Valentine's Tea Party

I promised some photos from my Valentine's tea. Everything turned out really well!
I took this shot of the table before the guests arrived. Then I pretty much turned the photographic duties over to my friend Don.

I used one of my favorite pitchers. In the beginning I dressed it up with pearls. Later on it was filled with strawberry jam for the scones.

Don took this shot of the tablescape. It was later in the afternoon and the lighting

made the room look warm and inviting.

Harrod's No. 42 flowed freely. My friend Jan brought it back from London. No. 42 is

Harrod's brand of Earl Grey and it is fabulous. It's best in the loose leaf form, hence the strainer in the photo. Again, Don shot this one.

Another shot of the tablescape. The plates were a gift from Lisa.

No one was reading tea leaves on Saturday. This was my cup after I drank most of the Harney and Sons Valentine's Blend. It's a chocolate tea with rosebuds. Very pretty and a delightful fragrance!

Of course, Molly attended the tea! She posed for Don.

And her little brother Oscar was there too! He was interested in Don's camera.

Mary made a lemon cheesecake. We added blueberries to the top for color.

We had heart shaped petit fours for dessert. Now which one do I want?

Yet another shot of the petit fours. Don took this one from his side of the table.

My sister made chocolate panecotta. We thought it would look pretty in crystal glasses with a dollop of whipped cream. Decadent!

The tea tray held even more desserts. I made lemon squares and I also served Valentine

heart shortbread cookies.

Clara made an apple coffee cake. We added blackberries for a little color.

I should mention that we also had tea sandwiches, spinach puffs, and scones with

strawberry jam, lemon curd, and mock devonshire cream. Debbi brought a broccoli quiche and Ellie brought fruit salad with strawberry whipped topping.

It was a billion calorie day but no one seemed to mind too much. We can diet next week after all the leftovers are gone.