Upcoming Cityfest at The Whitney

Cityfest is an annual fall event at The Whitney with several special events taking place September 10th - 19th.  One of those events is the Autumn & Apples tea on Sept. 19th with two seatings at 12:00 noon and 2:30 p.m.

My boss asked me to think about putting together an appropriate gift to give to attendees.  The first step was to contact our tea blender, Mary Jones of Detroit based Intutea, to create a special blend to include in the gift and to serve at the tea.  She created two blends for me to sample and I selected Apple Cinnamon - a black tea containing apple pieces, cinnamon, safflower petals and other herbs. It tastes wonderful and is very aromatic.

Next I had to get my creative juices flowing for the presentation of the gift.  I ordered plastic apples [which will contain the tea] from Oriental Trading, and wooden quart-size berry baskets from Amazon to set them in.

Supplies are ready and awaiting assembly.

This was the first basket I assembled.  I purchased the silk fall leaves and brown shred from the Dollar Store.  I also bought gold shred and will have alternating baskets of gold and brown.  The baskets will not only coordinate with the theme but will enhance the tables, and most importantly, my boss liked them.  ;-)

The basket seemed too plain so I made another quick trip to the Dollar Store to see what ribbon they had to make a bow to add to the front.  I liked the idea of rustic burlap, but am not sold on the 2 1/2 inch wide ribbon they had.  I'll make a trip to the Craft store tomorrow.  The bow does enhance the basket, but needs to be a little smaller with narrower ribbon. I'll need to make 80 bows!

I ordered sealable bags that will hold enough loose-leaf tea to make six cups of tea.  The bags will go inside the apple.  Now to measure out 80 packets of tea!

The Whitney will also include a gift from Parmenter's Cider Mill in Northville to all guests.  I think this project is going to keep me very busy for the next week or so!  If you are a local reader, I hope you will consider attending this tea.  More details are provided at The Whitney website.

Speaking of The Whitney, friends from church came to the 11:00 a.m. seating of Mansion Tea yesterday to celebrate Kenadie's 12th birthday.  Her mom and grandma celebrated with her.  It was a fun surprise to see them.

Scones are served separately so are not on the tiered server.  A plate of three jumbo strawberries with chantilly cream also accompany the meal.

Our strawberries aren't decorated, but a friend recently sent me a photo of adorable teapot decorated strawberries that would be perfect for a tea party - just very labor intensive.

When I got home from work my Shutterfly album was waiting for me.  I'm SO pleased with it!  Can't say enough good about the quality of Shutterfly photo albums.  They are so worth the time and money.

I'm anxious to begin working on a sequel to this album after I cross a couple other projects off my 'to do' list.