So I did.
I had a tea party complete with fancy tea cups, pretty dresses, fun hats, mini sandwiches and plenty of tea. No one drank the tea though. We discovered it was much more fun to put whiskey, wine and vodka in our tea cups. It really was great fun too. Just to be clear though, there were tea bags, a teapot and ice tea flavored vodka at the party so it was a totally legit tea party. It does count.
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| Party Time!! |
One of the beautiful things I have discovered about aging (Yes, there are some very wonderful, amazing things about aging. I was shocked too.) is that you ultimately hit a point where you don't care as much about the norms of society.
The shit you were so focused on in your teens, 20's and even your 30's goes out the window. It's almost like going back to being a kid in a sense. When you are a kid and you do goofy things, it's always, well they are just kids being kids. Well the same thing can be said about older women.
The shit you were so focused on in your teens, 20's and even your 30's goes out the window. It's almost like going back to being a kid in a sense. When you are a kid and you do goofy things, it's always, well they are just kids being kids. Well the same thing can be said about older women.
We've been through enough life experiences and lessons to realize that there were moments where we were so close to losing our sanity forever. Moments where one more ounce of weight on our shoulders could have shattered us completely. Moments where it took every ounce of strength to crawl out of bed and face another day with such a heavy heart. And some how, some way, we managed to make it through those moments. We made it to the other side. And we did it more than once. Some of us did it many, many times.
So..... if I wanted to throw a dress up tea party for my best girl friends and me, you bet your sweet ass I was going to. I really don't care how ridiculous, silly, stupid or weird others think I am. I fly my weirdo flag proudly. Live it up people!!! There's whiskey in the Jar-O.
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| The lovely Rebecca sipping some "tea". |
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| Ice Tea with Ice Tea vodka. Technically this is "tea". |
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| Megan took this awesome picture. Good eye! A little Hazlitt White Stag, not available around here. :( |
Decorating was simple and fun. My mother had some old floral bed sheets I used for tablecloths. I also had some vintage hankies to decorate the tablescape as well. My grandmother would be proud. They were hers. I found my mismatched tea cups in storage, and also picked up a few more at the local flea market for $5. They were so pretty and colorful. I used empty wine bottles to hold tapered candles and milk glass for the pillar candles stands.
Unfortunately, my plan to have big, beautiful wild flower arrangements did not happen, mostly due to bad weather the days leading up to the party. I was bummed because I really wanted to have vases spilling over with gorgeous, wild, free spirited flowers because it would suit my company perfectly.
Instead, my tacky fake flowers became centerpieces. They actually looked quite lovely among the other colorful, mismatched decor though. Wasn't so tacky after all. It's all in the eye of the beholder. My decor was shabby chic at it's finest and I do love shabby chic. This made me happy.
Instead, my tacky fake flowers became centerpieces. They actually looked quite lovely among the other colorful, mismatched decor though. Wasn't so tacky after all. It's all in the eye of the beholder. My decor was shabby chic at it's finest and I do love shabby chic. This made me happy.
Besides, my guests were the true wild flowers decorating my party.
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| The tablescape! My very fine china plates from England were used. $125 for 5 plates. Crazy!! I couldn't afford them now but back then I could. |
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| I had chalices of jam and poundcake like the English do! Go me! |
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| That is some mighty potent tea! |
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| Waiting for the flowers to arrive. |
As for food, well I totally went overboard. I am part Italian and part Greek so it is my nature. Mini sandwiches, dips, crackers, cheeses, fruit, an antipasti board, homemade coleslaw, summer chicken salad, and pasta salad were all part of the menu. Everything turned out delicious I must say. Just about everything was also made from scratch. It's how I roll. In fact, I am not gonna lie, I seriously spent all day Saturday cooking and prepping for my tea party. I loved every minute of it too!
I am going to post some recipes at the end of the blog. :)
I am going to post some recipes at the end of the blog. :)
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| Hope you are hungry! I made a few snacks! |
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| Some of the goodies! |
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| My daughter did a wonderful job helping me prep and set up! |
All the ladies looked so lovely in their hats, dresses, & blouses. And hoodies!! There were lots of laughs, some deep conversations and a motorboating incident. It happens. We celebrated being awesome late into the night. It was a Sunday so I will probably not have parties on a day before work anymore because who wants to stop having fun. (See...another life lesson.)
I will never forget this day and the strength, energy and humor of this fantastic group of women I am so proud to call friends! I plan to do this more often. Celebrating life is something we should all do more often. It doesn't have to be crazy or huge, but it needs to become more of a habit.
Tea Party Tea Beverage
A tea cup
A sober person
1 gallon ice tea of your choice.
I bottle of ice tea vodka, whiskey, schnappes, or any alcohol of your choice.
Pour some ice tea in a tea cup about half way.
Add one or all the alcohol to the cup until it is full.
Enjoy.
( Not gonna lie, there will probably come a point where you will forgo the ice tea all together and just have a mixture of various wines and spirits in your cup. Always try to have one sober person around to baby sit you before you become one shit show away from the ER. Drink responsibly people. It is fun yes, but don't kill yourself or you will not be able to have future fun.)
Chrissy's Autumn Chicken Salad
6 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
1 cup grapes, halved
1 cup unpeeled, diced apple
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup olive oil mayonaise
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything in a large bowl until well combined.
Serve with crackers, rolls or croissants.
Chrissy's Caprese Sandwiches
2 cloves peeled garlic
1 baguette sliced into this slices
1 7-8 oz. log of mozzarella, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes thinly sliced
a bunch of whole basil leaves
olive oil
Rub garlic clove on one side of each baguette slice.
Brush olive oil on one side of each baguette slice.
Layer a basil leave, a slice of mozzarella, a slice of roma tomato, another basil leave, on top of a baguette slice. Place the garlic/olive oil side of another baguette slice down to top the sandwich. Repeat.
Alink to a list of great Tea Sandwich recipes is listed below .
I made the Apple, Ham and Brie Sandwiches but used Cheddar instead. I prefer Brie with Roast Beef.
50 Finger Sandwich Recipes From The Food Network
Keep partying like it's 1999!!!
Ciao!!
Chrissy
I will never forget this day and the strength, energy and humor of this fantastic group of women I am so proud to call friends! I plan to do this more often. Celebrating life is something we should all do more often. It doesn't have to be crazy or huge, but it needs to become more of a habit.
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| I love me some Becky B! |
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| The gals! |
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| The beautiful Miss Schultzie Molenda and me! |
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| The sexy Miss Watson and me! Cheers baby yea!! |
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| The stunning Gush! |
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| My beautiful friends Tammy, Krista and Becky. |
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| Wealth comes in many currencies. Such pretty wild flowers. |
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| The ladies loved my son and he totally ate up the attention. He wore a hat too! |
Here are some of the recipes for the food and drink.
Tea Party Tea Beverage
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| Now that's how you drink a cup of "tea"! |
A sober person
1 gallon ice tea of your choice.
I bottle of ice tea vodka, whiskey, schnappes, or any alcohol of your choice.
Pour some ice tea in a tea cup about half way.
Add one or all the alcohol to the cup until it is full.
Enjoy.
( Not gonna lie, there will probably come a point where you will forgo the ice tea all together and just have a mixture of various wines and spirits in your cup. Always try to have one sober person around to baby sit you before you become one shit show away from the ER. Drink responsibly people. It is fun yes, but don't kill yourself or you will not be able to have future fun.)
Chrissy's Autumn Chicken Salad 6 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
1 cup grapes, halved
1 cup unpeeled, diced apple
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup olive oil mayonaise
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything in a large bowl until well combined.
Serve with crackers, rolls or croissants.
2 cloves peeled garlic
1 baguette sliced into this slices
1 7-8 oz. log of mozzarella, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes thinly sliced
a bunch of whole basil leaves
olive oil
Rub garlic clove on one side of each baguette slice.
Brush olive oil on one side of each baguette slice.
Layer a basil leave, a slice of mozzarella, a slice of roma tomato, another basil leave, on top of a baguette slice. Place the garlic/olive oil side of another baguette slice down to top the sandwich. Repeat.
Alink to a list of great Tea Sandwich recipes is listed below .
I made the Apple, Ham and Brie Sandwiches but used Cheddar instead. I prefer Brie with Roast Beef.
50 Finger Sandwich Recipes From The Food Network
Keep partying like it's 1999!!!
Ciao!!
Chrissy
