Lovely Lola's Manhattan baby shower

One of the pluses of moving to Manhattan was escaping the proliferation of infants amongst my friends. With the recent birth of Violet (congratulations Liv & Blakey), there's hardly one amongst us who isn't a parent in some way, and it's difficult being a single girl in London when your friends, quite rightly, are involved in bringing up their children. (Of course I adore my friend's offspring, and worship my godchildren). Speaking of which, this is my beloved Edward showing a proper interest in my shoes at Christmas.


And this is my adorable Amelia who is quite obviously going to be a fiend for fashion):
However I must admit that the lack of children amongst my friends here makes a baby shower in Manhattan a fun novelty. Last weekend was Lovely L's chic affair on the Upper West Side. She & her mother had filled the sun-drenched apartment with treats for the shower-ettes that played up L's Russian and American sides. We played present bingo, gossiped and ate a tea of breathtaking deliciousness, from Mariage Freres teas via caviar snacks to addictively scrumptious macaroons from Bouley Bakery.

The palm for most genius presents goes jointly to the ravishingly beautiful & insanely talented Royle sisters. Actress Abby

knitted a lovely white baby blanket with the baby's name appliqued across in blue, and artist Dorothy painted this exquisite picture for the baby's room.

I do think that hand-made gifts are quite the nicest.