Let's talk Tea!

Saturday afternoon my friend Janet and I attended one of our favorite annual events:
LOCKE & NOBLE TEA COMPANY'S
High Tea and Tea Talk.

The guest speaker Natalie Meyer is a member of the Local Costumer's Guild and gave us an informal lecture on Fashion Silhouettes from 1660 to 1910.
While attending my many years in community college I took a class on History of Costume so it's always fun to see what I remember...or don't :0!

Here I am all dressed up for tea.
See my little friend at my feet? This is what I deal with on a daily basis...
"No! Don't go! PlEaSe Don'T LeAve Me here with HER!!!!"
The "her" would be none other than Princess Cupcake or as we call her Coco Loco, but you didn't come for puppy antics did you? No, I didn't think so, but I still need to finish this little tale of how I begin each day, so please bear with me just a little longer...thank you!
Each morning it's the same routine. I get ready to leave and I'm met with those pleading brown eyes that always make me feel so guilty for abandoning my sweet baby boy, but when Tea Time calls I must answer..."see ya Elmo! I'll let you know what I ate when I get home.

Here's Janet and I seated at our table eagerly awaiting our delicious, delectable tea treats.
The couple that host this event do all the cooking and baking in their kitchen. The living room furniture is moved out to the side porch so the tables can be set up indoors.
They have some gorgeous antiques.

Is this not the prettiest China pattern that you've ever seen? I think so too! In fact I'm so in love with it that I think I need to find a few pieces to add to my collection...I'm sure hubby won't mind in the least.

Second Course:
Ooh! This was so delicious!
Gingered Carrot Soup and the little crackers are Asiago Sables. They were so crisp and flaky with a strong cheesy flavor. I could have eaten an entire bowl.
The soup was filled with chewy chunks of ginger that made for an interesting combination...interesting in a good way :).

Janet and I just playing around. She's my Faerie Tea buddy.
When ever we get together there's always tea or faeries involved...and Pink Flamingos.

Third Course:
Potato Leek Tart with Chived Bearnaise Sauce.
Such a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. I'm not really a Leek person, but this was delicious and the crust was so buttery. I wish I could describe just how wonderful this was.
Third course was also served with: Decadent White Chocolate Chip Scones
with clotted cream and jam.

Janet and I ordered different teas so we could sample each others. I ordered the Mid Summer's Peach while she ordered the Keemun. I have to admit that while mine was delicious hers was rather odd. It had a strange smokiness to it which is apparently its appeal. "Why would someone want to sip smoke?" I asked myself. I politely sipped my cup until it was gone then went back to my Peach. But isn't that a darling tea pot? There were so many different styles and shapes.

Fourth Course:
Chicken Pot Pie with Creamy Veloute.
The ingredients were all rolled up in these perfect little balls. Tucked neatly inside were chunks of chicken, peas, carrots, and celery.
The creamy veloute was so rich with just a hint of Rosemary.

Did you see the movie, "The Age of Innocence?" It's always been one of my favorites and Michelle Pfiffer was simply stunning in all her Bustle Gowns. This is my favorite era from the 1880's.

Natalie shared many interesting facts about each era that I wanted to pass on to you, but my pen ran out of ink at the beginning of the lecture. Did I ask Janet to borrow a pen...NO! Sometimes I don't use my brain to well.
Any way, here she was demonstrating how the corset works and telling us about how girls were corseted about the age of 12. As they continued to grow their corsets remained the same size which caused all sorts of internal problems as rib cages were deformed and organs were squeezed into other locations. Sounds fun doesn't it? It's not that bad, but then I didn't try on one of these lovely contraptions until the age of 33.

Janet was our lovely model for the 1855 petticoat and caused quite a stir when she asked if she had to lift her arms to get into it. For some reason all the women at the table behind us started talking about the fact that she couldn't lift her arms. "Is her blouse to tight?" I heard one say. After several comments about her arms not being lifted over her head one of the ladies tapped me on the back of the shoulder and asked "why?" Janet is recovering from surgery and is on pain medication. Lifting the tea pot was a challenge we weren't sure she was up to, but she wasn't about to allow anyone to keep her from taking tea...You go Janet!!!
Isn't she darling?

Fifth Course:
DESSERTS!
If you spell it backwards it spells Stressed
so the next time you're stressed just flip it over and have desserts.
For the last course we were treated to Chocolate Cheese Bites,
Lemon Curd Sandwiches
Carrot Whisky Cake,
Sara Bernhart Cookies...YUM! These had a layer of marzipan!!
and Strawberry Walnut Gateau.
Everything was so completely wonderful that I can't wait until
next year!

Aah! Now I'm back home and fully satiated from my delicious Tea and delectables and yes, Elmo is sitting right beside me trying desperately to sniff what I ate.

OH! Locke & Noble host several Tea's throughout the year so if you're interested and live in my area leave me a comment and I'll email you their phone Number. They have all the dates listed on their answering machine.
Now I'm off to take a nap.

I hope you have a lovely rest of the evening!