Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Jane (PlainJane) and I am the blessed and happy wife to Jeff and doubly blessed mama of two perfectly wonderful daughters. Please join me as I share our Lifestyle of Learning through Christian homeschooling and homesteading on our little hobby farm with our prairie girls.
Bookworm is our dd14/9th grader.
Our perfectionist and over-achiever. She loves reading, playing violin, her Paint horse, Annie, being a farm girl, and History re-entacting.
Ladybug
is our dd11/6th grader.
Our "girls just want to have fun" girl. She loves to play and has a great sense of humor, but also likes reading, music, her Quarter Horse, Kitty, and History re-enactment.
We are finished reading
the Moody books
By Sarah Maxwell
and HIGHLY recommend them
Please click on images for
information
~ I am a part of... ~
he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you -- THEY ARE YOUR LIFE. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." Deuteronomy 32:46-47
Today I'd like to Show & Tell about our favorite girly-girl spot. I decided to make our Valentine's Day extra special by making reservations at The Mad Hatter Tea Room - one of several quaint businesses in an old brick (former) post office building. We have only been there maybe a half dozen times, but each time we visit, it transports us girls...the feeling is hard to describe, but we all three become Victorian young ladies, having the most elegant of teas. We dress for the occassion - sometimes wearing hats and gloves (they also have antique hats & gloves there that we can choose from) - it's vintage, Victorian, romance & girlhood at it's finest. The service is impeccable, the food superb, and the ambiance is very fun! It's not elegant fancy, but lovely just the same. Here are a few scenes from our outting...
The menu has only 3 choices: chicken salad, egg salad, or peanut butter & jelly. Bookworm and I always order the chicken salad and Ladybug orders the peanut butter & jelly. With the sandwich, we have a choice of the soup of the day (it was tomato parmesan yesterday) or fruit; their delicious berry scone served with whipped cream & preserves, cheeses, a rich dessert of the day (it was red velvet muffins), and your choice of the tea of the day or raspberry lemonade. Everything is delicious, filling, and perfect. (at $10.95/ea., I hope the pb&j was good - at least they cut off the crusts). :)
I love all the antique dinnerware and beautiful linen napkins.
Here is a view of the other side of the room that we were in. This is their main dining area; they also have a garden room and another upstairs room. We had early reservations, but by 12:30, the place will be full! They have a fun gift shop too - we especially like the antique sink with the gold fish swimming in it. After tea, it has been our tradition to visit the antique store directly behind the post office building. A beautiful old mansion filled with treasures...
Usually we don't buy anything, it's just fun to look and the girls daydream of "if this was our house." Yesterday was different, I picked up several treasures - one was a cute 1940's child's dresser for Ladybug to use as a night table, but I'll let her post about that. I also found a couple little glass bottles that will be perfect for us to use for ink when we write with quill pens for our Colonial Days study.
Dispite the 3 inches of snow we received the night before, it was a PERFECT DAY!
Please see our sweet hostess, Mary, if you would like to join in our Friday Show & Tell's or for links to others doing S&T today.
Oh, that is a perfect day!!! And you know, it would not be too hard to replicate at home for those in between times when a tea party is in order! (I am glad I did not show our Valentine's Day. So commercial... kids got McD's coupons and I took them to Walmart and bought them Legos. )
Jenn
Oh, what a perfect day for the Ladies . I sure wished I was there. Is that where you got my gifts ? You are very blessed with two young ladies. My 3ds wants us to do tea. I have been talking about learning manners with tea time. I need to get on this !!!
Sending you blessings and ((hugs)) my SSiC
In Him<><
-Mary
Oh, how elegant! I wish we had something similar to visit on special occasions. Hope you and your family have a very blessed weekend.
Blessings to you, Mama Karen
This looks so bright and cheery, besides being elegant. I've been to a Tea Shop once or twice, and it is sure a lot of fun. Sometimes, however, I feel out of place. Last month I went to a Tea Shop with Troopers for Christ, and I poured my tea into my cup and forgot to use the strainer! AUGH! Country mouse goes to the Victorian Tea Shop. NOT a pretty picture. LOL
I'm glad to see your day out went very well! We tried to shop for antiques but the store across the street was closed yesterday, and the other two we couldn't find lol. We are going to have to visit the town and Mission again soon.
Here is mine:
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/desertoasis/87775/
hugs
Denise
What a beautiful tea room and building. My dd would love it! I've never tasted peanut butter and jelly but maybe when we visit the US this year I'll give it a go. Sounds very unusual (to us.)
Wow! What a lovely place! It looks like you had a wonderful time. I sure wish I could join you and the girls for tea sometime. (Um, my boys are not so much into tea parties, lol.) Are you making your own ink for your study? Would you believe that I just bought some reproduction Colonial clothes? (Skirt, apron, shawl and mob cap.) I thought I could wear them when I teach the Girls Club old fashioned skills. :-)
Thanks for stopping by to visit me--it always makes my day!
Great show and tell, Jane! I love places like this. You transported me to some of my favorite memories of going to restaurants like this one. Your pictures are reallly sweet - thanks for taking them so we could enjoy it, too!
I find this an advantage of blogging - it motivates me to take pictures and to capture the moment by writing about it. I wish I could figure out how to print my blogs more effectively. When I print a post out, I get pictures cut off going on to the next page. Do you know of a way to print our posts in a nice continuing manner? Posts (like this one) that are capturing a special memory, would be nice to save in a notebook. Any ideas?
Your visit to this tea room reminded me of my girlfriend - for years and years (should I say decades and decades?) -every year for our birthday (it's one day apart) we choose a place like the one you featured. My friend is totally victorian, in everything.
We always enjoy those special desserts and sandwiches. But after reading your post I realized something. Because I always go with her, and not my girls, I have not developed any appreciation for Victorian things in my girls. Maybe I can mend my ways with my youngest one, Ruthie.
Your antique you bought for your daughter's room sounds lovely. I can't wait to see it.
Antoinette
After tea, it has been our tradition to visit the antique store directly behind the post office building. A beautiful old mansion filled with treasures...
Usually we don't buy anything, it's just fun to look and the girls daydream of "if this was our house." Yesterday was different, I picked up several treasures - one was a cute 1940's child's dresser for 
