Spring Themed Afternoon Tea

With the weather warming up here at the farm I’ve been feeling far more enthused about opening the house again. I tend to hibernate in winter. (Don’t we all?) So, when one of my friends suggested a catch-up at short notice (And we are talking VERY short notice) I invited her to the farm for afternoon tea. I have not seen my friend for a long time. You, probably, more than me would know how that feels. So, to celebrate the occasion I decided to give my friend a proper vintage-style afternoon tea. Complete with Spring themed afternoon tea touches.

What I Used to Create My Spring Themed Afternoon Tea

With only an hour’s notice, there wasn’t time to whip up anything creative. Still, I wanted the table to look pretty while we sat in the sun and chatted. I’ve been wanting to use a gingham cloth I made and embroidered when I was 11 for ages. This seemed like the perfect day to get it out. The cloth has actually never been used! I lay the table with it. My friend felt extremely special when I told her I’d never used the cloth but was also nervous. She didn’t want to spill her tea on it!

Next, I got out two floral teacups to serve as the base to my Spring themed afternoon tea. Gavin’s stepmother gifted us a set of vintage teaspoons for our wedding so I added these to the cups.

If there had been time, I would have put out a vase of blossoms too, but I was so busy washing the floor time got away from me.

I completed the OTT pink theme by adding my floral cushions from last Spring to the chairs and some vintage linen napkins on the plates. I love these dainty napkins. The little flowers on the corners are so delicate.

The last step was putting the snacks onto a pink floral sandwich plate.

What We Ate

Again, it was short notice, so I made do with what I had on hand. I had some shortbread in the tin, so I put some raspberry jam between two biscuits and made a quick icing which I covered with sprinkles. This shortbread recipe is so versatile. I usually make it with chocolate but this batch was plain and perfect to ice. And the icing had to be pink! (Mostly because that’s the only colouring I have in the pantry.) A quick trip to the shop netted a box of strawberry flavored TeeVee Snacks which seemed to be the perfect accompaniment for my shortbread.

I made a pot of tea. My friend and I both drink it black with a little lemon and sugar. I decided to go all out when I poured it and added a couple of daisies to our cups.

We sat and chatted for most of the afternoon, eating all the shortbread and drinking way too much tea. I’m certainly glad I was not the one having to drive back to the city! Gavin was not happy about the biscuits either but it was worth it to sit in the sun and catch up with my dear friend.