TO THE TUNE OF TEA TUESDAYS #25 It's virtual tea parties, and you're all invited!!

(picture from www.xena-productions.com)

I am so excited because today we're having virtual tea parties, and you're all invited to sneak over to someone else's party, and see what they're doing, starting with mine. You might be blessed and find yourself invited to one or some of them! Here's the goal: on your blog, you answer a few questions or complete lead statements that I have here, submit some pictures if you'd like, link up back at my place (if I can figure that out tonight), and have yourselves a tea-sipping good time together! How does that sound? What we're doing is creating with words and/or pictures a virtual tea party. We'll discover, if you were to throw a party and invite your friends or even us, what your party would look like, what kind of taste you have, how unique (or not) your party would be, etc.

Okay, let's party tea lovers! Be very descriptive and inviting. Make us wish we were flies on the wall (oh wait! no flies at a tea party)! My answers will be below all of the questions.

For our Relax and Refresh themed party, you're to come in, sit down, and let my girls and I serve you. You're to feel welcome and like long-time friends the minute you walk in the door.

• First, tell if you would have a casual tea party or something fancy?
• Would yours be a fresh, springy one outdoors like the picture at the top, or would it be an inside fancy set-up like the one above?
• I will use (fresh, artificial, or combination flowers)...
• I will require my guests to dress...
• Children are/are not invited...
• I'm inviting (this many) people... (or, are we all invited?)
• Would you send out invites, call by phone, or email?
• My theme or goal for my party is...
• I'm serving (this kind) of tea... and I'm using (loose leaf or bagged)...
• I have decorated in this way...
• I'm having (low tea or high), therefore the foods I'll serve will be...
• I am/am not using edible flowers...
• I will be serving other beverages, and they are...
• Will you have a poetry reading or tea talk at your party?
• I will use (casual, or oriental, or English, or other style) tea ware at my party...
• I will give away...
• My party will last...

And my answers are:

Mine would be a semi-fancy tea party

I think I'd like this first one to be an indoor party, so we can be in a more intimate, close, get-to-know-each-other type setting. I'd want it to be in my large library (if I had one:)

I will use fresh flowers and greenery, but subtle, not big bouquets or centerpieces. They will be sitting about, and you will notice them, but their beauty will be softspoken. I will have hydrangeas of all types in a couple of different colors and roses in cream.

I will require my guests to dress semi-dressy. Not too dressy, but no jeans, tank tops, etc. I want them to be comfortable, but appropriately dressed for a tea in the library.

Small children will not be invited to this one, but your tween and teenage girls are welcome.

This party, I'm inviting 8 very nice women that I know and am thinking about just now. They'll appreciate this kind of tea party. My next party will be open, and you're all invited!

I'm sending out invites, but I'm reminding the ladies via email. I want indoor, tea party themed, handmade invites in blue and cream, possibly with hydrangea and rose flowers on them. I will be using my fountain pen to hand address each one.

My theme will be Relax and Refresh, and my goal is to invite 8 women whom I know could use the break to come and allow my daughters and I to cater to them, while we join in the festivities also. I want them to feel special and appreciated. I want to show them the love of Christ. I also want the women to get to know each other better.

I'm serving three different types of tea, all loose leaf, and they are PG Tips (black), a lemon verbena and mint herbal tisane, and an imported Japanese green (Sencha Karigane).

I have decorated very lightly, but elegantly. Nothing stuffy or overdone. I want old books around, sparsely positioned antique pieces, a couple of vintage tea-ware sets placed strategically, different style chairs placed throughout the room, promoting comfort and good conversation, low tables placed near each chair with flowers on each and 3-tiered trays, medium lighting, and plenty of walking space around the room. I will have a service table in the back of the room with fresh cups, silverware, re-stock food items, and tea necessities like milk, raw sugar, honey, etc.

I am having low tea, therefore the foods I serve will be delicious, but simple and light. Lots of fresh fruit, 2 different kinds of scones with cream and jams/marmalades, sweet cookies and lemon tarts, 2 different kinds of finger sandwiches with fresh, homemade, thin bread, things of this sort.

I love edible flowers, therefore, I will use them on every tiered tray. I will use different kinds. I will definitely serve my candied rose petals, and would have made my homemade rose-petal- infused butter as another choice with the cream for scones.

I will be serving lemon verbena-infused, fresh-squeezed lemonade with lemon wedges floating in it.

At this particular party, I will not be having a poetry reading or tea talk. This one is just for women to specifically get to relax, get to know each other, share stories, and talk about life as a woman.

I will use a semi-fancy style English tea-ware set, but nothing too florally for this party. The green tea though, will be served in short, simple but elegant, handle-less cups when that tea is requested. They will be of really light egg-shell blue coloring so that it enhances the green tea's color.

I will give away vintage tea cups, wrapped in toule (or is it tulle), and a ribbon at the top. The ribbon will have a handmade tag, that resembles a miniature of the invite on the outside, but handwritten note inside saying, "Thank you for coming. You were a blessing to me. Tea Party 08/20/08" Inside the tea cups will be a homemade blended tea of their choice (herbal, black, or combo) that I blended fresh at home and put in cute little bags. They will get their gifts on the way out of the door.

My party will last until the last lady leaves. No time constraints today. It's all about you ladies!

Now, you don't have to make your answers as long as mine if you don't want to. Feel free to make them as long or short as you like, but remember, be descriptive. It's late here, so if I made any mistakes, charge it to the fact that I'm exhausted but well meaning.

Have a wonderful time visiting each other. I enjoyed giving my answers. Invite your blogging friends to check in on all of us and/or participate. The more the merrier!