Taking tea with Nora

You just never know when an unexpected tea-blogging opportunity will appear, so thank goodness I always travel with my camera in my purse! On Saturday, I attended a baby shower for Nora, the soon-to-arrive baby girl of my friends Liz and Jonathan. Some of you longtime readers may remember the bridal tea I hosted for Liz just about two years ago.

Now Liz is waiting for the arrival of sweet Nora, and on Saturday I got to join with some friends and family who gathered to help celebrate this much-anticipated addition to the family. I was delighted to see two of Liz's girlfriends I got to know when they served as her bridesmaids, Lezlee, at left, and Amy, right. Here they are helping unwrap and record the first of about a gazillion gifts.

The girls did a fabulous job of throwing this baby shower, and the decor and design were so exceptionally pretty, Liz said OK when I told her I wanted to blog about it. Here's the part where you all come in: check out the beverage station!

Yes, that was Pink Lemonade Punch and STRAWBERRY BASIL SWEET TEA! Basil and strawberry? And sweet tea? It. Was. Awesome!

I got the scoop from Amy on how she made it. Basically, she made a simple syrup, steeped some strawberries and basil leaves in the simple syrup, then strained them off. Once she mixed the flavored simple syrup with the tea, she then added fresh basil leaves and strawberries as garnishes before serving. She explained the hot strawberries got sort of whitish looking so that's why she strained them off, and as she described the process I totally got it. The basil taste was noticeable but subtle, not overpowering, so next spring when I'm growing herbs, you can bet I'll be growing some basil and trying this tea!

Amy humbly (I thought) gave credit to Pinterest for many of the cute ideas. Now Pinterest is groovy, and I can certainly kill a few hours there myself every now and again, but Pinterest doesn't buy the groceries, prepare the food, assemble an eyecatching table and design cute signage. Of course it helps that Lezlee happens to be a wonderfully talented graphic artist who has already, at such a young age, had her work licensed for numerous products. (Go here if you'd like to see a sampling.) She designed our invitations for the shower, which carried the same lovely design as the signs on all the food, such as this fun Popcorn Bar. Note the little fill-your-own bags. I loved sampling all those fun flavors of popcorn!

Raspberry Lemonade.

Key Lime.

White Cheddar.

And I'm glad I had the good sense to skip lunch, because they also had Ham and Cheese Sliders …

Parmesan Pinwheels.

And Spinach & Artichoke Poppers, all just as yummy as could be. "Pop" was a key word used quite humorously in the decor.

"Ready to Pop" read this banner.

And Liz's baker/crafter mom Cheryl contributed these fabulous cake pops as well as the lovely platform that held them.

More of Lezlee's fabulous graphic work is on the cake pops. (Don't you want to hire her to design the goods for a tea party? Imagine!)

"Dip and Pop" said the fruit and vegetable platters, so I did.

And where on earth did they find this cute wire form, shaped just like Liz? Loved it.

They also made bright, cheerful tissue paper flowers that hung from the ceiling. Liz joked that she didn't want to take them down after the shower! (At least I *think* she was joking. Wouldn't swear to that.)

And I'll end with my gift for Nora, a filet crochet baby blanket that is my favorite thing to make for the new little ones I hope to take tea with one day!