Afternoon Tea at Camellias Sin Tearoom

Camellias Sin tearoom is located at 36 West Pomfret Street in Carlisle, PA.  The Afternoon Tea is $30 which includes tax and gratuity.

We selected three different black tea blends throughout our Afternoon Tea experience, and they were all wonderful.  Our first tea was Caramel Apple.  When that teapot was empty we switched to their House Blend - four black teas with caramel, currant, bergamot, and vanilla. Our last selection was Snowflake - a blend with coconut, cinnamon and almonds - my favorite of the three.  

~ Linda and Joanie ~

A close-up of the antique china cabinet behind Linda and Joanie.

The soup I chose was Apple Butternut Squash.  All food is prepared on site.

It was followed by a salad of mixed greens.

~ Lori and Me ~

For our scones we each chose a different one and cut it in quarters so we could have a taste of each. The flavors were Chocolate Chip; Maple Pecan; Caramel Apple, and a Rosemary Cheddar savory scone.

~ Our wonderful server. ~

Sandwiches/Savories were:  Cucumber; Falling Leaves - Beet and Carrot on Swirl and Brown Bread; Herb Pork Crostini, and Apple Onion Tart.  

Our desserts were a Black Magic Cupcake; Pumpkin Cheesecake drizzled with Caramel; and a Spicy Molasses Cookie.  It would have been difficult to pick a favorite in any of the categories because everything was delicious.

One final photo of Lori and me before leaving the tearoom.

When we left the tearoom we drove a short distance to Bedford Street Antiques, also in Carlisle. The building that houses the antique mall has an interesting history.  It began as a Lutheran Church in 1852, then in 1899 J.W. Plank purchased it and converted it into a garment manufacturing company that stayed in business through the 1970's.  The current owner purchased the building in 2003 for an antique mall where over 100 antique dealers have booths.  The first and second floors have 24,000 sq. feet to display a lot of antiques.

I saw many lovely items on the first floor, but it was on the second floor that I saw treasures which had to come home with me.  Look at that winding staircase!

If you follow my blog you know I love blue and white dishware, and display it in my living room.  I found two lovely blue and white transferware soup tureens. They've already been placed on the built-in shelves.

A while back, a member of an online tea-themed group, Afternoon Tea Across America, posted a picture of a porcelain strawberry dish on the group's Facebook page. I had never seen them before, and the antique store had two. I purchased the one that appropriately had strawberries on it.  Love the cream pitcher and sugar bowl 'compartments' affixed to each side.

It's bone china made by Hamersley in England.   The owner of the booth happened to be in the store and graciously gave me a discount.  I got it for $31.50.  I told her I'd be blogging about it, so I hope she sees this post.

I was quite pleased with my purchases, and the other gals were pleased with their's.  Below we're at the check-out counter paying for our treasures.

We bought so much 'stuff' we needed a cart to take it all to our car!  ;-)  The nesting tables were Joanie's purchase.

The next day [Sunday, Oct. 30th], we had reservations for a Halloween Tea at Sweet Remembrances tearoom in Mechanicsburg, PA - next post... 

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...

Halloween 2016

If you follow my blog, you know I've been absent for a few days.  I left last Friday morning [Oct. 28] for a tea road trip to Pennsylvania.  

We were traveling home on Oct. 31st [Halloween], so I didn't get to see "the grands" in their Halloween costumes, but I saw photos.

I'm working on getting all my trip photos downloaded [which takes longer since I'm still learning my new computer] so in the meantime I'm sharing this year's Halloween photos.

Granddaughter Isabella was Elvis, Landon was a football player, and little Ellie was a flower. Their cousin [in the photos with them] was Spiderman [at least I think that's his costume].

My hubby went to son Steve's house to help with the Halloween party he hosts every year for his neighborhood.  The photos were taken before it got dark, so kids weren't out in full force yet.  Kids [and their parents] go into his garage for cider, hot chocolate, coffee and donuts, play video games, or warm themselves by the outdoor fire pit. 

Granddaughter Brooke was a cat.

John, Tiffany and Ollie sat on their front porch swing distributing candy to their trick or treaters. Next year they'll have their own 'little treat'! ;-)

Last night [Tuesday] Izzy was out of her Elvis costume and performing in her first middle school band concert.  So proud of you, Izzy!