Magazine Bliss

I hope everyone has had a good weekend!  I had a really relaxing day today, which started on my deck this morning with a cup of breakfast blend tea (with cream!), beautiful weather, and a new magazine.

This is the July/August Issue of Bliss Victoria.  I recently began receiving these magazines again after a couple years break.  This issue was particularly nice, with articles about antiquing, collecting old books, great decorating tips, and gorgeous flower arrangements, to name a few.  What really caught my eye was this spread:

I immediately thought "An Afternoon tea on the lawn."  The pictures were beautiful and the ladies in their white dresses make it seem a little old fashioned as well. There was also beautiful red and yellow china pieces.

The food served looked great too, with a few different tea sandwiches as well as desserts, in particular the trifle from the magazine cover.  The magazine does include recipes, including for the dishes served here.

I love the idea of playing croquet after a relaxing al fresco tea.

The next article I read was about Hillwood Garden in Washington, D.C., which I had the opportunity to visit last year.  Hillwood is beautiful, and has displays of French and Russian antique porcelain, antiques, art, and wonderful gardens. 

See here for my blog entry about Hillwood, in particular the Russian exhibits, including the tea I had at the café on the premises.

Two other interesting articles included one about Traverse City, Michigan, and a townhouse in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

I definitely highly recommend this issue!