Birthday's Come and Birthday's Go!

August included a birthday celebration, and a visit to Tilly Mint's Tea Room in Souderton, PA was the location for said celebration.

Birthday Plate & Colorful Napkin

We thoroughly enjoyed the wide variety of tea pots that are used in the tea room.

Fresh salad greens, a warm tomato savory with fresh rosemary garnish started our tea time experience.

The colorful three tiered tray was laden with a bountiful array of tea sandwiches, 

scones, and festive dessert. The sandwiches were all quite tasty, from cucumber round with fresh dill sprigs, to tiny lady bug sandwich with tomato wings and black olive head, cheese and chutney, to a watermelon and feta bruschetta, each bite was flavorful.

The cream, curd, and jelly were served in petite teacups from a child's tea service.

Desserts were plentiful, yummy, colorful and tasty! A miniature creme brulee with the blackberry was a favorite with that glazed sugar crust on top.

In addition to the special birthday plate and napkin, a little plate with a birthday candle was served to the guest of honor. On the plate was an individual teabag of tea to enjoy later, at home. What a fun touch.

Tilly Mint's Tea Room is located at 20 W. Chestnut Street, Souderton, PA.

Bon Appetit Tea House, Mahwah, NJ

A family excursion this summer took us through NJ. Having read about the Bon Appetit Tea House in TeaTime Magazine, I knew the expressway we would be traveling would take us right past the Mahwah exit, so reservations were made for a Sunday Afternoon Tea. Located at 180 Franklin Turnpike in Mahwah, this establishment has a tea house on one side and a French bakery and cafe on the other. 

There was a certain elegance and European flair to the dining room with linens, lace, elaborate floral arrangements, comfy chairs, and glitzy chandeliers. 

With a range of different options from the Lady Anne tea, the Victorian Tea, the Queen Tea, and the Royal Tea, we selected the Royal Tea. Little warmers kept the pots of tea at just the right temperature.
A fresh salad with a warm savory was presented first.

The three tiered tray held an assortment of finger sandwiches, chicken salad, egg salad, turkey and cheese. Their signature scones were on the middle tier and the toppings were plated in petite mix and match vintage china. An array of desserts completed the top tier, macarons from their bakery, chocolate cake, and more chocolate sweets.

Tea, savories and sweets to nourish as we began our jaunt towards the final destination. It offered a lovely interlude as we traveled north for a short family visit with our NY sister, her husband, and their precious granddaughters.

What happened to September?

October! What happened to September? A whirlwind of a month, September quickly transitioned into October, as if in the blink of an eye. September is the month of festivals in our little part of the world. The month begins with our Annual Fairy Festival, its 27th year. The fairies flitted and fluttered about, in the gardens and in the back alley. We played and laughed and danced and tossed glitter. Saturday was the perfect day, Sunday was a very rainy day. Nevertheless, we had fun.

And the last weekend of September, we celebrated the Camellia sinensis plant with all things tea at our 2nd Annual PA Tea Festival. As if on command, our humble little QVC mail order tea plant sprang forth in blossom for the festival.                                                                                                     A row of tents lined Rosemary Alley and vendors from NJ, PA, and MD sold their tea wares to crowds of tea enthusiasts.

Sweet Remembrances served Afternoon Tea both in the tea room and in the gardens, pushing the waitstaff to their limit! At the peak lunch hour, every table was filled, both inside and out. A real challenge for the staff, Claudette and Lori deserve a hearty kudos for all their hard work. Jillian and Cedar, too.

A Magical Fairy Door Hunt

The 25th Annual Fairy Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th. Held in the herb gardens behind the shop, and sprawling into the little alleyway behind the business, this event is perfect for ages 3 - 11, and all who believe!
Do you believe in fairies?










One of the activities at the Fairy Festival is a fairy door hunt. These colorful and creative fairy doors appear throughout the garden, tucked in little nooks and crannies, just waiting to be discovered!

Some folks try to find every door and others just enjoy the surprise of finding one or two.

I am sure someone special lives here.

We've been told this is the hardest one to find!

Would you hunt for fairy doors?

Won't you come and play with us! Find all the details about the upcoming Fairy Festival on this website:
https://rosemaryhousefairyfestival.blogspot.com/

Fairy Garden Fun

Each year a few folks gather in the gardens to create a little fairy garden to take home with them. We provide a log planter and some fun plants the fairies might favor. Plants to provide privacy screens, or plants with silvery foliage to reflect the moonlight, or creeping thyme plants to offer a soft bed for the fairies to take a fragrant nap.

A variety of natural objects to make tables, chairs, and shelters are provided to add to the miniature garden. Then little trinkets and treasures and found objects are tucked here and there to complete the decorations.

After a short program and some fairy stories everyone begins to plant and create. Ponds, swings, picnic areas, bridges, nooks and crannies, and special spots are created for the wee folk. A touch of sparkly glitter finishes the project!

Ann's Cupcakery, Mechanicsburg

These adorable cupcakes were created by Ann's Cupcakery, a licensed in-home bakery located in Mechanicsburg, PA. The adorable little teacups perched atop the swirl of frosting were hand crafted and decorated by Ann. Her goal is to create cupcakes that are visually appealing and delicious, a goal that was achieved with this special cupcake order. For more information about Ann, visit her Facebook page. She also hosts cupcake decorating classes.

Happy Birthday!

Birthday celebrations abound this month. From these adorable little cupcakes complete with petite tea cups and saucers jauntily balanced atop a twisty swirl of buttercream frosting from a local bakery to NJ and PA tea room celebrations, one which included this tasty array of sweets on a special Happy Birthday plate. There has been a prelude of blessings from family with celebrations in PA and NY, all sisters accounted for in joining in the fun, complete with a fabulous dinner prepared by the youngest leading up to a special day of birthday greetings from friends across the country and around the globe. Lots of love and hugs!

Vintage Cosmetic Collection

Earlier this spring we hosted a "Tea in the Boudoir" event where collector Cheryl Harmon shared her vintage compacts, lipstick cases, cosmetic cases and a few perfume bottles including a rather large bottle of "An Evening in Paris".

This vintage cosmetic table was a crowd favorite. It is a stylish table that opened to reveal access to your cosmetic.

Cheryl also highlighted a few cosmetic advertisements including one by Tangee lipstick Co encouraging women to feel feminine during World War II --" Beauty must be Served"  and "Beauty on Duty".

She also shared a variety of ads and cosmetics for all of the many skin tones women have. It was a lovely afternoon. We love it when our tea party guests have fun with the theme!