Months and months ago Naomi asked me to make the mini treats for her friend, Alyssa's baby shower. The assignment: gender-neutral, grey and yellow, and "Ball Jar" themed (the mommy-to-be's last name is Ball. Cute, right?). I of course was THRILLED that the colors for this shower were grey and yellow- the OFFICIAL colors of The Short Giraffe! But also, I know Naomi, I have gotten to know some of her friends, and therefore I knew the style she had in mind, which I also love. Cute but modern, fun, bright and just a touch of nostalgia that I always love! It was perfect! The adorable bunting you'll see is by the very talented Katie of Katie Sue's Keepsakes. Alyssa loved all of her treats, and from the sounds of things the party was a great success! So here are the awesome photo's, which in my opinion are totally magazine-worthy thanks to the endless skill that Naomi Chokr Photography brings to the table. Enjoy!

Lots of sweet love!

xo
Leigh 

    As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I became a member of a local group, The Designing Daughters, and was asked to be the dessert sponsor for their upcoming Summer Event, "A Fashionable Gala.." And what a gala it was! Some of Sarasota's finest were a part of this amazing evening at the beautiful Sarasota Yacht Club!. Food, fashion, fun and drinks-a-flowing make for quite an evening!

    My "theme" I was given to work with was "Nautical Chic-" tons of hot pinks, nautical blue's and white, with a touch of summer and citrus thrown in between! The result was a SCRUMPTIOUS dessert display put on by Yours Truly, that included Raspberry Zest and White Chocolate Blueberry Mini Cupcakes, White Chocolate Lime Cake Truffles and Zesty Lemon Shortbread Cookies. They were a hit! If you take a look at one of my photo's, you'll see a young gentleman, Eduardo Anaya, who blogs over at Preen and Chic. He was literally my #1 Fan for the evening, and I swear ate a dozen Raspberry Zest cupcakes by himself! He was already hired as my official PR Director by the time the night was over- thank you, Eduardo, for your kind words and major sweet tooth!

    As usual, because she is SO fabulous, my friend Naomi Chokr was asked to come and photograph the event- stunning (but what else is knew with her, right!?) My other gal pal, Mrs. Ashley Grueters of SRQtee's Events, a fellow Designing Daughter, was the Design Committee Chair for the event and did a fabulous job! 

    Take a peak at the photo's, they're pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself :)

Lots of sweet love!

xo
Leigh 

    When I first set out on my mini-baking adventure and launched The Short Giraffe, I had glamours fantasies of grand charity events, elegant weddings and parties galore for my treats. All of that has happened, and its been WONDERFUL! What I did NOT envision, however, was a huge chunk of my business to come from kids! Birthday parties, preschool graduations, mommys-night-out events- they've all become such a huge staple in my weekly orders, and I absolutely love it! Baking for kids has allowed my creativity in decoration to run wild! It has also opened up my being repertoire to a variety of allergy sensitive baking options for many of these kids. Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and so many more have become regular menu items for me now, and they taste GREAT!
    
    I do have to give a shout-out and a HUGE thank-you to one of my first supporters and best customers, the amazing team at The Kids Activity Center in Lakewood Ranch. Owner Christen Wolfinger and her staff have put in order after order for everything from their regular birthday parties in-house, to their specialty classes and parent groups. They're awesome at what they do, and the center is a great place for children of all ages and events of all kinds! Thank you guys so much for all of your support from the very beginning!

    Check out some of my photo's over the past few months of these cool creations for kids and events of all types!

Lots of sweet love to you!

xo
Leigh

    Just as the amazingly fantastical feelings of accomplishment and success were starting to fade into happy smiles and fun memories from my last style shoot with The Everygirl, I got a little buzz from one of my favorite ladies, Sarah Tucker, that I was being invited back again for another amazing shoot! I was over the moon.

    Its funny how the novelty of something can where off. And I don't mean wear off in a bad, not interested anymore kind of way, but in a comfortable, "I can do this" kind of way. That's how I felt as I was prepping for this shoot. I was cool, calm and collected. Excited, yes. Honored, yes. Humbled, definitely. But I wasn't anxious, or nervous. I was confident. I planned my recipes that I wanted to include, I chatted with Sarah in a few emails, and I was good to go. Frankly, it was a pretty nice feeling. Maybe I am becoming a successful business woman after all?

    I also got to work with my sweet bud Naomi, from Naomi Chokr Photography again, who always effortlessly makes my photo's look glorious. Our assignment was a "Backyard Bridal Shower" shoot for The Everygirl's new feature series "Wedding Week." Yes please! Before I knew it, the day came and we had this AMAZING shoot on a gorgeous waterfront property to show girls everywhere the simplicity and beauty that can come from a backyard bridal shower. My "theme" that I was assigned for my treats was honey and mint, and I did my best to keep a chic, fun and girly feel to the yummies. Our lovely models were some of my favorites, too!  Miss Ashten Weniger, Miss Candice Henry, and Miss Shannon Couch were beautiful, and they are rather talented in their own ventures, as well!
 
    So without further adieu, eat up the eye candy! And yes, all of these mini's could be at YOUR next bridal shower, too :)

Lots of sweet love!

xo
Leigh

Lots of sweet love!

Leigh