I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day! We did at our house, but more about that in a separate post.
One of my blog followers, Joy, introduced me to a wonderful blog called Home is Where the Boat Is. I'm not a nautical person, but this blog is about so much more than boating. Mary, the author of the blog, lives in North Carolina and writes about fabulous tablescapes, DYI crafts, recipes, gardening and more, with beautiful photos to accompany her posts. Recently she posted a DYI floral/candy arrangement made in a mason jar that she purchased at Dollar Tree. Imprinted on the jar are the words "Made With Love." I was looking for centerpiece ideas, and hers was cute and affordable, so I made a trip to Dollar Tree [a few blocks from my house].
Below is my version, minus a decorative ribbon and bow at the neck of the jar, because I didn't want to venture out to the craft store following our recent ice storm. The flowers were from Thrifty Florist [also a few blocks from my house]. I like the arrangement and am placing it on my list of possibilities. I need a slightly larger inner vase so the flowers aren't so tightly bunched together, but I used what I had on hand.
I returned to work at The Whitney yesterday after being off for 2 1/2 weeks. The broken water main shut the restaurant down for a week, causing considerable damage and loss, particularly to the basement where the walk-in refrigerators/freezers are located and storage for the non-perishable items. A staff member took me down yesterday to see the damage. Commercial dehumidifiers are running to dry out the basement. Mr. Whitney had a portion finished off as his billiard room, complete with coffered oak paneling and a beautiful fireplace. Most of the paneling had to be removed because the flood waters rose to over 5 ft. before city workers got there to shut off the water, but the restaurant is up and running again, and restoration will be on-going. The two ice storms [practically back-to-back] accounted for the rest of the time off. People cancelled reservations to stay home where it was warm and safe, as they should.
And speaking of The Whitney, tomorrow is the Aphra-Tea-siac Valentine's Tea. I should have blogged about it sooner, but there's still time to make a reservation if you're a local reader and would like to attend.
The website says: "Explore the romantic side of tea with Mary Jones, owner of INTU Tea. [Mary is The Whitney's proprietary tea blender. She'll be providing three teas: Red Bird, an herbal; Sparrow, a black tea to which Bourbon will be added; and Strawberry Caramel Rose, also a black tea.] Sip, Sup, and get in the mood for a post Valentine's Day Celebration."
The price of the event is $75 [reservations can be made through Eventbrite.com at The Whitney website] and includes a specialty cocktail, three teas, a loveable luncheon, with a decadent dessert, and a special gift. Tax and gratuity are included, but valet parking isn't. Due to alcohol being served there's an age restriction of 21 and over.
Mary's deceased husband was a bird lover, so she developed a line of teas with bird names - two of which will be served tomorrow. She'll be telling her 'love story' about how she was inspired to create this line.
I'll be sharing the weddings of two of Mr. Whitney's daughters that took place in the mansion. I LOVED the research, and read boo-coo Detroit Free Press archived articles dating back to 1895 to gather the information. The event is from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. If you can come I'd love to see you there!
As a side note, Mr. Whitney's great-great grandson and his wife came to dinner last night at The Whitney.
A surprise package arrived in the mail this week from my sweet tea friend, Nancy C., in the Upper Peninsula. Her card said she was thinking of me during my birthday month. The package contained tea-themed note cards. Nancy used to write a blog called Two Cottages and Tea. She's an extraordinary gardener and many of her posts were pictures of tea settings in her gardens. The note cards were made from some of those pictures. Thanks for the thoughtful gift, Nancy!
My Mary Frances designer teapot purse arrived in the mail and I love it!
I had to laugh at myself. I thought long and hard before taking the plunge to spend $162.50 on a somewhat frivlous designer purse. Then I read a post from another blogger where she told about a Prada purse she bought last year for $1,550 and was thinking about buying another one in a different color this year. Her post soothed my conscience. What I spent was trivial in comparison, and I completely justified my purchase! ;-)
As I type this post my hubby is online purchasing airline tickets for a trip we're planning to Southern California this spring. Several tearooms are on the agenda and we're getting excited. More on that later as the trip unfolds.
I think I've brought you up-to-date on practically everything that's been happening in my corner of the world, so I'll sign off for now. Have a nice weekend everyone!
Below is my version, minus a decorative ribbon and bow at the neck of the jar, because I didn't want to venture out to the craft store following our recent ice storm. The flowers were from Thrifty Florist [also a few blocks from my house]. I like the arrangement and am placing it on my list of possibilities. I need a slightly larger inner vase so the flowers aren't so tightly bunched together, but I used what I had on hand.
I received two Valentine cards from tea friends with one postmarked from Loveland, Colorado. A city named Loveland sounds like something from a Hallmark movie. Thanks, ladies! And last but not least, my 'Sweetie' gave me a beautiful card with money to go shopping.
And speaking of The Whitney, tomorrow is the Aphra-Tea-siac Valentine's Tea. I should have blogged about it sooner, but there's still time to make a reservation if you're a local reader and would like to attend.
The website says: "Explore the romantic side of tea with Mary Jones, owner of INTU Tea. [Mary is The Whitney's proprietary tea blender. She'll be providing three teas: Red Bird, an herbal; Sparrow, a black tea to which Bourbon will be added; and Strawberry Caramel Rose, also a black tea.] Sip, Sup, and get in the mood for a post Valentine's Day Celebration."
The price of the event is $75 [reservations can be made through Eventbrite.com at The Whitney website] and includes a specialty cocktail, three teas, a loveable luncheon, with a decadent dessert, and a special gift. Tax and gratuity are included, but valet parking isn't. Due to alcohol being served there's an age restriction of 21 and over.
Mary's deceased husband was a bird lover, so she developed a line of teas with bird names - two of which will be served tomorrow. She'll be telling her 'love story' about how she was inspired to create this line.
I'll be sharing the weddings of two of Mr. Whitney's daughters that took place in the mansion. I LOVED the research, and read boo-coo Detroit Free Press archived articles dating back to 1895 to gather the information. The event is from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. If you can come I'd love to see you there!
As a side note, Mr. Whitney's great-great grandson and his wife came to dinner last night at The Whitney.
A surprise package arrived in the mail this week from my sweet tea friend, Nancy C., in the Upper Peninsula. Her card said she was thinking of me during my birthday month. The package contained tea-themed note cards. Nancy used to write a blog called Two Cottages and Tea. She's an extraordinary gardener and many of her posts were pictures of tea settings in her gardens. The note cards were made from some of those pictures. Thanks for the thoughtful gift, Nancy!
My Mary Frances designer teapot purse arrived in the mail and I love it!
I had to laugh at myself. I thought long and hard before taking the plunge to spend $162.50 on a somewhat frivlous designer purse. Then I read a post from another blogger where she told about a Prada purse she bought last year for $1,550 and was thinking about buying another one in a different color this year. Her post soothed my conscience. What I spent was trivial in comparison, and I completely justified my purchase! ;-)
As I type this post my hubby is online purchasing airline tickets for a trip we're planning to Southern California this spring. Several tearooms are on the agenda and we're getting excited. More on that later as the trip unfolds.
I think I've brought you up-to-date on practically everything that's been happening in my corner of the world, so I'll sign off for now. Have a nice weekend everyone!
I'm glad you are enjoying the "Home is Where the Boat is" blog. I saw that centerpiece idea and loved it. Yours looks great! And I love your new purse, too - much more reasonable than the Prada ones (I think I read that blog, too). Your upcoming tea and presentation sounds wonderful and I'd be there if it weren't quite so far away. I'll look forward to your pictures and descriptions of it. Happy February!
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