CELEBRATING WITH A ROYAL TREATMENT

If you said you were "getting the royal treatment,"  what would that mean to you?  When I go to Virginia to visit my daughter, I "get the royal treatment."

• I have my choice of beds
• I don't have to cook, or clean or do the dishes  
• We go shopping
• We enjoy lunch or coffee out
• I don't have to answer my phone or emails
• We watch favorite movies together
• She brings me tea
• I enjoy a spa bath
• I relax on the deck

Actually, if I experienced any combination of these things at home, I would consider myself getting the royal treatment.  This is the kind of atmosphere I like to create at my tea parties - a sense of getting away, and enjoying time for oneself that is above and beyond a normal lunch or casual gathering.  

I had recently attended an afternoon get-together, which included a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit, wine and light soft drinks, and.... a foot spa.  The atmosphere and enjoyment stayed with me for a long time, and I just knew I wanted to share this with my friends.

So now I was thinking, "royal treatment" equals atmosphere, relaxation and tea!

When I heard that Queen Elizabeth was celebrating her 90th birthday on April 21, 2016, I realized her birthday would be an opportune time to get together and share "the royal treatment."  So I began searching for the Queen's favorite food recipes, and as always, starting to compose my guest list.

It could be a delightful afternoon get-together, a foot spa, "getting the royal treatment," served with tea time treats. I knew that either this would be a successful event that I'd want to hold again, or that it would be a one-time event.

"Royal Treatment = relaxation (foot spa), atmosphere (tea party), tea (Raspberry Earl Grey Tea created with the Queen's birthday in mind.)

Treat yourself to a Royal Afternoon

Thursday, April 21

1:00 pm

Foot Spa and Tea Time Refreshments

In honor of Queen Elizabeth's

90^th Birthday

By Sarah with Arbonne
Tea by Plum Deluxe

If you aren't interested in a foot spa, come to enjoy some Royal tea time refreshments

I must admit that it was a challenge to choose attire that would fit in with an afternoon tea, but would be comfortable and appropriate for a foot spa.  I realized this might create a challenge for my guests as well, so I made sure to encourage them to dress for comfort. "You have hats for us, don't you?"

 

Another goal that I had for this afternoon's gathering, was to provide a respite time for my daughter who recently had her sixth child.  I encouraged her to bring her little guy, so we could show him off but I also had an agenda in mind.   "I know that we can't true royaly this afternoon, but it has been confirmed that we will have a visit from the Prince."  I knew that Prince Simon Charles would be a welcomed addition to our "Royal Treatment Celebration."  Once Sarah K. began explaining the products, and we dipped our feet into our own foot spas, Prince Simon sat on my lap, and gazed at all the ladies enjoying their own royal treatment. 

Shortly after, I laid him on the floor in the other room where he could enjoy some quiet time, and soon he was fast asleep.  And my daughter?  She was enjoying herself immensely. Based on the pleasant responses and laughter from the afternoon get together so far, I knew that I would want to provide an experience like this for my guests again. It was already a success! 

In between enjoying my own foot spa and experiencing the royal treatment of the products Sarah K. had chosen for us, I steeped the tea and arranged the first course food on the tiered plates for the guests.  

It is a pleasure to welcome you all to my home.  Here is Sarah K, enjoying some tea after a fun royal treatment foot spa.  

I found a wide assortment of recipes for Queen Elizabeth favorite foods. I created my own version of this recipe I found on Pinterest for chicken salad.  I used freshly cooked chicken, finely chopped, and a blend of mayo and Greek yogurt with honey, a small amount of curry powder, and fresh dried celery leaves, with chopped mango as well.  To accompany the chicken salad on tea buns, I served apricot appetizers from a Tapas menu.  I had never tasted cream cheese, basil and honey together, so I suggest you try them first before you decide.

I loved the flavor of the honey, basil and cream cheese mixture so much (even though I am lactose intolerant) that I added basil and honey to my cottage cheese.  Try it!

I would usually serve scones for the second course, but I chose Queen's Cakes for the occasion, which I served with lemon curd.  If you have enjoyed other English bakery such as Heavy Cake or Currant Cookies, you will enjoy the Queen's Cakes.  I'll definitely be making them again.

For the dessert course, I made a chocolate brownie torte.  It was the perfect size for eight servings, and turned out to be about the size of a loaf pan.  I used this recipe for the chocolate brownie, and keep in mind it doesn't rise much.  

So I cut it into three evenly shaped rectangles which became the layers of the torte.  The cream layers are sweetened cream cheese (sour cream and powdered sugar added), to which I also added about 1/2 tsp or so of the loose Raspberry Earl Grey Tea from Plum Deluxe.  Made the night before, the flavor of the tea had time to permeate a bit.  Along with the torte I served a cranberry oatmeal cookie which is my version of an oatmeal raisin cookie, but with cranberry butter instead of the raisins.  This cookie will be very moist and freezes well.   

 Many of my guests say that it is often hard to imagine sitting down to tea with people they don't know.  But it isn't long, and everyone is sharing their ideas and perspectives; their favorite teas or how much they are enjoying dressing up and having some time away from life's tense moments. Kathy, Karen, Jan, Wendy, Lisa and Deb - had spent some time with a spa treatment on their skin, and now they are drinking it in!

Deb is demonstrating a metal tea infuser she found.

 

Karen and I shared a dressing room in the recent PAAC production, "Revolutionary Brassiere." Karen admitted that she didn't drink a lot of tea, but I think she is open to trying new flavors.  She has a new acquaintance who is English, so tea drinking is going to be a more regular activity for her.  I am so glad we could share the afternoon together.

My cousin Wendy, and long-time friend and tea-loving associate always surprises me with her tea-time attire - the dress, matching jewelry, fascinator, gloves, purse, and shoes - are all coordinated.

 And look where Prince Simon Charles is sitting!  An enjoyable afternoon was had by all, Sarah K!

 A Royal Treatment Celebration was a fabulous afternoon.  Until we meet again, may you be as blessed as your friendship is to me!

.     

IN OUR RIGHT MINDS at DOWNTON

Don't call me now, Downton Abbey is on! 

Today I held my third annual (and maybe final) Downton Abbey tea. I say final because the well-known series is coming to an end this year. Only guests who love the series were invited,  and always one or two new people.  While six of the guests for the 2016 Downton Tea attended tea here in the past, Maureen was a first-time guest.

I've been serving teas in my home for the last 4 years or so, starting in the fall, and serving about 6 throughout the year. I try to invite someone new each month, someone who through personal contact has expressed their love of tea, or who has asked if they could come to tea.

Can you imagine that?  People I don't know are asking to come to tea at my house! I'm starting to be asked if I'm the "tea lady,"  the lady in town who holds tea parties in her home.  Most recently, I was asked how someone might "wrangle" an invitation to come to tea.  I never say no, and add the person to my ever growing list.  It is this list, the constant inquiries, that inspires me to plan another tea. I never planned to be so well known, or that over 85 different people (and as of today, 92) would come to tea in my home.

This is beyond my wildest dreams.  Yes, having a tea room was once a dream, but it was not meant to be.  So without having to invest a large amount of capital, jump through department of health hoops and work seven days a week, year around, I have a tea room of sorts, and I get to do whatever I wish with no one setting limits except myself.  But please understand one thing - this is not a money-making venture.  Serving tea in "my tea room," in my dining room, is an opportunity to share my love of tea time pleasures, delicate linens, fine china, special tea time foods, teas, and so much more, all while giving women an opportunity to leave the cares of the world behind to enjoy an hour or two of respite time with new and seasoned friends.  Becoming the "tea lady" has been a process, and serving tea has become a ministry.

There are so many resources for every aspect of planning and hosting a tea.  My favorites are Tea Time Magazine, Pinterest, and especially for this tea, the "Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook .

My computer room/office becomes the "cloak room" where the guests can sit and change their footwear and hang their coats.  Today, several of the guests brought an outfit to change into, and because of the snowy weather, needed to hang their snow-covered coats and "wraps" like they were called in our childhood. Because of the icy sidewalks and recent wintery mess, the guests came in the back door and through the kitchen, which is not what I prefer.  I encouraged them to mingle in the living room and get acquainted.

Choosing where each will sit is all about conversation and personalities - and once I've introduced everyone and how I've come to know them, I find a trivial connection that we all have to one another. Today, I found out that six out of the eight of us are paper crafting, card makers. Three of us took a painting class last week together, and two others were also quilters.  But the real surprise was on me, because more than half of them were left-handed!

Two of the left-handers were sitting on an end that worked for them, and one of them quipped, "We're all in our right minds!"  Thus the title of this post. You never know what interesting facts you will learn about someone you thought was a stranger.

This is what brings about conversation and before long, we were recalling our writing styles, Palmer Method penmanship teachers and experiences from grade school, good reads, putting together their outfit for the 1920's era for today, and so many more subjects.


I serve two different teas, with this afternoon's tea being the first time I had served a tea from Plum Deluxe. This month was the first club member package I received. In addition, the founder and owner, Andy Hayes, sent a package of 'Afternoon 'High Tea' White Tea' to sample at my next tea. I waited to taste it with my guests, and we were not disappointed.  I have three or four favorite tea brands, but Plum Deluxe has risen to the top of my favorites!



Downton Abbey and Plum Deluxe - its a beautiful thing!

So keeping with the theme of the day, I shared some Downton themed product ideas like yarn with patterns for collars and shawls that may have been worn by Lady Mary Crawley or the Dowager Countess, "Granny", Violet. We took a quiz on the characters from the early episodes and speculating about how our favorite English series will conclude.

After tasting and enjoying the Plum Deluxe Afternoon High Tea White Tea, I served the first course of sandwiches, according to the cookbook would have been enjoyed by Lady Mary or Isobel, cucumber on white, and salmon on rye.

Every other tea I've served two scones, but this is the first tea that I've baked and served traditional English Scones.  We enjoyed lemon curd and black currant jam, a gift from a guest.

With the scones course, I chose Paris, a fruity black tea with a hint of vanilla, fruit and citrus flavors by Harney and Sons.  I recommend this tea which is one of my favorites.

Besides our love for Downton Abbey, the ladies shared their other favorite Masterpiece Classics and other English heritage books and movies.  The final course included a lemon coconut pie, individual cheesecakes and chocolate no bake cookies (a healthy no sugar version)!  The pie and cookies are found on Pinterest.

Every guest took along a teapot sugar cookie decorated with edible glitter; a chocolate treat; and two tea sachets of Republic of Tea's Downton themed, Earl Grey with vanilla - perfect pairings for their own afternoon tea!

On a cold and snowy February afternoon, fashion, friendship and food paired with teas and delightful conversation, we celebrated everything Downton, and once again dedicated our love for everything English and being Anglophiles.  Here's to you, my tea party guests -  I raise my cup to you and thank you for spending the afternoon celebrating with me!

May your day be blessed in some small way.  Take time for yourself and enjoy a cup of tea!  Thanks for stopping by - please come to visit again. SB

OVER 85

You might think this is a post about age. 
Over 85 for some people is their age.
Over 85 might be the amount of weight you have lost.
Over 85 could be the fastest you've dared to drive.
Over 85 could represent the age group of people in your particular group or neighborhood.
Over 85 could be the number of squats you've done in one circuit.
Over 85 could be the amount of people you are related to in your county.
Over 85 might be the amount of money you had to spend that you didn't plan on spending.

Of the possibilities above, two of them relate to me.  But the title of this post, Over 85, means something I'd never thought of until it happened.

If you've read any of my other posts here on SereniTea-sb, you've gotten to know that I enjoy living healthy, finding serenity, being creative, sharing friendship, living my faith in Jesus Christ, and bringing together strangers for an afternoon of tea are all things that describe who I am.  It is impossible for me to single out one of these things that I want to share as "my most favorite," because these activities and values describe me as a whole person.

Over 85 is the number of people that have come to tea at my house over the last four years.  Over 85 refers to individuals that I've invited to sit for tea, starting out as strangers and ending up as tea-loving friends.  When I discovered that Over 85 people have come to tea at my home, I was amazed. And far more than that, I have been truly blessed!

Blessed by each of the Over 85 people that have come into my home for tea.
Blessed to have the energy and attention to detail that is necessary to plan a tea.
Blessed to have storage for teapots, linens and other tea party finery.
Blessed to bring strangers together for one afternoon in time.
Blessed to be asked by strangers to come to tea.
Blessed by the new friendships I've made.
Blessed to learn about new things such as hat making and Hardanger embroidery.
Blessed to taste new teas.
Blessed to share what I've learned.
Blessed to have sisters to pray for.
Blessed to learn from others.
Blessed to give women something they didn't know they longed for.

Over 85 was not a goal, and serving that many people isn't an end.  My plans are to continue serving tea, making space and time for women to experience delectable foods, beautiful linens paired with fine china and share our love for tea and all it entails.  By far, Over 85 will continue to be a blessing - from me to you, and from you to me.

Thank you for being part of Over 85 and please stop by again.   May your day be blessed!

Happy Baby Boy Celebration - the birth of another Grandmother! Update - He has Arrived!

This is a special day for Breanne.  She will be showered with love and gifts as we gather at her baby shower.  Breanne is the daughter of a friend of mine named Sue.  And since Breanne is having her first baby, my friend will also become "Gramma Sue"  just like me.

Sue asked me to make some tried and true tea foods, since Breanne wanted a tea party setting for her shower. My granddaughter, cousin, and I will be helping to serve today, too. Someone else is bringing scones, so these are the foods I made:  Cheese biscuits that will be served with fruit salad; cream puffs that will be filled with pickle and ham sandwich spread; mock Devonshire cream to be served with the scones; and two types of sandwiches.  I made egg salad on white, and olive cream cheese pinwheels on blue bread.  We have a local bakery that makes the colored Pullman bread, cut lengthwise.

Here is what I wrote for Breanne:

When your mom and I planned the menu,

we had no other idea for the meaning of the

foods, than those that would be tea party favorites,

 and enjoyed by the guests at your baby shower.

As I prepared the foods though,
 this is what came to mind: 

First, you've got to have a menu –

 that's the plan that God has had

from the start for your child.

 

When making the cream puffs,

I thought about your little bun in the oven;

how the cream puff starts out so tiny and

 with the right temperature and time,

 it grows into something unique –

 that's you're little child.
 

Next came the cheese biscuits.

 I thought of the many times

you will be snapping photos

of your first little somebody.

 Say “Cheese!”
 

There are egg salad sandwiches on white bread.

 You never serve fancy sandwiches

with the crust on.

And that's life – it can get kind of “crusty”,

 so as children we are welcomed

into the arms of our parents

who love us and comfort us.

Little blue pinwheel sandwiches.

Your child starts out, a little boy.

 Love him when he is little,

 love him when he is grown.

 You will discover how much your heart

will grow in size when you become a mother.

Tea is far more than a beverage –

it is an experience.

Whether I am alone,

or sharing a moment with a friend,

 or serving a tea party -

it's what happens when you take time out for yourself.

 Don't forget to do this from the start –

 take a moment every day –

you're going to need that to stay you.

May God bless you, Breanne, as you open your heart and arms to a precious little boy.

Best Wishes!

Reed David arrived 5 weeks early, and is progressing well.  Thank you, Lord!