Summer Evening Tea

Having tea in the garden with Sean and the dogs & cats... It's a beautiful summer evening.

Tonight I'm having a new tea that I just got last week, it's from Let's Do Tea and it's called Pumpkin Pie. It's a black tea, and it's oh so good! Smooth with a little kick of spice. Perfect to have on an *almost* chilly summer evening in Northern California. Makes me yearn for my favorite season of the year, fall! But not just yet, I'm still enjoying summer!

~Lisa

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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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Tea House Review No. 2 ~ The Tea Cozy ~ Cambria, California

The Tea Cozy ~ Cambria, California

My husband and I recently visited Cambria for a few stolen days to ourselves, it was the first time either of us have been to Cambria, but The Tea Cozy was definitely on my 'must see' list. We didn't have a reservation, but were seated right away. The day we visited was a Wednesday afternoon in mid February, so Cambria wasn't exactly a hot bed of activity that time of the year.

The Tea Cozy is a cottage-turned-tearoom and has two dining rooms off each side of the front entrance. The tea rooms are just want the name implies, ahhh... cozy! A little rustic and totally unpretentious. We both felt really comfortable there. I had the Duchess Tea, which consisted of a scone with clotted cream & jamb, a tea sandwich and a bottomless pot, I chose the house blend black tea. Everything was terrific! The gents working that day were friendly and engaging and the service was great. They also have a small shop at the back of the tea room featuring home made jambs, a sampling of English foodies, and tea wares. I liked the clotted cream and the home made jamb so much that I bought a jar of each to take home! It's a dangerous thing that clotted cream, hiiighly addictive!

I really enjoyed my time at the Tea Cozy and wish I'd had more time to visit again during our trip. One of the things that surprised me and that I liked best was actually something for my husband who isn't a 'tea guy'. The Tea Cozy serves a selection of English beer! How nice! Is this normal? I don't know because I've not visited that many tearooms, but I have a feeling it's unique. At any rate, it was a happy thing! While I enjoyed my tea and goodies, my hubby got to cool his heels in a mostly doily-free environment and have a tall cool one, double nice!

We really loved our time in Cambria, we stayed in a lovely, lovely bed & breakfast called the J. Patrick House. We were also fortunate enough to visit Hearst Castle, which was a-ma-ma-mazing two days in a row! We toured it the first day and were so completely taken (I'm sort of a history nerd) that we went back a second day for a new and different tour. Oh gosh, I wish I wouldn't have spent so much time behind the camera, there was just so much to see and I wanted to see it all again and again! These are just a tiny sampling of the 500+ pictures I took. Yeah... more than 500. Killed my camera 2 days in a row. Oh, I'm getting off track... this is a Tea Room review after all, not a plug for the most amazing national landmark in California. :o)~

So we definitely want to visit Cambria again soon, when we do you can be sure I'll be taking tea at the Tea Cozy again!

Tea House Review No. 1 ~ Lisa's Tea Treasures, San Jose, CA

Lisa's Tea Treasures, Santana Row San Jose, CA

Hooray for tearooms!

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I've only recently discovered tearooms. I don't know how I ever could have not known about them, except to say that we don't have any in Lodi, or Stockton the two towns where I've spent most of my life. But since I've started delving into the wide world of tea, I've fallen in love with the idea of a tearoom. Maybe someday I'll have my own... (wistfully starting into space).

Thanks to http://www.teamap.com/ I've found many tearooms relatively close to my town and I am determined to systematically sip my way through all of them. Sounds fun, no? So as I begin my little journey I thought I'd share with you all. This is a trip that we actually took back in February 2009, but since it was the first tearoom I'd visited, I thought it best to start with the past and catch up to the current.

My wonderful husband, Sean and I are Sharks fans, ice hockey that is! Go Sharks! So since we were going to be in San Jose for a game, I thought I'd check to see if there were any tea rooms in the area that I could visit since we'd already be in town. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time, but perhaps I could at least see one in person, just a quick look to see if it was like what I'd imagined. I found information for at least two in San Jose, but the one that grabbed my attention was named after me, how sweet! Just kidding, It's not named after me, in my dreams! Any way, this sophisticated and very pretty tearoom that we visited is called Lisa's Tea Treasures (www.lisasteatreasures.com/Subs/SanJose/Home.htm). Lisa's Tea Treasures is situated in a high end shopping district called Santana Row (http://www.santanarow.com/) a lovely area with loads of beautiful, albeit rather pricey boutiques. This was my first visit to a tearoom of any kind, so I didn't really know what to expect other than what I'd read on the Internet, which was that tearooms usually busy enough to require a reservation and that your time there should not be rushed. Since I didn't have a reservation, or the time to sit and enjoy a proper afternoon tea before the game started across town, Sean and I just popped in to take a peek.

The tearoom was closed for the afternoon tea service by the time we arrived (which again I didn't mind not having a reservation or a great deal of time) but the gift shoppe was open for browsing, which I happily did! Lisa's Tea Treasures is a elegant and beautiful respite. I can easily envision a leisurely afternoon of shopping with my girlfriends, capped off with a nice pot of tea and a bite to eat in this lovely, lovely tearoom. The ladies working at the shop that day were very kind and genuinely friendly, and even though they were in between shifts busily preparing for their next guests, they encouraged me take my time to look around and sample some tea, they even took our picture outside the shop. It's a very feminine place, very... pink. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I love pink. But there's not a shred of masculinity on the premises, I'm not sure that even if we had the time to stay and have tea that I would have gotten Sean to agree to it. I think he might have felt very much "like a bull in a china shop" and I think he'd much rather grab a coffee and a newspaper at the Pete's Coffee a few doors down and leave the tea sipping and the doilies to me. But he was a good sport, and let me peruse and take my time.

While browsing at Lisa's Tea Treasures, I found my own treasure and bought my very first "fancy" cup and saucer, it's so pretty!

I also bought a box of the wonderful tea that I sampled that afternoon, it's a Strawberry Darjeeling called "The Rajah's Prize". I love it in the evening with cream & sugar.

I wished I'd had more time that afternoon, and I'm looking forward to a day when I'll be able to go back to Lisa's Tea Treasures and actually take tea! The staff was friendly and I already know the tea is great. I can just hear the scones calling my name, if the food is as good as the ambiance, I know I'm going to love it all the more!

Tea-Ta-For-Now ~ Lisa

Introducing... me!

Hi There~

Let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to read my humble little blog. I'm a complete newbie to blogging, so I hope that my little blogs are not hopelessly boring, I'll do my best.

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I am just starting a new adventure as an Independent Tea Consultant with a company called Let's Do Tea, so this is a brief history of how that came to be. I have always loved the comforting feeling of a nice hot cuppa tea in my hands, so when I was invited by my friend Lorna to a tea tasting, I was completely on board. I had a really great time at Lorna's party, I had never seen so many teas! The consultant had over a hundred on the counter for sampling, and I tried literally dozens of teas and was impressed enough to tell my mom, "ya know, this is something I think I could really get into" So I booked a party of my own for few months later, giving me enough time to bail on the idea if I changed my mind.

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That never happened, so as planned in February 2009 I hosted my very first tea party, a Valentine Tea. I love to entertain, that must be the Leo in me. I like for people to be comfortable and relaxed when they're at my house, to have a good time, eat a good meal, have good conversations. I had a wonderful time in the months leading up to the tea party scouring ebay for vintage embroidered tableclothes & pretty serving pieces, reading up on tea etiquette, finding recipes for simple and delicious foods to prepare for my guests, so on and so forth. The party was a success, I had about 15 ladies, all friends and family show for the party and I think everyone had a great time. Everyone was full of yummy food (if I do say so myself) and great teas as they waddled to thier cars. I knew for sure right then that I was going to be hooked on this Tea Party business, it's like it was made for me! Here are a couple of pictures from the Valentine Tea. The first photo is from my phone, so it isn't the greatest... but whatever.

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This is the tea station I set up where you could grab a cup & saucer and doctor up your tea anyway you liked.

 

 



This was the Tea luncheon I put out. I think it was quite a spread!

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Anyway, it was a lot of work but it was work that I enjoy and I think that you really can never go wrong when you're doing something you love.
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A few weeks later, I took the plunge and ordered my sales kit. I'm now a full fledged Tea Consultant! I'm eager and still have much to learn about all things tea, the history, the health benefits, and sharing these things with my friends, famly and new people

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I'm really excited to get started and I have so many ideas about different kinds of parties, and how I can parlay this tea business into something that could potentially benefit other people I know by combining our passions. That's part of the reason I'm starting this blog, so I can put these ideas out there to share as well as have my very own little soap box, yay soapboxes!
If you're interested in booking a party for yourself, and you live in the anywhere between Elk Grove and Modesto, California. Please by all means, feel free to call me or drop me a line.
Tea-lightfully yours,
Lisalisasteatime@gmail.com

http://www.lisasteatime.letsdotea.org