But, no Johnny Depp!
I haven’t written much about my faith, and this certainly isn’t going to be a post about it. I have been a Lutheran for about fifty years, but I was confirmed as a Methodist. None of that has much to do with this blog post except as an introduction to the idea behind a tea party! Oh, and I love Johnny Depp…especially Johnny Depp in guyliner! He did not surprise me with an appearance!
A little history…
When we moved to our current home, I went looking for a new church in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) as well as one that had a bell choir. I found Messiah Lutheran Church! What I also found was a whole lot of interest in me as a member of a women’s circle! Now, this is going to give anyone who really, really knows me a chuckle. I actually was invited to join every women’s circle at our new church! I am not a church lady.AT.ALL! The f bomb is a part of my every day vernacular as well as several other cursey words. I have never read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (I had to google to find out the last book). I don’t even know very many hymns (unless we count Christmas carols). Since I was new, I could pretend to be a church lady, right? Eventually, I did join a circle and am even a member of the board (OK…I hope none of you just spit out your Diet Coke and ruined your computer).
A tea party mini retreat
In the fall, Women’s Ministries (we evolved and became something different) hosts a weekend retreat for women. I’ve never attended because something always seemed to happen around that time. In 2019, we had a spring mini retreat which was just a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. That fall, we (as in the board) decided to host another spring retreat in March or April of 2020. Since we didn’t (and still don’t) have a huge budget, I volunteered to write and present at the retreat. We thought a tea party would be just swell. Well…we all know what happened then! Our church went into lockdown during the pandemic, and the tea party was postponed.
The theme, you ask?
I have this habit of going down rabbit holes whenever I want to research something. What is a rabbit hole, you ask? A rabbit hole is googling something, then following one link then another and another and another! I used this technique frequently before circle meetings because I had no idea who these women we were studying were or even their context in the Bible (full disclosure…I still do this). I’ve mentioned I also help teach a group of adult students with special needs. I do the same thing when I’m preparing a lesson…google to my heart’s content and come up with a plan. Since I go down rabbit holes and we were hosting a tea party, the natural theme would be…A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party! Blissfully ignorant of the pandemic at this point, I began writing my presentation. I cannot even tell you the number of rabbit holes I found and explored! But, I ended up with my presentation. And…it sat on my laptop for a couple of years.
A Pinterest success!
I am kind of known in our family for my Pinterest fails. The most famous is my Easter bunny cake! Several of the rabbit holes I went down involved Pinterest for decor. You would be surprised how many pins there are for a Mad Hatter tea party! I was responsible for the centerpieces on the tables…Pinterest success at last! I also was finally able to get rid of use several of those delightful little Oui yogurt jars! The tag inside each jar says, “Eat me!” We had decided on a red, black, and white color scheme. And, now I present to you one of my centerpieces on a completed table!
Finally…
This past Saturday, we finally hosted our Mad Hatter Tea Party. I decided I was going to dress up, wear a hat, and deliver my little presentation. I won’t bore you with the details of my talk except to say I ran a little long! I have no problem with talking as you can probably tell! We had mini quiches, mini muffins, heart shaped shortbread cookies, tea breads, and fruit as well as several varieties of hot tea and iced tea! Many of the women wore hats, too! All in all, I count it as a success.
The Lewk!
I didn’t grab any photos of my accessories. I wore these L’Artiste boots. I really wanted to wear these, but I knew I was going to be standing most of the morning. I wore a diamond pendant Nigel bought me many years ago along with diamond earrings. My under dress is April Cornell (seen here) as is the outer dress! I picked up this hat from Target, bought a couple of yards of grey tulle, and tied a huge bow around it! I also bought some other lace fabric thinking I would use it, but I guess it will have to be a skirt instead!
Not quite there yet, but…
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Another reminder…
Don’t forget to join Leslie and me for 10 on the 10th. Unfortunately, Leslie will be stepping back from blogging for a bit. I do intend to continue the 10 on the 10th, but I’m not sure if it will include a link up (I don’t know how to do that yet). You don’t have to have a blog to participate. You can answer some or all of the questions in the comments on April 10!
Wrap it up, Marsha!
Although it was a long time in coming, the Mad Hatter Tea Party turned out to be quite a bit of fun! I have always been shy, but I have no problems with speaking in front of groups! Maybe it’s all of those years in front of fourth graders, or maybe it’s the lack of having to interact on an individual basis that makes it easier! Or, maybe it’s that I’m just weird! What do you think? Are you a Pinterest success story or failure? Do you miss the days of wearing big hats to occasions? Please leave a comment or two, and we can have a conversation! Thank you to my subscribers! I appreciate your support so very much!
Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, My Bijou LIfe, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, Being a Wordsmith, and Mummabstylish. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I’m also a co-host on the Weekend Traffic Jam (here).
Oh finally the tea party! You write, and I can imagine talk too, in such a fun way. And yes I totally can imagine your tea party talk was too long. Did they all say: wrap it up Marsha! You look fabulous!
Hahaha!!! My students used to get me off the subject with a story so, yep, I’m a talker for sure!!! Not a one said, “Wrap it up, Marsha!” But, they should have!! I was the only one who could see the clock so maybe they didn’t realize I was going long!
Thanks, Nancy!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the Tea Party! I love what you wore to the event. You look lovely with the hat!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thanks so much, Lovely! We did have a glorious time!!
I love it!! Both the decorations and what you wore. Souna like a success!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Thanks, Mireille! We had so much fun…after planning it for a while!!!
You’re a woman after my own heart with your hat! Have dozens of them, snd have also hosted several Madhatter tea parties. Love today’s outfit too. Have a great weekend.
You know…I can count the number of hats I have one one hand! I always loved going into the department stores and trying them on. But, I just never bought any. I’m definitely going to have to get some more! I’ll bet your tea parties were quite a lot of fun, Lesley!
This is sooooo fun!!!! I love the theme and it totally looks like a success. I am also a big fan of the fun hat you choose. Dress it up and have fun, I say. Definitely a Pinterest success.
I also enjoy getting to know you a bit better. Sounds like we would get along in real life, but we are both talkers ???.
bosbodaciousblog.blogspot.ca
Oh, I think we would have so much to talk about, Bo! We’d probably close down the restaurant, right? I had so much fun with this tea party and its theme. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but it was just as wonderful as I’d hoped it would be!
OH I bet it was wonderful! Your centerpieces came out great and I love your outfit; it just screams Ladies’ tea. I have my post for the 10 on the 10th already to go.
Oh, you are a step ahead of me on the 10 on the 10th! I need to get busy on that, but life just has this way of intruding! Thanks so much for the compliments! I was really quite proud of my centerpieces because of my history of Pinterest fails! Nigel was even more proud I got rid of those Oui jars!!!
What fun Marsha. I’m not usually one to speak in front of groups, so I’m impressed. But give me a one on one, and I don’t quit talking either, haha.
Love the hat!!
OXOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
If I’m with people I know well, I can talk for hours. But, if it’s a new person or a group of people who already know each other…I just clam up! Many years ago, when I was asked to read scripture at church, I’d practice over and over again. I was a nervous wreck. I’m not really sure what happened to change that. But, I’m very comfortable speaking in front of groups of people. I even delivered the message at church one Saturday night! And, I repeat…I am NOT a church lady at all!
Ha! Cool outfit! And story. Your Mad Hatter Tea Party decorations turned out beautifully! I’ve tried some recipes from Pinterest, but no decorating ideas. I don’t think I inherited that gene.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
I never used to think of myself as a creative person. But, I realized, after retiring, I’d spent all of my creative time developing lesson plans and classroom decorations. I love looking at Pinterest. In fact, lots of our home improvements have been inspired by Pinterest!
I have had my fair share of Pinterest fails though. Maybe some day, I’ll share that Easter bunny cake!
This is the perfect look for your tea party! I adore the hat especially.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thanks, Kathrine! I really liked the way it turned out! I thought I’d have to do a lot more fussing with it! Instead, I just had to tie a big bow and floof it a little!
Everything about this post is so happy and cheery! I love it! Your outfit and the party sound quite successful, even if Johnny Depp was a no show. I also like him in guyliner…and I drop the f bomb on the daily as well. LOL. Congrats on your party!
Oh, Erin, you are the only person to comment on my Johnny! I have had a crush on him since his 21 Jump Street days! But, that guyliner…just can’t get Nigel to wear it! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. It was such a fun day! My kids always joke about how they never hear their dad drop the f bomb (he does), but it’s no big deal coming from me because they’re so used to it! Hahaha!
As an aficionado of hot tea and all things Alice in Wonderland, I approve of this party theme! As a bunny lover, I approve of the rabbit holes. And as a style blogger, I approve of your outfit! Well done all around. 😀
Thanks so much, Sally! If we’d had the budget, there were so many more things I would have loved to do. But, no budget equals doing what you can with what you’ve got! I’m glad you visited! And, thank you…I really liked how my outfit turned out!
It all looks and sounds delightful, the table, the heart shaped food, Lady Grantham’s hat. You do make me laugh with your writing! Thanks for linking
Thank you so much, Gail! I had to teach writing for many years…I’m glad I benefitted from that! We had a fabulous time…even if it was a couple of years late!
What a divine outfit! Love, love the hat plus the colour of the dress and long top/coat. And the whole story of the tea party – sounds mad!!! The tables look gorgeous. It was just so lovely to start my day reading about you and the tea and the outfit – thanks x
Oh, Penny, you’ve made my day! I’m glad you enjoyed the post…I had so much fun preparing for it. My outfit was planned in my head for a long time, but I didn’t really try it until a couple of days before!
Thank you so much, Penny, for coming by!
WOW Marsha, you look absolutely freakin GORGEOUS! I love the outfit, the story and your fabulous Mad Hatter themed tables. Genius! I also love Johnny Depp in guyliner too lol! But the best thing about this post? The fact that you told us you frequently drop the f-bomb….that just made me love you even more lol!!! You’re just too cool for school, Marsha!!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
Hahaha!!! Love that you think I’m too cool for school!!! I was a teacher for so many years (and dropped lots of f bombs at the end of the day). I had a blast with this tea party and the post, too! I only wish Johnny had showed up…in guyliner or not!
Thanks, Suzy!