Photo by: Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography

My best friend Aubree is expecting her first baby, a little girl named Frankie -- due in just a few weeks! So last month we showered her with a "Girly California" themed-party, with tons of pinks and succulents. We were so thrilled to have the shower recently featured on Style Me Pretty Living. Today I wanted to share even more details of the event with you!

All photos by Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography.

We held the shower at the beautiful home of our friend, Paige Long. The shower ended up being on one of the hottest days of the year, so it was great that the guest-of-honor wanted an evening shower. We let the hot weather dictate the decor by minimizing florals and we opted out of making large arrangements (as we were afraid they would wilt too quickly). Instead, we used a ton of bud vases from our friends at Yummi Candles, mixed with Paige's stunning crystal cups, that she inherited from her grandmother. They added such a beautiful touch. I love having special items like that included in the decor! We used an abundance of succulents, which ended up being the crowd favorite and doubled as party favors! That's always a plus!

Because we decided to have the succulents be the main attraction, we focused on garden roses as the key flower. We used 4 colors (in the pink and coral families) of garden roses, and added peach stock and astilbe as accents.

Mary, one of the other hostesses, had a variety of beautiful wooden boxes that she had made for her wedding last year. So we repurposed them as decor this table scape, creating height and a cool earthy vibe.

We made the dip dye napkins by purchasing about 20 yards (we made 60 napkins!) of white gauze and pink dye from Joann Fabrics. To do this, cut gauze into 15" x 15" squares, bunch them up, fold them in half and dip only the first third of the napkin in the dye. Then place on some kind of plastic tarp (I used large garbage bags cut open). Allow to dry overnight and then wash on delicate. I washed these twice (on warm) as I wanted them to fade and bleed more. I loved the way they turned out!

The shower's youngest and cutest guest!

Dinner was a favorite of our group of friends -- ComidaLA's South American street eats. They made the most delicious summery, corn and avocado salad, special for us, as the perfect accompaniment to their gluten-free arepas. It was perfect summer party food.

I really wanted the bar to be a major showpiece. Because it was such a hot day, I knew a variety of ice cold drinks would be an important factor in our guests happiness. I was obsessed with these blush fleur de lis glasses that we rented from Town & Country. Again, we created height using wooden crates, and we put a "pink spin" on all of the beverages, to continue our girly theme.

We made cherry lemonade by puréeing fresh (de-pitted) cherries in the Vitamix and straining them. Then add the purée to your homemade lemonade and it's beyond yummy! The middle drink was strawberry-mint ice water and the right dispenser held the favorite of the night -- ror all of the non-pregnant guests -- a boozy watermelon aqua fesca, that was simply tons of watermelon blended with lime, a touch of fine sugar and water. Add fresh mint and vodka and you have got yourself a surefire hit! We also offered rosé procecco and sparkling water.

And then there's this. The dessert table. Whisk and Whittle killed it again with 4 cakes (gluten-free chocolate with cream cheese chocolate, lemon meringue, strawberry shortcake and carrot cake) and donuts. All more beautiful and delicious than the next.

A week prior the shower, some of us hostesses got together and had a "craft night" where we created 5 huge paper flowers (using a template from Tania Fischer). Not only did they turn out beautifully, but it was such a fun way to bond with friends when creating an event together.

To finish off the table we had to give a nod to baby girl Frankie! So we added this beautiful gold and silver acrylic bunting from our faves Meri Meri -- It read our evening’s hashtag #cioabellafrankie!

Sis and I would like to thank the other hostesses who helped to make this happen! Love you, Beth, Brandy, Brie, Jodi, Mary, Paige & Paige! We can't wait to meet you, Frankie!! xx

Yesterday afternoon I hosted an intimate "baby sprinkle" for my sister-in-law -- expecting baby no. 2 next month. My goal was to make a simple and lovely, country-side-esque afternoon for our 10 guests.

The guest of honor requested a tea-like light lunch but with ice-cold lemonade, instead of hot tea. Because she is expecting a boy, I wanted to make sure I didn't go too far down the frilly and girly high-tea route. Instead, I opted for my own clean white dishes, classic silverware, french linen napkins and touches of boyish anchors. My palette was navy, brown and white.

It was an interesting challenge with Jason out of town on tour - I had a 2-year-old helper who liked taking the straws out of the glasses - as you can see above. ;) But I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It was a nice mix of modern and classic. And I even did some crafting! Sis would be proud.

I gave myself a challenge: Don't rent anything. Because it was a small shower, I was able to use all of my own dishes, glassware, linens and silverware. As for the flower vessels -- I love the dark amber glass bottles my Kombucha comes in, so for several weeks leading up to the shower, I saved every bottle, took the labels off (had to scrub and soak and scrub again until all of the stickiness came off!). I purchased a few bunches of flowers and wild greens from Whole Foods. The bottles did double duty -- I also gave them away as favors at the end of the party. They make such a cool little vase for around the house. I'm a big fan.

For a special touch I made a few anchor decorations. These are little anchors I cut and stuck to wooden skewers, to create a more festive place setting.

I also made this anchor banner for the food table. Could be super cute on the nursery wall too!

I kept the drinks simple, with strawberry water and homemade organic lemonade.

We have been making most of our parties gluten-free lately. People normally can't even tell the difference and it suits the needs of the people who don't eat gluten. These scones from Buttercelli Bakeshop were out of control. The biggest hit of the day and gluten-free! I purchased organic apricot and strawberry jams and lemon curd. I made the Devonshire cream from this recipe I found on Joy of Baking.

You can never go wrong with a platter of organic berries. Never.

Butter lettuce salad with homemade candied walnuts, dried cranberries and goat cheese.

What do you do when you have a major cake-fail two hours before the party?! Get brownies, blondies and bars from the gluten-free bakeshop, cut them into square and forget you were up until 2AM baking!