A Wish for All of Friends of The Tearoom...

Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Most Happy Holiday Season to all of our lovely friends all over the world!

You are our angels.

Betty & Victor

A Christmas Fairy Tale...

It is Christmas Eve.
And still,
snow swirls past our windowsill in silky silence.

You’ve not a care in the world, Dear Ones.
In our comfy nest of pillows, Mommy tucks us into bed.

Our little hands hold her most special espresso cups,
filled with rich hot chocolate.
The sweet steam tantalizes our noses and warms our faces.
“Please sip carefully, so as not to spill," reminds Mommy.


What a special treat it is to drink
hot chocolate in bed while Mommy reads to us
this Christmas Eve night!
As we snuggle closer together in the bed
(oh! there is the hot water bottle at your feet, you selfish thing!),
miraculous tales unfold.
There are no surprises,
as we know all the stories by heart.
Our eyes lose their battle with sleep and
we find ourselves boarding that Aeroship of Slumber,
which will rise into The Aether of Dreams.

Our fellow passengers accompany us there...




...the Red Riding Hoods,
Fairy Princesses
and
Maids in Distress.

But worry not, the prince in never far behind...




....and just when you thought Mommy was done,
she reads more stories of princes and princesses...

(the empty cups are gently taken from our hands,
so as not to wake us...)

Our Mommy is a clever one, she is!
She has lured us to our slumber,
knowing that Santa will only visit while you are sleeping...

...Is it sleighbells you hear?
Is it the prancing of reindeer hoofs on the roof?
The sliding down the chimney of that Wonderful Dear Santa?
The shuffling of his big black boots as he fills your stockings
with all of the treats you like the best?
Go back to sleep, Dear Ones.
All is quiet again as Santa partakes of the yummy snack
you have left for him!
Mommy knew he would be cold,
so she has left a large serving of the hot chocolate for him in the samovar,
where it will stay warm for a while.
She has also left some of those cookies that we helped her to make today.




Happy Christmas to you, my Dear Ones.
"...and to all, a Good Night!"

Snow White and Rose Red Christmas Tea

It's Christmas and the snowflakes fall without sound outside...
Inside, we are cozy, warm and safe.

It's so fun when it is just you and I
having tea together here,
but it really is a bit of an extra treat
to see so many friends here in The Tearoom tonight.


Welcome back, Dear Friends,
to the refuge of our imaginations.
Real Life is turned away at the door tonight.


And what for tea?
Only just a few jewel-like treats...

(Since it is a virtual tea,
we may be as extravagant as we wish.
It is Christmas, after all.)



Of course, there is tea....
I love Christmas, but I love Spring and Summer and more.
So, I could not resist selecting the Summer Blend Tea
from Betjeman & Barton of Paris
(Those beautiful citrus flavors will perfectly complement
the other treats
and remind us that
warm weather will be with us again soon...

...and a Buche de Nöel
(this one is called "Ella"
from The House of Pierre Hermé),
all shiny and crimson
with the flavors of red berries,
lemon
and
olive oil.


....and a most beautiful and savory treat,
a Lobster and Asparagus Charlotte
from The House of Dalloyau

(I'm not certain who has invited the squirrels,
but all are welcome here.
Of course it would be rude
not to provide a treat for them,
as well as all of the other
sweet and furry ones who are visiting)

The Secret Chef of The Tearoom
has quickly whipped up some little round
nut biscuits for the squirrels,
bone-shaped peanut-butter biscuits for Twisby
(the sweet whippet who is the companion
of Lady Tweaze-Whickle,
seen arriving at the party in the first
of the pictures of the guests),
and fish-shaped salmon biscuits for
our own Dear Dapple.



More of our Dear Friends, chatting with each other...

My Aunt Hazel once told me
that if a squirrel takes something from you,
they leave something in return.

And look...

What polite guests they were!



Thank you so much for taking the time to visit today.
Mr. V and I are wishing you and your family
a beautiful Christmas and Holiday Season.

(Please check back tomorrow as there will be one more treat....
Please wear your most comfy jammies
and bring your favorite friend...)

Welcome to Christmas Time!

Have you ever read the story of Snow White and Rose Red? If not, you can read a very nice abridged version here or a more complete version here. I had a set of little story books that came with little yellow records. Before I could read, My Mommy and I would listen to the records as we turned the pages of the little story books (as the story was read, there was a "ping" sound when it was time to turn the pages!) This sweet story was a favorite of My Mommy's, as well as mine. I remember she got this one for me sometime around Christmas, so it always made me think of her at this time of the year. So, in honor of her and her great love of roses and fairy tales, my theme for this Christmas season is "Snow White and Rose Red". You will find red and white roses nearly everywhere in my world between now and Christmas Morning. There will be vintage Christmas items in Mirabella Morello and a new line of silk brooches in The Gossamer Tearoom Shop. And won't you please keep checking back for even more surprises...more roses....more fairy tales...and of course, this being The Tearoom of The Aether, another virtual tea, just in time for Christmas...

Above is my own rendition of this image of Snow White and Rose Red. I started with this beautiful image, painted by Jessie Wilcox Smith in 1911. We had not heard from The dAdA Dolls in such a long time, but when they heard I was working on this project, Rose de Blanc and Blanc de Rose begged to be included. Blanc de Rose transformed herself into Rouge de Rose for the occasion and so they appear here as Snow White and Rose Red.

I look forward to spending Christmas here with you, Dearest Friends of The Tearoom!

Welcome to Christmas Eve 2010...

My Dearest Friends,
Thank you so much for joining me! And if you are joining me later, of course you are still very most welcome, as you will then get to celebrate two Christmas Eves!

Our celebration of Christmas Eve is a simple one this year.

Won't you please come warm yourself by the fire and help yourself to something delcious from the samovars on the mantlepiece? The one on the left is hot chocolate, steeped with vanilla beans and the one on the left is the hot water, should you prefer tea. I have made tonight's tea selection based on an act of kindness.

My dear friend Anya of Couture Millinery Atelier sent me a very sweet package today. Sweet because it was so nice of her to do it, but also for what it contained!

Mr. V and I love these mints, which have been made at the Abbey in Flavigny, France since 1591! Anya was so nice as to send a package containing these violet candies, but also a tin of rose and a tin of anise. Each candy is deliciously flavored but also contains a single seed of anise. Thank you so much, Anya, for such a delightful surprise!

So, in honor of my dear friend Anya sending me such a lovely gift, I have selected a tea from Kusmi in Paris, which is called "Anastasia", which is also the name of Anya's lovely daughter. This tea is a blend of Earl Grey with lemon and orange blossom. And to honor their Russian heritage, I have also selected Petrushka and Kashmiri Tchai, for our friends who would like to further warm themselves with traditional Nepalese chai spices. I am wishing Anya and Anastasia a beautiful, warm Christmas!

And to accompany our beautiful teas and chocolate? Something simple, yet beautiful: from the House of Pierre Hermé, a contemporary Buche de Nöel in his Infinement Vanille flavor. Since we are spending our Christmas Eve in front of the fire, a "yule log" seems appropriately symbolic and vanilla is the perfect flavor to accompany our drinks. It's perfect with chocolate, tea, citrus fruit or spice.

And our final treat of the night is a gift to us from my very dear husband, Mr. V! Here are some Christmas pictures from our world:

Diningroom, festooned with red and green chili pepper lights!

Livingroom, with electric candles in the window.

The pattern on the livingroom ceiling, cast by the candles and lace curtains.



The staircase upstairs



Christmas Tree

I'm waiting for Santa!

We wish you the sweetest of Christmas memories and dreams...

"...And to all, a Good Night!"

Betty

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