it open in Vegas.

The chicken just falls apart, deliciously moist and the Cane Sauce!! We've had recipes, but I've yet to try it.

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BONUS FACT: Whenever I flew home, In N Out and/or Tommy's was always my first meal, whenever I came back to Ohio my roommate would have Cane's waiting for me. Oh Cupcake, you were just the best!

Drunk Food 

Buckeye Donuts -- (Open 24/7, 365) There's always a line down High Street for Donuts or gyros

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PJs -- OH MY GOD. Seriously, only open to serve you drunk food.

These sandwiches have things that you never thought to put in a sandwich together, but are absolutely perfect for your drunk food cravings.

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Fancy Shmancy Restaurants 

Eddie George’s -- The football restaurant.

I only went once, and don't really remember the food, but I just love the decor, structure and idea behind it. WOO FOOTBALL.

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El Vaquero - My little slice of Mexican Heaven

Seriously was obsessed with this place. I had to leave campus to get it, but I was always begging someone to take me there. REAL MEXICAN FOOD. I mean real! I had chorizo. That's a big deal, guys.

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On Campus Couldn't Live Without

Oxley's By The Numbers -- A little coffee shop that had parfaits which I ate. Often. Plus it was our on campus bagel shop / coffee shop and it was the closest to my dorm. MM I want a Buckeye Parfait now!

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Where are your favorite places to eat in your college town?

How Healthy is the food we eat?

I'm not particularly well informed on this issue, however I would like to become more aware and more informed. In my opinion, part of being a strong Warrior Queen is being aware and informed of the world around you. It's quite difficult because of all of the hoops governments make us jump through to gain awareness, but this is why we have investigative journalism.

Last night, I went and saw Food, inc. with a couple of my guy friends, one of which works at Whole Foods, so he is slightly more informed than the rest of us and gave us information about Whole Foods after we watched the movie. I highly recommend watching Food, inc. It is not graphic like many of the videos can be, and it is also not as biased as many documentaries are (of course there is no way to cut out bias in documentary film but it is generally easier when the companies comply and allow interviews - which they didn't). So know that there are no big company point of views in this film, save for Walmart, which does offer a nice view on how the consumers shape what products Walmart sells.

My favorite movie quote has always been from Death to Smoochy, "You can't change the world but you can make a dent." I've always tried to live by that in everything I do, knowing that small changes will bring the big changes. However, when it came to food I could never stick to it. I always thought, "If i were to be a vegetarian it's not going to change the food market because someone else is just going to eat the food that I'm not." Which, I still believe is semi-true. However, this flick made me see the impact it does have, in not being a vegetarian but for eating healthier. Eating healthier isn't just eating fruits and veggies, it's eating the fruits and veggies not treated with pesticides or genetically altered, it's eating the meats from animals that have eaten grass and been raised as they should be, not like the beef that comes from any of our fast food chains where the animals are pumped with corn which is what causes E. coli in the cows and thus giving it to us. Obviously, not all of these animals end up with E. coli.

I'm not saying that we should cut fast food out of our diets - I would die without my greasy, bad for me hamburger from Tommy's Burger. But I've realized my efforts to eat "healthier" are not, in fact, much healthier for me. So I think I shall start shopping at Whole Foods and the Farmer's Market. I'll try my best to be involved in this movement toward better farm conditions for both the animals AND the workers (Exploitation is my biggest pet peeve). In doing all of this, by just making small changes, I can do my part in diminishing this exploitation and even, help end the diabetes epidemic. If organic food is more available, the number of people developing diabetes will diminish in some way, although it is a lot to do with personal choice.

I just found this an interesting topic. If you want to read more about it, of the websites I've discovered:
http://www.foodincmovie.com
http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php
http://www.takepart.com/
http://www.takepart.com/lists/hungry-for-change-get-involved/17056
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/