A Cup of Tea - Eliza's first Tea Party

When the world is all at odds
And the mind is all at sea
Then cease the useless tedium
And brew a cup of tea.
There is magic in its fragrance,
There is solace in its taste;
And the laden moments vanish
Somehow into space.
The world becomes a lovely thing!
There’s beauty as you’ll see;
All because you briefly stopped
To brew a cup [...]

Anonymous

I found this poem on one of my favorite blogs. For some lovely images of a fancy tea visit:  Madelief

Image Via

All of the little girls (and the big ones too) in our clan enjoy tea parties, fancy and plain, starting from an early age.  Eliza is no exception.  A few weeks ago, she was introduced to tea parties on the patio of her grand-auntie Rosalind's patio.  Some years ago, Rosalind purchased a brightly colored child sized tea service to have tea parties with her new grand nieces, Caroline and Sara and recently Mina also has enjoyed a tea party at grand-auntie's house. 

French Macaroons from Trader Joe's and Petit fours from Whole Foods

 We almost always have cucumber sandwiches, but since grand-auntie Rosalind was not having an easy day, we brought in (gasp!) store-bought treats.  So this qualified as a "plain" tea party.  Not like the image at right.

 Eliza loved everything!  Especially the asparagus spears.

 Many of our tea parties include tea sandwiches such as chopped and sauteed mushrooms or spinach egg salad made with cream cheese.  Recipes for both will be shared if anyone asks.  I am still finishing up the photography for the next post on Rosalind's Williamsburg dollhouse..perhaps tomorrow I can take better ones of the exteriors of both buildings.  At one tea party someone counted up the lbs of butter and cream cheese.  Horrified all 20 attendees vowed never to tell!