After all this tea and partying we had to try it ourselves at home! The kids each got a little toy tea set of their own to play with and I got my grandmother’s tea set out of storage so that I could play too. 🙂 We prepared by making some yummy cookies. I got 3D printed cookie cutters of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and also 3D printed cookie cutters of my kids silhouettes to make cookies with(links on my Pinterest page here). We decorated them and baked scones and got some Jane Austen inspired tea by Steep Show Teas(Miss Bennet’s English Pear black tea and Jane’s Regency Rose green tea). We didn’t make tea sandwiches like I had originally planned and cut them out with cookie cutters, sigh. In the end it was hot dogs. You win some and lose some I guess. 😉 Next time(and there will be a next time)! The kids at least tried the tea(not without some lumps of sugar of course), but in the end drank mostly apple juice in their tea cups. We had a fun time and definitely plan to make this more of a regular activity. It’s kind of amazing how a little nice china and beautiful plating and food can bring out the civility in your kids at the dinner table. I’d do this more often just for that!
regency
Fourth Step: Jane Austen
StandardThe beautiful spring(finally!!!) inspired a garden shoot for the blog! Some of my favorite gardens are English, which led me to Jane Austen! It was a sunny and humid morning which brought out all the beautiful colors at Cantigny Parks and Garden, but it made for a sweaty mama, squinty eyes and frizzy hair for Big Sister. I curled her hair before we left, all super cute and they fell by the time we got to take any pictures! 😦 They still turned out pretty cute, but darn it! All the best made plans….. I didn’t quite capture what I wanted the first go ’round(did I mention squinty eyes and frizzy hair?), which might have had a little to do with the fact that I went by myself with 3 kids under 6 and forgot the stroller. I was running around with clothes in my arms, a camera on my neck and a baby on my hip! Little Sister did not like my elbow in her face while I was trying to shoot, lol! So, we made a second trip, this time just me, Big Sister, and lots of glorious sun blocking clouds! It did make for a bit of a chilly shoot, but we braved it and I am thrilled with the outcome of the second set of pictures. I’ve included pictures from both shoots below. Without further ado, I present Miss Jane Austen. 🙂 P.S. If you are interested in where I got the dress or any of the activities I do in upcoming posts you can check out my Pinterest board for Jane. 🙂