Blood and Chocolate

(Before we begin, please allow me to thank the following for their wonderfully inspirational collage sheets and blogs:
Marsha of Tumblefish Studios
Karen of The Graphics Fairy
Kirsi of Itkupilli
Cristina of Asunder Ephemera and
Hollie of Holliewood Studios
And especially to My Dear Mr. V for his amazing photos of shadows and spiderwebs, which I then turned into wallpaper and tablecloths for The Tearoom. Thank you, My Love!)

Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
Tonight, there is something so special in the air, isn't there?

I am so glad you have made your way through the fog...

I welcome you to the annual Halloween blog party, which is hosted by the brilliantly creative Mademoiselle Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist. Please be certain to visit her party, as well as the other participants in this creative gathering of souls, here in The Aether.


I have been so remiss, Dear Ones. I have hosted Teas of the Aether for you with so many types of tea and so many sweets, but I had not yet given a special tea, just for my friends who love chocolate. So, please sit, make yourself comfortable and indulge in that which is rich and dark, sweet and irresistible.


The Tearoom is simply enveloped in the scent of chocolate tonight...
It just might be Kusmi's Chocolate Tea! I imagine it must be just perfect with cream and sugar. Or a cloud of vanilla-scented whipped cream...

Our treats are from The House of Pierre Hermé, where I am happy to introduce you to his newest macaron flavor: Caraquillo. It's an intriguing mix of chocolate, coffee and anise, dark and warm. It comes to you in one of his newest macaron boxes, designed by Nicolas Vial, embellished with a lovely chocolate-colored kittykat! And please, won't you help yourself to some lovely chocolates too! (Did you notice how slick and gorgeous Monsieur Hermé's new site is? I have been sadly remiss in pointing it out to you before, so I hope you will take a moment to browse and dream now...)

Ladurée's new macaron flavor is Black Forest! They describe it thus: "Its mahogany shells contain a delicious chocolate ganache combined with cherry jam and tasty bursts of cherry-flavoured Kirsch." I'm sure this is sublime! Black Forest is one of my favorite flavor combinations!



Our special guest tonight is Mademoiselle Madeleine. She specializes in growing a particular type of flower. She developed a variation of the dragon lily, which is spectacular, but generally smells very bad! Her variation has kept the lush, beautiful color and shape, but changed the fragrance to chocolate! As you saw when you had a seat, she has gifted us with them for this very special Halloween soirée and the entire Tearoom has smelled wonderful all day! Merci Beaucoup, Mademoiselle Madeleine!

As promised, Lina shares with us tonight some of her photos from her recent trip to Transylvania!



The lovely hotel where she stayed...


And, nearby...The Chocolate Garden. Along with the marble chocolate pansies and white chocolate tulips. The very special Chocolate Dragon Lilies are growing there as well.

As you saw when she returned to The Tearoom, she had spent much time in the rays of the full moon, which gave her skin that lovely pallor...

What a lovely beach it was...All of the girls she met seemed to have their own beautiful beach cabanas.
They seemed to spend a lot of time in them during the day, but at night, they came out to play in the moonlight and surf.

The moon looked on as the beach balls bobbed in the tide....
So sweet...
But what do you think those odd sea-birds are?

Here are some lovely pictures that Lina took of her new friends that she met there at the beach...







Lina tells us that she feel very compelled to return there soon, perhaps to stay. Oh, we hope not, we would miss her so...
LINA! Why are you standing so close to me?....
You really are making me quite uncomfortable...



(To Be Continued...)

It's Nearly Time...

Please check back later today to join the party at The Tearoom! Lina said she would like a bit more time preparing her photo album for you!

It Has Arrived!

Dearest Friends,
How many of you remember my post about the book PastryParis by Susan Hochbaum from a year ago August (and another one here)? It seems like we've waited forever, but now the wait is over! PastryParis is now available, published by The Little Bookroom! Congratulations to Susan! How gratifying it must be to see a project such as this come to fruition! Truly a beautiful gem of a book! In it, she demonstrates to us that, indeed, "In Paris, everything looks like dessert."! Such a treat this book is, with its beautiful photography of the beauty of Paris and also of luscious pastries that resemble many of the landmarks! I have to tell you that one of the things that I also appreciate is how she discusses not only the historical significance of the places pictured, but also explains what each pastry is and how it is made. So, please treat yourself and get a copy of this lovely, lovely book! Make yourself a cup of your favorite tea and imagine yourself here in one of the comfiest chairs, devouring this book like it was one of the pastries pictured inside!

A special note to my friends in Paris, Susan will be signing her book at the following places:

Author Presentation, Champagne and Pastry Tasting
Thursday, October 20, 7 pm
WH Smith
248 rue de Rivoli
(Metro Concorde)
RSVP: books@whsmith.fr
(Subject line: Réservation-Soirée dédicace avec Susan Hochbaum)

Booksigning
Saturday October 22, 2pm - 3 pm
Salon du Chocolat
Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
1 place de la Porte de Versailles
75015 Paris
Telephone: 01.40.68.22.22
www.salon-du-chocolat.com

Cure for the Blues

Dearest Friends,
I must share with you a little secret...sometimes (more often than I like to admit), life just seems to be a bit too much (and not in the good way). But, I actually have a rather unusual way to counteract the effects of that fairly-common malady commonly called "The Blues". If I am able, I watch a very sweet movie called "Les Vacances de M. Hulot's" or in English "Mr. Hulot's Holiday". It never fails to cheer me up and if you have never seen it, I suggest you do so the next time you feel the need for a little pick-me-up. It is the story of the dearest, most eccentric man called Monsieur Hulot (you will fall in love with him right away), who is on vacation in a tiny sea-side town in the south of France. It is funny and sweet and you will feel as if you have been on a vacation yourself.

Ironically, Jacques Tati, who wrote and starred in this (and other classic gems, such as "Mon Oncle", another bit of cinematic sunshine) died a very sad man.

Monsieur Tati, if you can hear me wherever you are, please know how much pleasure you have brought to people and please know that the funny little song that is played over and over again in this movie is one that I hear in my head when I feel the need to escape. Thank you so much, Monsieur. Your genius made our lives so much richer.

Wonderful News!

Dear Friends,
Today I have great news! I have been accepted to the artistic group called "Creative Souls"! Please see the button to the right!! I am very excited and am spending the day getting myself organized there!

The Tearoom Shop Re-Opens...

It is so nice to see the lights and hear the music on in The Gossamer Tearoom Shop once again! We have missed Mademoiselle Lina but now she is ready to get back to work!

I hope you have fun browsing amongst the fun new items I have made, some just for Halloween (and there's plenty of time to order!):

First, any brooch design can easily be made into a pendant with the help of black organza ribbon!

Next, here are some of the new designs, just in time for our favorite holiday of the year, Halloween!


A vintage Ouija board...


And another one...

I am especially excited about some digital collages made into brooches, based on spirit photography from the early part of the last century. However, please take a careful look at the backgrounds. On all three, the backgrounds were created from photographs taken by My Dear Mr. V! I am very excited about them and I think they would be so much fun to wear for the Halloween season!







Also included are some classic favorites from earlier in the year, which just happen to be perfect for Halloween!...

The Cat-Woman...

La Belle et La Bête...

and The Countess!

So, get your iPod loaded with appropriately spooky tunes for your train ride back to The Tearoom for The Halloween Blog Party on Saturday, October 22! You know you won't want to miss it!

Tonight...

...there is a light on in The Gossamer Tearoom Shop once again. Lina has returned from her holiday. The light from the full moon in Transylvania has turned her skin the color of a candle-flame. She has so many pictures to share with us. She has decided to give us a peek into her photo album at the Halloween Blog Party on the 22nd! In the meanwhile, I have so many new things to show you at The Tearoom Shop! If you have not yet taken a peek, Tomorrow, I will be showing all of the new silk brooches and pendants I have made for Halloween.

I bid you all a Sweet Good-Night...

(Lina's swim-wear from that famous couturier Marsha of Tumble Fish Studio)

So Very Nice...

Dearest Friends,
I have said this before, but I would like to tell you again, I am so very pleased at how many nice people there are out there in The Blogosphere!! Small acts of kindness come your way from people you don't even know. It makes me so happy to wake up to e-mails like the convo I just read from an Etsy seller who listed one of my items from my vintage shop,Mirabella Morello in one of her Treasuries. I love Treasuries because you see your things in a totally different light when you see the other items that were selected to go along with it. It's fun, it's creative, it's free publicity (one of my favorite things) and so I am happy to blog about being featured in Sandy's Treasury. She has posted my collection of cobalt blue glass items on Facebook and in Twitter. Since I don't do either (don't ask me why, maybe because I already spend way too many hours a day on the computer!!), I'm telling all of my nice Tearoom Friends, in the hope that your will visit her too!





Now, it's back to work for me! I have so many new things to show you in The Gossamer Tearoom Shop when it re-opens tomorrow!

(Don't know why, I'm just in some sort of Bowie mood today and this is one of my favorite clips from his "Glass Spiders" Tour. By the way, check out her shoes!)

Oh Look...

A note has appeared in the window of The Gossamer Tearoom Shop:

Mademoiselle Lina tells us that being the full-time face model for this shop and the blog is hard work and it is time we all took a vacation. She says she is headed for the beaches of Transylvania (Is there a beach there? We didn’t think so either, but, then we did our research and while it is not what the rest of us think of as "beach weather", it is that time of the year for visiting Transylvania!!) I won’t be resting while she is gone. In fact, I will be burning the midnight oil to finish some beautiful new items I hope you will love...

The shop will re-open on October 6th with some exciting new finds!

Welcome...

Even though it is one day late, I'm wishing all of my Dearest Friends of The Tearoom A Most Happy October! As My Dear Mr. V very wisely says, "It is the spook-liest month of the year!!"

Please keep checking back for some spook-liness!

Halloween Blog Party 2011!

Hello Again, Dear Friends!
As promised, I'm back tonight to announce that I will happily be participating in the Halloween Blog Party on A Fanciful Twist again this year!!! The date is October 22! I am so very excited and I hope you are too! Simply click on the button on the right for more information and Vanessa's fantastic post announcing the party! Spooky thoughts are already churning in my head!! I hope you will join me and the rest of the participants this year!!

Tiger Tea

Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your patience with me in my absence. Luckily, I have found my way back to my imaginary world and hope to be able to keep Real Life away for a while. I have missed you all so much.

Please join me for tea today.
Here is an equation for you . . .






. . .inspired by the playful, fruit-and-flower-forward flavor of Opus Oil's Tiger Tea.:


The fruits and flowers collide in one cup to remind of summer days quickly slipping past us...

For my friends who have had their first frost (like we have), I invite you to try this tea hot. For my friends who are lucky enough to still have some warm weather in their world, it is equally delicious iced! Just a squooge of lime juice and sweetener of your choice (blue agave would be lovely!) will make it complete!



I am a bit sad to tell you that this is my final tea review for Opus Oils' Jitterbug Tea Parlour. Thank you again to Lili and Kedra for providing me with the inspiration and opportunity to share my thoughts about their wonderful, fragrant teas!

Please continue to follow Kedra's fascinating blog Scents of Imagination!

And please come back later tonight for a very important announcement of an upcoming event!

My First Treasury....

Here are only some of the gorgeous things I picked:

Valerie Galloway


Paris Photographer (Kitty L'Wren)


Tilly Bloom

Yann Pendaries

Saturated Color


Please look at all the rest here:
My Imaginary Apartment

Thank you so much to all of the talented artists and sellers of Etsy!

Steampunked!

I'm having a bit of well-deserved fun tonight, Dear Friends! This is my submission for the collage challenge on the Three Muses Challenge blog! The theme was "I Got Steampunked!" and they asked that we add steampunk details to either the image of a famous person or to a famous painting. So, Our Patron Saint of The Tearoom Mademoiselle Lina Cavalieri has been steampunked glammed up a bit!

I have to thank the following for the images I used:
The Graphics Fairy
Percy & Bloom
A Secret Soon-To-Be-Revealed Source!

Happy Birthday to a Friend!

A message to J from Purple Lips,

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!
We love you and miss you!!

B & V

(P.S. I've been saving this image just for you!)

A Winner of the Giveaway!!

Oh Dearest Friends!
Thank you all so very, very much for visiting with me last Saturday!!! I hope you have all eaten that special cake so you are now back to normal size (unless you have decided to join that tiny world and which case, congratulations! You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish!) Really, my parties never really end....

I do have to apologize for not having announced this earlier today, but there is a winner in my giveaway!!!

Monsieur Le Chat Cheshire would like to announce...

The winner of the lavender sachet and matching gift tag is....

Kathy of A Spectacular Mess!!!!

Congratulations to you Kathy and thank you for coming to visit with me at The Mad Tea Party!!!

Again, I am so grateful to everyone who came to visit!
And a very big thank you goes out to the very nice ladies of The $5 French Market for making such lovely things! Please visit them and treat yourself to a little something nice very soon!

Biggest hugs,

Betty