Sunday, July 14, was one of the best days I've had in about a year!
Who knew a tea party would be the new beginning I needed?
And Mother would have been right in the heart of it all.
Several months ago I was asked to captain a table for a tea party being held to benefit a local faith-based charity. I was going to say, "No," but I'm so glad I didn't. The event became my "beginning to climbing out of my hole" party!
The cool thing is that the tea party also became a lesson in both creativity and tolerance.
As a table captain, I had to invite seven other women to join me, come up with a theme for our table and provide the entire table setting and table décor for that theme. After I accepted the challenge of being a table captain, I decided I wanted to come up with a new and different theme - not the typical beautiful, flowery setting you always see at tea parties. I thought about a Mad Hatter theme, but decided that was too typical.
So, I consulted a friend who has a reputation for being very creative (I call her the goddess of creativity), who came up with something that would definitely turn heads. Rumors flew around the county about our theme, to the point that when I went to set up our table the day before the tea party, there was speculation as to what I was bringing in with me.
Using the best selling fiction novel 50 Shades of Grey as the basis for our plan, my friend came up with 50 Shades of Earl Grey as our theme! My friend sparked the fire and I lit the torch and ran with it!
Each of my partners in crime (my table of eight) participated by bringing something that included Earl Grey tea in the recipe, and each agreed to dress in grey with fishnet stockings and carry with them a little something extra - like handcuffs, whips, chains, etc. (You'll have to read the book to know what I'm talking about.)
I spent weeks gathering recipes that used Earl Grey tea and finally decided upon Earl Grey/vanilla cookies, Earl Grey biscotti, Earl Grey banana bread, dried Hibiscus bloom/Earl Grey iced tea, Earl Grey/Champagne spritzers and - the Pièce de résistance - Earl Grey martinis. Our table was draped in black with a grey pin-striped topper and a red lace topper over that. The chairs were covered in black satin and tied off at the back with men's ties. It was all very simple, yet very sexy.
Among all the beautifully decorated tea party tables, here is our sexy table for "50 Shades of Earl Grey."
And, our centerpiece was a creatively ingenious cake - a grey book titled 50 Shades of Earl Grey with a man’s tie, a beautiful tea cup and a pair of handcuffs sitting on top of the book (all completely edible) - made by a local cake designer - and sitting on top of a large grey candelabra. Stunning!
How stunning is this?
Now back to the day before when I was setting up and decorating our table: As I said, rumors had been flying around the county about our 50 Shades of Earl Grey theme, and some of the women were concerned. When I began decorating our table, one even confessed that she thought I'd have plates with naked people in positions from the kamasutra (of course, I was curious as to how this God-fearing and faith-loving woman knew of the kamasutra). I just laughed and said, "Wait until tomorrow!" (It's fun to stir the pot.)
The next day, at party time, we all arrived wearing our grey dresses and pants and black fishnet stockings. Some of us had hats and gloves for tea time (some of us really, really got into the theme).
My "Table of 8." Some of you will recognize them.
Since liquor wasn't actually allowed, we had to take our martini and spritzer makings into the handicapped bathroom stall and work from there - filling the glasses and taking them out to our table. We decided it would be easier to just say, "Oh sorry," if anyone got upset. It was almost evil and naughty in nature, yet so much fun.
So much fun!
But it turned out that most of the women attending "wanted to be us!" They complimented us on our creativity, praised us for our boldness and lined up around our table when we shared our delicious chocolate and strawberry cake.
Everything about that day was fun, even tearing down our table, packing everything up in boxes and carrying it all out to the car in a monsoon that dumped more than four-inches of rain on us in less than four hours. But, we all agreed that next year we'll have some young, shirtless guy come and tear things down for us. That would be far more interesting!
The charity's message is one of tolerance - helping those unable to help themselves; giving a hand-up and a second chance to those who have been hit by hard times; and enabling others to stand on their own two feet.
Sunday’s Tea Party was also a message of tolerance, as those who worried about my table’s theme soon learned there was nothing to fear.
The party was also a conduit to taking that first step in climbing out of the rabbit's hole.
It’s been nearly a year since I had that much fun, since I threw myself into something that allowed that creative side of me to flourish. I appreciate the tolerance of my table of eight and the patience of my friends at the charity.
I look forward to next year’s Tea Party; who knows what we’ll do? But I know that everyone will want to be there to see it.
