A Shower of a Different Color

I've told you before why Debbie is so much fun to celebrate. And when it comes to her baby showers, well, we figure it's either go big or go home. Her first shower (when she was pregnant with Alex & Sasha) was a fabulous cocktail/mocktail party complete with some pretty great cocktail rings for all the guests and completely devoid of games (per all of our requests).

When Debbie told us that she was pregnant with her second set of twins (I literally had to pull my car over when she told me the news over the phone), we knew that the standard for KAE was raised and this next shower would have to be something truly unique. Debbie's requests were simple:
a.) No gifts- as they already had most of what they needed from the first go-round
b.) Have it after the babies were born so that she could enjoy an adult beverage

And so, the non-baby shower cocktail party was born.

Our roles in KAE are well established so I handled creating and sending the invitations while Carlye and Anna crafted an amazing menu using Debbie's favorite foods as a starting point. Now, here's what you need to know about Debbie's faves (and she would freely admit this herself): the more processed the food, the better. So in a style eerily reminiscent of a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge, they took all of Debbie's favorite foods and recreated them a la gourmet. Behold, the inspirations...

We set the scene in Anna's cozy and stylish home...





...and set the table with the gourmet creations. First, the cocktails: Jello-O shots with a bit of Pop Rock "bling" (Debbie loves her Jello-O and her bling) and Rum & Diet Cokes (you'll be hard pressed to find her without a can of Diet Coke nearby).


Ok, so maybe this wasn't the gourmet part but those Jell-O shots were really good. Especially with the Pop Rocks.

But the food, the food! Oh, it was amazing. Feast your eyes on this...

Carlye had the inspired idea to take Debbie's beloved mac & cheese, add some bacon and some phylo dough...voila! Mac 'n Cheese-kopitas.
French onion dip for her Baked Lays...
The woman has a serious relationship with Peeps. So Anna and I made some homemade marshmallows. We also discovered that Anna needs a Kitchen Aid Mixer. Because homemade marshmallows? They require fifteen to thirty minutes of mixing. Totally worth it for our Debo!
Every year Debbie's mom makes her a coconut cream cake. So we made tarts...
...and shots! Non-alcoholic, though.
This turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the party. Who doesn't love a little cream cheese frosting straight from the tub?
More coconut in the fondue as well as some rich chocolate...
I'm so sad I didn't get any pictures, but Megu and Erica brought mini bacon cheesburgers and some amazing garlic fries as a nod to Debbie's love of Wendy's. Wendy's- official food sponsor of our 20's.

We mingled, we ate, drank and were merry.

Another successful event for KAE. Another milestone marked off for The E-Ranch & Crew...