As Seen in Victoria Magazine

As a longtime reader of Victoria before I had the privilege of joining the editorial staff, you can imagine my delight at finding some familiar faces in our current issue. Our team has enjoyed bringing fashion features back to the pages of the magazine, and you are certain to love the romantic billows showcased in the May/June story "Lasting Impressions." Christian was out of town when this photo shoot took place last summer, but you will spy Mary Ashley, Emma and Carson on the third spread and then the girls on the following page. A subscriber from Texas reached out to ask if these were my children, so I am wondering if anyone else recognized these cuties?

What a lovely opportunity for my three and our other models! Find the May/June 2020 issue, absolutely brimming with gorgeous content, on newsstands or at victoriamag.com.

"Beauty is a nectar which intoxicates the soul."

~ T.C. Henley

Among the Wisteria

"In pale moonlight

the wisteria's scent

comes from far away."

~ Yosa Buson

Honestly, I took it really hard when last month's trip to the beach was cancelled. I needed to sit with this news for a while before saying it aloud, but Carson has enlisted with the army and was scheduled to leave for basic training in March. With his departure date looming and Christian heading off to college soon, I could see the sands of time with all four children slipping out of the hourglass and was heartbroken to lose what was possibly our last opportunity to get away together. But these past few weeks with everyone home have brought their own sweetness with family meals, game nights, and plenty of singing, laughing and teasing. The slower cadence has allowed me to really savor each moment. And although I didn't get the seaside pictures I had originally envisioned taking to mark this end of an era, as we settled into the new normal of quarantine, God draped our trees with wisteria and gave us a golden sunset, allowing me to capture a few more precious memories of these babies that I will hold in my heart forever.

Carson's departure date, originally rescheduled for late July, has been moved to today. Although it has been difficult to think about him leaving the nest, I am grateful that we were given a little more time with him and understand that he is eager to embark on this new adventure. I ask for your prayers as Carson begins this new chapter of his life. During this transition, how thankful I am for precious moments captured among the wisteria.

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."

~ Joyce Brothers

An Easter Table Abloom in Pink and Yellow

"Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there."

~ Clarence W. Hall

With this year's celebration of Easter taking place at home, I looked forward to creating some special memories around our table. During my grocery shopping for the occasion, I was so pleased to find lush pink roses, sunny yellow tulips and snowy white hydrangeas. Arranging these pretty flowers in favorite wire birdhouses offered a subtle reminder that beauty can always bloom, even during a season of confinement due to quarantine. Enjoy these glimpses of spring loveliness!

"It is the hour to rend thy chains,

The blossom time of souls."

~ Katherine Lee Bates

A Graduation Tea Party Menu

Sweet friend Mallory's recent high school graduation gave us a wonderful opportunity to plan a celebratory tea party.

Mallory preferred an intimate get-together over a big party, so we were able to seat everyone together in the dining room. Visit this post to see the details of our table for ten.

We began our teatime with chilled cucumber water and a salad of spring greens, blackberries, Parmesan and lemon vinaigrette. Mary Ashley and I took Mallory to Smith-Byrd House in Prattville, Ala., for tea a few months ago, and it was such a special outing. When I mentioned serving their Meyer Lemon Scones at our party, Joe volunteered to pick them up, adding, "Anything for one of our kids." So we enjoyed those fresh-baked treats topped with my homemade Almond Cream and Strawberry Jam. Perfection with a cup of tea!

Our trio of savories included Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cups, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, and Ham & Swiss Spirals.

Mary Ashley put together our chicken salad cups, and I made our cucumber sandwiches with white bread, an herbed cream cheese and thinly sliced cucumber. For the spirals, I spread flour tortillas with herbed cream cheese; layered ham, Swiss and fresh spinach leaves over the cream cheese; rolled the tortilla into a tight roll; and used a serrated knife to slice the rolls into bite-size spirals.

Dessert was a feast of sweet indulgences, including assorted macarons, Chocolate Pots de Creme and Fresh Fruit Tarts. 

I found the macarons in the freezer section at Walmart and prepared our other two desserts. Keep reading for the recipes!

Shapely votives work well for showcasing a variety of teatime foods. I found a set of 16 at Michael's Craft Store and paired them with this adorable set of Leyosov Demitasse Spoons.

Fresh Fruit Tarts

Showcase your favorite summer fruits!

16 frozen individual pastry shells, baked according to package directions
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (8-ounce) container low-fat frozen whipped topping, thawed
Assorted fruits
2 tablespoons peach preserves

1. In a medium bowl, whisk sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

2. Spoon filling into baked shells, and top with assorted fruits. (We used blackberries, raspberries, and mandarin oranges.)

3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, microwave preserves on high until melted, about 10 seconds. Brushed melted preserves over tarts, and refrigerate until serving.

Note: Reserve extra filling as a topping for pound cake.

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Served in glass votives, this silken Rachael Ray-inspired recipe is a deliciously decadent teatime treat. 

2/3 cup 2% milk
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
Garnish: whipped cream, fresh raspberries

1. In a small pan, heat milk over medium-low heat just until warm and bubbling.

2. In the container of a blender, mix egg, chocolate chips, vanilla, sugar and salt. Remove center from lid, and pour hot milk into container in a slow, steady stream; mix until smooth.

3. Transfer chocolate mixture to a measuring cup with a spout, and divide mixture among five votives, filling each about two-thirds full. Refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours.

4. Just before serving, top with whipped cream and raspberries.

"The little spaces in time created by teatime rituals call out to be filled with conversation. Even the tea itself -- warm and comforting -- inspires a feeling of relaxation and trust that fosters shared confidences." -- Emilie Barnes

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

How to Revive Wilted Hydrangeas

"Flowers whisper beauty to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall." ~ Dr. SunWolf

Over the weekend, we honored the graduating seniors from our congregation with two very special events: a Saturday-evening banquet and a Sunday-morning reception. Friday afternoon and evening, I whiled away the hours blissfully arranging centerpieces with friends. To coordinate with our silver-rimmed plates and patterned napkins of gray, yellow and white, I filled glass vases with sliced lemons and snowy white hydrangeas. When we turned off the lights to head home, everything looked beautiful and the cold, dark room was fresh and fragrant.

So imagine my heartbreak to return to the church building on Saturday evening, ready to light candles and capture a few photos of our tablescapes before dinner, only to discover that most of the blooms had wilted. Whether it was the acids in the citrus or the unexpected heat and humidity caused by the air conditioning turning off during the night, or a combination of both, my beautiful bouquets were a shadow of their former glory. I had planned to repurpose the centerpieces for our reception the next morning, but the blossoms looked so sad that as tables were cleared after the party, many of the blooms were immediately thrown away.

But not so fast! I rescued a few blooms from the trash heap to see if they could be revived. I filled a bowl with tepid water, turned the stems upside down, and let the clusters of petals soak for a while. Then I clipped the stems shorter (at an angle) and arranged them in smaller vases of fresh water. As you can see from the photos in this post, we were treated to a Sunday-morning resurrection story, and the flowers look as lush and healthy as ever! In fact, they are now doing triple duty, after suffering through the banquet and looking lovely during the reception, by giving us a poignant reminder that you never know where beauty might flourish, if only we will offer a little tender loving care.

"Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful." ~ Jim Carrey