... a Baby Shower!

My sister is having a baby... there's no better reason to celebrate!  Two of our best friends siiisters and I hosted a shower for her and it couldn't have been more fun!  Thanks to Pinterest (I know, it's kind of an obsession), we found great baby (sized) brunch foods, a fun idea for a Mimosa Bar (hey, who says you can't toast the mother-to-be?), and some cute decorating ideas.

{clockwise from top alongside decorations: chocolate dipped strawberries, sweet elephant sugar cookies, silverdollar pancake stacks, mini cinnamon rolls, a make-your-own mimosa bar, 

grandma norma's fruit cups}

It was a great time with fun family and friends and Baby E was certainly spoiled!  We're all so excited for him to arrive!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are a piece of cake.  Be sure to wash your strawberries and let them dry completely before dipping them into melted chocolate almond bark.  We sprinkled ours with brightly colored nonpareils.  Set the dipped and decorated strawberries on wax paper to cool and set.

Connie's Cookies makes delicious and adorable decorated sugar cookies.  We've been a fan since we were kids, so it only made sense that we share the love with super cute elephants as a small gift for the guests.

Who wouldn't love a miniature stack of pancakes?  Skewer your favorite recipe with a couple of blueberries, drizzle with real maple syrup, and just try to not eat your weight in stacks.

Know what's better than a cinnamon roll?  Miniature cinnamon rolls that are just a little to easy to pop in your mouth.  Click here for a simple recipe that's sure to be a hit.

My sister may disagree, but I'd say that one of the most fun things at the shower was the make-your-own mimosa bar.  It was one-stop shopping for us where this was concerned and the stop of choice was Trader Joe's.  Fresh fruit - we chose strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries - fruit juice - peach, cranberry, blackberry - and Prosecco.  What combinations can you come up with?

And, in case that's just not enough, we also served Frozen Fruit Cups.  Grandma Norma always had these at the ready for me and Kate anytime we'd visit her.  They're perfect for kids and adults the same and, with a quick zap in the microwave, make for a perfect breakfast-on-the-go.  There's just something that makes your day go better when you start it off with sweet memories.

1 large (12 ounce) can frozen orange juice, thawed

2 cups sugar (absolutely optional - and is actually better without... at least as an adult)

1 large can apricots, chopped and drained

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup water

6 bananas, chopped

Mix all ingredients and freeze in muffin cups, wine-sized small Solo cups, or, for a special occasion, darling pedestal cups.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, the four of us are more than friends - we're siiisters.  Can't you see the resemblance?

{Lindsay, Taylor, Ashley, Kate}

And two of the four of us are pregnant (or were at the time of the actual shower!)  We got to welcome Ashley's baby, Bennett, to the family this weekend.  He joins his two brothers, Quinn and Owen.  Once Baby E arrives, he'll join his brother, Mason, and we'll have five - FIVE! - nephews... and we couldn't be happier!

How cute are they?!?  Love my siiisters!