Monday, February 13, 2012

Valentine's Tea Luncheon


Last year I was invited to A two-friend co-hosted Valentine's Tea Luncheon.  It was an absolutely spectacular event. Words cannot describe it. They did the most an amazing job! We were there for 5 hours! It was held at Suzie's absolutely stunning house. You can see a video of her home here.  These pics do not do this incredible home justice, trust me. 

By the way, my friend Suzie used to own a very popular tea house in here city, and sure knows how to do up a tea! This particular tea was to be lunch and dinner, so it was more of a hearty luncheon with tea than a proper afternoon tea. And oh my WORD did the food wow us! Just take a look for yourselves! This luncheon was co-hosted and served by both Suzie and Mary. They REALLY went all out, and made us all feel like queens for the day! WOW what a great memory this is. I shall never forget EVER. (I didn't blog last year so sharing it with you THIS year!)


We were welcomed with a refreshing fruity champagne punch with a red frozen heart inside a pretty cut glass punch cup:




The candlelight was stunning, such opulence, oh my! She used beautiful white china, a stunning golden ivory damask tablecloth, crystal goblets, knife rests, crystal salt cellars,, sequin placemats and beautiful deep crimson red nobbed chargers. She had the most beautiful antique pearl-handled silverware. Our napkins were wrapped up with sweet romantic angel wings.




We each used a different antique teacup. Here was the one I used. Isn't it the most unique shape? Suzie had two different dining areas and six ladies at each table. She had an interesting story behind each of the teacups. If I hadn't eaten so much that day perhaps I would still remember my teacup's story so I could share it with you all now. Ha. So sorry.




Nothing in the details of this Valentine's luncheon was overlooked!  Just look at the heart-shaped butter on a china heart plate as an example!



The first course was  one of Suzie's specialties - lobster bisque. Naturally,  heart-shaped toast  was served with it. Just look at those chunks of lobster!  It was the best ever, the end. I could have stopped there but nooooooo.....


Here is our beautiful main course: spinach & bacon quiche (a Mary specialty with GREAT crust, I love this!) Italian pasta salad, a little Waldorf salad in a red ceramic heart-shaped cup and a heart-shaped cranberry mold salad.  We also were served a small plate of mixed salad greens with Mandarin oranges and walnuts - apparently I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh my gosh we've already eaten so much and there's still lots more! Look how beautiful it was served to us:



Then came a sweet citrus sorbet "palate cleanser" in a pretty parfait glass & red metallic doilie. Can you see the sweet crystal on the end of this cute dessert spoon?




I cannot even explain Mary's other major specialty - this rich white chocolate "dessert" scone was amazing and so so decadent! Look at those calories that awesome sugar drizzle!



I cannot tell you how many glasses of tea we drank. We were drinking a chocolate tea, first time I ever had it or had even heard of it. (Mary's favorite, she is a die-hard chocolatoholic!!!)

And finally, and the coma inducing Finale Grande.......Le Piece de Resistance! 

Voila!  A dark mousse au chocolate! 

The picture says it all!


To end the day as we were leaving all the way up the staircase were velvet and ribboned boxes lined all the way up the stairs...........inside was a lovely red candle wrapped in tissue. I cannot believe I didn't take a picture of that!  Here IS the favor and box it was in, though!




What a blessing those gals are to me. What a wonderful day to remember.   

If you missed my post the other day about having a Valentine's Afternoon Tea at the Kelton House be sure to check it out - what a wonderful day that was, too!

Also if you missed my own Valentine's tea luncheon this past week you can find the post here.


Heading on over to Antiques and Teacups linky party (and her give-away!) for Teacup Tuesday!

Heading over to A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday!

Heading on over to visit Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for her Valentine Tea Blog Party!

14 comments:

  1. What a fabulous time you had at the Valentine Tea and Luncheon! thanks for taking us with you! Happy Tea Day and Happy Valentine's Day!

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  2. Hi Michele
    I've been hit and miss with posts since we've been on vacation but I did take time to go back to your previous Valentine posts as well as read today's. What a fabulous time you had, everything is so pretty, delicious looking and the gift is a nice momento to remember the day! You have great friends that know how to entertain.
    Happy Valentine's Day!
    Judith

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  3. Wow, I'm surprised you were able to move after all that, Michele! What a beautiful tea they served and the table looked beautiful. I love the idea of using a different teacup for each person; such a great way to use those treasures you find while out antiquing.

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  4. You are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends who would spend so much time making sure you felt special. They didn't leave out one detail! Thank you for sharing this lovely day with us. I enjoyed being there through pictures!

    Happy Valentine's Day!

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  5. What a blessing for you to be able to be around such great friends and enjoy such beautifully prepared food. Everything looks so good!
    Thank you so much for visiting me and I am so glad I found your blog.
    I am your new follower~

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  6. Hi Michele,
    What a fabulous party and what lovely friends you have! They really went all out with their preparations. Everything is lovely; the food, the china, and the decorations. The little gift at the end was a sweet way to end the affair. So glad you shared this with us for Tea Time today. Happy Valentines Day, my friend!

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  7. What a lovely tea! Your friend out did herself! Every details is just so pretty and the food looks amazing! I haven't hosted a tea in years. I need to do that soon because it is such a special gift for your friends to enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day Michele!

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  8. thats almost unbelievable. i can barely manage to get a peanut butter sandwich and piece of fruit in my kids' lunches in the morning. What a memorable day! Good for you! Thanks for coming to my blog. Now I have found yours. Also nice to find another one "l" Michele.

    MC

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    Replies
    1. Oui, c'est correcte, n'est-ce pas? MicheLe < Vive le France!

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  9. Wow, what a wonderful luncheon! The lobster bisque looks excellent. I am sure all the guests felt very special!
    Happy ♥ day!
    Kathleen

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  10. Wow, all heart shaped! Beautiful!
    Thank you, have a marvelous Valentine you too!
    Silvia

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  11. What a wonderful luncheon/tea party you attended. The food looked spectacular. Isn't it great to spend time with friends?

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  12. Hi Michelle, Thanks for stopping by for a visit! I immediately had to pop over here and find out more about you. What a fun looking luncheon! I have been bouncing around in your archives, and think you have a wonderful blog! Especially since you just started this year. I am still new too, I have been blogging since September...I just wish I had more time to blog! I work full time...then I spend so much time stalking...um...I mean visiting other blogs! Anyway...nice to meet you...and I will be your newest follower, just as soon as I am done typing. I'll be popping in now and then for another visit I'm sure!
    Sharon

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  13. Hi Michelle..I happened to be looking at your blog and I noticed u had posted a picture of a crystal punch cup with a heart in it during your valentine luncheon, I'm wondering if you don't mind telling me the brand name of the punch cup. I really like the design of the cup and would like to know more about it.

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