A Delightful Tea Party and A Younger Than Springtime-Older Than Methuselah Birthday Celebration Prize!

Good Day, All! I hope this day finds everyone well and enjoying summer fun...



I am so happy to be back in the Land of Blog. I missed you while I was away the last few days!



Thank you to the very nice young man at Best Buy who struggled with my computer and finally figured out that it was NOT a virus but dual virus control that was prohibiting me from accessing the internet. YEA! :-)



The last time I posted, I thought I was headed to tea at the Ritz in Orlando in honor of my godchild Cecelia's birthday...



But due to a date change, there was a bit of a scheduling conflict that didn't permit the time slot we wanted...



So after some research and checking around with friends, we drove all the way to Plant City, Florida, where we found a delightful tea room...



That the girls seemed to thoroughly enjoy...



For there was shopping in addition to tea...



With lots of shiny objects to tempt munchkins...



And big girls alike...



The blue in this rug reminds me of Blue Monday...



And the roses on this cabinet remind me of Pink Saturday...



Because Plant City is the Winter Strawberry Capital, there are strawberry dishes for Tablescape Thursday or Tea Time Tuesday...



And this Kelley Rightsell rug reminds me of Hattie...



Cecelia's frog...



So the rug went home to live with Hattie and her friends as a present for Cecelia's birthday...



And one little girl we know spent the evening in her play room, happily twirling on top of it as I watched...



The tea room has a main dining room that was set up for a mystery tea on the afternoon we visited...



While we were shopping, I noticed that ladies were arriving in their pajamas and hair curlers. Some even had green face masks...



Apparently the "murder" occurred at a slumber party, and these ladies were the guests...



I didn't get their pictures because who wants to be photographed for a blog in hair curlers and scary face glop??? ;-)



We were tucked away in our own little nook with two other tables, including this pink one...



Which is good when you are with two little girls hopped up on sugar, and I'm talking about Cecelia...



And me! ;-)



Not Cecelia's Best Friend, Lady A...



Who is eight going on forty and is one of my favorite little people in the whole wide world...



She's just more mature than we are...



And is so very proper! ;-)



The first thing we did was try on hats...



And there were lots from which to choose...



Of course, pink was the color of choice with this pink crowd...



Can you tell someone is excited???



And despite the fact that you could roast a whole steer on the sidewalk outside from the blast furnace that was Central Florida that day...



The Birthday Girl never stopped smiling...



Or chattering...



"Ooooh, look at that!"



Or smiling...



Or chattering...



"Ooooh, and that! Look at that!"



Or smiling AND chattering, and this was before sugar. ;-)



Then they brought lots of that to the table...



These are the children's tea selections which I think might interest our Foodie Friday crowd...



Do you think the birthday girl [who has an uneaten cheese sandwich on her plate]...



Loved this chocolate confection with green icing best?



You do?



How can you tell? ;-)



The sandwiches (which were, eventually, eaten) were grilled cheese triangles...



And peanut butter and jelly hearts...



Shhhh... they served grape jelly instead of Plant City strawberry jam, but one of the girls didn't mind...



And the other was too busy sampling the sweets to care! ;-)



While they weren't looking, I snitched a chocolate covered pretzel or two. Just because...



And despite the girls' love of all things pink, these cute little pink treats didn't find an audience. So in order for their debut not to have been in vain, I examined them closely and determined they were some sort of sandwich covered in pink sugar and possibly cream cheese with tiny dinosaur sprinkles...



And just in case you thought the big girls were left out, think again! Our server brought us this tea stand...



There were cranberry scones with clotted cream...



Open-face cucumber sandwiches, curry chicken salad sandwiches, and bruchetta along with swan eclaires and mocha cupcakes topped with cherries (which mysteriously disappeared onto the munchkin side of the table)...



One of my favorite things they served (shown here next to a swan) is some sort of light, praline type confection with almonds. Now, if you're in the Deep South (Mississippi or Louisiana) where pralines originated in this country, you know to pronounce this praw-lean and not pray-lean, just like it's craw-fish and not (fingernails on a blackboard) cray-fish. Don't embarrass yourself or Mrs. Magpie by committing this grievous breach of etiquette if you are in New Orleans or environs. Those people know food, and they'll think you are an alien or worse, a culinary rube. ;-)

Just sayin'...



Pralines and all, it was a lovely day spent with lovely friends...



And did you notice how they blended all sorts of china, but somehow it works? I think that's because they kept the plates from the same set so you had that continuity, and then they varied the teacups for each place setting...



And the tiny rose in the center of each plate is the napkin. How on earth did they fold those to do that? The little girls really liked those...



Good food and good friends, it just doesn't get any better than that...



And I want to thank Adelaide, Cecelia's grandmother, for inviting me to be her guest. She is every bit as sweet as she looks...



And now, if you've made it this far, I want to say that I have a little surprise for you. A few weeks ago, I participated in a Mad Tea Party, and I graciously received quite a few visitors and won two fantastic giveaways which I plan on sharing with you soon...



I had so much fun, I decided to have a GIVEAWAY to thank the tea party visitors AND to commemorate Cecelia's eighth birthday and my own birthday which is this coming Pink Saturday and shall remain numberless. Trust me, I'm as old as Methuselah. ;-) I'm also approaching my 200th post...



Anyone who was on that tea party post and anyone on this post is entered for this GIVEAWAY so you have more than one chance to win if you posted there and here...



Now, WHAT am I giving away??? Well, it's a SURPRISE, but the answer may be found INSIDE this Alice in Wonderland teapot-for-one which is also part of the giveaway. The surprise really has nothing to do with Wonderland, except for the fact that I'm making you wonder...



And just in case the four girls who have won recent giveaways from me think I've forgotten about you, think AGAIN! I have all but one present selected, and they will be mailed to you soon. :-) And you four may also sign up to win again on this post. I'm an equal opportunity gift giver! ;-)



In the mean time, my blogging might be a bit sketchy (though I plan to return visits). The Queen Mother (my MIL) is coming for a visit here, and I don't want her to wonder after 30+ years of marriage why on earth her beloved son (Shrine Boy) married someone who not only loves takeout but has a disturbingly messy house! Plus, we will also be celebrating Mr. Magpie's brother's birthday (he and his wife are joining us as well as Mr. Magpie's sister and her husband). So we have a big family "do" coming up. Additionally, I'm going to be celebrating Rhonda's birthday which is the 25th of July, so be sure and stop by and wish her a "Happy Birthday" by clicking HERE. There are some other birthday girls in this loop that I want to wish a Happy Birthday to as well: Spencer (July 23... it's her 60th!) HERE, Gloria (July 25 along with Rhonda mentioned above) HERE, and Pink Saturday's very own Beverly (July 26 and her mother July 24) HERE. Be sure and wish them all a Happy Birthday! :-)

So remember to sign up to win a neat surprise (you'll want it!) in a teapot, and also visit the following friends and their memes:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch who is celebrating her 100th Tablescape Thursday this week HERE



Michael Lee for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum HERE



Beverly for Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound HERE



Sally for Blue Monday at Smiling Sally HERE




And Lady Katherine for Tea Time Tuesday (and she has links there to other tea related memes) at Lady Katherine Tea ParlorHERE



Thank you for visiting me today and making my day complete, and I look forward to visiting you, too! And Happy Anniversary to Susan and Tablescape Thursday!

Cheers! :-)

Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)

P.S. I've had several people comment about wanting to go to the tearoom, so here is a link to their website with all sorts of information regarding the history of the building, the menu, special events, etc. Enjoy! CAMELLIA ROSE TEA COTTAGE