Tea for Two

Hello, blog. It's been a while. I didn't expect to ever post again between work, being mom to now 8 and nearly-7 year-olds, volunteering, belly dance and marathons (I did 4 of those last year).  I've since given up dance due to back issues and am retired from marathoning (4 was plenty) so I found some time to take a friend out for tea for her much-belated birthday.  Like me, Nisha is also a fan of all things vintage.  I have really missed the old tea room I would visit with my mom which closed a couple of years back and thought this one might be similar.

It was a good long drive out to Winchester, VA to The Coach and Horses tea room, but it was worth it.  Nisha and I hadn't chatted in a while so it gave us a chance to catch up on the 80 minute drive.

This was the first indication we were in for something wonderful was this. c.1790!  

They were still all decorated for the holidays and it was so warm and cozy as we entered.  Every room had stenciled walls.

There were also wide plank floors throughout.  The room where we were seated had this piano ...

... and this fireplace.  Our table was the one just to the left.

The place settings were beautiful.  I was so excited!

Each of us had our own teapot waiting for whichever tea we selected.

Water glasses - absolutely beautiful.

I selected a chocolate tea and it was as delicious as it sounds.  Later, I got a pomegranite pear tea and that was obviously more fruity, but also wonderful.

I wanted to go all out, so I selected the George Washington tea which was pretty much all the tea courses.  The first course was either soup or salad.  I chose the soup which was a vegetable soup.  I was surprised that it was a cream based soup.  It was ok, but I have to admit that I wish I had gone with the salad (Nisha's choice) that had a pomegranite dressing.

Normally, we would have been served a tower with our food and desserts, but Nisha required a gluten-free meal (which they have available!) so we were served on platters instead.  No complaints here.  It looked amazing.  I didn't know where to start!  I got lots of delicious fruit - pineapple, oranges, blackberries and a strawberry.  An apple scone with devon cream and preserves. Also included were cucumber sandwich (my favorite), chicken salad, sausage pastry puff.  Dessert was a chocolate chip cookie, brownie, cheesecake, vanilla mousse and a small cupcake.  I came hungry and tried my best to eat it all but the cheesecake and cupcake came home with me.  It was just fantastic!

We took our time with dessert and our second pots of tea and chatted before considering the drive home.  We walked around and decided to explore a little so we headed upstairs.  These were quite steep!  Sign of the times with this house, I would imagine.

Upstairs were more rooms equally beautifully decorated.

This tapestry was in a corner.  

Passing through one room, this seems to be where they keep a lot of tea.  They are preparing to start selling it.

This bench was gorgeous.

We headed back down the stairs and out to the car.  Did I mention how steep the stairs was??

The sun was setting as we drove back and chatted more.  A really great day with a good friend.  I hope to visit again soon.

Whether or not I will blog more remains to be seen.  Realistically, I can't post the way I once did, but my hope is that another year doesn't pass before I blog again.  For now, it's date night - dessert and Downton Abbey with my husband.

Hope to be back soon ...

P.S. I did end up finishing that wall in my previous post and it's gotten quite a lot of use.  Maybe a topic for another post?

Spring Tea

For my daughter's 6th birthday, one of my friends suggested that I have a tea.  I'd thought about it, but never followed through so her comment gave me the bit of motivation I needed.  As usual, I was far too busy to take pictures so once again, huge thanks to my friend Jeni for capturing all these photos while I ran around being a server for the day.

I used my white vintage 50s dishes with a few of my blue teacups mixed in.  Looseleaf tea strainers were gifts that also acted as placecard holders.  I also printed some menus.

My dining room isn't big enough to accomodate all my guests so my living room became my dining room for the day.

I've had this sugar pot for a while and have never used it so I was happy to be able to fill it sugar cubes and I added the necessary sugar tongs. 

First course - Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.

For the finger sandwiches and dessert, I stacked some of my favorite dishes.  I didn't want to purchase towers but I think this worked well and I don't have to worry about how to store more dishes. 

The guests provided several deserts including these beautiful lemon tarts ...

Jeni made these lovely (and delicious!) individual cheesecakes and even made the sugared flowers on them.

Part of the fun was the opportunity to wear a hat ...

Why don't we wear hats anymore?  So elegant ...

... and fun!

I was too occupied with the entertaining aspect to find the time to shop for a hat but I came upon a somewhat expensive but fun fascinator while perusing ideas online.  I later realized that I had most of the materials to make something similar myself.  A raid of my craft closet and a $3 headband later, the result ...

So, if my living room was my dining room for the day, what did I do with the furniture?  My dining room became a sitting room for the day.

Here are most of us at the end of the day.

I think we all had a lot of fun with this.  For our next tea, I'm taking a break from the kitchen and we'll be gathering at a local garden with a historic house that has occasional tea events.  I'm very much looking forward to it!

My Mother's Day Tea

On Saturday, my mom and I had tea together to celebrate Mother's Day at a place we love called The Victorian Lady. 

This is the entrance just as you walk in ...  Its a very old Victorian house and the upstars isn't open to the public, but I always wished I could go up there because I'm so curious about that light-filled room.  It looks like its full of windows.

I snuck into the main dining room before they were serving to take pictures.  The hardwood floors are covered with carpets (presumably to protect them) but from what little you can see of them, they have a really beautiful pattern bordering the room. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one that notices things like that.   Anyway, we got to sit in front of the fireplace. 

This is a sideboard on the far side of the room that has a collection of mismatched teapots and tea cups.  Its much more impressive in person.

All the place settings are different.  This was mine ...

... and this one was my Mom's.

A row of teapots on the mantle ...

My mom admires this set every time we are here and if you saw her dining room, you'd understand why.

There are little tea lights in those holders beneath the teapot that keep the tea hot.  We had strawberry tea and chocolate tea.

No sugar packets here.  Little sugar cubes, of course.

We weren't too sure about cold strawberry soup, but it was delicious!  First course is always a soup.

Second course is always a scone.  This one was white chocolate and apricot (my favorite!) and a slice of orange.

Next is the tower of finger sandwiches and desserts.

I loved the little petit four hat and the white chocolate teacup.  There was a green hat and a tea pot as well.

We went to a few of my favorite shops as well but I didn't have any luck so I don't have anything to share.  I was a little disappointed but the season is just starting so I'm optimistic that I'll have better luck this summer.  I had a great day with my girls on Sunday.  I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

There is a Victorian Tea Party at The House in the Roses today.  I posted my favorite tea cup there.  There is a whole collection there on display today.  I spent a good amount of time this morning "oohing" and "ahhing" instead of working.  I'm also participating at the Tea Cup Party on Martha's Favorites.  Take a look!

EDIT:  I've gotten a few requests for the location of this tea room.  I linked to it in the first line of the post but you can also click here if you'd like more information.