Skip to main content

Tea for Three and Three for Tea!

I work for the best pediatric dentist in Albuquerque. As a Christmas present, my coworker and I decided to treat our beloved boss to an elegant tea luncheon. We thought this would be the perfect break from the chaos of screaming children (and their parents!) in her everyday life.

(Ever wonder why I don't have kids? My job, my job, my job. Seriously, if they could figure out a way to market it, working in a pediatric dental office would be the best-selling, most effective birth control of all time. The kids are cute, but I'm ready for a break from them by the end of the day my lunch break 9:05 am.)

I'm not at all crafty, so I was pretty pleased with how my tea party invitation turned out. The crown is a $0.75 wood accent from Michaels.

 
The St. James Tearoom in Albuquerque, NM is the perfect place for a girls' day.

Where can I find a dog like this for my front patio? It's a much warmer welcome than what our rambunctious Jack Russell terrier, Pica, provides.
My reputation at work seems to be that I am the girl who always gets lost, so I was relieved when my tea party co-planner offered to drive me. Thank goodness - I had no idea where we were! Where is the St. James tearoom? I can't tell you.

Everything at the St. James Tearoom is charming. We could really use one of these signs at our office.

The tearoom is filled with elegant, intimate rooms. You'll feel like you're at your Grandma's house, minus having to clear the table or listen to your uncle's lecture about "fake news".

(Side note: I honestly always thought he was talking about Fox.)

We passed several cute nooks, each decorated in a unique style, and wondered which we would be in.

This one with dogs and an English fox hunting theme? No, our room was even better.

We were inside the Beatrix Potter room! My inner child squealed with delight. My boss pretended she hadn't heard.

 
This little dog pillow was the first thing I noticed and it was love at first sight. Look at his dapper green coat! The St. James Tearoom has a gift shop but, sadly, this fellow was not for sale.

Christofur Columpaws.

Our little marble-topped table was set for the three of us...

...with what might just be the most relaxing tea set I've ever seen.

When our discussion turned raucous, we simply took a sip of tea and were reminded to settle down.

I made a mental note about each of the special touches, convinced little things like offering two varieties of sugar cubes would make or break my future parties. The small details made our day. 

Not to mention the menu:
St. James Tearoom
Robert Burns Tribute Menu
"Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing"

Savories
served with Margaret's Hope Traditional Black Tea
Flaky Salmon in Puff Pastry
Date & Cheddar Tart
Peking Duck Pancake
Corn Basil Pepper

Traditional Tea Sandwich
Cucumber & Radish with Herbed Cream Cheese

Scones & Bread
served with Winter Mint Rooibos Tea
Savory Bread & Bacon Pudding
St. James Traditional Cream Scone
with Lemon Curd and Clotted Cream

Sweets
served with Dragon Well Green Tea
Almond Cream with Amaretto Peaches
Chocolate Pecan Caramel Tart
Lemon Bon Bon

Marie enjoying her cup of Dragon Well Green Tea, which tasted fabulous, and beaming a caffeine-induced smile.

Or maybe it was the sugar.

Oh, the sugar! Don't worry. Working in a dental office, we of course turned our noses up at all the plates of dessert.

(Ha, ha, ha, ha.)

As our tea party was held on the 22nd of January (rescheduled from the date listed on my otherwise perfect party invitation above - ack!), we made sure to toast Annie Spohr's first birthday. My boss and coworker had no idea who that was, but were kind to humor me. I love that sweet baby! Not quite enough to want one of my own, but close.

Post-tea party, you know how people who are trying to have a conversation just absolutely and completely looove it when you randomly take their photo for the whole world to see? Yeah.

To be fair, they were talking about boring work stuff. That's not allowed, ladies!

Good boy.

I can't end this post without writing about our walk back to the cars. After discussing where each of us was parked, it was decided that we had ended up in different parking lots. Person #1 insisted she walk Person #2 to their car, since they were parked on the other side of the building. Person #2, of course, insisted on accompanying Person #1 to her car, which sounded like it must be parked very far away.


All in all, we had a fun time. Perhaps it will become an annual tradition!

And remember:

Popular posts from this blog

Cake Mix Pancakes with No Eggs

When making Cake Mix pancakes , the scrumptious possibilities are endless. Red Velvet cake mix pancakes. Chocolate cake mix pancakes. Butter Pecan cake mix pancakes. Funfetti cake mix pancakes. (Yes, Funfetti cake mix pancakes!) With this 2-ingredient recipe, you can turn your favorite cake mix into your favorite pancakes. Pancake making at its finest. Cake Mix Pancakes with No Eggs Personally, I think my funny napkin is the icing on the (pan)cake. It's Sunday morning and you're planning to do all the things today - scrub those grody baseboards, polish your quartz countertop that was supposed to be low maintenance but actually isn't at all, sort through the disaster that is the freezer.  While on your superhuman kick, you think I'm going to make my family pancakes for breakfast. Not just any pancakes - the best pancakes ever. I may even serve them as breakfast in bed! You pull out your favorite pancakes pan. Yeah, you're awesome sauce.  But oh...

Chemical Peel Before & After

This article has been updated! My new chemical peel post, which includes pricing, Jessner peel before and after photos, product recommendations, and a helpful timeline for scheduling your treatments, is at the bottom. My original Jessner peel post (one of the most popular on my site of all time) is at the beginning. Original Chemical Peel Article Considering a chemical peel? I recently underwent my first Jessner peel and thought I'd share my results, post a Jessner peel review, and answer some frequently asked chemical peel questions. (I'm guessing that "Does a chemical peel hurt?" is a biggie!) I'd been planning to order an over-the-counter peel when we were in Iceland , but my computer led me a different direction. I decided to do this on a whim after Groupon greeted me one morning with a great $40 chemical peel deal. Now, I can read your mind. You just gasped in horror and thought  You trusted your face to a  discount  chemical peel?!  You're won...

10 Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks

You're in for a treat. Today I'm sharing my best canned cinnamon roll hacks and improvements for turning store-bought cinnamon rolls, like the Pillsbury Grands ones or even the store brand, into something special. Dry cinnamon rolls? No thank you. They need to be OOEY and GOOEY. That's just Cinnamon Roll 101. All of these ideas keep Pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls soft, company-worthy, and delicious. These are also great for taking homemade cinnamon rolls up a notch, but what a pain that is. With these better-than-homemade canned cinnamon roll hacks, you'll never bother to bake them from scratch again. Test out some of these ideas tomorrow. Won't it be nice to dig into a mouthwatering cinnamon roll for breakfast? You can't get a better start to your day than that. 10 Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks No Eggs Needed! Actually, make that 11 easy ways to improve store-bought cinnamon rolls: you can top them with homemade coffee whipped cream . Yum! Nope, make that...

How to Move a Mattress

My site is popular for reviewing memory foam mattresses. With today's bed-in-a-box options lasting much longer than the traditional 7 years of a spring mattress, there's a good chance you'll eventually need to move one. But how? This is  how to move a mattress  without damaging it - even by yourself!  When we were faced with the challenge of moving our beloved Amerisleep AS3  to our new home, it seemed like my readers would enjoy the details. This handy tip should work for any memory foam bed, including Casper, Leesa, and Nectar.  I'm happy to report there is an extremely simple way to do it. Apartment and dorm dwellers rejoice! How to Move a Mattress At first, I wasn't sure how to move our king-size mattress down a flight of stairs. It's a problem we've dreaded solving ever since we made the decision to build a new house.  The answer? It was right in the back of our truck.  Ratchet straps . This solution could also serve as a 'How To' for returning ...

Instant Pot Oatmeal & Quinoa Recipe (Healthy Egg-Free Breakfast)

*Do not add chia seeds - see note at the end of this recipe. In response to my popular Instant Pot Explosion blog post, I've had a few blog readers ask for my oatmeal with quinoa recipe, which is made in the Instant Pot. This seems a bit odd...you guys aren't trying to recreate that gooey mess in your own kitchens, right?  My recipe does make delicious, foolproof Instant Pot oatmeal. It's only for patient people though. Whatever you do, do not manually release the pressure valve at the end of the cooking cycle! This recipe is also great in a Crock Pot, though that method takes longer. I like to set the temperature to Low before bed. What a hearty, indulgent breakfast to wake up to!  I've been cooking up batches of my Oatmeal with Quinoa for years, long before I'd heard of the Instant Pot, and have even gifted the dry ingredients to health-conscious friends and family, who've suggested I sell this. Shark Tank, here I come! Oatmeal with Quinoa No eggs/...

Dental Memes

As the manager of two successful dental offices, my favorite memes are ones I can share with my dentistry dream team.  Happy Team = Living the Dream! You don't have to work in dentistry to enjoy these. After all, everyone is a dental patient. You have visited the dentist within at least the year...right? (No guilt if you haven't! I've scheduled patients who haven't seen a dentist since the 1970s. Dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and dental administrators have seen it all. We love this field because we love helping our patients. It's never too late to get back on track!) Funny Memes for Dentists Reminder: National Dentist's Appreciation Day is March 6th! Funny Memes for Dental Hygienists Reminder: National Dental Hygienist Appreciation Week is always the 2nd week of April! Funny Memes for Dental Assistants Reminder: National Dental Assistant Appreciation Week is always the 2nd week of March! Funny Memes for Dental Office Administrators Reminder: Ad...

Window Seat Idea - Dream Home Inspiration of the Day

See it? Waaay at the back of the photo?  I like how the window seat extends past the window all the way to the wall. How about you? If that's not your style, how about one of these lovely window seats? I'll seat you, my pretty, and your little dog too. How perfect would this be in a home office? I'd swap out that wimpy rug with a larger one.

Reuzel: Grooming Tonic Industry Review

I'm looking out for you, my bloggy friends. At my last haircut, the hairdresser shared his favorite hair product of all time, REUZEL (which I'd never heard of), with me and I had enough sense to get the details to share with you. He didn't even have a bottle of it to sell me. It was a genuine, honest review. Also, are they still called hairdressers? Is this the equivalent of calling your flight attendant a stewardess? Stylist? Barber? Reuzel  Grooming Tonic Review You know those men who have the softest, most perfect hair and it seems so unfair because most men don't even care about their hair? (Or so they say.) I think this is their secret. While you're here, be sure to read my  funny haircut story . Geez, I'm awkward. The fact that I was brave enough to ask to take this photo at the salon is proof I love my blog readers. Never heard of it? That's probably because Reuzel Grooming Tonic is marketed toward men. From reading their endless 5-star reviews, men ...

Cook Unity Meal Kit Reviews

Sexy Nerd and I finally gave one of those ready-made, mail-order meal services a try. We were skeptical, afraid we'd receive what's basically an expensive TV dinner, but now we're hooked. Posing with the Thai Basil Chicken meal, looking quite the professional-yet-unofficial spokesperson, if I do say so myself. Insert your favorite celebrity chef catchphrase here. “You’re like a blackjack dealer at the Flavortown Casino.” — Guy Fieri So much for my professional attire. SN zoomed out a little too far in this one. Surprise - slipper socks! Cook Unity Reviews Cook Unity meals are gourmet restaurant-quality. With the $60 off your 1st order promotion , which is DOUBLE their typical discount, you can taste these meals for yourself practically for free! This blog post has not been sponsored in any way by Cook Unity or any other meal delivery service. We just really love the meals! The Cook Unity Mushroom Cavatelli with Mascarpone and Chives pairs nicely with Cook Unity's M ixe...

Grilled Stuffed Burrito

From ages 16 to 18, yours truly worked at Taco Bell. I was there when the Grilled Stuffed Burritos were first introduced and received special training on how to make them. So, yeah, I'm kind of an expert. To this day, that annoying, high-pitched "beeeeeeeep" of the Taco Bell grill agitates me. The burrito is burning! I've been known to yell "get the grill" as a customer in the Taco Bell dining room, much to SN's mortification. This Copycat   Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito recipe  (courtesy of an actual Taco Bell employee) is a perfect example. I know I'm getting my fast food chains mixed up here, but let's supersize it and make ours XXL! SN will be quick to tell you that there are pros and cons of being married to a blogger.  On the plus side, I love to cook up tasty new foods to post on my blog. He never seems to mind this part. Can we make Grilled Stuffed Burritos at home? Sure, why not. Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito Copycat (Wa...