Showing posts with label tea party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea party. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Gothic Victorian Tea Party and Poetry Reading



You...
of the heart tattoos in places unmentionable,
lipstick and matching nail polish
in nightshade or abyss
...enter here...
and indulge in the celebration of crimson and ebon..
join our sacred salon of sisterhood

the samovar steeps a tea of
exceptional fragrance and flavor tonight
please share a cup with us as we ask for silence
the poetry reading is about to begin...


depth of red, barely visible through the dark
a firefly in crimson descends to the edge of the teacup
in the aether
a plume of red,
brighter,
rises
first the deeper essence of tea
the black tulle veil through which the other flavors are visible
the dark, sweet notes of black cherry
velvet so dark, it is nearly black
bleeding into the red purple of plum
intense dark and light, all at once
followed by the flash of grenadine organza
bright red in flavor, scent, essence
and meanwhile...
a fantasy rock performance slithers from a radio,
lit from within
a cover of a Runaways classic,
Meg White’s primative drums,
Chrissie Hynde’s searing guitar
And from the voice of Siouxie Sioux: “Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb”!
black and white notes
in a depth of red, barely visible through the dark




(This post was inspired by the fabulous Roller Girl Tea from Opus Oil's Jitterbug Perfume Parlour. Deviously delicious. And iced, with a bit of lime? Sinfully sublime.)


My thanks to all the wonderful artists whose collage sheets, clip art sites and blogs that I use in my work:
Jerry (Shadowhouse Creations),
Josie (Charmed Memory Collage),
Kirsi (Itkupilli),
Marsha (Tumble Fish Studio),
Julia (Cemerony)
and
Karen (The Graphics Fairy)
and of course, a big thank you to
Lili and Kedra of Opus Oils!
(Don't forget to check out Kedra's fascinating blog Scents of Imagination.)


...And just when I was about to serve tea and no sweet today (Oh! the shame of it!), this showed up in my e-mail box from the venerable House of Pierre Hermé, a delicious-looking pastry in flavors ranging from black, to purple, to red: his Fetish Envie!
It starts with a dacquoise base, which is an interesting meringue made with almond flour, so that it is vaguely similar to a macaron, with slivered almonds, black current compote, a vanilla cream, scented with violets and decorated with red fruits...because roller girls or rock and roller girls all love to have a little something with their tea!

Friday, June 26, 2009

A Mad Tea Party By Moonlight

Please don your heart-shaped sunglasses and very most daringly Victorian bathing costume and join us at the Moonlight Mad Tea Party!


Do any of you dear friends remember when Mr. Mad Hatter sang this at the Original Mad Tea Party?
“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat
How I wonder what you’re at
Up above the world you fly
Like a teatray in the sky...”

Our special Guest of Honor is Mr. Clafouti, the wonderously rare and adorable Teddy Bear Bat. Everyone runs to greet him and pet his furry tummy! Oh! So much petting all at once is very tickle-y!

You will find Alice is taking a lovely swim in the teacup pool with The Mouse but this time isn’t talking about any (ahem) dogs and cats. Please take a dip! You will find that Iced Darjeeling is refreshing to drink and even more refreshing to swim in! Also, please notice that the Firefly Cotillion is being attended by many happy fireflies over the pool!

Moonbathing is de rigeur. Please indulge yourself! Our friend Mademoiselle Moon is full and her light is particularly luscious and lavenderly tonight!

And what could possibly be on that teatray in the sky for us to munch on while lounging in the moonlight? It’s a decadent and delicious black and white tea party menu:
*Three Kinds of Crescent Moon Shaped Crostini (black olive tapenade; baked brie and truffle oil; creme fraiche and caviar)
*Scones with clotted cream and blackberry jam
*Slices of fresh white peach tart
*Bittersweet chocolate and vanilla bean checkerboard cookies
*Madagascar vanilla and black pepper ice cream
*Glasses of Iced Fig de Blanc tea (white tea scented with black figs)

The table is set with black pansies and white lilacs (with just a few sprigs of purple thrown in, of course! After all, it is a tea at The Gossamer Tearoom, isn’t it?)

And as for music, we will be listening to something dark and fun: the newly released compilation, Factory Records-Communications 1978-92. Dance throughout the night to the gloom and endless beats of Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, Durutti Column and more.

(P.S. - The face of the teddy bear bat is actually that of my oldest and dearest friend Teddy, who has known me since I was born! The picture of his face and the picture of his tummy fur, which is actually his ear, is from a photo taken by my super sweet husband Victor! I had to take the picture of his ear instead of his tummy because I loved most of his fur off years ago! I mean Teddy's, not Victor's!)

Thank you so much to Miss Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist for hosting this extra fun event!!

Happy Tea Party to You All!

Betty

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Mermaid Tea Party


Dearest Friends,
Lisa Kettell, the Queen of Magic, will be hosting yet another very fun blog party this Saturday, April 18th! This one will be The Mermaids Tea Party! Honestly, I have not really thought that much about mermaids up to this point, but you know if it has "tea party" in the title, I have to be there!! Please click on Lisa's site Faerie Enchantment for more details and to leave a comment to tell her that you will be there too! And please be certain to visit The Gossamer Tearoom for my contribution to the festivities!