Sunday, May 27

A Royal Tea & Scone Party


Here I am for yet another tea time post...
last Saturday in the wee hours of the morning, we had a lovely little tea and scone party
whilst we watched the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Just as we did for the wedding of the then Prince William and Kate Middleton, we got up super early
and watched history take place in the beautiful country of England. I'll be honest and say that the wedding last weekend was a huge let down for me...I preferred the royal, traditional, more sacred service of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But, nonetheless, I can say that I watched it live as it was happening across the Pond.


I'll be sharing all the recipes that I mention here on the blog shortly...
it seems as though it will be a summer of tea time recipes.
That's perfectly fine, though, as they are some of my favorites!

Along with our variety of scones, we enjoyed a nice, hot cup of cranberry tea.
I must say that is a new favorite of mine...the mixture of sweet, tart and subtle spice is simply delicious. And, as it is steeping, the scents wafting out of the teacup are heavenly! 


On the menu:

Lemon Almond Poppyseed Scones
Cherry Almond Scones
Dark Chocolate and Mint Scones
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Scones
Caramel Toffee Pecan Scones


Julia and I purposely made a bunch of scones because later that day we gave baggies full to our neighbors to enjoy whilst they watched the replay of the wedding...

between them and us, the scones were a hit! We all had our favorites...we love the simple flavor of scones and how they aren't too sweet. I also find it so much fun trying new variations of add-in ingredients... there are so many options!


Some say you're not really baking (or cooking) if you're not making a mess...

well, I can testify to that statement! Just take a little peek at our afternoon of scone making...




I hope your week is a beautiful one with simple pleasures bubbling out of every corner...

there'll be plenty of tea time recipes coming over the summer months, so do come back!

A quick little note: Blogger is acting weird and not sending me email notifications when people comment, therefore I am unable to respond via email. This is bugging me greatly, but I'm just being patient and hoping it works itself out. I just wanted to mention that...I am seeing your comments, I'm just unable to respond in the way that I prefer. Also, if you've had this problem before, what did you do? Any tips or suggestions would be most appreciated!

And a quick question: I was thinking of doing a post sharing some new, spring dresses that I ordered. I'm not a fashion blogger, nor do I have any desire to be one, but I must say that I always enjoy seeing pretty clothing that other bloggers share. That's often how I find some lovely pieces and also just simply get inspiration for different outfit ideas...so is this something you'd be interested in seeing?
Let me know in a comment below!

Monday, May 21

A Sweet Tea Party for Mother's Day


Home,
where even the tea kettle sings from happiness.


Good Monday morning, lovely readers! 

As you know, last weekend was Mother's Day, and I am just now getting around to sharing our sweet and simple tea party that my sister and I put together for our mom. It has become a tradition over the last four years or so to have a Mother's Day tea party...just the three of us. It's always a fun and special time, and we also love getting to try some new tea time recipes.

Here's a little peek at what we enjoyed...

The picture above shows the Summer Berry Galette...recipe coming soon!


Egg Salad Sandwiches...recipe from Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose


Wild Rice Salad Cups...recipe from Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose
Bacon, Broccoli, Mushroom Quiche...recipe coming soon!

This was my first time making AND eating quiche, and my oh my! What have I been missing out on? It was so delicious, a new favorite of us all!  


Almond Tea Cake...recipe coming soon!
Strawberry Cheesecake Trifles...recipe coming soon!

And...where we live, the weather was a little too hot for us to really be able to enjoy a pot of hot tea, so instead, I made a pitcher of Fruity Mint Tea, which was so refreshing and cool. It was the perfect drink for a warm May afternoon...recipe coming soon!

I hope you enjoyed this very small peek inside our Mother's Day tea party. And I do hope you'll come back over the summer as I share these tea time recipes and more...I have a post coming soon all about our Royal Wedding tea party. 

Lots of tea time goodness to look forward to! 
Wishing you a marvelous week ahead...
joy and peace to you!

♥

Tuesday, May 15

A Springtime Tea Party...


Lovely greetings to you, dear friends!

Today, I am so excited to share a wee little springtime tea party with you. Last month, I had the joy of participating in a wonderful event that has become a much-anticipated event for me. Stephanie over at The Enchanting Rose has been hosting this teacup and mug exchange for a number of years now, and this was my fifth time to join in on all the fun.   

I had such a fun time getting the information for the ladies that I would be sending to. I set out to all my favorite shops to find little treasures that I hoped the ladies would love and enjoy. 

Neither of the ladies that I sent to have a blog, so I'll share what I sent to them here...


For my teacup package, I sent to Sarah in Missouri. I found a delightful tea set, complete with teacup and saucer along with a creamer and sugar bowl. Oh, my heart was set on this little trio, so I just knew I had to get it! It was exactly what I was looking for and hoping to find for my partner. 


Along with the tea set, I send Sarah some cute napkins, chocolates, a variety of teas, honey spoons, notecards, a journal, cupcake liners, and stickers. (A bookmark and little note were also included in the package. I just forgot to include them in the picture.) A funny little side note about the notecards: In the information that Stephanie sent me about Sarah, I learned that she liked things with a cactus design. Well, sure enough, I came across a set of notecards with a pretty cactus design on them...perfect!


For a little nibble to go along with the teas that I sent, I included a box of Walker's shortbread...which I can say from personal experience tastes amazing! I also came across a cute tea towel with a Paris design and a box of three macaroons that looked divine! I wanted to get some for myself, but I restrained myself! {{smiles}}


For my mug package, I sent to Rosalyn in England. Oh, I was so excited to send a package all the way to beautiful England! 

She had mentioned that owls were a favorite of hers, and I can totally relate! Owls are a favorite of mine, too! I was just a bit thrilled when I saw this mug, and what's even better is that she mentioned that blue and brown were some of her favorite colors. If this mug wasn't meant to be, I don't know what was!


Along with the mug, I sent Rosalyn a variety of tea, packets of hot chocolate and apple cider, chocolates, a pair of coasters, honey spoons, note cards, a tea towel, macaroons, spring napkins, a journal, bookmark, personal note, an owl decoration, and horse sign.

I had oodles of fun picking out all the items, putting the packages together and being able to send to two lovely ladies. I love how putting these types of packages together brings out my creative side and imagination in picking out all the lovely bits and pieces to make a package that I hope will be special to the recipients. Both of these ladies sent me the most lovely thank you notes, and they brought such delight to my day!


As for what I received...well, you'll soon see that I was blessed with some beautiful packages. 

The lovely lady that sent me my teacup package was none other than Stephanie, the hostess herself! You can imagine my excitement when I saw her name on the return label of the package when I picked it up off the front porch. She put together a magnificent package, complete with treasures and goodies that are so "me". It couldn't have been more perfect if I'd picked it all out myself! 


This gorgeous tea set is so delicate and dainty. The floral design and colors are my definition of exquisite. I love the unique design of the handle and bottom part of the teacup...the little wavy, scallop design is so different than any I've seen. 

 
Also included in the package were some edible doilies and chocolates. The chocolates didn't last long,  I'll have you know. {{winks}} And I literally squealed when I saw these doilies..whoever came up with this idea is a genius! To be fair, I squealed many times when opening the little treasures in the package!


A lovely, handmade napkin complete with a little teaspoon...


A handmade fabric basket full of peppermint tea and a tin of cranberry tea...
I'd never had cranberry tea before, but now I can say it is a true favorite of mine! 
Not only does it smell heavenly, it tastes amazing, too!


A cute, handmade tea bag gift tag, which Stephanie personalized with a little note on the back...


A delightfully sweet personal note from the sender herself...


Stephanie also included a number of tea time recipes in with all the goodies she sent. What Stephanie doesn't know is that she basically contributed half of the recipes for our Mother's Day tea! I'll be sharing all about the tea party soon, but just so you know...the recipes are all winners!


Two stunning pocket cards, full of many little lovelies tucked in...


And some lovely little scrapbook stickers, which I'm thinking I may use some of them in my Bible...I like adding little touches like this to different pages as I read...


Finally, Stephanie included all of the amazing treasures in this splendid box, which as you can see has a bird on it...and if you know me, you know birds are a favorite of mine! This box is a keeper in itself and is the perfect place to keep collections of little things.

Stephanie, thank you so very much for all these lovely treasures! You went above and beyond and picked out everything perfectly...it was all me to a T. Everything is so pretty and special and perfect!


My mug package came from LeAnna in Illinois, and she picked out the perfect mug! Let me just say that this mug is so ME! It's a design from the Pioneer Woman, and I've admired many of her mugs before. I have one, but not this one...the one I have has a more plain design, so I love the pop of COLOR that this mug has. It is a perfect size too!

She also included a set of beautiful, crocheted doilies. I'm assuming that LeAnna made these and boy, are they stunning! Look at the intricate details of the larger one under the mug!


Little personal sized cake mixes, a variety of teas, hot chocolate and chewing gum were also in the package...she also included many bits of chocolate, but they somehow didn't make it to the photoshoot. {{winks}}


A lovely skein of yarn, little sticky notes in the shape of a flower, a pineapple decoration (it looks great on my shelf!), erasers too cute to use and a sweet personal note was also tucked inside. 

She did an amazing job of putting this package together...everything is just perfect. Thank you so much, LeAnna, for all the goodies that you sent. I am loving them all and will enjoy using them for years to come as well!   

Well, friends, that's the end of our tea party...
BUT...
I'll have more tea posts coming up shortly! From a Mother's Day tea party and many recipes from that day (quiche, special iced tea, berry galette, trifle, and a tea cake!) to a Royal Wedding tea party and recipes from that, there's plenty of tea time posts coming.

Thank you so much for joining me for this springtime tea party...
and thank you to dear Stephanie for hosting yet another successful, fun, wonderful and special exchange! I'm looking forward to the next one...because I know, personally, just how awesome they are!

May your day be a lovely one, dear friends! 
Enjoy some rest and beauty today, and a cup of tea, too!