A Marmie Life: A {Blue} Birthday Party

My little Evelyn Blue turned 3 yesterday and she loves everything BLUE because she's Evelyn Blue. This year for her party she said she just wanted a Blue Birthday. With the moving and unpacking into the new house, my motivation level for the party was way below par. I didn't even come up with games to do until about a hour or two before the party started. But she's 3 so it's all good.

But I was pretty happy with the small things that I did do. Evelyn helped me decide on the cake, punch and ice cream. We did a Southern Style Strawberry Cake with Blue Cream Cheese Icing, a Blue Sorbet Punch and Blueberry Ice Cream. I served the kids on my blue trimmed little plates and cut crystal punch glasses. They were all very excited about the fancy dishes (even the boys).

We ended up playing:

Duck Duck Goose

Freeze Dance

Dance Off

Hokey Pokey (2 times because she loved it so much)

Southern Style Strawberry Cake

1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry jello
1 Tablespoon self rising flour
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cake mix, Jello, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil & add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition then add the water and mix. Divide the batter evenly into three 8-inch round baking pans that have been oiled and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the layers pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the layers from the oven to wire racks. Let them cool, still in their pans, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the inside edge of each pan, then unmold each layer onto the racks to cool completely. I like to flash freeze my layers before frosting them.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 (1 pound) boxes powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
blue food coloring
Blueberries
Sprinkles

To make the frosting, in a bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat until soft and pliable and no lumps remain. Add one box of the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Beat until incorporated. Add the second box of sugar and mix until incorporated. If you would like a smoother consistency add a splash of milk. If you would like a thicker consistency, and a bit more powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved. Then add the food coloring. Frost the cake and garnish with blueberries and sprinkles.