RSV Ladies' Tea

As my faithful readers (Do I have any of those?) will know, my parents came out to visit me from Iowa this past weekend.  On Saturday my mom and I joined a few members of the Regency Society of Virginia for a Ladies' Tea that I helped organize.  I had a great deal of fun dressing my mom up in Regency finery, and we traveled to the Victorian Tea Station for afternoon tea.  The food was delicious and the company was superb.  

Rebecca, Stacy, Mom (Willie) and me

Since my mom and I are pretty much the same size I was able to outfit her entirely from my own Regency closet.  I put her in my white muslin Apron-Front Gown, American Duchess stockings and Pemberlies, my new Striped Bonnet and a matching cream sash.  I wore my old standby Blue Day Dress with my other set of AD stockings, my Green Straw Bonnet and a dark blue sash.

Of course there's always *some* sewing to be done the day of any event.  

I had to attach the bonnet ties so Mom's bonnet would stay on her head.

Despite the last-minute sewing, we had a bit of time to kill before the tea, so we drove down to the beach and walked along the pier for a bit in the hot October sun.  It was an incredibly calm, still day.

Next, on to the tea!  The Victorian Station hosts both formal teas for private parties and live music.  If you're in the Hampton Roads area, I highly recommend checking it out.

Our full group:  Me, Rebecca, Kate, Mom, Stacy

Inside was just as pretty:

The food was fantastic, and plentiful:  

A selection of mini quiches and tea sandwiches

Desserts!  Yum.  

I had Raspberry Royal tea for the meal, then switched to Blueberry ^ for dessert.  Both were delicious.  

Tea and conversation - two of my favorite things

Of course we had to get some mother-daughter shots.  

And Mom posed prettily by the window.  

Pemberlies!  I love how Stacy painted hers.  

And I tried out my new hair pieces for the first time!  I was quite pleased with the result.  This is after wearing my bonnet, and it still held up:

I made a simple bun with twisted forward sections, and just pinned the pre-made curls all around for added texture and volume.  It was super easy and fast!  And the best part is I can reuse the curls over and over.  :)

Next post:  After-tea shenanigans!  Stay tuned.