Over the holidays, we had a houseguest; Tessa Rose (or Rosie for short), the Traveling Teacup.
A little backstory…
The idea for The Traveling Teacup was conceived by Barbara of the Mantel and Table Blog. I ‘met’ Barbara online via our blogs and she is a kindred spirit on the opposite side of the country…we share a love for teacups, entertaining, dishes and table setting, and delicious food. If you were to throw in scallop shaped things and monograms, I’d swear we were twins separated at birth LOL.
Anyway, the traveling teacup goes to visit other bloggers on invitation and has had many adventures thus far, but none in the Boston area. Since I was planning to reinstate my annual Nutcracker Sweets dessert open house party this year, and since I use many of the teacups from my own collection at that party, I thought it would be fun for Rosie to ‘meet’ them and attend and so the invitation was extended.
Barbara sent Rosie on the first flight out and she arrived safely packed, right on schedule, and with a lovely card from Barbara.
We were in the midst of our first round of baking frenzy for the party when she arrived.
Rosie turns out to be my good luck charm as she was here for the third and finally successful attempt to get my lemon cake for the party to release from the pan intact! I’ve never had so much trouble with it! I’m realizing I probably need more of the Wilton Cake Release magic I used to use for all my baking pans with nooks and crannies…
She was also here to celebrate Christmas with us and to help with some of the final Christmas decorating. Here she is checking out the stair garland. We always use a base of faux garland and mix in assorted sprays of faux leaves along with our signature music printed leaves and songbirds. The bows and ribbons get altered from time to time, but are always in a mix of neutrals and metallics as is most of our main room holiday decor.
Here is Rosie under the tree admiring the packages and bows, which we color coordinate with the tree.
Because we usually have other plans for Christmas Day, the kids and I celebrate on Christmas Eve when we have an assortment of charcuterie nibbles, shrimp cocktail, and wine and exchange gifts by the light of the tree.
This year, my kids gifted me some pretty green Le Creuset pieces that were transported by my daughter all the way from Germany, because this color, which is the perfect match for my newly refurbished kitchen, is not available stateside! I luuuurve my new tea kettle!
Rosie is also a fan of scallops…see? Her saucer is scalloped just like the detail on my kitchen hood! And she made friends with the kitchen counter decor too…
She offered inspiration on setting the table for the party, and spent some time before guests arrived surveying the various dessert options (for the complete party recap and recipe links, click HERE).
And she finally got to meet all the teacups! No two are exactly alike, which makes it nice - party guests can choose whichever one appeals most and it won’t get mixed up with any one else’s drink when they set it down!
We served the hot beverages on the kitchen baking counter and offered tea’s and coffee and chocolate stirring spoons as an extra coffee treat!
We had a lovely party and Rosie has some good memories to take home. She even got a little teapot ornament to remember her Boston trip!
Safe travels Rosie, you are welcome back any time!
See more of Rosie’s adventure and a map of all the places she’s been over at Mantel and Table HERE!
Other posts you might enjoy:
Favorite Dessert Recipes
Nutcracker Sweets Party; Planning and Recap
The Secret to Setting a Spectacular Buffet Table
