Snack sets & a book talk in Auburn, Alabama

Since I have spent my entire life in West Georgia, the Alabama state line has always seemed more like a suggestion than a boundary. My old high school, Haralson County High in Tallapoosa, was less than ten miles from Alabama, while Atlanta was over an hour away. Many of my classmates turned out to be University of Alabama fans and not University of Georgia fans. When I moved to Newnan to accept a newspaper reporting job after college, I found that lots of folks here had gone to Auburn University, which is only a little over an hour away. Last Wednesday, I got to spend the afternoon in Auburn while I talked about The Roots of All Evil, my latest novel, which features a main character who is an Auburn grad. Here I'm shown with Jane Jett, at left, and Nancy Sanker, at right. Nancy used to live in Newnan, and she and I quickly bonded over a love of teatime and all things vintage!

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the beautiful touches she incorporated into the decorating at the clubhouse in her new neighborhood. It was a beautiful facility, and I enjoyed looking out a window and seeing the rippling water in the pool on a picture-perfect fall day. Some 22 ladies had gathered for lunch, and while it's always great to sell some books, I particularly enjoyed hearing some new tidbits about Auburn, some of which I may be able to incorporate into future books in the Silver Sisters mystery series.

Now, Nancy collects tea-and-toast sets, or snack sets, and she has amassed quite the collection. She had some leaf-shaped sets …

As well as apple-shaped sets. I'm sorry to report that I forgot to take one of these treat bags home with me to photograph, but they contained candies including teapot- and teacup-shaped chocolates!

The delicious bagged lunch (which I didn't eat until after I spoke and forgot to photograph) was by a caterer called Birdie's Cup and Saucer, and of course I loved the name. My chicken salad sandwich was so tasty, and the thick, soft, and slightly sweet bread was to die for! Again, I'm sorry I failed to snap a photo, but the way they packaged their salads was clever. You know those little 3 x 5 aluminum pans that you use to make mini loaves of bread? Well, the salad of mixed greens, cranberries, and feta was provided in those pans along with a small lidded plastic container of balsamic dressing. Cling wrap sealed the whole thing, and I thought it was quite a smart way to package a single-serve salad.

Even the bottled waters and soft drinks (to go in the snack-set cups) were displayed beautifully in a gorgeous punch bowl!

Have you ever seen an etched punch bowl quite like this one? I had not.

Nancy and I also share a love of vintage hankies, so I absolutely loved the banner she created.

I loved the variety of designs!

Nancy and I also share a love of books, and when she lived in Newnan, she wrote a book column for The Shopper (where I have a cooking column), and she was a great friend to all of us local authors. For that reason, I thought it was so fitting that she made these pumpkins and covered them with text!

Here's a close-up of one, and some of you may note a familiar treat in the background: the Market Bulletin Orange Balls that Nancy made using the recipe from my Vintage Christmas Cookbook. I was certainly treated well by Nancy and the new friends I made in Auburn, and I came home with wonderful memories as well as some great ideas for future tea parties!