Baby Showers: I Love Them

Saturday I had the pleasure of going to a gorgeous baby shower for our friend Laura, who is the most beaming happy excited precious mama-to-be! She and her husband and kitty family will be welcoming a little boy into their family very soon and we had a great girly day celebrating her.

We started off at Cachet Nail Boutique which is a GEM of a nail salon for any of you local readers. I think everyone here in Charlotte knows about the really popular spot here for mani/pedis that sometimes leaves a little to be desired. Cachet in the South End is the total opposite. The interior is so swanky and modern. My tech was friendly and professional, and a dad himself -- we had a good chat about the craziness of toddlers and babies. They have a complete menu of services available, and I decided to give my tootsies a little splurge and bypass the standard pedicure for the Mojito custom pedicure which included a minty scrub, a cooling menthol mask, and a massage lotion. For the $35 charge instead of the typical $25 charge, it was WELL worth the upgrade. It's not too often that I get a pedicure these days, so the small bit extra for the additional time and TLC was a no-brainer. Plus, it's about the closest I'm getting to a minty-lime mojito (sighhhh...) these days.

Lunch was awesome at Ruru's -- it was my first time there! I went with two of their tacos (Stage Five Clinger and Long Duk Dong) ... when they brought my order out, I was all "Um, I should have totally ordered more" but they were so flavorful and filling that it really hit the spot! The icing on the cake was literally the blue iced cupcakes that the hostesses had for everyone after gifts were opened. 

For the mama-to-be, I put together a little bundle of some items from her Amazon registry (the Mustela and the waterproof pads ... both items that I consider a must-have for a newborn!) along with a few other favorites. Here's what I gave her:

My #1 Fave (no shocker here): Mustela Physiobebe
on Amazon here
This no-rinse cleanser is so amazing for cleaning up baby bums, little spit-up messes on chins, milk drips from bottle feeding, anything! It smells heavenly and just gives an extra clean feeling.

Cotton Rounds for applying the Mustela Physiobebe
on Amazon here
I keep these right next to my Mustela bottle for ease. They work way better than cotton balls for application.

Bright Starts Rattle
on Amazon here
Camille has one of these (in girlier colors) and just loved it, so we got one for James, too.
We also tossed in another teething toy into the bag, also by Bright Starts.

Pampers Sensitive Wipes
on Amazon here
My love for these knows no bounds.

Boppy Waterproof Liners
on Amazon here
Seriously a must-have (are you listening, preggos?!) for those newborn days when you are up to your elbows in diapers. Surprise tee-tees at 3am don't mean stripping your entire changing pad cover off, just lay your baby on top of one of these (on the "pretty" changing pad cover) and if it gets messy, you just toss it in the laundry and put down a new one. We still use these -- I have one packed in Camille's travel bag so I can change her anywhere with the waterproof pad underneath.

I guess you could say that my typical baby shower gifts have somewhat changed these days -- I love putting together practical, tried-and-true favorites that were really indispensable to us in those first several months! I'd love to hear what some of your go-to baby shower gifts are as well!