A Tea Party Table Abloom

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." ~ Henry James

Before our precious friend Mallory leaves for college, I wanted her to join us for a special celebration. We share a love of teatime, so her recent graduation gave us a wonderful opportunity to plan an afternoon tea.

Norwich by Royal Embassy set the tone for a lovely, feminine table.

Fresh roses, peonies and hydrangeas echoed the beauty of the china's hand-painted blooms.

Joe's mother found our dining room table and chairs at an estate sale a couple of years ago, and planning this party gave me the motivation to re-cover the seats -- a project I have had on my list for quite a while. Waverly Chantal Vapeur, a flowing graceful floral design, gave me just the balance of elegance and interest that I was looking for.

Instead of designing one larger centerpiece, I spaced out several posies along the table. These low-lying arrangements gave each guest a view of flowers without blocking views of each other.

This soiree gave me the perfect opportunity to pull many pretties from the china cabinet.

This dining room table is a different size than the one we used previously, and I am still collecting linens that work with its long, narrow oval shape. For this event, I definitely wanted a solid white tablecloth. Although this microfiber one from Arlee Home Fashions was not exactly what I had in mind originally, it looked nice and was a practical choice. The polyester fabric is impervious to spills, so that will make for worry-free entertaining -- especially during the holidays when we often have little ones around our table.

I hope that Mallory, along with our other guests, felt blessed by the beauty of the day.

My cell-phone pictures do not do the ambience justice, but there was a sweet glow to our time together.

And a lovely fragrance of friendship -- a sweet blend of roses, fresh-baked scones, and my favorite blend of loose tea.

In my next post, I will share details of our menu, including an easy recipe that has become an instant favorite for entertaining.

Highlighting this side table are a framed invitation and menu. I used watercolor clip art from Digital Paperie for our party printables. I adore these images of macarons and teacups!

And, of course, I never tire of beautiful flowers!

In this stage of life, it is rare for me to host formal gatherings, so I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to celebrate such a beloved girl with a tea party. The afternoon was a gift of loveliness, and I hope it was a blessing to all!

"I take pleasures in tea, appreciating it with my spirit and therefore cannot explain why." ~ Sen Joo

A Tea Party for Mallory

Carson and Mallory dated in high school and have remained the best of friends since he left for college. This sweet girl graduated this spring, so the girls and I wanted to honor that milestone with afternoon tea.

We go to church with Mallory, and she is one of our favorite people!

Here is a peek at our tea party, an intimate gathering that included Mallory's sweet mother and sisters. In upcoming posts, I will share details of our tablescape and menu, so be sure to drop by again soon! 

"Perhaps it is while drinking tea that I most enjoy the sense of leisure." ~ George Gissing

Top 10 Posts of the Decade

Last week, as the tenth anniversary of A Little Loveliness approached, I decided to look into statistics to determine some of my most popular posts. I knew without a doubt which one would take top honors because I still get occasional emails about this party detail, but other favorites were a surprise. Keep reading for a countdown of most-viewed features, and click the numbered heading to visit any you might have missed!

10. A Little Kindness

It truly touched my heart to see that this little moment I observed -- an exchange I might have forgotten had I not preserved it here -- has been one of my most shared devotionals. Often we think that grand gestures demonstrate a giving spirit, but this sweet lady proves that the smallest acts of thoughtfulness can add up to a lifetime of blessing others.

9. Special Delivery Tea Party

This recipe was developed with a favorite BBC costume drama in mind, but individual little fruit tarts could easily deliver sweet sentiments to loved ones at Valentine's Day.

8. Pottery P-art-y Finds and Favorites

Celebrating Emma's 7th birthday at a local pottery studio allowed us to paint the town pink. Actually, we used a rainbow of the birthday girl's favorite colors to create her perfect party palette. Click the heading above to catch some of my best resources, but don't miss the artist's palette invitation, necklace tutorial, party menu, and special memories.

7. Slumber-Party Wrap-Up

From start to finish, this was such a dreamy celebration! The fun started with an invitation fashioned to look like a bed (with a fold-down, monogrammed pillow and custom paper doll), and the creative details continued with a bedroom tablescape, handmade pajamas and party hats, a festive menu, and an easy craft. Love!

6. Bowling Party Ideas

When son Christian turned 10, we bowled him over with a surprise party at a local bowling alley. This was a fun activity for guests of all ages, with a theme that could work equally well for a boy or a girl. I still remember the look on Christian's face when he rounded the corner and saw friends and family gathered to celebrate!

5. Thanksgiving Table

I plan to share more of our most memorable holidays in an upcoming post, but this fall feast tops the charts as the most popular on the blog. Blue-and-white transferware is always a classic!

4. Make a Pillowcase Dress

My grandmother devised her own method for making lined pillowcase dresses, and we enjoyed sewing several for Mary Ashley and Emma. This one, with its pastel polka dots, ruffled hem, long grosgrain ribbon ties, and coordinating monogram, was precious as could be. This simple style was definitely a reader favorite, as you will see as our countdown continues.

3. Tea Towel Pillowcase Doll Dress Tutorial

Oh, what sweet memories this post brings back! Mary Ashley, Emma and I hosted friends for a mother-daughter tea party, and after our meal we made doll dresses from pretty tea towels. This was a great first sewing project to work on together. I would love to step back in time and gather the girls into my lap to experience this fun afternoon of crafting again.

2. Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Simple yet tasty, this recipe offers a summer-perfect treat -- especially when finished with cute touches that hint at refreshing citrus flavor!

1. Emma's Ballerina Tutu Invitation

This little party post has by far exceeded any other post on the blog, with nearly 65,000 views, according to my statistics. I still get questions on making the little tulle skirt from time to time, and someday I WILL make a video tutorial to demonstrate! It makes me smile to know that so many other tiny dancers have let this invitation be the start of their own ballet-themed soirees. 


I hope that you have enjoyed this walk down memory lane! Here's hoping there is more loveliness to come over the next ten years.

A Dreamy Hot-Air Balloon Themed Baby Shower

"A baby dances with its feet in the air." ~ Ruth Krauss

Last month we celebrated the impending arrival of our nephew with a party for my sister-in-law Shana. This new little brother will join two older sisters, so we hosted a "sprinkle" for the family. This new trend offers a low-key alternative to the traditional shower -- giving loved ones the opportunity to pamper a new baby with items the parents might still need, especially if there has been a gap of several years since the last sibling was born or if the family is welcoming a different gender.

Read on to see how we got carried away with hot-air balloons!

We held the sprinkle in the reception room at our church building -- a wonderful option that allowed us to use the congregation's white tablecloths, as well as tables and chairs. Fresh hydrangeas added soft touches of blue and white, and leftover bunting from my custom-made hot-air balloons added festive touches, draped here and there.

I placed a framed copy of our invitation at the entrance to the room. I loved this Hot Air Balloon Clipart and allowed its storybook charm to set the mood for our other decor.

In lieu of a guestbook, a beautifully illustrated children's book offered a place for loved ones to record their sentiments. Reviewing their comments may one day be a treasured part of reading this book with the baby. (Look for book suggestions later in this post!)

Custom-made hot-air balloons hung from the ceiling seemed to float. See this tutorial for all of the details!

They also served as candle-lit centerpieces in areas that were carefully attended. My brother commented that seeing the flame, he kept expecting to see these balloons gently rise and float away!

Plastic cutlery and napkins from Hobby Lobby echoed the soft shades of blue and green that I used in the hot-air balloons. Find our clear dessert plates here.

To make the large reception room seem more intimate, we divided the space into zones. The center of the room offered a conversation grouping where Shana could open gifts, with a trio of tables nearby, including one for displaying packages and two for food and drinks. On the right side of the room, we set up tables where the adults could linger. And on the left, we offered a casual space for cousins and their friends. Read on to see our kid-friendly ideas!

I knew that my girls and our nieces, along with children of attendees, would be spending most of the afternoon at the party. To keep them entertained, we covered two rectangular tables with plastic tablecloths and offered coloring sheets. This Coloring Cafe design was perfect!

Washable markers and colored pencils ensured easy clean-up. Each kids' table included a hot-air balloon centerpiece, but we did not light the candles in these. (Battery-operated pillars would be a safe option here.) Tufts of pillow stuffing looked like fluffy clouds on our tables.

The girls seemed to enjoy having an activity that tied into our theme.

This pair of award-winning books -- a gift from my mother-in-law -- also added interest to the scene. Since they fit our theme, I tied gossamer blue and green ribbons around the front covers and displayed the books on the coffee table in our conversation area. My nieces can enjoy reading And Away We Go and Hot Air to their little brother someday soon!

Simple party fare was perfect for an early July celebration.

Hot-Air Balloon Sprinkle Menu

Cucumber Water

Sky Blue Ice-Cream Punch

Corn Salad with Tortilla Chips

Mini Quiches

Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Cake

For an easy summertime treat, add cucumber slices to ice water. Chill for at least an hour, and serve for spa-like refreshment.

This frothy concoction, which I am calling Sky Blue Ice-Cream Punch for the purpose of this post, was my favorite menu item. About thirty minutes before the party started, we mixed one bottle of white grape juice, one-half bottle of Blue Hawaiian punch, and one 2-liter of lemon-lime soda. Mary Ashley swirled in scoops of vanilla ice cream, and as the punch began to froth, it took on the appearance of a blue sky filled with clouds. Perfectly lovely and delicious!

For savory bites, we offered mini quiches (picked up from Costco and baked at the church building before the party) and Corn Salad with tortilla chips. Corn salad works equally well as a dip -- find the recipe here.

The night before the shower, Mary Ashley and I made dozens of dipped strawberries. I melted Wilton Blue Candy Melts, dipped the fruit, and set the strawberries on a plate; she added pastel sprinkles from Michaels. We refrigerated the berries until the coating set, then placed each one on a cupcake liner, turned inside out to showcase the pattern. My sister-in-law loves chocolate-dipped strawberries, so something along this line was a must for our menu. And the extra embellishment provided a nod to the idea of the sprinkle.

Chocolate cake from Costco offered a delicious culmination to our menu. Overall, the party was a delightful way to spend an afternoon celebrating the precious little one who is actually scheduled to arrive today. We can't wait to meet this bundle of joy!

"Babies are such a nice way to start people." ~ Don Herrold

Some photos in this post by Nathan Prichard. Used with permission.