TEA at the AYLESBURY TEA ROOM in LEESBURG, VIRGINIA

I first visited Aylesbury Tea Room five years ago, on the day my daughter Katie picked up her wedding gown at the shop across the street.  It was the same year that another girl named Kate became a bride, pictured below with her prince.

                                   

Every year when I visit my daughter Katie, I hope we'll go back to that tea room.  But every year for four years, she's reported that it was closed.  Little did we know that the Aylesbury Tea Room had moved one block over due to remodeling being done in their building.

How delighted I was to know that this year's visit would indeed include the Aylesbury Tea Room. But on this occasion, we weren't picking up a wedding dress. A four-year old prince and young princess were joining us for tea.

Now I think I have some experience with serving tea, and taking tea. I've served tea to more than 85 ladies over the past six years in my home.  I've visited tea rooms in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula; Wisconsin's Door County;Mt. Dora, Florida; Carlshend, Michigan; Chicago, Washington D.C. and Leesburg, Virginia. From a small town tea shop to a Russian Tea Room, and many others in between, each one I visited had its own ambience and menu.

Visiting the Aylesbury, and with two small children, was like being welcomed home.  Our tea time at Aylesbury was welcoming and relaxing, tasty and delectable, and everything and more I've dreamed of experiencing once again.

Menu
Cream Tea
A pot of traditional English Tea served with a homemade scone, Double Devon cream and 
strawberry preserves
$10.95 per person
Full Afternoon Tea
A Pot of Traditional English Tea served with an assortment of savory finger sandwiches (smoked ham, cheese 
and tomato, cucumber and cream cheese, egg mayonnaise), homemade scones with Double Devon cream and 
strawberry preserves a selection of sweet treats and fresh fruit.
$24.95 per person
Royal Champagne Tea
A glass of  Prosecco with a Pot of Traditional English Tea served with an assortment of savory finger sandwiches 
(smoked ham, cheese and tomato, cucumber and cream cheese, egg mayonnaise), homemade scones with 
Double Devon cream and strawberry preserves a selection of sweet treats and fresh fruit.
$31.95 per person
Young Lords and Ladies
(10 and under)
A choice of tea, juice or milk, and an assortment of finger sandwiches, sweet treats and fresh fruit.
$13.00 per person

Cocktail Sauage Rolls
$1.99 each

See if you don't agree that this is a tea room that you'll want to visit, and not just once. I recommend it!  Aylesbury will be part of my annual visit to Virginia.

Whether there's two of you..........

 ......or six or eight...........

..........you and your friends will be accommodated in beautiful surroundings at Aylesbury Tea Room.

The owners of the Aylesbury Tea Room find this cottage more feasible with the kitchen being located close to the serving space.   The photos below show the second floor space, filled with beautiful accoutrements to embellish your own tea corner or to give as a gift.  I could see myself curled up with a cup of my favorite Plum Deluxe Tea and Tea Time Magazine. If you ever imagined walking into a page of a magazine, this is it.

Every corner of this beautiful place was so elegantly decorated.  Even the powder room was inviting and comfortable.

 Don't forget to browse in the gift shop for tea time accessories or jewelry as you are checking out, and make sure to pick up some clotted cream!   When are you going to the Aylesbury for tea?

THE WOMAN YOU CALL YOUR MOTHER

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mother Pat; to my former mother-in-law Elaine, who is 100 years old; to my mother-in-law Ida, may she rest in peace; and my daughters, and daughter-in-law, and friends and family.  Our lives have been blessed!

This is my Aunt Gladys, who was my Godmother.  My parents chose her and my Uncle Olaf, (over 60 years before "Olaf" became such a popular name after Disney's "Frozen" film.) Uncle Olaf passed away when I was five, but the relationship I had with Aunt Gladys lasted 57 years.  I was truly blessed!

Perhaps you weren't blessed as I was to have a mother, and an aunt who was like a second mother to me.  Perhaps your relationship was stormy, or you have no memories of your real mother. Perhaps you have longed for, prayed to be a mother, but your prayers seem to go unanswered.

Or maybe you never wanted to be a mother at all.  I pray that there has been someone in your life who has been a mother to you, or that you can mother in return, if that is your desire.  And perhaps the only true motherly relationship you've had is with Mother God.

YOUR MOTHER is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.  She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself.  She's the cool hand on your brow when you are not feeling well.  She's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.  She's the sound of the rain that hulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.  Your mother lives inside of your laughter.  She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take.  She's your first love, and your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you, not time, not space, not even death.
                                                                                                                                  --Unknown

May you who read this be blessed this day.