Grand Tea Party

Last week the rascals and I attended a belated Valentine's Day tea at a friend's house. My friend, R-, emptied her entire first floor of all furniture and then packed it all away in a rented U-haul truck that she left parked somewhere in her neighborhood. She replaced every stitch of furniture in the family room with craft tables and chairs for making Valentines, and in the formal living room, she brought in a long banquet table and formal chairs sized just right for small children. Her husband and little boy weren't home which made me wonder if they too were packed away in the U-haul -- this after all was a ladies only event. The home was completely decked out, even down to the red, pink and white ribbon drapes that hung in a window in the formal living room. The house screamed Valentine's Day.

R- even hired a photographer to take pictures during the event so she would be free to mingle and prepare a formal tea party spread without missing a single moment. And even though the photographer was busily snapping away, I couldn't help but take pictures of my own using my mobile phone. Toward the end of the party, the photographer took individual pictures of us with our child(ren) -- a lovely, and decadent party gift from the hostess.

The food was delicious: scones, finger sandwiches, fruit, cupcakes, tea cookies, petits fours, and teas from Queen Mary Tea Room. While the children ate like princesses at the long banquet table, we moms gathered around in the kitchen where we nibbled treats, sipped tea and chatted. Here are a few images from that day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Terrarium

This past weekend Jon and the rascals decided to tackle the terrarium project, but first a quick online tutorial -- just to make sure everything would be done correctly.

  

Stuffing bits of moss and dirt into the narrow opening proved more challenging than the tutorial led us to believe.

Playing with dirt in the kitchen excited the rascals, but made me anxious. Luckily they kept the dirt on the counter so it was easy clean-up. Whew.

Jon shakes the bottle to make sure the contents settle evenly.

Once the moss and dirt is in the bottle, a chop stick was used to place each piece.

When the terrarium was done. The rascals lost interest -- cleaning clearly is not as interesting. Alex took her balloon and left.

Then she had a slight meltdown.

Sammy's energy tank remained full.

What a neat terrarium! I placed it on the living room table so when company comes they'll think we're earthy people. HA!

There was leftover moss and dirt so the girls made a terrarium of their very own. Don't they look proud of their accomplishment?

Basic British Scones

We had a lazy Sunday (see Sammy laying there with her DS?). We had planned to head outdoors but Sammy came down with a stomach bug and our plans changed.

 I made good use of our time at home -- I baked scones.

On Saturday, the rascals and I attended a belated Valentine's Day Tea at a friend's house {later this week, I'll share with you pictures from the event}. It was entirely lovely complete with fanciful decorations and scrumptious bite sized portioned foods. The most delicious of all were the scones -- I was still craving them the next day.

 I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com called Basic British Scones. Having never been to England I had to accept the authenticity of the recipe.

 This recipe calls for very few ingredients and yet the scones were flavorful.

Serve with your favorite jam and/or clotted cream. Click {here} for the recipe. The only change I made was that I used heavy whipping cream and 1% milk as opposed to just whole milk. I also used butter instead of margarine. Enjoy!

Recent Events

 

Hello Friends! Where has the time gone? February is flying by and I feel like I have so much to share with you. The rascals are growing so fast, becoming more and more adept at doing for themselves. These days, instead of reading to Alex, she reads to me. Her newest obsession is reading. Reading billboards, reading street signs and mostly, reading books. And not just one book..tons of books. Listening to Alex cautiously sounding out words and using her best storytelling voice sounds sweet to my ears.

Sammy is also reading quite a bit more. She sits in her top bunk reading quietly to herself absorbing every word. By morning she has so much to share with us about what she's read. I will always remember, and cherish these moments.

 

And then there was Valentine's Day. I find it very difficult to decorate for Valentine's Day considering it seems to sneak up on me overnight. One minute it's all about the New Year, the next, it's all about candy hearts and cards. This year I made a few hearts and taped them to the kitchen cabinets. Each little heart says what I love about my family. For Jon I wrote, I love that you make pancakes from scratch every Sunday morning. Not the most poetic, nor romantic valentine, but it's what was in my heart at the time. 

As you can see, we accumulated a good assortment of cards, candy, and flowers.  

 

 

 Have you heard of Art in the Age?

Jon recently polished off a bottle of Root -- not all in one sitting mind you, goodness no. He wants to use the bottle to make a terrarium. For Valentine's Day the rascals bought him all the materials he needs to complete his terrarium: decorative rocks, moss, and a tiny fern. Click {here} to see how it's done.

 

 

And then there's Sammy. Look how mature she looks! She's playing basketball now and you should see her running up and down the court. She's super quick and really working hard out there. Her games are so very exciting and often Jon has to calm me down because I'm screaming so loud and clapping like an insane person. But what can I say, I'm proud of my girl.