Monday, October 29, 2012

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!

18 comments:

  1. What a lovely party and gift!

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  2. What a lovely party and full of great food -- love the basil strawberry tea. And loved the theme of "pop"! What a special gift you gave!

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  3. A beautifully designed event! I have never had sweet tea but have seen the basil and strawberry combination in other dishes. It certainly is a winner!

    Good luck to mama and baby!

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  4. Looks like a progessional did all the decorating. Such talent! Your blanket is gorgeous. I'm sure she'll treasure it for a long time to come.

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  5. Hello Angela
    Goodness, showers sure have changed since I was a young woman. These gals have creativity and the mom to be was treated royally with the decor and yummy looking food.
    Your gift is beautiful, something Nora will be able to hand down herself one day.
    Judith

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  6. Wonderful put together shower. What fun. I ADORE your gift. Wow. ( I am surprised it was a tea cup~ teethee)
    Ruthie from: http://www.ladybstimefortea.blogspot.com

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  7. What a fabulous shower. It should be published in a magazine! Loved seeing the photos. Your gift was a treasure and absolutely beautiful. I'm certin it will become a family heirloom. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  8. What a fantastic shower! Loved your crocheted blanket.

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  9. Wow! What creativity! Such a fun shower... I'm glad you had your camera in your purse, too! Beautiful afghan, too.

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  10. Just beautiful! Start to finish! Will certainly have to try that strawberry/basil sweet tea sometime, and the decorations were all adorable. Your blanket is gorgeous! What a special gift, sure to be a treasure. Lovely party, I'm so glad they let you blog about it.

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  11. Love that flavored popcorn! Everything looks festive and fun.

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  12. The blanket you made was just BEAUTIFUL. Loved everything about this special baby shower. What a cute theme too. I would never have thought of that, but just perfect.

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  13. Thanks for attending and documenting my shower. Baby Nora and I definitely felt all the love. I can't wait for her to see your precious blanket and get to know my precious friend! :-)

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  14. I love this blog post, Angela. Thank you for posting it and for all the sweet comments about the shower. Lezlee and I loved every minute of it and we're so happy that everyone else got to enjoy themselves - especially Liz and lil Miss Nora!!

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  15. Thanks for posting all this Angela! You got more/better pictures than I did since I was busy working the shower. I'm thrilled to see all this stuff on here, and I hope you won't mind if I borrow some for my blog!! (I'll be sure to note that they came from you:)

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  16. What a lovely, lovely party! I'd love to try the strawberry basil tea sometime, but I'd be afraid of using too much basil!

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  17. Hello Angela, what a lovely Baby Shower - so glad you had your camera!
    I'm so happy for Liz, what great news. She is such a nice person, as are you. The blanket you crocheted is so pretty. I know it will be treasured. My Blessings to Liz and family, Joanie

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