I can finally reveal that the reason why I have been so MIA lately - I was preparing to throw my sister a surprise bridal shower in our hometown in New Jersey! Since it was to be a surprise, I had to give her the impression that I was still in California and unable to visit her in NJ this past weekend, which is why my Instagram and Twitter accounts were filled with pictures of my dad and stepmom's cats and dogs. And since my sister reads my blog (hi sis!), I also had to refrain from posting fashion posts because the background of all my photos are of Toronto and she would know I was no longer in California. As maid of honor, I take my duties seriously and wanted this to be a beautiful and classy bridal shower for my sister. After six months of planning and with the help of my mom, fellow bridesmaids, and other family members, we were able to pull off the surprise! She arrived looking absolutely gorgeous as always, rocking a beautiful blowout that made me envious, but she was completely confused (she thought she was going to a birthday party)! After 22 years, I was finally able to fool my sister! Since my sister is having her wedding be a large family affair, I wanted the bridal shower to be the same and made sure a bunch of family members (and future family members!) contributed to the event. My mother and I spent all day the day prior to the shower cooking all the food (7 different menu items!) and my aunt also contributed two menu items. My mom, the woman I inherited my love of baking from, baked and decorated the cake for the bridal shower herself. We also did all the decor ourselves, thanks to multiple trips to Michael's Arts & Crafts store! When planning a bridal shower, one thing that is key is a theme. For my sister, we chose to continue the theme of her three wedding colors. Two activities I organized during the shower were a "Date Jar" and a scrapbook for my sister. With the "Date Jar", everyone wrote down date ideas on popsicle sticks and placed them in a mason jar. My sister and her future husband now have tons of date ideas for when they become newlyweds! I also ran around the room taking pics of my sister with each family member or friend who attended on my Polaroid camera and then put each photo in a scrapbook. I then had everyone write my sister a sweet message under their photo together, and at the end of the day she went home with a scrapbook of raw, unfiltered images from the shower with notes of love and advice from family and friends. My mother and two of my sister's bridesmaids were placed in charge of putting the favors together, which were monogrammed stemless wine glasses with my sister and her fiancé's names and wedding date, and filled with personalized red and white M&Ms with my sister and her fiancé's initials. It was a fun yet subdued affair, just how my sister would have liked it to be since the wedding will be a bit grander and larger. I cannot wait to stand by her side when she officially becomes a Mrs. in just a few short months!

I can finally reveal that the reason why I have been so MIA lately – I was preparing to throw my sister a surprise bridal shower in our hometown in New Jersey! Since it was to be a surprise, I had to give her the impression that I was still in California and unable to visit her in NJ this past weekend, which is why my Instagram and Twitter accounts were filled with pictures of my dad and stepmom’s cats and dogs. And since my sister reads my blog (hi sis!), I also had to refrain from posting fashion posts because the background of all my photos are of Toronto and she would know I was no longer in California.

As maid of honor, I take my duties seriously and wanted this to be a beautiful and classy bridal shower for my sister. After six months of planning and with the help of my mom, fellow bridesmaids, and other family members, we were able to pull off the surprise! She arrived looking absolutely gorgeous as always, rocking a beautiful blowout that made me envious, but she was completely confused (she thought she was going to a birthday party)! After 22 years, I was finally able to fool my sister!

Since my sister is having her wedding be a large family affair, I wanted the bridal shower to be the same and made sure a bunch of family members (and future family members!) contributed to the event. My mother and I spent all day the day prior to the shower cooking all the food (7 different menu items!) and my aunt also contributed two menu items.
My mom, the woman I inherited my love of baking from, baked and decorated the cake for the bridal shower herself.
We also did all the decor ourselves, thanks to multiple trips to Michael’s Arts & Crafts store! When planning a bridal shower, one thing that is key is a theme. For my sister, we chose to continue the theme of her three wedding colors.
Two activities I organized during the shower were a “Date Jar” and a scrapbook for my sister. With the “Date Jar”, everyone wrote down date ideas on popsicle sticks and placed them in a mason jar. My sister and her future husband now have tons of date ideas for when they become newlyweds!
I also ran around the room taking pics of my sister with each family member or friend who attended on my Polaroid camera and then put each photo in a scrapbook. I then had everyone write my sister a sweet message under their photo together, and at the end of the day she went home with a scrapbook of raw, unfiltered images from the shower with notes of love and advice from family and friends.
My mother and two of my sister’s bridesmaids were placed in charge of putting the favors together, which were monogrammed stemless wine glasses with my sister and her fiancé’s names and wedding date, and filled with personalized red and white M&Ms with my sister and her fiancé’s initials.

It was a fun yet subdued affair, just how my sister would have liked it to be since the wedding will be a bit grander and larger. I cannot wait to stand by her side when she officially becomes a Mrs. in just a few short months!