Saturday, February 12, 2011

Tea Preparation

We are having or annual Winter Tea this Sunday! Terry and I have been working all day cleaning, baking, and getting things ready.

Library looking north

Our teas take place in the library. The furniture is arranged around my grandma's old early American coffee table. I usually keep a TV on this table in the parlor, but it's just the right size for tea, so we always remove our center table and replace it with this. Tomorrow, it will be covered with a tablecloth and lots of sweets!

Library looking west

Needless to say, that scratch post will be banished to the upstairs, along with the cats.

Scratch Post & Settee

The silver has all been polished. The sugar bowl, for those who like their tea sweet...

Silver Sugar

the brides basket will hold the freshly baked scones...

Bride's Basket

the silver platter will hold a variety of cookies...

Silver Platter

and the castor set will not be used, but is always on display on the sideboard.

Silver Castor Set

I keep all the teacups in our side-by-side. Tomorrow, I will take them all out and display them on the kitchen table. Each guest will choose a cup and saucer, a tradition everyone seems to love!

Side-by-Side

The curio cabinet is stuffed with our angel collection and old valentines. I think they work well together!

Valentines and Angels

Angel

Angel asleep

This little box I got from Victorian Trading Co. I know it says 'For You,' but I took that to mean it was a gift to me, from me.

Valentine Box

This is our parlor. The stove is not old, but it was there when I bought the house. The inspector said it was illegally vented, so I've never used it. Usually for our teas, people gather in the library or the kitchen, but sometimes they end up in here.

2 Rockers & Potbelly

The sun is setting and there are still chores that need to be done. We are expecting nearly 25 people to drop by for the open house. I'm so glad that the weather will be in the 30's and most importantly... NO MORE SNOW!

Kitchen Window

I'll try to remember to take pictures before everything gets eaten!

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10 Comments:

Blogger Katie@LeBeauPaonVictorien said...

Good luck with the Tea party! We had an open house at Christmas, a Victorian Tea also!
I love that old stove with the rocker next to it in your parlour and I love your cruet castor set. We don't use ours either; it's always on display on the dining room table.

February 13, 2011 at 12:36 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Katie-

Thanks for the good wishes! We used to have our teas in December, but it was such a busy time for most people, that we decided to move it to later in winter.

February 13, 2011 at 7:35 AM  
Blogger Sea Witch said...

Lovely, Oh how I wish I could attend. I adore teas and love all of the beautiful Victorian quad plate you have and will utilize. Sea Witch

February 13, 2011 at 9:41 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Sea Witch-

You would have been very welcome if you had been in the area! It was a lot of fun. And I really love using my quadruple plate silver for entertaining... it's really not something we get to use often enough!

-Pam

February 13, 2011 at 10:25 PM  
Blogger La Petite Gallery said...

Have a nice tea, an happy valentines. yvonne

February 14, 2011 at 9:32 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Thank you Yvonne! Enjoy Valentine's Day!

-Pam

February 14, 2011 at 12:46 PM  
Blogger Elizabeth said...

Oh how wonderful! I can not wait to see more pictures.

February 14, 2011 at 2:26 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Elizabeth-

I took a few pictures before people arrived. I'll try to post them soon! Happy Valentine's Day!

-Pam

February 14, 2011 at 6:01 PM  
Blogger Pam said...

How fun! And a great reason to pull out all your good silver and china. Hope it went well and that you took many photos.

February 15, 2011 at 7:30 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Pam-

It went really well! I'll try to post some photos today. :-)

-Pam

February 15, 2011 at 8:03 AM  

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