Tea for 4 for Irean and her friends, Yes - "THE" Ireane ;)

  In my last post, I shared a "True" story about myself and a lady named Irean.  

To read more about how I met Ireane and the story behind how this tea party I catered for her came about, please click here.

On 4/19, I took a half day off from work so I could enjoy catering this tea party!  I prepared the majority of the food in advance, loaded it into my car...and off I went.  It was a rainy day, but a "perfect" day to be shut in with these ladies, and Dick, Irean's husband that I got to meet too.

Without further adieu, please meet Irean & Dick in the first photo~

It was a bad hair day for me, so I grabbed the cute little red hat I'm wearing before leaving the house and it worked perfectly for the rainy day. 

The only thing I needed to finish preparing once I arrived was putting the tea sandwiches together & slice the stuffed cucumbers...  It all came together lovely~

I created Menu Cards using my Chandelier Photo Blank Note Cards - I typed up the Menu and secured it inside the card with a glue stick so the ladies could take along as a keepsake after the party.

Menu:

Turkey & Radish Tea Sandwiches with Chives

Stuffed Cucumbers with Dill and Pimento

Italian Sausage Quiche Squares

Sliced Yellow Peppers

Buttermilk Scones with Currants with home made Lemon Curd & Mock Devonshire Cream

Fresh Strawberries

French Iced Tea

Varied Hot Teas 

Desserts were scrumptious:

Natural Almonds

Dark Chocolate covered Ginger

Caramel Log Bites

Madeleine's - a lovely sponge type cookie in the shape of a shell

Typically when I give a tea like this I bring everything from the food to the silver and place settings.  But in this case, Ireane created her own tablescape and did a LOVELY job.  It was truly a labor of love.  She had a special teacup wrapped so sweetly and gave one to each of the three friends she shared her tea party with.  

 Her server became the perfect place to arrange everything for the tea.  As I finished getting everything placed in just the right location, Irean and her friends were gathered in her family room enjoying each other's company.  It was delightful to hear their laughter beginning already as I heard them chatting.  The table was now ready, so I invited them to come into the dining room so the tea could begin.

Please meet Irean and her friends!  Ireane is to the left, Gail is behind the yellow daisy centerpiece, Susan is to the right, and Louise has her back to us in this photo.  I wanted to get a photo of them enjoying one another in conversation ~ below is a photo where they posed for the camera.  ;) 

Here they are... Aren't they just the sweetest ladies?  

During the afternoon, I spoke about Irean's sweet gesture of loaning me her reading glasses at the nearby Spa & Winery...and explained that's how I came about offering to cater the special tea party for her.  As the ladies enjoyed the refreshments, I read a couple writings that talk about random acts of kindness like Ireane showed me in March at the Spa. 

It only seemed fitting that at the end of the Tea Party that I would present these Jimmy Crystal eyeglasses to Ireane.  This way, she'd always have them as a reminder of her gesture to me.  I'll never forget her, and I'll never forget her kindness to me either.

Please meet Irean's husband, Dick.  He is a retired military man...and he kept me company while I worked in the kitchen preparing the sandwiches.  They are a precious couple.

 This is a special photo that ended our afternoon together...

Irean & Dick's hands clasped together.  

I hope you enjoyed the update on Irean and the Tea Party I gave to her and her friends....
I dedicate this post to Ireane, she is ONE in a million! 

The next time you see someone straining to read a magazine, offer them your reading glasses and expect nothing in return.  

You never know, you might just be offered a Free Catered Tea Party as gratitude.  :)

Hugs ~CC Catherine