five o'clock tea dreams

just look at the whimsy table setting for our family five o'clock tea time some weeks back! i think my mom is so good at hosting guests. she inspires me. different pattern for everyone, mixed and matched. candles and roses. plenty of home-made cakes, one for every type. a coconut chocolate marble loaf, a pavlova (coming soon), a red currant tart (dito). plus a selection of fingersticks and tiny salads (no picture of them yet, i didn't want to disturb the sweet and whimsy look of those rather dessert like shots...). and of course hot and ice cold fresh teas, from earl grey to limeade. and everything was garnished au naturel with slices of lemon and lime, currants, flowers, berries and leaves.

my overall memory of this afternoon tea is... well, dreamy, lavish, and quite classy. and thus now even more so: i can't wait to go for a proper english afternoon tea when in london in september! i will go to the goring for that, sans doubt. or maybe also the browns. i'll sit there, in a trench coat, loafers and a plaid scarf (it might already be a bit chilly in september, at least i secretly hope so...), sip some earl grey tea and dream of being an english lady with plush bedding and linens, twelfe beagle dogs and a vast collection of soupières and hunter wellies... yeah, life is good.