april showers

This past weekend, my sister, sister-in-law, and mom hosted my first (of three! yikes!) baby showers in Pennsylvania. They each know me well enough to know that I'm not one who craves being the center of attention, so they planned a very low-key celebration with family and a few of my closest friends. While there wasn't an obvious theme, I think they were going for "old-school" or "retro," which was perfect since that's the code by which Mr. Beeton and I live.

My sister and mom made adorable invitations using their combined crafty-ness. Since Baby Beeton's sex will be a surprise, they couldn't find any good, gender neutral invitations and came up with their own. I think they should go into business.


They decided on having brunch, which consisted of a delicious egg and sausage stratta, a French toast casserole, bagels, and some yummy danishes in a variety of flavors. My mom does not love cooking, so I even doubly appreciated her going to all this effort (and will be getting the stratta recipe from her because it was so darn good!).

They also asked guests to bring children's books instead of cards, which I thought was such a wonderful idea, especially given my chosen occupation. Very fitting. We got everything from Harry the Dirty Dog (from Honorary Aunt J) to A Day at the Seashore (from Cousin M). And, the gifts that we received from everyone were so wonderful! The thank you cards are in the mail, but I wanted to also say here just how much we appreciated everything!

My mom had the living room decorated so cute, too. She put out the cradle which has been used for several generations and filled it with books. A yellow sweater and hat that my Aunt Ruth had knit for me when I was born was hanging from it as well (Aunt Ruth is the one who collected "falling-down men" - a habit I have acquired... I told you I like old-school). And above it was hanging an alphabet banner, which my mom had made, which we absolutely love! In case you didn't know, banners are all the rage on various baby sites (see here, and here, and here). We're going to hang ours up in Baby Beeton's room (check out lil Ella).


And, for favors, my mom made these cute little pinwheels. She found candy sticks at a candy store in town in all different flavors, and she attached yellow and green pinwheels in a variety of patterns with yellow and green ribbons, also in a variety of patterns. They were adorable and looked very cute sitting in vases in bunches throughout the room.


Overall, the weekend - despite my stressing about it - was a great success. Everyone had a good time, and they all seem even more anxious to meet little Baby Beeton when he (or she) arrives.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Cleaving by Julie Powell (depressing).