Tea Time in Bloom

On April 8th I attended a tea at Longacre House in Farmington Hills, MI.  The theme was Tea Time in Bloom with special guest Mikki, owner of The Vines florist in Farmington Hills.

Several ladies wore hats to the tea.

~ Barbara and Suzanne ~

~ Judy and LuAnn ~

~ Linda and her granddaughter Jamison ~

The tables were beautifully set with floral centerpieces.

~ Crisp, white linen napkins ~

The meal was a spinach salad topped with sliced strawberries and sweet red onion.

A grilled, marinated chicken breast with roasted red-skin potatoes.

Dessert was strawberry shortcake with whipped cream.

Tea was "Lady Day"

Mikki was a wonderful presenter, and made floral arranging look so simple.  She began by demonstrating how to make paper cones for May Day baskets to hang on door knobs of neighbors and friends.  

~ Teacups as floral containers ~

Burlap is very popular right now, and Mikki demonstrated using it to decorate chair backs.

~ Simplistic Elegance ~

~ Fresh flowers and raffia in place of napkin rings. ~

What a fun way to think spring!

A Mother's Shield of Honor - Longacre House

My program at Longacre House in 2011 was titled, A Mother's Shield of Honor.  As you might guess by the title, it was about aprons.   Can you believe I forgot to take my camera!   But I do have some photos one of the attendees took.

~ These were the menu cards placed on each table ~
[Click on the photo to enlarge for reading]

~ Printed Programs~

The program was divided into three sections:  Part I: Apron Nostalgia - The ties that bind.  Part II:  Apron Timelines.   Part III:  Apron History.   And what apron program would be complete without the reading of "Grandma's Apron"?

I showed many different styles of aprons that day, but have since collected a lot more, even   dating back to the Victorian era.

No other garment evokes sentimental feelings and nostalgia like an apron.  We all have someone dear to us who wore one.   Linda said the program was one of the all-time favorites.

and

A "Tea Fit for a Queen" at Longacre House

The Longacre House, located in Farmington Hills, MI, was originally a small six-room brick Victorian house built in 1869 on 100 acres of farmland, owned by the Sherman family.

In 1915 a Detroit attorney, Luman Goodenough, purchased the house and 40 acres of land.  He had the house redesigned and expanded into a 20-room Georgian country house. In 1918 he and his family moved in and named the estate "Longacres."

In 1968 the children of Mr. & Mrs. Goodenough donated the house and five acres of land to Farmington Hills to be used as a non-profit community center. 

I first met Linda Pudlik [right in photo below]  in October 2002 when I joined her tea club, AnTEAquers.   Since May 2008, she has been working for the Farmington Hills Cultural Arts Department coordinating monthly teas at Longacre House.   This was the second program she invited me to present there.  

I did a program honoring Queen Elizabeth II for the ladies of my church in the spring of 2011 [click here to read about it].   It seemed fitting to repeat it [with a few modifications] in celebration of the Queen's upcoming Diamond Jubilee in June.

~ Program & Menu Card ~

~ Dining Room ~

~ Gold and Purple Tablescape ~

~ Teabag envelope with official Diamond Jubilee photograph of the Queen ~

~ Scone with Creamed Fig Butter ~

~ Roasted Lamb w/Vegetables, Potatoes, and Creamy Cucumber Salad ~

~ Buckingham Palace Tea  by Metropolitan Tea Company ~

~ Union Jack Cake ~

Linda selected a trio of readers to read a fun-filled script of interesting facts about the Queen from her birth to the present time.

Lady below portrayed the Queen

Display cabinet of Queen Elizabeth II memorabilia.

We played a cute game at the beginning of the tea entitled, "The Royal Name Game."  Each lady had to give themselves an "aristocratic" name for the afternoon.   There was a piece of paper at each place setting for them to write the following:

[1]  Their Title - females are always "Lady"

[2]  Add grandmother's first name [maternal or paternal]

[3]  Then the name of a childhood pet - if they had one

[4]  Lastly the name of the street they grew up on.

Each table selected a winner and at the conclusion of the tea the winners shared their aristocratic name, and received a package of McVities Classic Rich Tea Biscuits.