Birthday Special: A Cuppa Joe

This year for Joe's birthday we got a Keurig home-brewing system, so the children and I planned a coffee-shop themed celebration. For Joe's birthday cake, a teaspoon of coffee mixed into my chocolate buttercream icing imparted a subtle mocha flavor that was a delicious complement to a freshly-brewed cup of coffee. After dinner out at a favorite restaurant, we returned home for dessert and coffee at Mocha Joe's.

Fun details pulled our cozy coffee-shop theme together.

Eight-year-old Christian found it amusing that we gathered around the coffee table for Joe's birthday, but our family room seemed the perfect spot for sinking into a comfy chair with a cuppa joe. A pale blue matelasse coverlet covered the table, and a brown scarf from Wal-Mart served as a perfect table runner. Vanilla-scented candles nestled in fresh coffee beans added warm ambiance and a pleasant aroma, while Pirouette cookies and biscotti tempted our tummies. The children enjoyed working on our cafe specials sign -- a black foam board they decorated with gel markers. The markers looked surprisingly like chalk, and the children had so much fun working with them that they decorated both sides of the foam board. With coffee, cake and cookies shared with family, this birthday was good to the last drop!


"He was my cream, and I was his coffee --
And when you poured us together, it was something."

-- Josephine Baker