Heather's shower... I did not take one single picture of Heather's shower. And it was so pretty! Dangit! I don't know that anyone did. Double dangit!
The shower was a "Pantry Shower", along with a tasting table. Each guest brought a prepared dish, the recipe, a tool or something used in the preparation and dry goods for the dish for Heather. She got so many fun gifts. A crock pot with canned goods for a pot roast that we all got to taste. Delicious salads, breads and muffins and baking pans and even a KitchenAid mixer to go with! Fun night for everyone to try new recipes. Heather and my favorite nephew Jake got a pantry stocked full before they even had to cook!
Lexi's shower was a "Favorite Things" Shower. Each guest was asked to bring a gift that is something they can not live without, in hopes that Lexi won't be able to either! We had so much fun sharing everything from furry blankets to can-openers to kitchen gadgets. Our food was more of a traditional shower meal... I prepared a chicken pasta spinach salad that was a hit! Along with the salad, a sister-in-law made heavenly rolls from a foreign recipe book. WOW! I still need to get the recipe for those! Zeej made pizzelles for us and filled strawberries with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Oh my! The food was fun and after we'd all eaten and Lexi had opened her gifts, we had fun and lots of laughs sharing marriage advice. And we did laugh a lot! Lexi is my favorite niece Lexi and I love that I am her favorite Aunt Sophia!
One really fun part of the shower, a little surprise from Doug's sister,Anne. While we were talking wedding advise, she shared something that tied things together. No one in the room was even aware of this little handmade Korean doll given to Dale, Anne and Doug's dad, while he served in the war. He had given Anne this priceless gift when she was a little girl. She shared the story of this doll and how she's treasured it her whole entire life, along with a beautiful spiritual thought. She shared the story and printed off a copy of it for each of us. I will share the story, with her permission, in another post, but it was a tender moment... one of the things you can always count on when you are around Anne!
Here's the recipe for the tasty chicken spinach and pasta salad....
The first time I tried this recipe was at Miki's baby blessing dinner. Wendy's sister Kris made it and I fell in love...with Kris and the Salad! It makes a LOT of salad (two big salad bowls) and is great for a large crowd.
Dressing:
Blend in blender until smooth:
1 c veggie oil (Kris used 1/2 c olive and 1/2 cup canola)
2/3 c White wine vinegar
2/3 c teriyaki sauce (Kris used kikoman teriyaki marinade)
6 T Sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Cook 12oz Bowtie Pasta. Rinse and drain.
Add to dressing and refrigerate 2 hours or over night. When ready to serve add:
4-5 Cooked chicken breast
1 bunch chopped green onion
3-6 oz cans mandarin oranges
6oz craisins
6oz honey roasted sliced almonds
spinach 28-32oz
spinach 28-32oz
Toss all and serve immediately (You can toss all except spinach a head of time, refrigerate and add spinach right before serving.) Enjoy!
One gift that I loved was Liza's. She gave Lexi a cooler filled with travel games, crossword puzzle books and a few other things that could be taken on road trips, as she and Buddy love to travel. It was unique and creative!
Erin's shower theme was "Around the Clock". Erin is marrying my favorite nephew Dillon. Each guest was invited to bring a gift that would be used around the specific time assigned on their invitation. So, if you got 10AM, it might be a cleaning tool or supplies, if it was 6PM, it would be a dinner prep or servingware, if it were 10PM, it might be bedding or anything used late at night. Erin received some seriously fun and creative gifts!
I'd asked Valerie, who I serve in the Young Womens with, and who made our beautiful cupcakes for Young Women in Excellence, if she would make cupcakes for the shower. Val happens to be Dillon's aunt too. She's Dillon's mom's sister. Doug is Dillon's Dad's brother. So, I love that I'm getting to work with and know Val after by serving in the ward with her. Val was happy to oblige and made the fun cupcakes. Aleece made wonderful fruit kabobs and I made the best punch I've ever made! The Costco Kettle Corn was also a hit. Totally simple but FUN! We had a great time visiting and munching! The best part of the shower was, again, the wedding advice! We laughed pretty hard, as we all commented on each other's comments. I love that at any bridal shower!
Pineapple Punch
1 bottle Pina Colada Mix (in the mixed drink area of the grocery store)
1 frozen pineapple-orance juice concentrate
2 2-liter bottles 7-up or Sprite
1 bag of Pebble Ice (Sonic or your meat department probably sells it)
Mix and then add water to taste. It's pretty sweet, so at least 2 quarts of water.
These showers have consumed my thoughts since April. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to have them behind me. Truthfully, I did less for all three of these showers combined than I normally do for one. However, with help of my sisters-in-law and my three daughters, I was very pleased at how things fell together! I announced that I will host the last four bridal showers over the next few years for the remaining nieces and then we are turning baby showers over to the next generation. It's time. Strange to think that we are talking "next generation", but it's time! I hosted showers for my sisters-in-law when they married into the family and now down to the last niece. It's time. We talked about some of the showers after Lexi's and it was just fun to remember and to feel appreciated.
Life is good! So is checking off big things on your to-do list!
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