A Southern Tailgate Tea Party

 COVID messed up a lot of things this year including my annual tea party back in May. We were still in quarantine and I really wasn't about having people in my apartment yet. So I moved it to September and put it on the Packer's first game of the year. Like last year, I decided we needed a theme. What is goes with football better than tailgating and Packer fans and southern ladies love tailgating. 

Instead of having hot tea in dainty little tea cups, iced tea made more sense. Janis told me how to cold brew tea. Erin wanted Arnie Palmers so we squeezed lemons to make fresh lemonade to mix with our tea. True southern girls at heart.

The menu did not include scones and cucumber sandwiches but instead typical tailgate foods. We had hot dogs (and chicken brats for Janis), veggies and dip, homemade pickles, and cheese straws which apparently are big in the south. 

Janis felt we needed to have Chicago-Style Hot Dogs and New York Style Hot Dogs. We had plenty of toppings for the hot dogs. I never had a New York dog which is a secret sauce, sauerkraut, and mustard. Since I don't like tomatoes or peppers, my Chicago was kind of plain but did include the blue pickle relish. 

Erin didn't let us down for dessert. Besides making cherry handpies, she made these AMAZING brownie stuffed strawberries. They may have may a pain in the butt but they were so delicious. 

And of course no tea party is complete without fancy hats

We got to watch the game, hang out (socially distanced in my living room), and catch up. It was a fun afternoon. Hopefully next year we can get back to the normal tea party and keep the Southern Tea Party as well. 

Another Year.. another Tea Party

This year's tea party had to be moved back two weeks due to my Costa Rican adventure. It is kind of difficult to have a tea party when you are the host and you are not even home. Even with Danielle not having a screened in porch this year, we made the tea party work.

The usual suspects were invited but not all were able to attend. However, Natalie and Gavin joined us for their first tea party. Janis and Shannon made appearances again this year and Erin became a regular with Danielle and I. Almost everyone had their fancy hat. I really need to invest in another one....

The menu featured a few of the usual suspects and a few new ones. In addition to scones and cucumber sandwiches, we had fruit, pecan crumble, coffee cake, and mini Victorian Sponge Cakes. Shannon make the Sponge Cakes and they were amazing. These should be a tea party staple with the chocolate chip scones and cucumber sandwiches.

Since Danielle moved and no longer has a front porch, we just ate in her kitchen which meant we really had no need for tea pots (or no space either). It was still nice to see all the tea pots and tea cups. I really love Danielle's assortment of tea cups. I think I need to start a collection.

It was really nice to take a few hours out of our Sunday to sit around and catch up on life. Since we all have busy lives, it is nice to take a breather once in a while and visit. We probably would have been there all afternoon if we didn't have lives to attend to.

This is one of the few times I drink tea but it's worth it. I am glad I had this on the bucket list and it has become an annual event. It's one of the fun things I know I have to put on the calendar in May along with the Celcom 5K. Hopefully this tradition will continue for many more years to come.

Fancy Hat Friends 2nd Annual Tea Party

Last year, I had a tea party because I never had one before. I had one just to cross it off the bucket list. It was so much fun, we decided to turn it into an annual event.

This year some of the faces were different but the atmosphere was the same.... well dressed ladies in fancy hats sitting around Danielle's front porch sipping tea, eating scones, and talking. I couldn't think of a better way of spending a dreary Sunday afternoon.

Like last year we all brought a dish or two (three, four...) to share. We had enough food to feed a small army. Of course we had scones, crumpets, and cucumber sandwiches. What tea party isn't complete without those?

Luckily my mom gave me a tea pot for Christmas as a gag gift because otherwise we would had to do with just a tea kettle.

It was fun getting all dressed up, putting on a fancy hat, and making some girly appetizers to share. The scones were a big hit.

We talked about getting together again and wearing our fancy hats.. maybe wine drinking in Door County. I really hope we do because it will give me an excuse to buy another hat.

#457 -- Have a tea party

Back in September at my Pampered Chef Party, somehow we got on the topic of things I have't done. I brought out my original bucket list and niece was looking through it. In that perfect eleven year old voice, she was like "You never had a tea party?". I think it shocked her that her nearly 35 aunt never had a tea party, even with my dolls. I grew up with brothers. Tea parties weren't high on the list of priorities..Lego building and matchbox car racing were a different story.

The next day I mentioned the idea of having a tea party to Danielle, who readily agreed and the party was born. We wanted it on the front porch, with cucumber sandwiches and scones. After talking to Janis about the tea party, fancy clothes and big hats were added. Now we just needed a date. And so today was the day that we came up with.

I am not a tea drinker, which probably another reason having a tea party wasn't high on the priority list but was willing to find a tea I might like. Everyone brought their favorite tea. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a variety pack of fruit teas after consulting with my cousin about teas for non-tea drinkers. In the Fruit Tea Sampler by Celestail Seasonings I discovered 2 teas I liked: The Raspberry Zinger and The Black Cherry Berry. That's right I had not 1 but 2 cups of tea and if I wasn't so full I probably would have tried the Country Peach Passion.

What's a tea party without cucumber sandwiches and crumpets? Danielle made these fabulous cucumber sandwiches and ham roll ups. Shannon brought Mickey Mouse Scones. Erin was instructed to make Cheesecake. Janis made these broccoli cheese quiches with coconut flour that were actually quite tasty (and I don't like quiche) and a pineapple upside down cake.

I decided to bring crumpets. I found a recipe awhile back in the Betty Crocker International Cookbook and decided it would be perfect for the tea party. On Friday afternoon, I figured I better look at the recipe to determine if I needed eggs or not (on Friday it said I didn't need eggs, on Saturday it did.). While reading through the recipe it said to grease flan rings or tuna cans and pour 2 tsps of batter in the rings on a griddle. I don't own flan rings.  I don't eat tuna. After a panicked post in the Facebook event and some searching on Pinterest, I was told I could use cookie cutters or biscuit cutters. Not sure if I didn't let my crumpets rise long enough, used too much batter, or what but they didn't quite have the look of an English Muffin but more of a pancake look. It really didn't matter, they were scrumptious.

It was a fabulous little affair that is probably going to turn into a yearly event. I guess I will have to go out and buy my own big hat. It was fun to get all dressed up and have a tea party once in a while. It's one of those things that if it wasn't on the bucket list, I probably would never have thought to do but now that I have done it, I would like to do it again preferably without the random sunburn