“Birthdays at this age just aren’t as big of a deal as they used to be,” I stated in a conversation with my roommate. “I don’t mind celebrating over lunch or something, but I don’t think we should make a big deal about it.” “What if we did something super fun?” Cassi questioned. “It’s so soon and I can’t come up with any cool ideas,” I replied. After bouncing around few ideas, Cassi struck a goldmine. “What about a murder mystery?” My interest was immediately piqued and google was quickly consulted. Before long, we’d stumbled upon nightofmystery.com and there was no turning back. At first, we decided to go with the 80’s theme because that would be the easiest to find costumes for, but the circus theme was the one that really intrigued me. Just before I purchased the 80’s packet, Mom called me and said she voted for the circus. “Everyone is doing 80’s themed parties lately,” she said. “Circus would be a blast and I think we can pull it off.” So in 10 days we brainstormed, planned, distributed character descriptions, painted letters and posters, and planned some more. It was CRAZY and a little bad for my academics, but we had an absolute BLAST. More than glad that we went with the circus theme. The details were better than I ever hoped or dreamed they would be, and the costumes were outrageous fun. First off, here are the details…
My amazing roommate decorated my cake. She thought it would be so cool to make a cake with a circus tent on top, but I shot that idea down, thinking she was crazy. “I can do it,” she told me. And, boy, did she ever! It turned out fantastic! Here she is beginning her masterpiece… (and thanks, Mom, for baking the tasty cake)
Have I mentioned that I have the world’s best roommate? Not only did she decorate my cake and stay up until nearly 2:00 AM helping me with invitations, she also helped me shop for decorations and paint these adorable letters…
Yes, I am surrounded by wonderful, creative people. My mother had a hay day with the details and turned our house into a legit circus. She made these animal collars out of cupcake holders!
Notice the details in the white cabinet…
A yummy collage of detail eye-candy…
(The painting in the top left corner was done by talented mother)
It took a team to turn our house into a Big Top. My lovely cousin, Whitney, and her boyfriend (and my good friend) Justin, came early to help hang decorations…
While we finished details, Justin turned to one of his favorite hobbies…
And the finished masterpiece…
The Master Decorator herself after completing her masterpiece
Thanks again to everyone who helped with party prep craziness!! Special thanks to Karie for printing gobs of stuff for us, Dad for indulging our craziness, Mom for all her hard work and creativity, Cassi for all her time and creativity, Whit and J for pitching the tent and hanging streamers, Whit for teardown, and all the other people I have failed to mention. The party was a smashing success and I am so thankful to have each of you in my life. And special thanks to Cassi for convincing me I needed a 22nd birthday party.
Will be blogging more about the party when school allows…
