Inspiration for living a luxuriously and balanced life

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Afternoon Tea with a Generation Z*...

Miss A. (Miss M's sister and our niece) turned DOUBLE DIGITS!! Yes a whole 10 years old in February, to mark this special occasion Mr. G and I invited her to her first Afternoon Tea. We made a date for March (this 10 year old has a busy social calender), and reservations were made at my favourite Windsor Arms, for Afternoon Tea.

We arrived a little early, so Miss A was delighted that she would get wait on the luxurious bench in the lobby.

As we were welcomed into the Tea Room, Miss A's eyes went straight to the hats. She was delighted to find out that she would be able to wear one during tea in exchange for a donation to a local charity, supported by Windsor Arms.  Decisions, Decisions!!! So many gorgeous hats, how can one choose?


After some careful examination and consideration of each hat, this lovely pink hat with pink floral flowers came out the winner! It was time to order our tea... Mr. G chose a black tea, I chose an Oolong rose tea , Miss A asked our waiter's recommendation ~ and a fruity tea was chosen.

 When our tea arrived, Miss A took immediate notice that each teapot was different. She was thrilled with the ribbed texture of her teapot and the small English garden scene on the side.


Her eyes became large as saucers as our tray of goodies arrived!!


She couldn't wait to slather  try the scones with the fresh jams and the Devon cream (she had not tried this cream in the past and was eager to taste it). Did I mention this young lady is willing try just about any food?


of course she had already picked out her little Petit Four.... she was eager to learn about this new experience and asked many questions... she giggled when we explained that Petit Four means "small oven" which comes from the French.



The colorful and dancing butterflies on the teacup and saucer were perfect! Butterflies are symbolic of change and growth ... and our little Miss A is certainly growing up slowly evolving from little girl to young lady.
 She listened with full attention as our wonderful waiter poured her tea and explained about tea.

WOW!!! look at that... she exclaimed when she saw the bits of tea that remained in the strainer.

 She felt so grown up that she too was given a glass of sparkly (of course hers was cranberry and ginger ale)
 Like I mentioned Miss A is into all sorts of foods ... salmon being one of her favourites! When she inquired what the tiny orange and black "things" were on top of the salmon roll sandwich - I quickly responded very vaguely ~ decoration! But, if you don't like it after trying you can scrape it off ... well 3 salmon roll sandwiches later ... she was raving about how wonderful the little "decorations" tasted. So, I let her know that they "decorations" were known as caviar ... Hmmm.. Fish Eggs, she respond.... they were good!!!


Next it was time for the jam and Devon cream ... YUM!!!

Each time the waiter approached the table Miss A. had an inquiring question... this time was could she put milk in her tea. Again the waiter happily explained that black tea traditionally is the only tea that milk would be added to. He offered to bring her some black tea and milk so she could try it ... sending her beaming again from ear to ear, with excitement.


Not only was she trying a new tea (with milk), she was given a new teacup, this time one with roses.


When Afternoon Tea came to an end with a dish of fresh strawberries and whipped cream... she announced Afternoon Tea is now my favourite thing to do! Can we do this again?
Thank you for joining us for Miss A's first Afternoon Tea!!

Of course one cannot go into the city without doing a little shopping ... so we stopped in at a couple of my favourite shops! Mr. G and I were thrilled to have introduced Miss A to Afternoon Tea, and look forward to helping her continue to explore tea.

Have you introduced a young person to tea?

Lots of things have been going on at the High Heeled Life home and the extreme changes in weather from day to day (summer like one day .. winter the next) has been affecting my body, joints and head so I've been a little MIA these past couple weeks. a special Thank You to all that emailed me to see that I was doing alright... your thoughtfulness and caring means the world to me!

I'm doing much better and can't wait to share some fabulous things and news with you all, over the next week or two. xo

* Generation Z ~  Born since 1998


Joining these wonderful BlogLand Hostesses! Hope to see you there...

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sundays


Tea Time Tuesday with Sandi
Tea Party Tuesday ~ with Trish
Martha's Terri's Tea Time Tuesday




27 comments:

  1. Miss M enjoyed her introduction to tea and you two are so classy to think of it. What a nice way to celebrate the double digit birthday.

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  2. Ooops, ha ha, that is Miss A you introduced to a proper tea session!

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  3. Dearest Celia,

    What a wonderful gesture for both of you to expose this darling niece to a TEA! She will never forget about the special experience and that has planted a seed for growing into more love for this great tradition. Oh, we do have petit four plates at our home. That is so usual for Europeans. Over here they are not available. I LOVE them and the presentation is so special. Yes, I have exposed one special niece, the daughter of my brother (eldest of four brothers) to tea. Did present her with a complete silver plated tea tray with teapot, creamer and sugar set. Since I was not living in Europe though, I could not do much about cultivating this...
    But I appreciate the care you both show for cultivating this special ten-year old niece.
    Thanks for sharing it with us too.
    Love to you,

    Mariette

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  4. What fun! I have been wanting some tea after watching Downton Abby.

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  5. Those treats look delicious! I'm so glad you enjoyed my floppy hat post :) I recently purchased one of my own and am excited to wear it once the weather "improves" :)

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  6. Oh I think this is such a lovely thing to do.. sometimes we forget about the beautiful pastime events.. I love afternoon tea..
    My boys think me mental and will not however much I try and persuade them that they would love it .. partake .
    For a young lady in a hat .. It must truly be THE perfect day xx

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  7. Oh this was such a wonderful post. I am so glad you shared, and with pictures! I love seeing the different tea cups, tea pots, foods - I feel like I was there sharing her special day. She is a special young lady!! BTW, do you take krill or fish oil?

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  8. THIS IS JUST PRECIOUS!!! And it is so good to see your beautiful face on this post my dearest.

    THANK YOU for coming to visit with me yesterday! I was unable to get into your blog this morning through your profile; there is no way to find your blog. I had to use Google to find you, but i guess this new Google + is a bit hard for me to navigate!

    WHAT A FUN EXPERIENCE for this lovely new little miss! TEN YEARS OLD? It will now start to roll so fast!!!

    HUGS MY DEAR, Anita

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  9. oooo, just love that butterfly tea cup. too sweet. you have to love a kid like miss a that is willing to try anything!

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  10. How cute! That's exactly where I sat the last time I was there!

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  11. What a lovely afternoon! Looks like she's the finer things from a young age ;) Scones, tea & Hermes sounds like the perfect day to me as well! Much love!

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  12. What a wonderful thing to introduce into the world of a 10 year old! She is old enough to appreciate the experience and it isn't the ordinary birthday celebration theme. She looks like she is having a great time! What a wonderful Aunt you are!

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  13. How sweet is this?! She's adorable and what a wonderful experience for your niece. Wonderful photos and those desserts look wonderful!

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  14. I want to make out with all of those treats. Yup. Yup I do.
    I love that you made this a special occasion for your niece. It's those memories that she'll carry with her forever.

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  15. Is anything better than afternoon tea? One of my favourite pass times. I love the hat idea. I'm glad you are feeling well.
    Di
    X

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  16. I definitely need to go with you! And if we could stop in at Hermes while you do a little shopping, I would be more than happy to hold your bags. ;)
    So glad to see your post and to hear that you are feeling better. I was starting to get a little worried : hope you saw my email.
    I love an adventurous eater (especially a young one). I am so not...and neither are my kids. Boo.

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  17. What a wonderful way to celebrate Miss M's birthday! I know she had a wonderful time as I did, too, with this post! Happy Spring!

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  18. Isn't it fun to see a young lady all dressed up and enjoying afternoon tea! Your Miss M will remember this day for a long time.
    Judith

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  19. Well hello there gorgeous. You sure treated this young lady like a queen! What a lovely experience for all of you. I love that Mr G came with you. I have a dream that I will convert my husband to tea time yet! He did fall in love w/ the "Bed and Breakfast" motif this winter having been a skeptic for so long so that was a coup in my world! I hope you feel better, it saddens my heart that you have any pain. You bring such joy to others, I wish you peace from that! I look forward to stopping over to your guest post. Take care Celia, you are a wonderful person.

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  20. Such a pretty party! Thanks so much for stopping by with your sweet comment.
    xo
    Sharon

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  21. What a lucky girl!! I'm coming to see you when it's my bday - ha ha! xo

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  22. What a lovely family celebration of a dear girl! A tea time party is perfect for 10 years old. I love the hat she chose to wear! Everything looks beautiful and delicious. I am sure you had a great time.
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  23. Ach, blogger ate my comment! Trying again.

    Hello Celia,
    What a lovely auntie and uncle your Miss A. has to take her to tea, and such a lovely place too! Love her pretty dress and hat! I'm sure you enjoyed it as much as she did; listening to all her questions and savouring each new thing. {I would have scraped off the caviar!} I have enjoyed my visit very much and thank you for sharing it with us. Happy Easter to you and your loved ones!

    Blessings & hugs,
    Sandi

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  24. Celia,
    What a memorable day for her! I wish I were along too!Tea and shopping, what fun
    ! I am sorry to hear about your weather...ours has been up and down too, but it finally seems like Spring will stick...and we have to enjoy every bit before the heat of summer descends.I wish you a wonderful Easter my friend, and chocolate galore!
    xo,
    Nathalie

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  25. Dear Celia,
    What a lovely birthdaygift!
    You've also inspired me to bake some scones for the weekend ;-)

    Have a lovely Easterweekend and take good care.

    Hugs
    Brigitta

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