My Baby Shower

My sister and Betsy hosted a gorgeous Moroccan themed baby shower for me and Baby Lau Spina. It was a truly collaborative effort where nearly every touch was cozily personal, handcrafted by a caring friend. Shout outs in the event details at the bottom of this post.

Walking into the room for the first time was one of my favorite parts of the day. It took by breath away! The entire room was swathed in gorgeous jewel tones, flowers were arranged everywhere, there were paper lanterns strung about, Moroccan music was in the air and my girlfriends were ready to embrace me with warm hugs. I had collaborated on the theme and chose the invitations but was not privy to much else. I knew the "team" had been working really hard for weeks and it really paid off.



Guests left sweet and encouraging messages for me on homemade water colored cards, which were hung in a beribboned window decorated with photos of me in baby/childhood. Jenny even managed to put up messages from invitees who couldn't make it to L.A. Nora, Sergio's mom, sent an especially thoughtful message.



Jenny made a beautiful, touching speech that had everyone in tears.



We had a delicious lunch of homemade Indian food.



We played three really fun games.



The most hilarious was the belly measuring game where people had to guess the circumference of my belly by cutting a length of yarn. I think my mom was the most inaccurate of them all! She was over by nearly a foot! And my sister Jenny had second guessed herself and even added an extension to hers! Ha.



We cut into an incredible Moroccan inspired cake and then opened gifts.



They even managed to find Italian themed Chinese take-out boxes for the favors. I mean, how apropos is that?!?



I will cherish these memories! Thank you ladies for welcoming my baby into this world with so much love and beauty.

Full set of photos here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjE7zwsU


The Details
Decor: Pom Poms - Jenny, Jennie, and Alpna. // Homemade paper lanterns - Liz. // Authentic Saris - Alpna's personal collection. // Floor cushion covers - Mom and Mo Ching. // Flower arrangements - Caitlin. // The location, real silverware and china - Susan. // Watercolor message cards - Diana D. // Low tables and cushions - Jennie // Diaper cake and generous use of her height to hang all the saris - Betsy. // Serving ware - Caitlin, Alpna, Susan. //
Games: Who knows Mother to be best? Guess the belly circumference. Baby animal names. - Betsy and Jennie
Food: Homemade Indian. Also her personal Masala Chai tea recipe! - Alpna with Jennie as sous chef.
Cake: Homemade Moroccan inspired orange blossom cake with fresh squeezed blood orange custard and MY NEW FAVORITE CAKE EVER! - Rebecca.
Favors: Nan Katthai (indian biscuit with cardamom) - Alpna
Photography - T. Nicole Photography - Sponsored by Amy

I'm sorry ladies if I missed anyone or anything! I'm going off memory here and it really isn't all that reliable these days.

Goats Yelling Like Humans

Getting fancy

My baby shower was the perfect opportunity to get fancy. I suspect it may be a long time before I get so gussied up again so I made a conscious decision to relish it.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE the ritual of getting ready for a special occasion. Hanging up the dress, curling my lashes, picking out jewelry, being especially careful with eyeliner...it floods back memories of school dances and special date nights. All the celebrations I've attended. I think about the times I got ready with my sister or girlfriends. As my baby shower day approached, I found myself wishing I had a girlfriend with me at the salon. But they were all helping set up my shower! :) Now I'm glad I didn't. The leisurely morning was a gift that allowed me to quietly contemplate and enjoy the excited expectation and gratitude I felt for the day.

Have you been to The Dry Bar? If you haven't and decide to, it's worth springing for the floater scalp massage. Sooooo goooood. They offered me tea and cookies, and Devil Wears Prada was on. So it's pretty much girly heaven. They made my hair look so fancy. I pinned in new Ban.do flair I got just for the occasion. I took my time with my makeup. I slipped on a dress I spied for 50% at Letters from L.A.. I nearly squealed in the store fitting room when it zipped it all the way up.



Sergio told me I looked beautiful. (swoooon.....) And you know, I felt it. Sure the beauty tricks help but honestly, I just felt so incredibly happy to have arrived at this particular day.

My Baby Shower Preview

My baby shower was so beautiful and fun! I can't wait to see the official photos. Until then, here's a sneak peek!

I stole this first photo from Fabi's Instagram feed:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Florals and sweets from my baby shower, and a Valentine from Betsy! And of course, my trusty Ban.do mini heart.

P.S. I'm waiting for the official photos from my beautiful shower. Meanwhile, I'll post a preview tomorrow!

What's going on with baby?

I can't believe it. I'm at 32 weeks. That means I've just started my eighth month! We're in the home stretch but it wouldn't look it if you looked at our house. It's still pretty much exactly the way it was 6 months ago. I've started  a pinterest inspiration board for the baby room which is fun. We can't afford everything on the board but it's fun to dream. Sergio just needs to finish up some work projects so he can finally switch gears to baby.





Despite not having much tangible evidence of impending parenthood, there's been other stuff. In no particular order:

• Baby is ACTIVE. Like right this second. Kicking and punching and pushing. It really startles me at times. Last week, I was sitting on the couch, relaxing in the evening. Sergio had dozed off per usual as of late. Baby was really pushing hard and it was kind of uncomfortable. I think it was his hip or butt. So I pushed back with my hand. Gently mind you. His reaction? I think he punched me back. It was so sudden and strong that it tickled. I laughed out loud!  
• I can't seem to find a body position that allows me to sleep through the night. Inevitably I need to switch sides or rearrange pillows because my hip or back is hurting or an arm has gone numb. Or I have to go pee. Which brings me to the next item...
• I pretty much live in the bathroom now. Our doula prescribed 4 liters of water daily. Wow that's challenging. I think I've been able to get up to around 3 liters but haven't quite hit the magic 4. She says it would prevent swelling. It must work because there's been no swelling so far!
• Psst! We've decided on a name. But we're keeping it a secret!
•  I've picked a leave date for work. HUGE step.
• My baby shower is this weekend! I'm super excited. I got a new dress and everything. It's a non-maternity, empire waist dress I got on the sale rack and I think it's so pretty! There was some risk I would outgrow it in the chest area before the shower but as of two days ago, it still fit!
• I'm itchy. Really, really itchy. All over my torso. I've tried all kinds of oils, lotions, sleeping with a humidifier. Jessica from JessOhBee cured her case with cod liver oil and coconut oil, ingested. I may have to pick some of that stuff up tomorrow.
• I officially waddle now. 

Otherwise, I still feel really, really good.  :)  I know that at some point, mamas-to-be just want baby out and take back their body already. I'm not quite there yet but am getting really excited at the prospect of meeting our little guy so soon.

I am so lucky. It's all still magic.