On Sunday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of speaking to a lovely group, the Atlanta Southern Crescent Alumnae Panhellenic Association (ASCAPA), which was celebrating its 24th Annual Founders Reception. They gathered at the Senoia Historical Society's headquarters in Senoia, Georgia. This town is very dear to me—I have ancestors in the city cemetery, and my great-great-grandfather was postmaster in the 1800s—so I am always honored to be invited to speak there. Here I am with Cele, the lovely woman who arranged my visit through a mutual friend. (The Whistle Stop sign is, I believe, a memento from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, parts of which were filmed in Senoia.)
I was asked to speak about my books Dainty Dining and A Year of Teatime Tales, which is always great fun for me, and I was delighted to hear of the women's own department store tearoom memories. One woman actually worked at a branch of Bullocks Wilshire in California, and if I got the details right, another woman's ex-husband was related to Georgia's Rich family of Rich's Department Store fame. Another remembered the Lazarus Department Stores based in Ohio, and I so enjoyed hearing all of their stories.
The group raises money for women's scholarships, among other things, and they sold tickets for a raffle for some amazing teatime baskets like these two.
I loved the pink chintz tea-for-one set in this one.
But the granddaddy of them all was this basket with a vintage sterling silver teapot!
It was won by a recent college graduate, Anna, who I learned is a huge fan of tea. That gift basket included copies of my books, and when Anna asked me to sign them for her, I was happy to do so.
During the teatime, each woman got to choose her own teacup to use.
And the teatime food selection was amazing, from the sweets …
To the savories!
I had so much fun at this event, and the icing on the cake was when I overheard one woman mention that a new TEAROOM is coming to Senoia! I drove over to the spot where she said it will be located, and I am eagerly awaiting more news, so stay tuned, indeed—especially if you're within driving distance.
That looks like a lovely gathering, and I'm sure the ladies enjoyed hearing you speak. And those raffle baskets! My late father-in-law used to enjoy making tea for us in a teapot similar to the sterling one. Sweet memories for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very festive occasion. The food and presentation was amazing! The raffle baskets were beautiful. Love tea parties like this!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a nice tea talk. The raffle baskets were lovely.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds like a wonderful event! That's great that they asked you to speak about two of your books. I'm glad that you AND the attendees enjoyed it. What a nice selection of food and teacups!
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