Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

Last night I was invited to help out with a "Birthday Bake Off" party hosted by my friend Allison for her daughter's twelfth birthday.  She claims she was inspired by a home baking challenge we had here at our house the night before school started.  (You can read about our Sweet Genius Baking Challenge HERE .)  But 'inspiring' is about the only thing for which I can take credit.  She hosted a glorious party in our church's big kitchen where eleven girls and one excited boy created twelve unique and beautiful cakes.  I teamed up with my nine-year-old daughter Sophia to create this simple and wonderful "Trip Down Lemon Lane" cake.   Allison created a fanciful and gratifying birthday party that her daughter Natalie will never forget.  All twelve kids got to take home a one-of-a-kind cake made by themselves to share with their families.  "Brilliant!" I declare. Last night's fun has sent the cogs and wheels in my h...

I decided to celebrate my birthday twice this year, and after successfully orchestrating the Harry Potter themed birthday hullabaloo for my ten year old, I figured it was high time for me have a birthday soiree for my own self.  I invited a few of my Michigan friends over for an evening of fun and intrigue.  The theme: Murder Mystery.  The instructions were somewhat vague, leaving tons of room for creativity: "Please come dressed as your favorite murder mystery character." My friends did not disappoint.  We had a wide variety of characters including... Dame Agatha Christie and Detective Inspector Jack Frost. What a handsome couple they make! Adrian Monk and Precious Ramotswe. Of course you've read Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful series about the lady detective from Botswana, right?? Dr. Reid and Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds were terribly impressed with my lifelike pistol shaped ice cubes . Even Scooby Doo turned up!  A...

To be clear I am not a competitive "Build-a-Better-Birthday-Party" Mama.  I have definitely rolled my eyes at some of the over-the-top kids' birthday parties I've seen chronicled on the reality TV shows on TLC.  No, I'm pretty sure your two year old doesn't need a 10 foot tall Cookie Monster ice sculpture on his big day, but if it makes you happy, whatever.  I generally try to keep birthdays relatively simple.  Cupcakes and "Pass the Parcel" are more my speed, but this year Harry got involved, and things got a little bit colorful.  So please know, if you are reading this, that I fully support whatever level of birthday party planning you're into.  I happen to be a ridiculous Harry Potter fan, so all of this was a labor of love.  I already had the Harry Potter character dolls, the Harry Potter Christmas lights, the Gryffindor scarf, and a head full of crazy Harry Potter ideas.  We also found that lots of our Halloween decorations worked wit...

For many weeks we have been planning, and now I, with a little help from my friends, have finally pulled off a successful Harry Potter party to celebrate my oldest daughter's tenth birthday.  I had a notebook filled with lists of ideas for games, activities and Potter-themed snacks.  I had purchased sparkly fabric, pulled out Halloween decorations that seemed appropriate, and scoured the Internet for inspiration.  Mentally I was prepared.  The night before the party, however, I started to hyperventilate a little as I attempted to sort and separate different shades of brown and pink and yellow Jelly Belly jellybeans into individual party cups for the "Bertie Bott's Bean Guess."  My husband walked into the kitchen as I sat at the table staring stupidly back and forth between a marigold-colored jellybean pinched between the fingers of my left hand and the slightly different goldenrod-colored jellybean held similarly in my right hand.  "I ...