Cristy Bennett's Grand Finale

Last Saturday my girlfriend, Lori, and I traveled to East Lansing to attend Cristy Bennett's last theme tea.  It was a bittersweet day, and an emotional one for Cristy.  She's been doing teas since 2011.  They've all been incredible labors of love, with one topping the other. Nobody does tablescapes like Cristy!  I forget the total number of teas she said she's done [I know I missed a few], but I've attended 28 with great pleasure. 

Saturday was a beautiful day for travel, and Cristy's home welcomed us from the curb.

~ Front Porch ~

This final tea was in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, and was a red, white, and blue tea.

As usual I was a shutterbug and tried to capture everything.  This was the beautiful British tablescape.

The first floor of her home is decorated in the theme.

~ Wall decal ~

Queen Elizabeth tea cozy Cristy ordered from England.

Cristy showing us the details of the cozy from the back.

You can't see it in the photo, but the Queen is even holding a teacup in her hand.

Shelf next to the tea cozy on the antique secretary.

Quilted wall hanging that Cristy had made for the tea.

~ Cristy's antique buffet ~





~ Union Jack Flag below buffet ~

Lori and I donned our red, white, and blue in honor of our country on this side of the pond, but we're fond of our 'Mother Country' too, and have been blessed to visit England three times.

~ More beautiful tablescape photos ~

Gold edible crowns decorated the sugar bowl!

~ My place setting ~

Menu card that we got to take home along with our individual bouquets of flowers, place card, and white lace purse filled with Dove chocolates.  The Queen does love her purse!  ;-)

As always, David [Cristy's husband], distributed warm, moistened hand cloths for us to freshen our hands before the tea began.  Then Cristy led in a toast with chilled Sparkling Cherry Juice.  We drank Twining's Darjeeling black tea throughout the event - Queen Elizabeth's favorite afternoon tea.

Chilled Blueberry Soup with a Dried Cherry-Almond Pinwheel Scone

Red, White, and Blue Chicken Salad, Cheddar-Parmesan Cheese Crown, and Bacon-Lettuce & Tomato Pop.

~ Dessert was a delicious slice of Raspberry Chocolate Ganache Tart ~

 ~ A few photos of Cristy's decorated Dining Room ~

The Queen would have been proud being honored in such a special way!

Here's the special couple who have opened their home to so many.  Thank you, Cristy and David for providing us with many beautiful tea times and wonderful memories.  What a great ending!  Elizabeth II is the Queen of England, but Cristy is the Queen of Teas!

In my next post I hope to put links to all the teas Cristy has hosted so you'll be able to view them easily without having to search through seven years of posts.