Antiquing and a Halloween Tea

You would have thought we'd have gotten our fill of antiquing on Saturday in Carlisle, PA, but we learned about Antique Marketplace in Lemoyne, PA with 250 vendors in a 47,000 sq. foot building so, of course, we had to check it out!  Our tea wasn't until 1:00 o'clock so we had two hours to quickly browse the marketplace.

[L-R:  Lori, Me, Joanie, and Linda]

Once again, none of us left empty-handed.  I have a collection of ramekins that I haven't added to in quite sometime, and I found a pretty one that I couldn't pass up.

Like most of my ramekins, this one was also made in Bavaria.

From the antique store we were off to Sweet Remembrances tearoom in Mechanicsburg PA for owner Nancy Reppert's Halloween Tea. This was my fourth time to visit Nancy's tearoom [2005, 2014, 2015 and 2016], and my third tearoom inside a row house [Serenity in Frederick, Maryland, Camellia's Sin in Carlisle, PA. and Sweet Remembrances]. All three are very charming, and reflect their owner's style. Three of our foursome wore Halloween accessories, but Linda was in a full Halloween costume, albeit a very elegant one perfect for tea.

I took a photo of her before we left our hotel room.  She brought her complete collection of Halloween jewelry, enough to outfit all of us!

Below was her cute purse and wrist accessories.  More about that purse later.

~ Lori and me in front of Sweet Remembrances. ~

~ Linda and Joanie ~

The tea was a sell-out and the tearoom was filled.  The lady standing in the witch's hat spotted Linda's adorable pumpkin purse and made an offer to buy it on the spot.  Linda couldn't refuse her $200 offer and sold it!

My place setting.  I have these luncheon sets but have never used them.  I must remedy that!

~ Menu ~

We each had our own teapot and choice of tea.  I loved the Snowflake tea that I had the previous day at Camellia's Sin, so I ordered it again.

~ Cute container for tea sweeteners ~

~  Our Foursome ~

~ Linda and Joanie ~

~ Lori and Me ~

Witches Brew of Caraway and Tomato Soup with a warm and Toasty Ghosty. 

RIP Caskets filled with Almond Chicken Salad; Black Spider Ham Salad Rounds; Don't be a Scaredy Cat Pimento Sandwich; Cyclops' Eye; and Pineapple & Pecan Acorn.

Traditional English Cream Ghost of a Scone and Pumpkin Pecan Scone with Sweet Cream and Lemon Curd, and Poison Apples and Spiced Caramel Dip.

Desserts to Die for!

Gingerbread Ghosts; Pumpkin Patch Cake; and Ghoulish White Chocolate Pretzel

It was a wonderful tea, and everything was delicious.  Kudos to you, Nancy, for a job well done!

[Nancy and Me]

[Linda, Lori, Joanie, Nancy, and Me]

We were introduced to a couple of members of the Royal Tea Club who are planning a trip to Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, GA in April 2017.  Both places are destinations I've wanted to visit, so now our minds are swirling with another road trip of our own.  My research has already begun!

But back to the present... all good things must come to an end, so bright and early Monday morning we traveled back to Michigan marveling at the kaleidoscope of beautiful colors we saw in the trees that lined the mountainsides and roadways.  It was a wonderful four day trip where we made happy memories for many days to come.

Tea Road Trip to Pennsylvania

We left home last Friday [Oct. 28th], around 9:30 a.m. bound for Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The destination was 490 miles away, and a 7 1/2 drive [a little longer with eating and restroom stops].

We arrived at Homewood Suites - our home away from home for the next three nights - around 7:00 p.m.

After checking in, we went to nearby Isaac's for dinner.  Afterwards we went back to our suite to relax and visit until bedtime.

Linda took the picture of me [below] in our hotel room.

The next morning [Saturday, Oct. 29th], we were at Camellias Sin [short for Sinensis, tea's botanical name], at 11:00 a.m. in nearby Carlisle, PA.  The tearoom is featured in Hoffman Media's new book Taking Tea.  We couldn't have picked a better weekend for our trip weatherwise - temps were unseasonably warm and skies were clear. 

The tearoom is in a charming row house.

[L-R:  Lori, Joanie, Linda and Me]

We browsed the tea room's lovely gift shop before our Afternoon Tea reservation.  

~ The classy tearoom. ~

~ Below is the china hutch pictured in Hoffman Media's book. ~

~ We had our picture taken in front of it. ~

[L-R: Lori, Linda, Joanie and Me]

~ Each table was set differently.   I photographed all the tablescapes.  ~

~ Below was our table. ~

Tomorrow's post will feature our Afternoon Tea meal, and what we did when we left the tearoom...

Two Teas in One Day!

On day #4 of our trip we returned to nearby Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania traveling over narrow, shoulderless, curvy, hilly, rural-like roads, and the quaintest covered bridge to get to Special Teas Tea Room for 11:30 a.m. reservations.  The tea room was established in 1998, and is located in Olde Ridge Village shopping complex.

Entrance door is on the right. 

~ Retail area of the tea room ~

~ Dining Area ~

The tea room uses Minton china in the Haddon Hall pattern.

~ Our foursome ~

[L-R:  Me, Lori, Barb, and Linda]

Melissa was our friendly server. The two black teas we ordered were Manhatten Earl Grey, and Raspberry.   Tea strainers were used since the tea wasn't decanted before it was brought to our table.

We ordered lite since we also had 3:00 p.m. reservations for Afternoon Tea at Hotel du Pont in downtown Wilmington.  We all got a bowl of Roasted Red Pepper soup with Smoked Gouda cheese. It was delicious.

And a black currant scone to go with our tea. 

I bought a blue toile tea cozy in the gift shop, since we will soon be redecorating our living room using blue toile wallpaper.

Then it was time to head back to the motel to change clothes, and get ready for Afternoon Tea at the du Pont Hotel - tomorrow's post.   I could easily get accustomed to this lifestyle! ;-)