High Tea

Today I had the pleasure of hosting a tea party.If you know anything about me, you know I love a good party! Parties where I get to use a lot of pretty dishes are my favorite.Parties to HONOR a woman of God are my 2nd favorite! Although there was a fresh coating of snow this morning,
the tea party continued on.
MEMORIES OF SPRINGTIME
INSPIRED ME ALONG THE WAY!!And I got to use the beautiful green dishes that Jake got me for Christmas, (via my sister who saw them, purchased them and made a call to my Man~I love my sisters)!!!



I was up until midnight last night decorating, making flower arrangements, baking, cooking, waltzing about my kitchen while everyone else slept. Did you know how wonderful the midnight hour can be? (when you're doing whatever you want that is)!!




I had some old, large bread pans that I filled with pebbles as a helper in keeping the arrangement upright. Found some old hymnals and cut a few lines out, glued them on the sides, tied a ribbon around them and placed them on the table. Purchased an arrangement at Costco and the *realist* looking fake flowers from the Dollar Store.

The favors for each lady were made by my sister Yvonne and I. I love how she makes something out of nothing and this idea turned out so beautifully.....and was a blessing to the lady receiving it.
We cut out verses from an old hymnal and glued them onto a piece of stock paper. Added a few buttons at the end, tied some twine around the top and placed them on each tea cup. I never tire of reading the time-worn words.

SPRING CAME INTO MY KITCHEN THIS MORNING

on the heels of old friends....

Beautiful ladies full of love, life, liberty and longing!
An HONOR to fellowship with.

I like to follow the three "S's" when serving tea:
savory, scones, sweets.

SAVORY~strawberry, feta, roasted almond salad with poppy seed dressing.

mini sandwiches~homemade "mini" loaves of bread with:
horseradish, roast beef topped with port wine cheddar cheese
androasted red pepper cheese spread topped with avocado slices.

TEA~I steeped the teas in three different tea pots. Color coordinating them so I could remember what I was serving.....white=white tea, blue=blueberry tea, floral=chamomile tea.

Elisa, my glamorous, beautiful, talented long lost friend from Australia. She and her Mom, Miranda were visiting Pennsylvania, the purpose of this gathering.

SCONES~I followed my recipe that I've been using for years.
Along with fresh lemon curd and devonshire creme, (I may or may not eat this stuff by the spoonful when no one is watching)!

SWEETS~blueberry, walnut bread.
chocolate covered strawberries, (thank you to my friend Angie for making these for me in exchange for a massage....I like my "bartering" abilities)!

Banana-pineapple-walnut mini tortes with cream cheese pineapple filling and raspberry topping.
This was a BLAST to make, (at midnight last night).Started with a good ol' box of banana bread, added some pineapple and walnuts to it. Baked it in the largest pan I had. It baked thinly. Cooled and cut out circles of cake using a small juice glass. Placed layers of cake/filling/cake/filling/cake/filling/raspberry! So easy and so delicious!!

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make
is that they can grow separately

without growing apart."~Elisabeth Foley~

P.s. A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY SHRISH, (sister) for keeping my children so today could happen with smoothness and sanity!