A Working Girl's Tea Party

Marilyn has published a book!  I'm so thrilled for her.  It's called Tea Party in your Cupboard, and it encourages us to make a tea party today - with what we have at home! Seize and savor the moment. 

Inspired by this, along with conversations from a road trip to Chicago a few years ago, I decided to finally put into action a tea party in which nothing - NOTHING - was homemade.  I used the toaster oven to heat something, and that's it.  So thanks to Trader Joe's (where I got it all*), the DH and I had a lovely tea supper in front of the fire. 

My overarching thought is that sometimes we just don't have time to cook.   I work long hours (too long!), and my available free time is much protected.  It shouldn't mean I can't have a tea party,  even if I don't have time to cook.  To some, this may be heresy, and I missed making the treats myself.  But if it comes down to no tea party or a helped-along tea party, I'll take the latter. 

*All = All the food.  I used my own teas, which are (in my tea snob opinion) better than those at TJ's.

Trader Joe's, that fun food capital of the US, made this quite easy!  Don't have a TJ's near you?  Just look in your grocer's freezer aisle and think creatively.  Make use of bakeries and deli aisles, too!

First course: Crackers, cheese and kumquats, followed by spinach spanikopita (frozen - I used the toaster oven to bake)

Second course: Crumpets and plum jam

Finale: French macaroons and pistachio toffee

Letting Go...

Letting go is a beautiful thing.

We are in the flow of letting go.  Of china and clothing, tea pots and cups and saucers, steer horns (another story!) and bicycles, a scooter and a car, shelves and file cabinets, tea books (yes, even tea books!), the lot...

We are letting go.  Of stuff, stuff, stuff.  Of plans and dreams.  Of control.

We are drawing to us new plans and dreams, new ways of living.  More flexibility.  Strength to not gather so much stuff!  Wisdom to know that life is one big lesson in letting go.  Of everything eventually.  That isn't meant to be sad.  It's a truth.  When I face it, embrace it, I shift into the frame of mind I desire.  Letting go is a beautiful thing.

*Photo from Microsoft Images

Harney & Sons Tea Tasting: Dragon Pearl Jasmine

Sometimes things happen very serendipitously...

I'm working my way through the Harney & Sons Guide to Tea.  My next tea to be reviewed was Dragon Pearl Jasmine.  Angela had already given me a sample, but I drank it up so quickly, I didn't take any photos!  Tsk Tsk.

 As it turns out, just when I was ready to place an order, I received a gift of Harney & Sons Dragon Pearl Jasmine from a fellow tea-lover and friend.  What an indulgence!  I love Dragon Pearl Jasmine, and the H&S version is great.  (Note:  You can get small sample bags from the H&S website, which makes this affordable!  Disclosure:  H&S did not give me anything in return for this review.)

Dragon Pearl Jasmine is an exquisite tea.  Preparing and drinking it is, for me, equally a visual feast as well as one for my nose and taste buds. The dry leaf is rolled into those lovely balls, alternating with threads of dark and light.  (Much of this is still hand-rolled!)  It's hard to imagine that those tightly bound balls will unfurl, but they do!

I brewed my tea for 3 minutes at 180 degrees.  In that short space of time, the leaf went from the first photo to the second.  The aroma is its signature - intensely jasmine.  The flavor is hard for me to describe.  It's sweet, but not too much.  A bit floral, but not too much. Not bitter at all. I enjoyed an additional 2 steepings.

The way the tea and jasmine are merged is a beautiful story.  The tea is placed on screens or trays, alternating with trays of fresh jasmine blossoms.  The tea and jasmine blossoms are stored together for several days, until the aroma of the jasmine permeates the tea.  It takes several weeks to finish.

This Incredible Skirt!

Today is my last day in Tucson (big sigh).  The weather has been perfect and I've had a wonderfully reviving visit!

We visited Buffalo Exchange earlier in the week. If you don't know of Buffalo Exchange, it's a really cool place.  Like a thrift store (clothes/shoes/accessories only), but only current styles. Prices are a little higher than a thrift store, but a lot less than at a regular store.  While shopping, Roxy Red says from the other end of the store, "Steph - I found the PERFECT skirt for you!"  And here it is!  It was even in my size!

It's got a tea party scene on the bottom with teapots and teacups embroidered throughout.  It's also lined and has this lovely turquoise trim on the bottom.  It is just such a sweet skirt!

And the story gets better!  Here's what I paid for it:

And here's the original price for this unworn Ann Taylor LOFT skirt. 

It's just a cool thing when the serendipitous parts of life bless us like this!