Aloha!

Having been a bridesmaid 11 times — and the personal attendant/guest book attendant/greeter in at least five weddings — I have thrown my share of showers. In fact, I would consider myself a bit of a pro when it comes to all the wedding rigmarole. I think I've got it down.

However, when it came time to throw a shower for my sister, I felt a little underprepared.

My attendants threw me what was quite possibly the loveliest shower I've ever been to. It was beautiful and elegant — kind of like a mini-wedding. They set the bar pretty darned high.

Now, Jill's not a fussy person. She's actually pretty casual and laid back about stuff like that. She has a beautiful, well-decorated home, but she's not stuck up or into super fancy stuff. However, I wanted her shower to be just as nice as the one she threw for me.

Unfortunately, she's having an October wedding — and her colors are red and black. Beautiful for a fall wedding, less ideal for a Sunday afternoon shower in the middle of summer. Her bridesmaids and I toyed with the idea of a fall theme, but then Laura suggested a Hawaiian shower in honor of Jill's honeymoon spot. I loved the idea, but insisted that it had to be an elegant Hawaiian theme.

In other words, no plastic luau junk from Party City.

My mom and I got to shopping right away. (Any excuse to buy more serving pieces.) We found beautiful ocean blue glass dishes at HomeGoods, along with a lovely white tablecloth that had a simple blue stripe around it. I bought shells and sand and beach glass, and dainty little paper flowers. My mom found pretty candles with shells in them, as well as these green glass leaf platters and plates. All of which met my rigorous requirements for an elegant shower.

But, inevitably, we started to buy the plastic luau junk. Hawaiian stuff is everywhere in the summer, and we got a little over-excited. I bought bright colored paper napkins. My mom bought paper lanterns and grass skirts. Laura bought leis and drink umbrellas. My mom found a straw cover for the patio umbrella.

And then I kind of freaked out. I knew we needed color — otherwise it would have just been beachy, and not Hawaiian — but could not visualize how we were going to combine these beautiful glass pieces with plastic grass skirts. It was really stressing me out. (That might sound a little dramatic, but that is exactly the type of stuff I get stressed out about. We won't get into my anxiety attack over the possibility of the bridesmaid dresses not exactly matching the table overlays at my wedding.) Thankfully, my mom calmed me down and I became determined to make it work, Tim Gunn-style. Worst case scenario, I wouldn't use any of the plastic stuff.

But I did use the plastic stuff, and it turned out SO CUTE!

It wasn't the fancy shower she threw for me, but it was really pretty and a lot of fun. I hope she was as happy with it as I was.

Now it's on to the next shower — my sister-in-law Mary and I are throwing one for our soon-to-be sister-in-law Callie in a mere three weeks. Let the anxiety begin...