Book Group Night: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Earlier I showed you the invitation for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie book group, and here is what it all led up to!

The banners were super cheap and packed an easy punch.  I printed the jack snipe image (or crow as the case may be) on some computer paper, turned it upside-down, and strung some ribbon through it.

I decided to recycle the leftover pumpkins on my porch from Halloween by painting them with white craft paint.  I gave them a few coats of white and then free-handed some images in black craft paint on top (which would explain why the bird looks like it suffers from bloating and leg amputation).  The "L" is for "de Luce" because I couldn't figure out how to fit in the "de" and make it still look good.  And the fleur de lis is simply because the de Luces were French (at some point in their genealogy), and because it was easier to paint than a coat of arms.  So sue me.  After the party, I let my boys take the pumpkins to a nearby field and use them as target practice for their BB guns.  You would have thought that I had announced Christmas was coming twice this year.  Win-win situation, I say.

 

These little chalkboard frames were the darlings of the party; my guests couldn't quit talking about them!  If only they knew how simple they were:  white frames with a coat or two of chalkboard paint on the glass.  And tah dah!  Adorable display plaques for all your sweets and savories!

 

And caloo calay . . . That's our book group day!  The best decision I ever made (next to marrying my husband and quitting my gym membership) was to go with a simple and graphic color scheme because it made everything easy to coordinate---from the paper goods to the candies in the jars (which happened to be white breath mints and Ghiradelli dark chocolates).  I hope this helps get your juices flowing for your own mystery book group night!  Cheers!

A "Pie"fect Invitation . . .

When I read Alan Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I knew I had to choose it as my next book group read.  The question was how to announce the book to the rest of my book group.  My first instinct was to find a dozen dead jack snipes, stuff stamps in their beaks, and plant them on my friends' door steps (see book cover).  In the end, I decided to go with the less-creepy, less feathery option:  pie.  I made a basic pumpkin pie recipe and poured it into individual tins.  After baking and cooling the pies (and garnishing them with the obligatory fall leaves), I put the evening's particulars "on the bottom of the pie" tin with some tape.  And voila!  With one batch of pie batter you have seven or so little "pie"fect invitations to your upcoming book discussion.  The trick is getting them delivered before you consume one or two in a fit of autumn frenzy . . . If this happens, just blame it on those pesky jack snipes!

From the Book Nook: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Miriam and I just might be the only two individuals under the age of 97 who watch Matlock on a regular basis.  We thank our mother for that habit, along with our love of all other "mysterious" things---from Nancy Drew novels to Agatha Christie whodunits to breastfeeding.

This month we're happy to suggest a delightful addition to the classic mystery repertoire:  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.  The protagonist and "detective" is precocious 11-year-old Flavia de Luce.  She's brilliant.  She's cheeky.  And she's quite alone in the world:  her mother is dead, her older sisters ignore her whenever they aren't tormenting her, and her father escapes his financial problems in the oh-so-riveting world of stamp collecting.  On the bright side, Flavia's lack of attachments allows her to roam the 1950s English countryside snooping for clues on her trusty bike named Gladys.

Bradley's writing is fresh, witty, and captivating from the first page to the last.  And best of all, it is squeaky clean . . . aside from the occasional dead body, that is.  But we should warn you, if you start this series you had better find a comfy chair and make sure you've got Matlock on TiVo because you won't want to stop reading.  And while you're at it, put an extra copy or two of the book in your Amazon cart for gift-giving.  Cheers!

Click Here to see the Party Invite,

Click Here to see the Party!

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