Outfit of the Day- Decepticons Wear Purple

Last Saturday Was A Good Day.

My husband, his friend Tony, and I went to an early matinee to see the new Transformers movie, Transformers: Age of Extinction. After the movie we got lunch at a new Cajun place, Backyard Bayou. The guys really liked the movie and I LOVED my blackened crab bowl! I was thinking Tim and I would have enough time after the movie to make it out to a car show they were having in town at Cal State East Bay, Kings By the Bay 5, but by the time we were done with the movie and lunch the car show was over. Saturdays go by quick!

Tim Having Fun At the Movies

Hanging Out With A Dinobot

Outfit of the Day:

I unwittingly picked out a purple dress to wear and saw that by happenstance my husband and I were both wearing purple. It turns out though that he had picked out his purple deception shirt with full intent and we were team deception for the day. The purple dress I had on is a modern shirt-waist style dress from Modcloth, the Soda Fountain dress in grape by Tropical Wear. It has capped and slightly puffed sleeves, a classic fit and flair A-line silhouette, and a self fabric tie belt.

Soda Fountain Dress, Modcloth, Front View

Soda Fountain Dress, Modcloth, Side View

Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware

I love playing around with teaware and getting matchy matchy. 

I love setting up a tablescape with full matching sets including a matching teapot, creamer, sugar, bread and butter plate, salad plate, dinner plate, serving platter, three-tiered plate... If only all my teapots came with full matching sets!

I get so excited when I find a serving spoon that fits in just perfectly with a tea set or my special occassion dinnerware!

Oh, how I just love coordinating my pieces and getting matchy-matchy!

So how could I not get excited when I found a dress that matches so perfectly with a tea set in my collection! I mean, how awesome would that be to wear a dress that match with your teaware?!

Not only does the Estate House Floral dress from Ruche match perfectly with my Tea For One by Grace Tea Ware previously shown in the post, A Tyme For Tea, but it's also a beautiful and darling dress in itself! This dress is constructed with a flowy chiffon material and comes fully lined! The bold colors of this dress are vivid yet, the dramatic turquoise blue is calming like the color of the sea at a perfect tropical beach. The feminine floral motifs and the dainty pleating at the waist farther enhances the dainty and charming feel of this dress. I love how this dress is so perfect in the pairing of all it's components: its fabric, its color, it's pattern and it's structure. Combine that with how well it matches the Grace Tea Ware Tea for One and it becomes magical! The teal color of the dress with its reddish pink and yellow flowers perfectly mirrors the colors and pattern of the tea for one. Seeing these two together gives my heart such a flutter!

So gorgeous and fun at the same time! What do you all think? Love?

Tea For One By Grace Tea Ware

The Estate House Floral Dress Available At Ruche, photo from Shopruche.com

Time For Tea with Grace Tea Ware's Tea For One

Hi Hydrangea!

A few months ago I featured the Peacock Teapot from Edie Rose by Rachel Bilson.

Looking at it in my display case, everyday I become more and more impressed by it. So when I recently saw that another teapot by Edie Rose went on sale at Macy's, this time on closeout, I did not hesitate to get it. The Hydrangea Teapot is another beautiful teapot from Edie Rose by Rachael Bilson.

The Hydrangea Teapot like the Peacock Teapot has a sculpted three dimensional design that is formed in the shape of a hydrangea with several delicate blooms of white and coral throughout its body. There are several green leaves formed around the base of the teapot. The green handle and green spout, which also has the delicate relief of leaves, mirror and nicely balance out the leaves on the teapot's lower body. On top of the teapot is a single butterfly gracefully perched, cautiously ready to take flight. In contrast to the abundant saturation of corals and greens of the teapot, the detail of the butterfly, while three dimensional in shape, is rendered in a black and white illustration, emphasizing a chic and modern twist to the classic brown betty shape of this teapot.

I hope this is not the last of the teapots to be seen from Edie Rose!

Hydrangea Teapot from Edie Rose By Rachel Bilson

Hydrangea Teapot from Edie Rose By Rachel Bilson

Hydrangea Teapot from Edie Rose By Rachel Bilson

Hydrangea Teapot from Edie Rose By Rachel Bilson

Hydrangea Teapot from Edie Rose By Rachel Bilson

National Pink Day, Pink Tea!

June 21st officially marked the first day of summer... Not only that, but June 23rd marks National Pink Day! I figured that both make for a good reason to have a pink tea!

Actually, the fact that National Pink Day is today, on June 23rd, was a complete coincidence to choosing June 21st to have a pink tea. But it was fun knowing we were getting on in the celebrations and I do like to think on how great a coincidence it was to have Pink Tea around National Pink Day!

What is National Pink Day you may ask? Apparently, according to nationaldaycalendar.com National Pink Day occurs every year on June 23rd and is a day to celebrate the color pink whether by wearing it, eating it, drinking it, etc. Why you may ask? I suppose the answer to that is why not...?

In any case, my friends, Wendy and Betty, and I had a great time getting decked out in our most striking pink attire while enjoying a tablescape of pink profusion. For this tea outing I got out my Royal Albert New Country Roses Pink tea set, laid out a pink polka dot sheer overlay tablecloth, and made sure there was plenty of pink to be seen on the tea table!

Welcome To My Tea Table!

A Pink Garden Tea Spread

Pink Polka Dots, Pink Tea Table

3 Tiered Plate Of Tea Sandwiches, Savories, and Strawberry Shortcakes

Pink For All the Eye To Feast On

Pink Tea with Royal Albert New Country Roses Pink

Ladies In Pink Enjoying A Pink Tea

My Friends and I at Pink Tea

Betty and I

Wendy and I

The tea menu started with a cranberry scone with strawberry preserves, lemon curd, and homemade whipped cream. For tea sandwiches we had turkey and swiss with honey mustard on country white bread, deviled egg salad sandwiches on country white bread, and chicken, pecan and cranberry salad sandwiches on wheat bread. For savories we had mushroom turnovers, spanakopitas, and pastry bites with feta cheese and caramelized onions. For the dessert course we had strawberry shortcakes, petite fours, and dark chocolate cherry cordials. Wendy also brought cupcakes! Our cupcake options were birthday cake, peanut butter and toffee crunch, and snicker doodle. The tea of the day was orange spice black tea.

It was a fine tea with great company, a delicious tea spread, and good weather. What more could be asked of a Pink Tea to mark the first day of summer and celebrate National Pink Day!


Outfit of the Day: 

What was my outfit of choice for this fine pink tea you may ask?

For this outing I wore the Ginger dress by Pinup Girl Clothing with Gabriella Rocha peach flats

Pinup Girl Couture Ginger Dress- Front View

Pinup Girl Couture Ginger Dress- Front View

Pinup Girl Couture Ginger Dress- Side View

 

Spot of Tea?

Casual Saturday In A Dress

Last Saturday I went out with my mom and sister to a nice casual lunch then came home in time to go out with my husband to a friend's baby's birthday party.

I needed an outfit that was both casual but also presentable enough to be party-ready. How to do this? Throw on a dress! After all, dresses are awesome that way: casual, yet dressy all at the same time.

And so, here it is...

Outfit of the Day:

For this outing I wore a Modcloth exclusive designed by Modcloth co-founder and chief creative officer herself, Susan Gregg Koger. I actually found this In the Mood for Dots dress on ebay for quite a steal at $30 last year. I paired this with some navy capri leggings from Forever 21, a pair of peach flats from Gabriella Rocha, and topped it all off with a vintage headscarf from my mom, and voila! I was good to go!

In the Mood For Dots Dress, Modcloth, Front View

In the Mood For Dots Dress, Modcloth, Front View

In the Mood For Dots Dress, Modcloth, Side View

In the Mood For Dots Dress With Peach Cardigan, Modcloth, Front View

In the Mood For Dots Dress, Modcloth with Peach Cardigan, Side View

In the Mood For Dots Dress, Modcloth With Basic Tortoiseshell Shell Cat Eye Sunglasses, Amazon

The Convivial Celebration Dress At Modcloth

This may be the shortest dress you'll ever see on me!

I was thinking of returning this dress initially because it was actually way shorter than I expected, but my husband convinced me to keep it. Considering that I got it for under $50 with a coupon code at Modcloth, and considering that I already had green T-strap shoes to match, it wasn't too hard for me to be convinced.

This dress is a dark forest green A-line dress with a super cute chelsea collar. I've also seen this type of collar being called a pointed peter pan collar. The material is a combination of polyester, rayon, and spandex which helps keep it wrinkle free, gives it a good drape, and allows some stretch for a good fit. This dress features a tailored fit on top from the pleating and hemline under the bust, has a super fitted waist, and has a very nicely flared skirt. I love the A-line silhouette of this dress. The A-line sihouette in combination with the short length and sleeves gives it a very 1960's style and feel. I can't quiet tell if the name of this brand is Ixia, Lxia or 1xia, but whatever their name they designed a great dress!

For reference I purchased this dress in my usual size large and my measurements are 38-31-38, 5'3".

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth- Front View

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth- Side View

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth- Back View

For fun I threw on a hat I also purchased with this dress from Modcloth which together make for a fun summer look.

The Bushels Of Fun hat is made by Kathy Jeanne who also makes the Pure Edith Hat from Modcloth. The Bushels Of Fun hat is a straw hat which features a cluster of cherries on the side. This cloche style hat has a short, drooping brim which is shorter in the back making it easy to wear. Like the Pure Edith Hat the woven texture has a handmade look with the weaving and color of the straw being a little inconsistent at spots. I've been looking for a summer hat with cherries on it since I saw the Louise Green Cherry Doll Hat which is one that I still love but is way out of my price point for hats. This hat by Kathy Jeanne, while not the Louise Green Cherry Doll Hat, is way more modestly priced and is a fun one to have.
 

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth with Bushels of Fun Hat, Modcloth- Front View

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth with Bushels of Fun Hat, Modcloth- Side View

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth with Bushels of Fun Hat, Modcloth- Back View

Convivial Celebration Dress, Ixia, Modcloth with Bushels of Fun Hat, Modcloth- Close Up

A Belated Mother's Day Tea at the English Rose

Over the weekend my husband Tim and I took Tim's mom out for a belated Mother's Day tea!

Tim's mom hates going out for Mother's day during actual Mother's day so she opted to wait until this past weekend for her special day. We asked her what she wanted to do for Mother's day and she said she wanted to go out to Pleasanton, walk around and look at the shops, then go get something to eat. I knew that in downtown Pleasanton they have a farmers market on Saturdays and also a tea room so I asked her if she wanted to go see these two things and thus, walking around the Pleasanton farmer's market, looking at the downtown Pleasanton shops, and going out for tea at the English Rose was our outing for her belated Mother's day.

The English Rose in Pleasanton has been on the top of my list of local tea places for well over a year even though I've only been there once before. I was very much looking forward to revisiting this tea shop. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed the second time around with this place. The first time I went there the tea service was impeccable. We were seated for our reservations right away and I was so surprised and delighted to see that they had cool glasses of water as well as a sweet sugar cookie waiting for us at our table. This time around we walked in at our reserved seating time of 1pm after previously being turned away because we got there too early. After waiting a few minutes standing around at the door and not seeming to be able to catch any of the tea staff's attention we walked farther in to where the register was at in the back of the tea shop. Once again, even though we were standing right in front of two ladies on the tea staff, and even though there was no one ahead of us in line, I found it very difficult to get the tea staff to acknowledge us. One lady, who appeared to be the manager, was standing almost directly in front of me behind the register counter looking at pictures on her co-worker's smart phone. My patience was being tried! After we were finally acknowledged and I let them know we were there for our reservations the lady pointed and said our table was over there by the fireplace rather than have someone escort us to our tables. I felt like we were off to fend for ourselves. Furthermore, after we sat, I noticed there was no cups of water waiting for us, though there was a cookie each.

Soon after we sat down, our tea server came and let us know about their tea selection and the menu for the day. We were told that we could have two different flavors of tea for the table. I had to stop and ask about this. There were three in our party. Does this mean one of us had to share a tea flavor and we weren't allowed to pick our own flavors? This seemed really odd to me since this is supposed to be a higher end proper tea place. We were not at someone's house for tea but out for tea. I was very polite about it but still had to ask. She said that actually with the little table which was set up next to our bigger table we could probably manage to have our own flavors of tea. This mix-up/restriction on tea flavors dashed the second thing I enjoyed most about my first experience at the English Rose. I remember each person being able to pick different flavors of tea and changing them so we can try at least two different flavors each while we were there. I guess they have changed things since I was last there. Or perhaps the young lady working that day was new and did not know it was supposed to be each person being able to try two different teas rather than each table only getting two flavors per table? I hope it was the latter and that the girl was just getting it wrong that day.

The rest of the tea service went alright. The food was great, the company was great, and the service went by smoothly. Also, my pick of Carrot Cake flavored herbal tea was delicious! And so we ended up having a lovely time at the English Rose despite the unfortunate hiccups at the beginning.

English Rose, Pleasanton CA

Our Table Set Up And Waiting For Us

Tea Selections From the English Rose. Any of the flavored black teas can be made decaffeinated up to 80% at the English Rose

Three Tiered Plate For Three At the English Rose

Tim, Me, And Tim's Mom Enjoying A Belated Mother's Day At the English Rose

Around the Tea Shop:

At the Front of the One Room Tea Room

Giftables at the English Rose

Outside In The Lovely Garden Area:

Sign at the Side of the Tea Room By the Garden Entrance

Lovely Tea Table Set Up in the Garden

Garden Area at the English Rose

Side Entrance of the English Rose

Outfit of the Day:

For this special tea outing I wore a light blue and white floral dress by Taylor which I got from Nordstrom Rack. What I love about this dress is that the material is thick and so keeps its shape well including, especially, the flair of the skirt! Also, the fabric has lots of texture to it giving it a very rich feel. This thick, textured polyester dress is completely lined in 100% cotton giving it a nice feel while making it easy care with little worries about wrinkling. I paired this with some navy flats, a light blue and white polka dot wired headband I got as a free gift from Modcloth, and a bold navy and white striped cardigan by Chaps from Kohls.

Outfit of the Day, Taylor Dress Chaps Cardigan- Front View

Outfit of the Day, Taylor Dress Chaps Cardigan- Side View

Outfit of the Day, Taylor Dress- Front View

Outfit of the Day, Taylor Dress- Side View