Silver Cat Tea Party: December 2016

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Christmas Tea at Lisa's Tea Treasures

December is a fine time for tea...

Especially on a cold and rainy day. And that is exactly what I did.

The weekend before last my friend and I went out for Christmas tea at Lisa's Tea Treasures at Pruneyard in Campbell. This is a place I've been wanting to take my friend to for a while as the first (and last) time I went there it really left an impression on me. I remember the place being so quaint and cute, set up like little cozy rooms within the tea place in this upper scale shopping center. I also remember the staff being exceptional, the food as being amazing, and just the overall experience to be top notch. Going back to this tea room for the second time did not disappoint.

The tableware was set up special for Christmas and featured Royal Albert Old Country Roses Christmas china. I love it when tea rooms get out the fine china! To follow suit in the Christmas festivities my friend and I both ordered the Spirit of Christmas tea.

We started off with a pipping hot pot of tea and all the gingerbread cookies we could want. While the Spirit of Christmas tea was intended to be paired with a Victorian Noel spiced plum tea which sounded scrumptious, I opted to get a pot of decaf Earl Grey instead because I find a whole pot of caffeinated tea to be too much for me. Next up we were served cream of asparagus soup, a cranberry scone with lemon curd, cranberry curd and Devonshire cream. This was followed by chicken croissant tea sandwiches, cucumber mint tea sandwiches, and an open face Caprese tea sandwich. For savories we were served a sweet cinnamon potato puff. Finishing up the tea, we were each served a large helping of red velvet yule log cake complete with a decorative and edible mini candy cane. While the tea sandwiches didn't really have too much taste to me, I did love the presentation of everything and really loved the soup and dessert. Also, even though they seemed to be quite busy for the holiday season, I didn't feel overly rushed to get out which is always a necessity for me when going out for tea. Overall, it was another great experience at Lisa's in Campbell. It was unfortunate to learn that they will be moving location by mid February 2017. I am really hoping that which ever location they decide to move to next they will be able to keep to the same feeling, service, and experience I get at this location in Pruneyard at Campbell.

Lisa's Tea Treasures at Pruneyard, Campbell, CA

Little doily over the creamer

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Outfit of the Day: Winter Tea and a Day at the Museum

I cut my hair!

It was more than due time! It may seem ironic to cut hair shorter in the winter but with the new shorter do it takes a lot less time to dry and now that I feel comfortable wearing it down again it covers my ears and my neck keeping me warmer too. I cut off 11 inches and will be donating it to Locks of Love. 'Tis the season for donating! :)

And now on to...

Outfit of the Day (Saturday):

I'm a little behind in posts. These Outfit of the Day posts are actually from the weekend before last. On the Saturday before last I went out with a friend to tea (tea pics to come). It was a cold and rainy day and so I was sure to bundle up! I decided to get extra festive for the holiday season and wear my Voodoo Vixen Audrey Wool Dots cape and skirt set. While I got both of these items what seems like several years ago (it was really either last year or the year before), it was my first time actually getting to wear it out. I got the skirt from Cats Like Us while the cape I found at Angry Young and Poor. I paired this with a black Heart of the Haute Estelle top which I got a couple years ago from a local vintage reproduction shop, Vintage Alley. To keep warm, I paired this with some black fleece lined tights (from Nordstrom Rack last year) and for an extra layer wore a vintage beaded black cardigan (from Etsy several years ago). For ease, I wore this with a pair of basic black flats.

Voodoo Vixen Audrey Wool Dots skirt and cape set- Front View

Voodoo Vixen Audrey Wool Dots skirt and vintage beaded black cardigan- Front View

Voodoo Vixen Audrey Wool Dots skirt and vintage beaded black cardigan- Side View

Voodoo Vixen Audrey Wool Dots skirt and Heart of Haute Estelle blouse- Front View

Outfit of the Day (Sunday):

On the Sunday before last I went out to the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park with a friend. For the occasion I decided to wear my Emily and Fin Painter's Palette dress which I got from Pinup Girl Clothing on Black Friday last year. I paired this with a green cropped cardigan by MAK which I got either from Modcloth or Trashy Diva earlier this year, textured black tights which I think I got either from Nordstrom Rack or Target, and for ease of walking, I went with a pair of trusty basic black tights. For a finishing touch I wore a hat by Callanan Millinery which I found at Unique Vintage either last year or the year before.

Emily and Fin Painter's Palette dress- Front View

Emily and Fin Painter's Palette dress- Side View

Emily and Fin Painter's Palette dress- Front View

Emily and Fin Painter's Palette dress- Side View

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Outfit of the Day: At the Aquarium with Anne Rice

On Friday the week before last, I got to meet Anne Rice!

She was at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco doing a book signing for her new book Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis.

Outfit of the Day:

Because I thought it was a cute idea that she was doing her Atlantis book signing at the Aquarium, I decided to wear my trashy Diva 40's dress in Deep Sea coral to play along with that theme! I paired this with a vintage Navy sequined cardigan which I got earlier this year from Etsy. To keep warm, I paired this with light beige sweater tights from Target from a couple years ago and though not pictured a beige wool wrap coat also from Target from a couple years ago. Because I knew we'd be getting into some walking I wore a pair of navy flats by Rocket Dog from Zappos from a couple years ago.

Trashy Diva 40's dress in Deep Sea Coral- Front View

Trashy Diva 40's dress in Deep Sea Coral- Side View

With Anne Rice at the Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco!

At the Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco, CA

I'm looking forward to starting Anne Rice's new book! But first, I'm reading Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert (the fifth book in the Dune series) before I let too much time pass between the last time I read Dune book #4 and this one.

Are you a book lover? What book are you currently reading?

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Outfit of the Day: From Thanksgiving Weekend

Hello Kittens!

I was meaning to post this much much sooner but as what happens sometimes life stuff gets in the way. Thankfully, it's all been the good kind of life stuff, just basic busyness of the holidays and fun with friends. Anyhow, here are some Outfits of the Day from Thanksgiving weekend!

Outfit of the Day (Thanksgiving Thursday):

On Thanksgiving Tim took me out to breakfast before the family came over for dinner. For this day's festivities I decided to wear one of my favorite Autumn dresses, my Pinup Girl Clothing Havana Nights dress in Warm Toned Cabana Stripes which I got a couple years ago from ebay. I layered this one up for the weather that has quickly turned cold. I paired this with a black cardigan from the Gap from several years ago, red opaque tights which I think I got from Kohls a couple years ago, a red wool toggle coat from Target from several years ago, and a pair of basic black flats from Zappos from a couple years ago.

Pinup Girl Clothing Havana Nights dress in Warm Toned Cabana Stripes- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Havana Nights dress in Warm Toned Cabana Stripes- Side View

Pinup Girl Clothing Havana Nights dress in Warm Toned Cabana Stripes- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Havana Nights dress in Warm Toned Cabana Stripes- Side View

Outfit of the Day (Friday):

On Friday because she couldn't make it for Thanksgiving dinner, we met up with Tim's mom for a belated Thanksgiving lunch. Later that night Tim and I went out to a Friendsgiving celebration with a bunch of his friends from high school.

For this day, I decided to take the wiggle challenge proposed by fellow blogger Emily from Thoroughly Modern Emily. As it turns out I actually completely missed her wiggle week which she did the week of 11/19-11/25, and since I'm also posting this super late, I really missed her wiggle week by a lot! Anyhow, I did want to get on board with her challenge of embracing the wiggle and trying to be more comfortable in our own skin and so I picked a wiggle to wear for this day. This Stop Staring Edie dress in black plaid has been sitting in my closet for ages now-- though not from lack of love for it. I got this dress a few years ago from a local vintage reproduction shop, Vintage Alley. I paired this with a hand knit orange short sleeved cardigan I got last year from another somewhat local vintage reproduction shop, 23 Skidoo. For extra warmth I also paired this with some fleece lined opaque black tights from Target from last year and though I didn't picture it here, I did end up wearing my red wool toggle coat from Target over this and as is my usual, for comfort, I wore a pair of basic black flats which I got several years ago from Zappos.

Stop Staring Edie dress in Black Plaid- Front View

Stop Staring Edie dress in Black Plaid- Side View

Stop Staring Edie dress in Black Plaid- Front View

Stop Staring Edie dress in Black Plaid- Side View

Outfit of the Day (Saturday):

On Saturday I went out with a friend to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! As I saw another friend from facebook do, I decided to be super festive and go in theme to the event! Trying to put together an outfit that seemed to fit the stylistic theme of the movie I wore my Trashy Diva Ashley top in Wine Dots (recently re-released in a different version earlier last week!), paired with a black swing skirt from Steady which I think I got from Unique Vintage from several years ago, brown sweater tights from Target from last year, and a beige wrap wool shawl coat also from Target from a couple years ago. For finishing touches (which I feel really make the outfit) I wore a black asymmetric cloche hat from Nordstrom Rack from a couple years ago and a pair of ribbon tie heels by Naya which I got from Amazon several years ago.

Target Wrap Wool Shawl coat- Front View

Target Wrap Wool Shawl coat- Side View

Trashy Diva Ashley top in Wine Dots, Steady black swing skirt - Front View

Trashy Diva Ashley top in Wine Dots, Steady black swing skirt - Side View

Themeing for Fantastic Beasts!

Outfit of the Day (Sunday):

Sunday was the last day of this fun filled busy weekend and I got to continue the fun this day by going with a friend to my favorite movie theater, the historic Stanford Theater in Palo Alto. For this day I picked another wiggle dress living in my closet which I bought a couple years ago and have been trying to muster up the courage to wear-- my Bettie Page Matilda dress which I found a couple years ago on ebay. Oh how much I love the Bettie Page (now Tatyana) designs from back in the day! Because it was absolutely necessary, I layered up this outfit to keep warm. I paired this with a vintage brown cardigan with embroidered leaves which I got a couple years ago from Etsy, as well as a plaid cape by Mono B which I got a couple years ago from Modcloth. For a finishing touch I also wore a pair of polka dot tights from Nordstrom Rack from a couple years ago, a pair of brown houndstooh flats from the Gap Outlet from several years ago, and a brown fedora from TJ Maxx from last year.