Birthday Par-Tea

This past weekend marked a birthday for me. One of those big(ger) ones that make everyone cringe because they have a zero behind the first digit. I decided that since this was one of those cringe-worthy birthday years, I was going to have a party decorated with my favorite things (to make me feel better). My current favorite thing is tea. Tea party it is! Oh, wait. Neither of my parents can have caffeine. Grrrrrr. (How was I born into a caffeine-free family?) So I decided on 2 tisanes. How many people just scratched their heads? A ti-what-did-she-say? A tisane is a tea-free herbal only drink. Tisanes are quite commonly called tea anyway and you may have to read carefully to make sure that the concoction you're thinking of purchasing doesn't contain any actual tea. Tea comes from the plant Camellia sinensis and contains caffeine, so when dealing with caffeine sensitivities you'll need to be careful to avoid that. 

Can we tell my favorite colors are black and white? 

My sister and I are both kind of obsessed with this damask pattern right now. My husband and I live in a house that was built in 1906 and the upstairs hallway is wallpapered with this pattern (in a rather unfortunate shade of green, but the design is pretty regardless). I believe that wallpaper was put up in the 1960's or 70's. It's good to know that all things old are new again!

The cute paper plates are from Hobby Lobby (as were the black napkins). I purchased 3 black and 3 white sets of these adorable Amsterdam tea cup and saucer sets from my favorite tea store (they have them in 14 different colors and they're dishwasher safe!). I switched the saucers and arranged them every other one around the table and purchased the burgundy one for me. The centerpiece candle holders were from a friend's At Home America party back in December.

Now for the food! 

I made 2 kinds of sandwiches. Apple and cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese (yum!) Wow these were good. They will definitely be made again! And a smoked thin sliced turkey with turkey bacon (just in case someone didn't like my cucumber creation. I used hoagie buns as the bread instead of baguettes like the recipe says. Yummy fruit salad (minus the kiwi because I couldn't find them). The "tea" was iced strawberry lemonade and sweet fruit garden both from Teavana. 

Instead of a cake I made Maids of Honour Tarts from London Eats. I didn't take a picture because I kind of messed up the crust. I used a different recipe for the crust because I knew it made good pie crust, but it didn't work out so well for little tarts. I think I'll use my leftover filling and try her original recipe for the crust. They were delicious even with not-so-perfect crust. I definitely recommend you try them "straight away" (as the British say).

Sooooo much fun and so pretty! It was a great birthday (even if it was one of those "big" ones. My Mom even got the memo about my favorite design! Though I'm sure it helped that she took my sister shopping with her! :)

Currently drinking:

Coffee: iced Gevalia 1853 Heritage Blend (a little hard to get your paws on but if you can find it I highly recommend it, great coffee!)

Tea: Twinings Prince of Wales (not bad, but not my favorite. It also comes in little baggies if you don't "do" the loose tea in the teapot thing). 

p.s. - please feel free to comment, I've opened up the comment section so all you need is an email address (instead of a blog account) to comment. I'd love to hear any thoughts or questions you have!