Our home is finally ready to share a bit more… I busted a gut putting books away in our three big bookcases all this past week but with good reason! Having friends over for tea is one of my passions and it is also good motivation for getting boxes unboxed; finding homes for things while organizing and cleaning; and then enjoying the fruits of one’s labor with those friends over for tea…
This is a bit of a double-feature tea as I reset the table from last week ~ I found the egg cups like literally 5 minutes after last week’s 10 on the 10th post went live – really! So the next morning when it was sunny I shot this quick table recreated for you. The eggs were already boiled and made a nice addition to this
spring table setting. I kept this table setting sans tablecloth as the nest-look of the woven gold placemats along with the bare golden oak of the table really created a nice contrast.
Our friendship table however was styled using a Battenberg lace tablecloth I have had for years, some vintage tableware pieces and a big bunny in mind. Turns out the bunny competed with the flowers in the vase because of his size so… Out hopped our sweet little rabbit from the china hutch to grace this Easter table.
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| The sweet butterfly dessert plates I found after Christmas 2017 and shared previously at this tea table setting. |
Our first roses…
Last week’s flowers have mostly faded away but the big white mum and some of the white daisies were hanging in there so I recut their stems and used them to fill in this mini bouquet. Our first Queen Elizabeth roses were just opening up and I am happy to share them from our new garden with you here.
Little vintage butter pats were set out in case we decided to do tea bags instead of loose leaf ~ always a nice choice! Plus they are just too cute to leave in the cupboard as this tea was all about sharing favorite rose tea things with two friends.
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| Here are my friends ~ Laura (left) and Cindy (on the right). |
You may know these ladies!
I have wanted to have several friends over since we moved in and many of you know me from the old days at our last home in California ~ I went to tea once a month for 18 years as part of the Victorian Tea Society there. I began this blog sharing several tea parties I had like this one and this one plus tearooms I’d visit.
Laura of Decor to Adore and Cindy of County Road 407 came over and we had a lovely tea luncheon! Cindy brought a Caesar salad to share and Laura provided a lovely English sparkling lemonade, which I had never tried before ~ very tasty both!
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| A little view outside the window this week. |
We talked about blogging and how it has changed (something I’m sure you’ve found, too!), gardens, fabrics (Laura and I sew quite a bit) and dying fabric. You name it; we discussed it!
😉
Scones mixed with homemade self-rising flour, Craisins and chopped pecans were filled with raspberry jam and mock Devonshire cream were the first course ~ delicious if I do say so myself! Making these scones was easy too as I was able to just roll out the dough right on the granite countertop of the island.
We drank our English lemonade plus cups of freshly brewed English Breakfast tea. Really refreshing!
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| A photo I posted on Instagram. |
Chicken salad sandwiches were served on large croissants cut in half along with juicy fresh fruits ~ tart strawberries with green and red grapes. These comprised our second course along with Cindy’s salad.
We were all hungry and ate our fill. After a visit to see my new craft room we came out and chatted in the living room.
Cindy asked why I didn’t have this Shabby Chic bolster pillow out in the living room since florals are my thing ~ I don’t know. I hadn’t gotten that far with my decorating yet (or my thinking, since I’ve just been unpacking for what seems like forever…).
I am glad she thought of it though and brought this pillow out ~ it really adds to the room! I had asked the girls if they would help me decorate in here as this house feels more contemporary than our previous homes. I have a lot of “littles” and my decor needs some editing to bring it up to date. Laura suggested having a swap with other friends ~ good idea!
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| So excited about this Regency pattern to use with this fabric! |
Oh, I have to tell you the girls brought lovely gifts as housewarming presents! Laura spent a lot of thought and time hand-dying several yards of fabric a wonderful dark green. She also brought over a bunch of older sewing patterns for ideas to make a costume dress for attending future teas. I was and am still totally amazed…
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| This hat I refashioned to wear two ways ~ as a bonnet and then with the mop cap over the back as a second look. |
Laura dyed this fabric to go with a Regency bonnet I fashioned from a hat she gave me last fall so I could attend the Dickens Festival and a tea at the Lasker Inn with her down on Galveston Island. We had a really fun time that weekend and also previously when I visited the DFW Costumers Guild.
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| Love the green of this serving piece! So pretty… |
Cindy brought over a gorgeous large green-glass server for iced tea and other drinks. I am also thinking could act as a terrarium when not filled with ice tea, water with floating lemons and cucumbers, or lemonade. She had it wrapped in a beautiful bag ~ both came from HomeGoods, a favorite store we all like to shop.
Very thoughtful gifts both, thank you, Ladies!!!
Our final course included a lemon poppyseed cake with orange zest in the mix for a light citrus flavor. We ate this over in the living room with more tea and our water. Sorry I didn’t snap any photos as we were deep in conversation.
And just a final couple of photos including one of me as I rarely get in photos since I am usually behind the camera. 😉
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| I should have looked in the mirror before snapping this selfie, lol! Not the best hair day… Staying up filling bookshelves until 2:00am didn’t help, either. 😉 |
More work to be done unboxing but you can see how the living room is shaping up.
A lovely Easter tea day with the greatest Gift
remembered this day as well!
Sharing with
Happy Easter to you,
I can't think of a nicer event or a more compatible group of women. How wonderful to welcome your guests and for them to welcome you to your new home. I'm so excited and happy for you, Barb. This is truly a wonderful dream. Your table was so pretty and the luncheon sounded delish! I have a feeling you never stopped talking for a second. And what lovely welcoming gifts. Such a perfect day!
There's nothing sweeter than time spent with friends … How special that you could reunite for teatime while sharing your new home. Your 'rose' theme sounds so charming … Scones and tea are perfect for teatime chatting. It sounds as if you had lots to talk about, especially since you had experienced so many wonderful past occassion together. I'm sure that ladies had lots of decorating tips for you to think about. I will look forward to viewing more posts on your decorating progress soon… Wishing you a Blessed Easter …Hugs
Barb, You have been very busy and I can tell you are very happy. What a lovely tea you hosted. Your table looks beautiful and I can image how nice your visit was. I am so happy to have met all of you. You are all so talented and fun. How nice to have common interests and able to share these in person. Your home is so pretty and I have enjoyed all that you have shared so far. Your scones sound delicious and I enjoyed hearing about your visit.
Barb, your Easter tea and luncheon looks so lovely, from the table setting to the scones. Completely perfect!
Hope you had a wonderful Easter! Nice photos – thanks for linking up at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/04/springtime-is-glorious.html
Hi Jeanie, we did have a lovely time and I found out Cindy of County Road 407 lives literally 15 minutes away. Laura lives about 45 minutes southwest depending upon traffic through Fort Worth. We did talk pretty much non-stop and it was fun to share our new home! And with you, too! More to come soon,Hugs and hope your Easter was good at your lake house. The loon was lovely!Barb 🙂
You have a lovely home and the scones or cookies look great! What a fun gathering with friends.
It was such a fun day! You truly have done wonders in such a short amount of time.
Barbara you had wonderful company over for tea. These ladies are very well known to me and their blogs are always filled with inspiration. They also brought over wonderful housewarming gifts for you. From the little that we did see your house is looking lovely. I hope you have a chance to share more of it with us soon.
Barbara you had wonderful company over for tea. These ladies are very well known to me and their blogs are always filled with inspiration. They also brought over wonderful housewarming gifts for you. From the little that we did see your house is looking lovely. I hope you have a chance to share more of it with us soon.
What a beautiful way to have friends over. Afternoon tea is so fun to prepare for. I am sure you had a fabulous time visiting and sharing ideas. Your home is looking lovely and welcoming.
It looks like a lovely time was had by all!
Looks like a lovely time!
So fun… and I'm so glad you got to do this with Laura and Cindy!
Hello Zaa, thank you so much for your kind thoughts! This was a lovely tea with friends and I look forward to many more. Hope your Easter was wonderful and Happy Mother's Day to you and your family,Hugs,Barb 🙂
Bonnie, I'm so glad you stopped by! It was fun meeting you with the Lone Star bloggers last year!! I have really been missing having teas with friends since I used to get together with a group of six to eight ladies once a month for over 15 years, even when I was working. Sorry I am late getting back…Happy Mother's Day to you and your family,Barb 🙂
Thank you so much, Michelle! I appreciate your sweet thoughts.Always,Barb 🙂
Hello Sue,Thank you so much! I did have a nice Easter and I'm sorry I don't get over more often. I do shoot other photos of wildlife and such and they really fit your theme more, I'm sure. I do love your blog's title!Happy spring to you,Barb 🙂
Thank you, Karren! We did have a fun time at tea.Happy spring to you,Barb 🙂
Happy you came to tea, my friend. Blessings to you,Barb 🙂
I will as we finish getting everything put away. Thank you, Mary!Hugs,Barb 🙂
Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Meegan! We are enjoying our new home very much.Always,Barb 🙂
We did! Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate your lovely thoughts. <3Hugs,Barb 🙂