Literary Tea Parties

So I few years ago I did a post on a tea party that we had at my church. Of course, you know how I love books…I just had to tie them in together!

To read the whole post, click here. So every year at my church we do a Christmas Tea Party, and the past three years my friend and I had a table that I’ve been in charge of decorating. And if you think I just had to feature a book each year, than you are right! I love books!

In 2016, the theme was “Our Journey”, and shoes were the center as it was about “the paths we take”. Of course shoes made me think of one thing:

As Dorothy and all her friends go on a journey, along with having a magical pair of shoes,  it was PERFECT! We did a:

• Yellow Brick Road Runner: Canvas that we painted with three different shades of yellow
• Poppy Magnets as our favors: I used this one from Hometalk and did button centers and glued magnets on the back.
• Mason jar water glasses with gingham ribbons and red mugs for coffee or tea.
• Wicked Witch of the East candy straws: I got the straws from Wal-Mart and made the shoes from Swedish Fish.
• We painted our own Emerald City on glasses.
• And I sewed a sock monkey king of the flying monkeys, out of black and white socks (just like the ones the Wicked Witch of the East wears). Yes, I sewed it-help from Madsen Creations and my mom.
• We made our own Dorothy’s magic red shoes, but they weren’t ready when I took the picture, so I put my own red shoes in there.
• And of course, a copy of the book.

The next year the theme was “Friendship”

So my friend and I choose to do:

• We used this lovely pink overlay that had glitter and sparkles in it.
• Our favors were mugs with the either the quote, “I am a princess. All girls are” or “All women are princesses, it is our right”.
• The other favors we had were pink princess crowns (we had four kids sitting at our table). I got a great deal from Amazon 12 for $7.82
• I used two teacups for sugar and cream.
• Gold striped napkins tied around the cutlery with a pink sparkly ribbon.
• I used a square vase to lift up A Little Princess by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver, that I had purchased for my niece for Christmas. Inside the vase was yellow sunflowers, like the ones in the movie when Sarah and Becky wake up on Christmas.

Last Christmas the theme was Holy Ghost…hmmm ghosts. Which book? 🙂

• We used a holly and cranberry patterned runner on the table.
• Sheets of music as place mats, with red chargers over them.
• The centerpiece was a Christmas Tree, as those became popular in the Victorian era with Prince Albert, that I strung with popcorn.
• I also placed a basket with the Christmas gifts/favors as that was how Victorian tables were set up. Each package was a different copy of A Christmas Carol. I got them all by swapping on PaperBackSwap.com I wrapped them up in brown paper and red yarn.
• We had chestnuts on the table and each place setting got on orange, as they were very popular gifts, but I didn’t put cloves in it as you can’t eat them when you do that.
• We had Earl Grey Tea, Hot Chocolate, and candy canes.
• Each person received a homemade Christmas Card (made by me), and each had a little token in it, my version of the Christmas pudding.

This year the theme is gifts and I have to admit, I’m a bit at a loss. Any ideas of a book that gifts plays a role?

Please help me!

For more on The Wizard of Oz, go to Bookish Thank You

For more on A Christmas Carol, go to Book Club Picks: A Christmas Carol

For more tea posts, go to I Ran Out of Milk So I Put Buttermilk in My Tea

For more book-filled posts, go to Stranded at the Bookstore

How to Make a London Fog

As you can tell, this post isn’t about this:

But this:

So during the week I go to a coffee shop in the morning to kill an hour before work and while there buy a cup of Earl Grey tea.

I drank so many that I had enough to get any drink free! I asked the barista what she recommended and they said a London Fog- Earl Grey tea with Vanilla and heated, foamy milk. I tried it and LOVED it!

I had to have more of it. So I decided to make it myself.

Ingredients:

• Tea Kettle/Teapot
• Earl Grey Tea (I use loose leaf but you can do bagged)
• Milk
• Vanilla Creamer
• Milk Frothier
• Sugar (optional)
• Tall Glass
• Tea Mug or Teacup

Directions:

1. Put your kettle or teapot on and heat the water.
2. Prepare your loose leaf tea (one teaspoon per cup of water). [I typically drink out of a two cup tea mug.]
3. When water is ready pour in mug over tea infuser or tea bag. (Tea should steep no more than three minutes.)
4. When tea is steeping prepare the milk. This is something that might take a few trials until you find your perfect taste. I typically take 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of Vanilla creamer and pour both into the tall glass.
5. Using the frothier, whisk the milk mixture until it is nice and airy. If you don’t have a frothier you can use a tall glass jar and shake it up.
6. Heat the milk mixture in the microwave for a minute.
7. When the tea has steeped, remove it from the mug and add sugar (if needed) and foamy milk mixture.
8. Drink & enjoy!

It was delicious, and cheaper than forking over four dollars every time you wished to have it. Delicious!

For more recipes, go to Harlem Tea Room Cheddar-Thyme Scones

For more Tea posts, go to I Made My Own Teabags

For more on Pride and Prejudice, go to Whether Presentable or Not, I Love Spending Time With You: Episode Four, Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Rainy Days Are Reading Days

I don’t know about you all but it has been raining so badly where I am at that parts of the community are on flood watch.

But I don’t mind the rain, I LOVE IT!

And you want to know why?

Why?

Because:

Yep:

If people ask you to come over and do something, you can use the rain as an excuse; and then just enjoy your time snug and full of fun!

Yep, that sounds like the perfect day to me.

For more on rainy days, go to Every Month at the Quarter Moon There’ll be a Monsoon

For more book filled posts, go to Never a Lender Be…Because You Might Not Get Your Stuff Back in the Same Condition

A World of Teas

Recently I was given a collection of five teas; A World of Teas by Tea forté. 

As I was about to try them out, I started thinking, which books would best suit the teas? After all nothing goes together better than a good book and a delicious tea.

You guys ready?

Tea #1: Bombay Chai from Bombay, India

This tea was spicy with layers of taste. The first thing that popped in my head was the scene from Sense & Sensibility (1995) when Colonel Brandon says the air is full of spices. This made me think that this book was the perfect pairing.

Its range of spices and many layers make it just like Colonel Brandon.

At first glance an average soldier, but as you read you see there are many parts to him. Plus it seemed as if it would be something he would drink after his time abroad.

For more on Sense and Sensibility, go to The Dashwood Sisters Tell All: A Modern Day Novel of Jane Austen

Tea #2 Moroccan Mint from Morocco

This tea was refreshing and cool, but also predictable. This was a familiar taste with no real surprises, however that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. For that reason, I choose Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart.

Death on Demand is the beginning of the series and follows amateur private detective and mystery bookstore owner, Annie Laurence, as she tries to figure out which of the many possible suspects killed an annoying, blackmailing, author. She is racing against the clock as if she cannot find the real killer, she will end up being thrown in jail!

While at times it may be predictable the character and stories always leave me coming back for more.

For more on Death on Demand, go to It’s Fantastico!

Tea #3 African Solstice from South Africa

So this one started off good, lots of flavor and taste; but then I had the rooibos. I don’t like rooibos, as for me it has a weird aftertaste that I just don’t agree with. Once those came in, this tea was lost on me. The book I thought would be the best pairing is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart is the story of Nigerian Okonkwo, an Ibo leader. The book chronicles his life, family culture, and ambitions. An accident causes things to derail for Okonkwo, and he is sent away. While he regroups and plans how to re-achieve his prior success, the British arrive with their influence and missionaries changing the structure of the villages. Will Okonkwo be able to adapt? Or will he fall under the British wheel of “progress”?

Like this African tea, I really enjoyed about two-thirds of the novel. The rooiboss of the the novel, for me, was the ending. I thought it built up perfectly, but ended way to soon, with enough falling action. It is like when you bake a cake and open the oven too soon, causing the cake to fall. That’s how the ending of this book and tea were to me, too soon.

Tea #4: Sencha from Japan

This tea at first seems simple and plain, but as you drink it you realize there is a whole lot more going on, and it has an incredible flavor. I finished this tea off first of all the others in the collection.

This actually made me think of two books. The first being Mansfield Park:

At first glance Mansfield Park seems simple and a lot say it is boring. Fanny is a placid girl, often being the tool of others instead of going after what she wants. However, as you continue reading you see that Fanny has a lot more to her character than meets the eye. She is often passive as she is grateful for being pulled out of a bad situation; but when one tries to force her to do something she really does not want to (marriage to Mr. Crawford, a first class rake) she becomes a will of iron and will not be bent. She completely encompasses the old Japanese proverb of being bamboo, willing to bend with the wind but not break.

The second being Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Now I don’t want to spend too much time on this book as I am planning on reviewing it in the winter as part of my 30 Day challenge.

However, Hale is a master crafter as she takes the simple fairy tale of Maid Maleen and turns it into this incredible adventure full of bravery, romance, and supernatural elements.

For more on Mansfield Park, go to Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose: Superbowl 50

Tea #5 Estate Darjeeling from Darjeeling, India.

I’ve had other Darjeeling but didn’t like them, I thought they were too sweet and didn’t care for them. However, this one was fantastic! It was an amazing surprise.

Originally I thought I would pair this with Emma, but instead I think two other books would be better:

When I first had read the Jane Austen novels, I had heard of all of them (and seen film adaptions) except these two. Not only had I never heard of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, it appears most fans of Jane Austen also don’t really know much about them. Why is that?

Anyways, when I first read them I was so surprised with how amazingly great they are that they knocked my list of favorites all about. Perfect match with a surprisingly fantastic tea.

For more on Northanger Abbey, go to The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen

For more on Persuasion, go to Captain Wentworth’s Diary

After all:

For more on tea, go to My Trip to Teavana

For more book-filled posts, go to Post Approved

One Hot Date

For more book-filled posts, go to Things I Want