Summer Iced Tea Party

My niece Caitie is part of a trio of best friends that have been together since baby-doll age. These three young women are extraordinary examples of fun-loving, Jesus girls. 

After spending over a decade together, they will be separating next month. Two will go to different universities, and one will join the military before heading to college. 

Caitie asked if we could have a tea party before everyone leaves. Of course it had to be an iced tea party, because who drinks hot tea in the summer in the South?

Our menu included sweet tea- regular and raspberry, zucchini and goat cheese tarts, and sugar cookies. We also served flower shaped cucumber and pink, cream cheese sandwiches, and mini, bite-sized apple & peach pies. 

DECORATING TIP: Add fresh flowers to a tea pot then stack on a plate and candle holder for a darling centerpiece. 

Mini pies stacked on plates and tea cups.

PARTY TIP: Print guest's initials on clear stickers and use as drink markers. You can also use a flower vase as a decanter, and don't forget adorable, paper straws.

Christmas ornaments were used to dress up a blah light fixture.

PARTY DECORATING TIP: Use four dollar store doilies and scrapbook paper to make medallions. I hung three in the kitchen for a festive look. Double the doilies if they are too thin.

DECORATING TIP: Dip dollar store silk flowers in water with food coloring. This will tone down the brightness of the flower. They still looked inexpensive, but these flowers were plopped in a tea pot behind a glass door as background dressing.

We had a "Miss Tea Party" pageant. Everyone was a contestant and had to answer a ridiculous interview question as if it were a real situation. 

PARTY TIP: Make pageant sashes by printing titles on clear, full-sheet stickers and adorn them with stick-on pearls and rhinestones. One page of jeweled accents decorated all six sashes and cost $1.00 at Michaels.

 PARTY TIP: Make a scepter out of a sturdy, cardboard tube from a large roll of aluminum foil. Glue finials to each end and spray paint the whole thing with silver, glitter spray. Once the scepter is dry, add a pink, acrylic drawer pull to finish the look.

I filled tiny jars with sugar scrub as a party favor for each guest. These adorable little jars were bought at a flea market for 25¢ each! 

(Sugar scrub recipe found HERE.)

PARTY TIP: Print monograms on clear stickers and put onto pails with matching tulle for party favor packaging. The pails held the homemade sugar scrub.

Of course we had to have chocolate. The bars were wrapped in paper that matched our color scheme.

We also gave each girl a wire-bound journal wrapped in tissue paper and tulle. 

PARTY TIP: Use a vintage quilt to cover a table for a gorgeous shabby chic accent. I covered the coffee table with this beautiful pink quilt.

Here are the gorgeous guests with their Miss Tea Party titles. Such fun!

While I'm not in the picture, I was voted "Miss Silly", but that's because we didn't have a "Miss Laugh So Hard You Pass Out" title.

We also had a "photo booth" set up in the bathroom. Sure it seemed like an odd choice, but the counter was perfect for holding all the props. The girls also liked having the large mirror to try out the props before they posed. The shower curtain was a perfectly plain backdrop for the photos. I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time.

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon.


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It's Good To Be Me

Can I just tell you how excited I am? The tea party is coming together quite nicely. The invitations were mailed last Friday. The menu has been decided and the decorations are underway. I've also retrieved several hats from my storage unit.

We are keeping it rather intimate. Mom and I are hosting and it looks as if everyone will be able to attend. The guest list consists of my sister Mary, niece Caitie, sister-in-law Karen, and Caitie's two best friends Beka and Ashley. (Ashley, Beka, and Caitie are known as ABC.)

The menu is simple and fun. We will be serving flower shaped sandwiches, cucumber with pink cream cheese and toasted butter & sugar. The butter and sugar sandwiches will have pink sugar dusted over the butter. We will serve cupcakes frosted in spring colors and tiered on cake stands, chocolate covered fruit, and fruit tea.

Since our party is called "A Spring Tea" we won't be having hot tea. This allows me to use Mom's collection of tea pots as decoration. In addition to fresh Spring flowers I will be making several tissue paper peonies to put into tea pot "vases."

Each guest will have an Asian take-out box with goodies as a party favor. The boxes are a spring green color and will be tied with ribbons in pinks and oranges. Inside each box will be a wrapped piece of chocolate covered fruit, a Laura Ashley post-it pad, and a handmade bracelet (if I am able to make them in time).

So are you picking up on my excitement? And the coolest part is that this party will be my 3rd celebration in as many days. On Friday I have a lunch date with my mom and sis, then Saturday is a big, family tradition, birthday party we have at this time every year. (Caitie, her brother Topher, and cousin Matt all have birthdays the last week of March.) Then I round things out with the tea party on Sunday.

So I'm going home to a girls day out and TWO fun parties with people I love. How good is it to be me?!

Tea Party Anyone?

So I have this craving. It isn't for a particular food but rather for an experience. It has been ages since I've been to a tea party. I'm actually aching for this little feminine fest.

Most likely I won't be attending a tea party until I go home to see my family. You see, the ladies in my family like tea parties. We don't always dress up. In fact we rarely don hats, gloves, and boas but we aren't opposed to adding this delightful touch to our affairs. We do like to gather in the kitchen preparing treats, picking out linens, and choosing service pieces.

One of my favorite gatherings was a few years ago at Mom's. We decided on a change of venue from the kitchen to the living room. Mom has an oversized coffee table that was perfect for our spread. We covered the table with a beautiful quilt and topped it with doilies and plates of sweet breads, biscotti, and chocolate straws. Mismatched china cups were on order for the day to go with the patchwork quilt.

The guest list included the lovely hostesses (Mama and me), my beautiful sister Mary, my charming niece Caitie, and my best college friend Kristi. Kristi made the 2 hour trip to spend the night with me at Mom & Dad's. We met at Ouachita and formed an instant friendship. She is still at OBU working as a librarian. Kristi was delighted to receive an invitation to our soiree. And my, oh my, did we have fun that afternoon.

Fellowship with those I love is important to me. What sweet encouragement we glean from one another. I am a firm believer in the power of laughter. Our laughs, giggles, and snorkels must delight God. Have you ever wondered where He got the idea for laughter?

Living in Nashville the last few years has posed a predicament for me. You see, I desperately want to throw a good, old fashioned tea party for my friends but I don't have a location in which to use. I don't have the space or privacy to host a party of any sort in my present situation. However, I'm sure I could come up with something. I may just have to engage my creativity. Surely God didn't give me this fun gift for naught.

Stay tuned ladies. You may yet receive an invitation this Spring.