The Abigail's Tea Room with a dear friend!

On August 15th, I traveled to Boston to visit a dear friend of 43 years. We enjoyed tea at the Abigail's Tea Room on the Boston Tea Party Ships.

                                                                                                    

http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

 

   Carol and I had such a blast.

  It turned out to be a perfectly beautiful day 
 
 When ever you go to Boston you must visit the Boston Tea Party ships.

August Tea with Lady Estelle

It is time for Tea at Lady Estelle's Tea Corner!

We are all set up for you to come and join us for tea and summer time relaxation.

A cool breeze has finally start flowing though the dinning room making for a enjoyable afternoon of tea and summer treats.

Come for tea with Lady Estelle today!

July tea Corner!

If you are planning a Afternoon Tea this summer, this is a great idea!

This is a beautiful Summer tea table setting. Very refreshing.

 

This was the delightful tea menu that was enjoyed by our guest for the Derby Day Afternoon Tea at Hearthside House, Mother's Day weekend.

Tea Sandwiches:

*Open-faced Cucumber with Fresh Dill Mayonnaise

*Southwest Chicken in Pastry Cup

*Turkey and Cranberry Orange Chutney in Pinwheel

*Layer Imported Boursin Cheese and Watercress

*Mini Croissant with Baked Ham and Honey Mustard

*Lemon Pepper Salmon Sandwich with *Creme Fraice and Fresh Field Greens

Sweets:

*Miniature English Scones

*Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

*Assorted Miniature Pastries and Cookies

* One must not forget the Assorted Teas!

 

I hope you like these ideas and call the girls over for A Summer Tea!

Lady Estelle T. Barada

http://tealadyestelle.blogspot.com/

Wonderful Living History Teas.

  American's Living History Teas
The June Tea article will introduce you to two historical tea venues in America.

The Molly Brown House Museum

  1340 Pennsylvania Street
Denver, CO 80203-2417
(303) 832-4092 mollybrown.org

 Its grand facade represents the Victorian Era- when people dressed like every day was a ball. This grand house was built to never go out of style, with lavish details carved out of rhyolite, sandstone and ornamental wood panels.

The home was decadently decorated and fit for a queen. Even the windows are ornately detailed stained glass and the walls are paved in gold. Let me say that again: Walls. Paved. With. Gold.

As it turns out, it wasn't just Molly Brown herself that was Unsinkable. Her 1889 home was set for demolition in 1970, until it was saved by Historic Denver and turned into a museum. Since then, it has taught more than two million visitors about Molly Brown's extraordinary life, including her commitment to activism and philanthropy.

Margaret "Molly" Brown (1867-1932)

 Molly Brown’s life represents the changes of the early 20th century, as manifested in the life of a woman who demonstrated the power of the individual spirit. 

  Special Programs at the House are costumed guided tours of the home, a theatre program focused on Victorian literature, and etiquette teas that educate on Victorian cultural customs.

 At this lovely House, you can go for a $10 Titanic tour, or a $25 Victorian Tea and Tour

  The Hearthside House Museum

 Great Road Historic District (Route 123)
 Lincoln, R.I.,
 http://hearthsidehouse.org/events/

 Hearthside is considered to be one of the finest examples of early nineteenth century Federal-style house in Rhode Island.
Popular folklore surrounding the construction of Hearthside states that in the early 1800’s, Stephen Hopkins Smith, a fellow in his 20’s, began to court a young lady from a “prominent Providence family”. He schemed to build a breathtaking home to sweep “Miss Prominent” off her feet. Construction on Hearthside got underway in 1810 and was completed in 1814. Meanwhile the courtship continued. When the house was done, Smith took a horse and buggy and went to Providence and asked the girl to come with him for a ride. As they approached the bend of Great Road, the girl clapped her hands and said, “What a beautiful house, but who would ever want to live way out in the wilderness.” Smith was heartbroken. He drove her back to Providence and never called on her again. In fact, he never married.

Hearthside is beautifully preserved and had been a private residence until 1996, when the Town of Lincoln purchased the property. In 2001, a group of citizens formed "Friends of Hearthside", a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to serve as stewards of the house and help preserve the property, while promoting its historical significance and accessibility to the public. Now an award-winning museum, Hearthside House is open frequently for guided tours, special events and exhibits, as well as by appointment for group tours


Afternoon Teas
It's a return to the gentle splendor of a bygone era at Hearthside, with spring flowers, elegant hats, delicate lace, dainty teacups and fancy finger foods as Friends of Hearthside hosts its annual Afternoon Tea in May. This event has become our most popular one, and always sells out so early ticket purchase is recommended. A different theme is featured each year, such as "the history of hats, the language of the fan, the language of flowers, the history of the parasol, etc. Prizes are awarded for most beautiful hats and raffle baskets are always a feature.

 

 
Admission for special exhibits and events varies according to event.

14th Victorian Unmentionables Cream Tea will be held at the Molly Brown House and Enjoy tea and scones while watching a unique presentation as Miss Tabitha (Sharon Guli) demonstrates how a Victorian lady such as Mrs. Brown would have dressed from the “inside out.” From a Denver opera to the Titanic crossing. - See more at: http://nightlifedenver.com/articles/011412_mollybrownhouse#sthash.w5AkXgqn.dpuf

Victorian Unmentionables Cream Tea will be held at the Molly Brown House and Enjoy tea and scones while watching a unique presentation as Miss Tabitha (Sharon Guli) demonstrates how a Victorian lady such as Mrs. Brown would have dressed from the “inside out.” From a Denver opera to the Titanic crossing. - See more at: http://nightlifedenver.com/articles/011412_mollybrownhouse#sthash.rVlthGJS.dpuf

14th Victorian Unmentionables Cream Tea will be held at the Molly Brown House and Enjoy tea and scones while watching a unique presentation as Miss Tabitha (Sharon Guli) demonstrates how a Victorian lady such as Mrs. Brown would have dressed from the “inside out.” From a Denver opera to the Titanic crossing. - See more at: http://nightlifedenver.com/articles/011412_mollybrownhouse#sthash.w5AkXgqn.dpuf

14th Victorian Unmentionables Cream Tea will be held at the Molly Brown House and Enjoy tea and scones while watching a unique presentation as Miss Tabitha (Sharon Guli) demonstrates how a Victorian lady such as Mrs. Brown would have dressed from the “inside out.” From a Denver opera to the Titanic crossing. - See more at: http://nightlifedenver.com/articles/011412_mollybrownhouse#sthash.w5AkXgqn.dpuf

May Tea Corner!

May Tea Corner

Birth flowers - May Flowers are a popular birthday gift, and choosing the recipient’s birth month flower makes it more personal. Take a look at the birth flowers for May.
 If I were to ask you what your birthstone – the gemstone assigned to the month you were born in – is, there’s a good chance you’d know it, or at least understand that there is such a thing. But did you know that every month also has birth flowers?
It is thought that birth month flowers originated in Roman times, when birthday celebrations first began. These early celebrations included decorating the altars of Roman Gods with flowers, and giving flowers as birthday gifts.
 During the Victorian era the ‘language of flowers’ evolved, as a way of conveying a hidden message to a lover without breaking the strict rules of etiquette surrounding displays of love or affection. Fast forward to the present day and we now have a choice of birth flowers with specific meanings for each month of the year.

http://growingfamily.co.uk/birth-flowers/birth-flowers-march-daffodils-jonquils/

My Up coming Event:

Spring Tea!

Tea can easily be transformed into a celebration with friends and family, but before enjoying yourself together, there is always a little planning to do. Tea parties, like any other parties require shopping spree before sending away the invitations. Now that the spring is here it seems quite natural to want to enjoy nature to the fullest, so maybe a nature tea party in the garden, park or backyard is the best choice, as tea and nature are in a perfect harmony.

 April Showers Bring May Flowers!

The first step when preparing a tea party is to start designing your tea party invitations or simply decide which model, color and theme to buy and who are the guests, of course. The second step is to plan your menu. A tea party menu isn’t an elaborate one;  tea sandwiches, biscuits and cookies are usually served.  Of course this isn’t necessarily a simple menu as you can plan putting together and cooking more varieties of tea sandwiches and cookies to appeal to all of your guests’ tastes.


A Victorian tea party

 What better way to enjoy spring to the fullest than when combining it with nature’s rebirth and a little bit of history? A Victorian tea party is exactly what you need to get together with a bunch of friends and enjoy tea in a very elegant manner. An outdoor Victorian party would be better as I am sure everyone will enjoy the sun’s gentle touch and will love to dress up a little and to use old style hats.
The tea party planning follows the general guidelines I gave above with a few more additions. For instance, scones are a must for a Victorian tea party with Devonshire cream, lemon curd or jelly or jams. You can find many interesting and simple recipes in cookbooks or the Internet, so it is rather simple to get your Victorian menu started.

The decoration part seems rather complicated when we think about the Victorian age, but it is actually quite simple. You just have to select floral china for your party and crystal serving pieces. To make it feel like spring is here, I suggest you place fresh flowers everywhere and use as support crystal vases and/or teapots without lids. If you’re doing the party indoors, lots of candles are recommended to remind everyone of the time when electricity wasn’t yet a commodity  If you’re doing an outdoor party I suggest replacing the candles with some antique looking lanterns. You should also have pretty napkins on the table as part of the decor and serving.

 Either indoors or outdoors, the tea party should not be stripped of music.

Don’t destroy your Victorian theme by choosing some modern tunes. Keep the atmosphere of spring and history going with some classical music set very low in order not to interrupt conversation. As a final touch to the atmosphere, suggest your guests in the invitations you will send them, to respect the Victorian dress code. I have a feeling that your female friends will be enchanted to do so.