Pre-baby dinner party...

I think I mentioned that practically all of our friends are having babies this year. We have had dinner parties with one of the couples for as long as they have been together, so we decided to throw them a fancy pre-baby dinner party in honor of the tradition. They are having a girl, and I have some very pretty (but admittedly girly) china from my aunt that I have wanted to use for a baby shower for a long time. So, the theme was pink!

I wanted to do favors, so I took a trip to Babies-R-Us and found some mini-baby bottles that I filled with pistachios. The pacifiers happened to be hanging right next to the bottles, and it occurred to me that the ones with the loops would make really cute napkin rings. They did-- a cute and sort of subtle nod to the baby theme!

However, the pacifier napkin rings did put it over-the-top girly for Nick, but he said he would forgive me if I let him keep the TV on mute while we had hors d'oeuvres (NCAA playoffs!).  I normally have a no TV during parties rule, so we compromised :)  This was probably fair since I had also come up with a pink-themed menu:

• Drinks:  Pink Lady (virgin, of course)
• Dinner:  Pink Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin, grilled asparagus, herb and shallot twice-baked potatoes
• Dessert:  Strawberry Cake (the original plan was mini strawberry baked alaska, then I found out meringue isn't good for pregnant ladies, so this cake was the back-up-- very pink and really good!)