Monday, August 11, 2014

The Things I Love...for tea

Last week I went to tea with my mom, sister, and aunt to The Things I Love in Manassas, Virginia. The Things I Love is a wonderful home décor and gift shop.  My favorite time to visit the store is Christmas time, when the owner, Joanne, transforms it into a winter wonderland with dozens of themed Christmas trees.  A couple of years ago she started serving tea in the garden room area in the back of the shop off the patio.

Here is a picture of the garden tearoom:


Here is a view of the room facing towards the rest of the store.  There is a wrought iron gate separating the tearoom from the rest of the store--it makes you feel like you are crossing over into a separate room.



Each place setting had a teacup in a different pattern with a clear glass plate.  I thought that was a great idea to be able to use all the different beautiful teacups.

(this one was mine.  It was really pretty, but very difficult to drink from--the flower at the top was right where I wanted to drink from.  I thought about switching the cup to my left side and drinking with my left hand).


The tea was a Summer Blend by Tea for All Reasons.  It was delicious!



Here is the entire place setting:

A favor was at each place setting as well.  In the pretty bag was this bracelet:


As you can see, the presentation was wonderful.  We snacked on our fruit cups while we waited for the first course.  Here is the menu:





First, our waitress brought out the creamy tomato basil soup:

(Delicious!)

Then she brought out the plates for three tier stand waiting on the table.


I really need to work on adding garnishes to my three tier stand--so pretty!

First the sandwiches:


(pimento on crostini, cucumber flower sandwiches, deviled eggs, and ham and swiss on a potato roll, kabobs with mozzarella and tomatoes)

Then scones:

(cranberry orange, with cherries)


Dessert:
(lemon pound cake with strawberries, chocolate almond bark, and lemon squares)


This was probably one of the best tearoom experiences I have ever had.  The food was delicious and beautifully presented.  After eating, we enjoyed walking around the shop checking out some of the great merchandise. 

I'm joining these tea parties this week:
 Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
 Bernideen's Tea in the Garden





11 comments:

  1. Wow, this was the best tea experience for me too Carrie and I wasn't even there. Don't you feel special when a tea room goes to all this fuss?
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful tearoom, Carrie! Thank you for sharing the menu, the decor, the beautiful dishes with us. This looks like a place that I would love to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful place! Everything looks so good. Blessings, Martha

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much for introducing us to The Things I Love. What a marvelous place for tea! Wonderful food, great tea, beautiful place settings, good food and a goodie bag! Wow! Happy Tea Day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Carrie, what a treat to be able to have tea in that fabulous tearoom! The atmosphere must have been lovely. The food looks delicious and the presentation is simply splendid. Thanks so much for sharing this with us and for joining me for tea. Have a beautiful day.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, how wonderful! What a truly delightful tea time!

    As soon as I saw your pic of the 3 tier I thought to myself "I need to remember to garnish my tiered trays at teatime" and then you said the same thing. Haha, guess.
    so, huh?

    A lovely tea and a very special experience. Hope you can do this again soon, it was a perfect summertime teatime.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So fun! What a wonderful tea setting and the food looks delicious! Ilove the teacups. What a fun time! Thanks so much for linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea!
    Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your tea treats are works of art. What a beautiful tea party. Thank you for sharing it.

    I like your photo of them so much, that I simply had to pin it to my Tea Cup Tuesday Pinterest Board, linking directly to your blog post. It was is so nice sharing Tea Cup Tuesday with you. My blog is marywaldsvintageplace.blogspot.com stop by for tea cup fun, and say "hi".

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Carrie, what a wonderful tearoom! I would love to have tea there! The dishes are lovely and the food so beautiful to look at! Thanks for sharing with us!
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  10. The food sure looks delicious for this tea room. I think she needs to simplify her cups and saucers because these could get broken. (footed one and one with flowers) I love the use of the gate to separate the areas. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my Carrie,
    How I would love to visit that tea room. The food looks amazing and the surroundings spectacular! Thank you for sharing such beauty. Take care, Karen

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your comment! I hope you have a wonderful day :)