The Wind In The Willows Played Tea For Two...

The sky was yellow and the sun was blue!

Strangers stoppin' strangers just to shake their hand,

Everybody's playing in the Heart of Gold Band, Heart of Gold Band

~Scarlet Begonias

Ahh, there's nothing like a Grateful Dead show!

That's one of my "not so passing fancies", I've been a Dead fan for many, meany years. Some of the best music anywhere, and for me it's timeless and just as powerful as it was the first time I heard it. It's music that moves me and touches my heart. Most songs are stories, and I like stories. I was fortunate enough to see the Grateful Dead 8 or 9 times before the late Jerry Garcia made his early exit, each show was unique and wonderful. My brother, Greg and I along with a handful of our friends would go every chance we had.

Hmmm, good times.

This week we were lucky enough to see a show when The Dead (all four of the original remaining members as well as some new additions) played the Shoreline Ampetheater in Mountain View, California. We had lawn seats, so the view of the stage wasn't the best, but truthfully, it's more fun on the lawn anyway!

What a great time we had. Just as always this show was special and unique for us, my brothers son, Josiah who is 6 years old went with us and got to see his first Dead show! He had a blast!

We all did, really.

A late night, but a great night! I didn't get home until just before 2:30am and I was a zombie next day at work, but it was so worth it!

From the top is my handsome nephew, Josiah. Brother extrordinare, Greg, and my beautiful sister-in-law, Apryl.

My wonderful friends Lorna & Aaron

Yours truly and my "other brother" Justin.

Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile!

Home Goodies!

Home Goods is awesome! Do you have one where you live?

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I love that store but it's like torture sometimes. Right now for instance the place is filled with all kinds of tea things; dainty little tea cup & saucer sets, a variety tea pots, big hearty tea mugs that hold at least a couple of cups, kettles galore and many, many types of tea both loose and bagged, and all the little munchie stuff you could ever want to go along with your tea.

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Oh-mah-gosh, way too much great stuff that I wish I could buy and stash away for birthday & Chistmas gifts! It's only on days like this when I think to myself "Why? Why not me? Why can't I win the lottery?" Then I take a deep breath and walk away... Some days it goes better than others. This time around went pretty well, I did pick up a couple of things that I couldn't resist, but no more than I would have spent on a fast food dinner, which I don't do anymore.

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Now being an Independent Tea Consultant for Let's Do Tea, I normally drink our teas, all of which are fantastic, go on, book a party you'll see. You can try everything I have ;o)~ But one of my favorites is the Earl Grey and I'm completely out right now.

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Whilst perusing the tea and goodies aisle, I found a very pretty tin of tea.

The tin is what made me pick up the can in the first place. Isn't it pretty? It looks like she's dancing with a tea pot & cups! This tea is called Zhena's Gypsy Tea, and the flavor is Uplifting Earl Grey. I thought, what the heck, for $3 you really can't go wrong. I also found some tea cookies called BIS COT TEA, also flavored Earl Grey. Has anyone ever hear of either of these?

To my happy suprise, both are delightful! The cookies really do taste like Earl Grey, a little overpowering on their own, but with a cup of a "like minded" tea... perfect!

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So, this is my treat tonight as I'm about to go settle in and watch the season finally of The Biggest Loser (I love that show!!) but before I do, I thought I'd share with you all the good deals to be had right now. If you do have a Home Goods near you, so as soon as possible, the great things never last and once they're gone, they're gone for good.

Melissa's Birthday Tea

This year to celebrate my dear friend Melissa's 35th birthday. I offered to have an afternoon tea party for a her and a few of her friends at my home, and she happily accepted. Melissa and I go way back... we met in the 7th grade, when we were only 12 years old. Wowza... We were only kids!

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It was a beautiful April day and I was honored to meet some very cool and interesting people and had a wonderful afternoon. We drank A LOT of tea, which I never mind and will happily keep the kettle singing until people push themselves away from the table groaning and filled to the brim, which we did.

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Here is snapshot of the table, all set and ready for guests.
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The flowers are (mostly) from my garden and a little help from Trader Joe.
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Lots of great nibbles too, not all of it traditional "tea party food" like the Hummus, for instance. But Melissa likes hummus, and who am I to deny her that on her birthday?
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Moms "Magic Bullet" Hummus recipe, easy-peasy!

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And my chicken salad sammies with apricot, cranberry & almonds. These have become a staple at my tea parties... never any leftovers, ever.

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Sparklie water too, just in case of the unimaginable (gasp!) someone doesn't like tea!

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For our dinner, I made a pear & blueberry spring greens salad with feta cheese and a Champagne Pear Vinaigrette, healthy and very tasty. Our main course was Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage crumbled over Cous-Cous and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese. I didn't really get any pictures of these, as we were too busy scarfing as delicately as we could manage.

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Of course it's not a tea party with out sweets!

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For desert, I made chocolate cuppie cakes topped with whipped cream and various sprinkles.

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But the Birthday Girl had her very own little cake. Yes, I know... it's a bit of a wreck, don't look too close. I like to think of it as a cute little wreck, and therefore acceptable. It tasted good anyway, or at least that's what Melissa said.
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Here she is, about to make a wish!

It was a wonderful afternoon stretched far into the evening. Friends, food, conversation & tea, the perfect combination for a perfect day.

Here's one last snap shot taken by my dear hubby of the last of the revelers, from left to right is Leaf, Melissa, yours truly, and in the front

Ms. Olivia.

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