Party Recipe: Southwestern Baby Shower

This was a great baby shower! A giant group of fun women coming together to celebrate the pending arrival of baby girl Wayland. And it was a relative breeze to put on. Here are the details:

Decorations: Three big bouquets of sunflowers with yellow and blue wildflowers. Chambray napkins lent by the guest of honor. Guests dressed in their best southwestern boots.

Food: My co-hostess helped prepare a feast for this shower! Chips, salsa, cornbread, black bean salad, fresh fruit and vanilla cupcakes. I made empanadas following this pastry recipe, which was really good but I accidentally made it a wee bit (so much!) too salty. For the fillings, I made roasted chili with cheese, shredded chicken with green olives and cilantro and chorizo with potato. Empanadas are tasty but a bit overly complicated for my taste. Next time I would make quesadillas or something simpler with all those yummy fillings.

Drinks: White wine, fruit punch with ginger and mint.

Music: Salsa music and the Avett Brothers on Pandora.

Activity: Each guest had a chance to make a corn husk doll and decorate it with gingham and ric-rac. Many were making them to take home to their young daughters, which was fun. They’re so simple to make, each with a unique personality!