A Happy New Year...

Dear Friends of The Gossamer Tearoom,
Once again, I would like to thank everyone for joining me here this year. When I started this blog exactly a year ago tomorrow, I had no idea that I would meet so many nice people and there would be such a nice reaction to what I do here. I am sincerely grateful and hope our friendships through the aether continue for a long time!

Tonight, my dear Mr. V and I will be having a special New Year's Eve Tea! Here is the menu...

tea sandwiches:
egg salad with dijon mustard
cucumber with watercress spread
smoked salmon with wasabi mayonnaise

fresh raspberry tarts
chocolate madeleines
french nougatine with almonds

earl grey tea
sips of champagne


...and the reason for our special celebration tonight? It's not just the beginning of a new decade, but the beginning of a new life for us soon. Late next month, we will be moving from Washington, DC to Maine! It will be a big change for us, but one we look forward to.

So, if it seems as though my time here will be scarce for a while, there will be a reason. Please be assured that I will miss you all, my dear friends, and will be back having our lovely salons in our imaginary tearoom just as soon as I am able.

In the meantime, I will still be blogging, in between packing everything we own for the move!

Bonne Annee and Happy New Years to you all, Dear Friends,

Betty

Don't Forget to Treat Yourself!

Dear Friends,
I have made the nicest discovery! I have found a wonderful Etsy shop called 5 Dollar French Market! These ladies make very sweet glittered, rubber stamped and tea-stained handmade items and everything in the shop is just $5 (plus a small amount for postage)! This is what I got from them . . .


. . .Five yards of gorgeous ivory seam binding, hand rubber stamped with French text. It comes on a tea-stained, hand-stamped tag. There were also very sweet surprises in the package and each item was packed in stamped glassine bags! In addition, the order was shipped very quickly! What fun!

I think that the next time you are not having the best day in the world (or even to celebrate if your day is going great!!), I would recommend ordering a little something for yourself! The prices are great and the minute you open the package, you can feel the love these ladies must have for making things!

Look for another post later today with my big news . . .

Happy Christmas Night

(I started this collage with an image from my new friend Marie-France's blog)

Dear Friends of The Blogging World,
I do hope you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend! I am so grateful for every person who comes to read my blog!

Christmas hugs for you all,

Betty

A Post from Outside The Gossamer Tearoom...

Dear Friends,
Today, I ventured outside The Beloved Tearoom in my mind to take tea in the real world with a very dear friend of mine, one who I don't get to see nearly as often as I would like. We went to Teaism in Penn Quarter, here in Washington. There, they serve a rather eclectic, Pan-Asian menu, which includes a really lovely traditional afternoon tea (with some slight Asian twists). Here was our menu:

Tea-Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches with Miso Mayonnaise
Cucumber and Watercress Tea Sandwiches with Wasabi
Ginger Scones with Jam
Two Tiny Lemon Mousse Tarts topped with Strawberries
Vanilla, Chocolate and Matcha Tea Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Truffles
A Pot of Tea (mine was Earl Grey, of course and hers was the Berry Tisane)


Very lovely. Also, there was a beautiful koi pond with huge orange, white and black koi!

Recently, I have been particularly interested in all the delicious looking Christmas teas from all our favorite Houses of Beautiful Tea in Paris. Which one would you pick if we could all have a lovely toasty afternoon in front of the fire, back at Our Tearoom of the Imagination?

-Soir de Noël (A Christmas Night) from Fauchon - with flavors of caramel, pineapple, sweet orange and marachino cherry.
-Any of the Christmas teas from Dammann Frères - Noël à Londres, Noël à Paris, Noël à Pékin, Noël à Prague, Noël à St. Petersburg, Noël à Venise, Noël à Vienne, Noël à Alsace, Noël à Provence (Christmas in London, Paris, Peking, Prague, St. Petersburg, Venice, Vienna, Alsace and Provence, respectively)
-Kusmi's Christmas tea (Chinese black tea flavored with orange, almond, vanilla and spices) or Ginger Lemon tea



The snow is falling outside.
Inside, all your favorite friends, the fireside and a delicious cup of steaming tea are waiting for you...

We Should All Have Treats...

Dear Friends,
Christmas is a time when we treat our loved ones and ourselves with delights that we save for just this time of the year. The image above is a digital collage that I have made for some very special cards this year. Doesn't the doggie look so happy to see the tree full of treats? Inside, it says, "My Mommy and Mr. Santa said I was a very good dog, so I may have treats! We hope you get all the treats you are dreaming of this Christmas!"


And speaking of treats, please go visit Karen at The Graphics Fairy! She is having a great giveaway! On top of all the beautiful images and project ideas she gives away on her site everyday, one lucky person will win a package of soap and lip gloss from the amazing company Tokyo Milk! They not only make very nice quality items, but their packaging is just beautiful! You can leave a comment everyday on this post of Karen's site until this Friday (December 18) to make yourself eligible to win these pretty things! And while you are there, be certain to browse through all the lovely images on her blog!

Fête des lumieres (Festival of Lights)

Happy Holidays to you, Dear Friends!

Each year in Lyon, France there is a beautiful, creative spectacle of lights! Here is a taste from the last 10 years!

Fête des Lumières 2009
by ville-de-lyon

Hoping your holidays so far are full of beauty and light!

Betty

PS - More fun holiday news to come!