My Niece’s Shower ~ and her An Affair from the Heart Cookbook!

I am finally getting around to telling you about the bridal  shower I gave for my niece, Leah.

The shower was held in August of 2012, and I couldn’t have been more happy to throw it for her.

I was also so totally excited to finally give her her gift!!

For the 6 months prior to her shower, I had been working on a cookbook for her, 

based on lots of her (and MY) favorite recipes from my blog.

This is me, with my niece, Leah.

I had a light luncheon, and we served it where the shower was held, at my husband’s office.  

There was more room to seat everyone comfortably in his training room at work.

Chicken salad is always a good “go to” thing to make when you are cooking for women, but guess what?

Leah hates chicken salad!!

So in addition to it, I made her something she does love, 

Little King Salad!!

It’s a favorite recipe on my blog, you can find the recipe HERE.

I served the sandwiches, the salad, along with fresh berries and her favorite, DILL PICKLES!!

(We actually gave her one of those GIANT Costco sized jars of pickles for Christmas one year!!)

This was the bouquet I arranged for the entry way.

Instead of the guests writing their name on a paper, a friend gave me the idea to buy the bride her thank you cards, and each guest addressed their own envelope.

Later, we drew a name for a door prize!

My dear friend, Tari, over at Sunshine Cookies made these beautiful bridal gown cookies, and I actually purchased those gorgeous brownies at a local bakery.

I did, however dip those strawberries! 

🙂

Leah shown here, showing off one of Tari’s creations!!  All the way from Arizona!!

My daughter, Josie, was Leah’s Junior bridesmaid.  

She LOVES to paint, so she made Leah this painting for her apartment.

I set the tables up so everyone could visit, and Leah sat in the opening at the front.

The centerpieces were fall colored blooms.

This is Leah opening on of the gifts we gave her.

Have you ever heard of a company called 

That’s my Pan?

bought me one, and I LOVE it!!

I decided that she needed one of her own!

I bought her the 9×13 with the cover.  The cover and the pan itself are personalized.

Then I gave her the cookbook I made.

A little history here.

Leah has long been a guest at many a dinner at our house.

We actually made it somewhat of a tradition on Monday nights when she was in college!

So, when I found out that she was engaged, I knew she would be getting a cookbook!!

Thanks to my friend, Betsy for the help and instruction on how to go about it!

here are a couple of pictures of the inside

These pages include cookies that are my Mom’s, (her “Grandma Jane”) recipe, as well as cookies that were a specialty of her Aunt, who passed away in 2005.

The book is full of pictures of her with my kids and with us, each of her grandparents has a page, 

and it includes all of her favorite dishes that I make.

This book was a labor of love.  And I know of NO ONE who deserves it more than Leah!!

She is such a ray of sunshine in our lives, and I hope that she enjoys the recipes, the photos and the memories this book hold for many years to come!!

The back page has a favorite cooking/love quote of mine,

  a peek at the front an back covers

We LOVE YOU Leah!!