Cupid's Tea

A pretty invitation arrived in the mail recently. A Cupid's Tea.  My friend who has a lovely home was having a lunch/tea. I, of course, accepted.

The home is spectacular.  This is the music room. The settees were reupholstered to fit the room's colors.

Another view of the music room. The piano is a real beauty! My friend's son has entertained with his musical talent on many occasions.

 

Not many homes can accommodate a full size antique sleigh. 

The tablescape was so pretty. Some of us sat in this room, the dining room, and others sat at a table in the kitchen.

I do like this pattern of china. My friends collects it and it is perfect for Valentine's Day.

Here's the tablescape for the second table.

 

A view from the family room looking towards the kitchen. Before we ate, Deborah thanked us for coming and read us a quote from Susan Branch's newest book, "A Fine Romance". We all love Susan and her books. Did I tell you we had tea with her once? We (my tea group) did, in Plymouth in November 2007 after a booksigning and sadly before I started my blog.

 

We were offered two kinds of soup, butternut squash with crème fraiche or potato leek. And then, three kinds of sandwiches, roasted turkey, roasted chicken, or country ham on brioche with all sorts of toppings. Also, arugula with goat cheese and walnuts and a quinoa dish.

 

We were served a tea from Harney called Valentine's blend. It was a black tea with chocolate and pink rosebuds.

 

There were plenty of choices for dessert as well. Petit fours, lemon squares, and brownies.

White chocolate and milk chocolate dipped strawberries were popular. So pretty on a tray.

Scones were served with lemon curd, strawberry jam, and cream.

Everything was so attractively displayed and equally delicious!

After our bellies were full, we went back to the dining room to craft some Valentines. We had a quick class from an instructor on stamping, embossing, etc.

Here's the Valentine I made. I did not go too crazy with embellishments because I am lazy. I made an envelope out a doily and used a heart my sister had discarded. A bow, a word and a little bling. Presto, simple Valentine.

I think I will need to create a vignette around this masterpiece. So far, I have not decorated for Valentine's Day. Actually I don't usually decorate for the holiday.

Thank you Deborah for inviting me to your beautiful home. I loved it all, especially spending time with my good friends.

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear what you have planned.

A holiday tea in Harvard Square

On Sunday, I visited Harvard Square in Cambridge for an afternoon tea with friends. I love to go to Harvard Square during the Christmas season. Usually, I stop at Burdick's for a hot chocolate but on this day it was all about the tea.

Upstairs on the Square has eclectic décor. I love it's funky style and vibrant colors. It just makes me smile. What doesn't make me smile is the fact that it is closing it's doors on December 31st. So you can see why it was important that my friends and I go there for one last tea.

The food is and was wonderful there. We all had plenty to eat. There were the following tea sandwiches: chicken salad, ham salad, egg salad, and salmon. We then had a scone, a cheese biscuit and a mini quiche.

For dessert we had a lemon tart, date nut bread. red velvet cupcake, chocolate éclair, and two other chocolate and hazelnut treats. Again, the food was delicious!

I organized the event and I had the window seat with a lovely view of a historic home and a pretty wreath. I was definitely in a Christmas mood.

 

 It was fun to see all the little girls in their Sunday best dresses. They all looked so adorable.

We sat in the room surrounded b windows and it was a little chilly. I took some photos of the interior rooms. I especially liked this fireplace.

As the sun began to set, the lights outside were much more noticeable. I wished we had more time to explore. I am going to have to make a trip back there before the end of the holiday season and this time I'll stop at Burdick's and wave goodbye to the magnificent Upstairs on the Square.

A Victorian Tea in Chelmsford

On Saturday, I met my friend Karen for a Victorian Tea. The event was a fundraiser for the Chelmsford Center for the Arts.  It was good to see Karen as we haven't seen each other in almost a year. We communicate through Facebook mostly.

My sister's friend is the Director at the Center and my sister who did not attend decided to contribute her painting of Queen Victoria to the festivities.

The tea was billed as a celebration of Charles Dickens 200th birthday. I was happy to see good attendance at the event!.

Cranberry scones wewre served with strawberry jam, orange curd and clotted cream. They were oh so delicious. We sat with a woman named Mary and her friend Betty.  Mary was from England and she said she loved the scuns. That' s how they pronounce scones in England.

The sandwiches were fantastic too! I especially liked the cheese and onion. I could have eaten an entire plate of just the cheese and onion!

The mini cheesecakes looked like they were deep dish. They were yummy!

Everyone got a mini Christmas fruitcake and a madeleine. I selected the most well done cookie. I do love madeleines and these were great.

 

There were two flavors of tea served, Earl Grey and Ceylon. Mary did not like Earl Grey so she got her own pot of ceylon. What a cute teapot!

 

A company was hired to provide food and drink for the event. The Vintage Tea and Cake Company of Medford did a wonderful job.

 

I was told there will be more tea events at the Chelmsford Center for the Arts. The director would like to have quarterly teas. I look forward to the next one!

Join me in a spot of tea?

Yesterday, I went with a friend for tea in Rockport. Hmm, afternoon tea and Rockport, two of my
favorite things.  We went to Heath's Tearoom. We had wanted to visit this tearoom for a while and now that I have some time off we decided to make the trip.

The presentation of our afternoon tea was lovely. I could not believe how much food we received!  Six tea sandwiches each.

And three desserts each. They were all delicious. I especially liked the lemon one.

The scones were warm from the oven. Oh the smell was divine! I always put lemon curd on one half of the scone and strawberry jam on the other half. I topped it off with clotted cream.

The tea sandwiches were delicious.  Egg salad on one, cucumber, ham salad and I think the other was

chicken. I devoured them!

Small bites for the sweets. A perfect size after the scone and sandwiches. I think one of the cookies had ginger in it. I should have asked what everything was. They said if we came back with the group we could select our own menu. And we do plan to come back with our tea group. We had to check it out first to make sure it was up to tea group standards.  We are very particular when it comes to selecting a place for a tea event.

I am happy to say the Heath Tearoom passed the test. Delicious food, friendly service and a lovely

atmosphere. We had a wonderfully relaxing experience.

There were customers eating lunch as well. I could smell the shepherd's pie the people next to us had ordered. It was served in a ramekin and it looked delicious!

After our tea, we explored Rockport. That's for another post.

If you're in the Rockport area, stop by Heath's Tearoom at 43 South St, Rockport. 

Royal Wedding Tea in Plymouth

On Sunday, I hosted a Royal Wedding Tea. The location was All Things Tea tearoom in Plymouth, Massachusetts. A few weeks ago, I searched for a Royal Wedding Tea event for my afternoon tea group. All Things Tea was offering a lovely tea with live entertainment so I chose them. Our group had actually been to this tearoom before when we had tea with Susan Branch so I knew everything would be perfect.



Some of those in attendance really had fun with their attire. Ann would have fit in quite well at the actual wedding.



And Lori Lee's hat was spectacular.



Now on to the food. In a word, it was superb. We loved all the sandwiches. We enjoyed egg salad, cheddar cheese and chutney, cucumber with cream cheese and watercress, and a sausage roll.



Strawberry preserves and devon cream accompanied the scones.



Here's the group.




That's a delicious English cream scone under all that devon cream and strawberry preserves. Yum!




Of course I had to try each and every kind of sandwich! They're small, right?



Good conversation and excellent food, what a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. The weather cooperated too. It was sunny and fairly warm except for the cool ocean breeze.




There was live entertainment on the keyboard adding a nice ambiance to the event.



I prepared a Royal Wedding trivia quiz for everyone to take. The ladies were vying for some nice prizes. Just a few questions including this one: Where did Kate and William meet?



My sister made her very own fascinator.



The wedding cupcake was beautiful and delicious! Next to it was a chocolate biscuit, a Prince William favorite.



We drank cup after cup of tea.



About the tea, it was from Tregothnan Estate and it is the only tea grown and blended in England.



I love it when we are told about the tea and food that is being served. When I serve tea, I like to explain what is in the tea and the ingredients in the sandwiches.



This was the grand prize for the trivia contest. Kim took first prize, a commemorative tea tin from Twinings. I saw this on Twitter and promptly went to their website to order a few but they were sold out. I found 3 on EBay and they were shipped from England just in time for my tea event.

I wrapped the tin in tuille and added a wire ribbon and vintage rhinestone pin. Kim graciously shared the contents of the tin with the group. The tea was bagged and not loose.



Here are both of the prizes. I also gave everyone a small favor of Harney and Sons Wedding Tea, 5 sachets in a small silver tin.



Pauline won second prize which was a tin of Royal Wedding Tea from Harney and Sons Historic Royal Palaces collection. It's a white tea with pink rosebuds.



Other guests were also dressed in keeping with the occasion.



That is one fabulous hat!




I always take a group shot as we are leaving a tearoom. It's fun to look back and see who attended each tea. My blog is becoming a wonderful pictorial history of my tea group events.

All Things Tea is located at 20 Court Street in the Historic District of Plymouth,
Massachusetts. Click here to go to their website.