High tAcKy Texas Tea

Are you just *dying* to know what in the world "High tAcKy Texas Tea" is?  Well...let me fill you in, but first a side step.  My mom, her sister, my dad, his brother (did I mention that my mom's sister is married to my dad's brother?) and my two double cousins (Danielle and Nicole) all went to Ireland and England on vacation at the beginning of this month.  Whilst my father and uncle stayed behind in Ireland to play golf, my mom, aunt, and cousins moved on to London.  On their list of "must haves" was a visit to The Brown's Hotel to have High Tea.  They learned all  kinds of important details - the proper order of the various courses of a proper High Tea, for example, and the reason why the pinky finger is stuck out during the drinking of hot tea (for proper balance, of course).

On Monday evening, I was minding my own business when I received this text message from double cousin Danielle?

D:  Will you join us for tea at work on Thursday?

My response:

K:  We are having tea at work on Thurs?

The rest of the convo:

D:  We are.

K:  Well that is random, but yes...I shall join u.

D:  Remember proper attire is required.

K:  Oh but of course.

D:  We will mark u down c u then.


So, I really had no idea what I had agreed to.  I did, however, discover the next day that my brother (who lives in D.C.), older sister Cathy, brother-in-law Jay, my father, and cousin Courtney (who lives in Columbus, OH) were also invited.  Courtney wanted to know if she could phone in, but Danielle informed her cell phones were not allowed during high tea (even a tAcKy one in Texas).  Eddie declined.  Cathy declined.  Courtney was forced to decline, apparently.  My dad initially declined, but somehow managed to join us...he said my mom made him, but my mom said she was surprised he partook in the activities.  Hmmmm....  Why was younger sister Linda not invited even though she wouldn't be able to skip out on work to join us?   No one knows.  I had Danielle invite her Wednesday night, but Linda said she was not happy about a pity-vite.  Jay did join us, though.

Okay, so what is the proper order for the courses of a proper High Tea?

Finger Sandwiches - we had  4 varieties - tuna, egg salad, cucumber, and tomato on whole wheat bread with the crust cut off.

Fruit - we had strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries

Scones - we had blueberry (with butter and our choice of raspberry or apricot sugar free jam)

Cookies - we had a selection of delightfulness like little wafers, chocolate covered pretzels, shortbread...

Cake - we had a selection of lemon squares, brownie/cheesecake squares, and Texas sheet cake from RJ Goodies.

What makes a High Texas Tea tAcKy?  Well...you might not be able to tell from the pics, but the table cloth and the plates are paper and the "silverware" is plastic.  The tea party was held in the breakroom at my work.  Oh and I almost forgot about the British bloke (one of my employees) who came into my office singing "Tea for Two" and then played me the Doris Day version on his Droid.  This was all after he asked my mother if she would be serving us clotted cream.  Yeah...I have no clue what clotted cream is and I'm sure glad it wasn't present at our tea. 

What was lacking in atmosphere was completely made up for in heart.  My mom, Nicole, and Danielle did a wonderful job of bringing the tea party to me (well...and to my dad and Jay, too, I suppose).  If you are wondering if this meal was South Beach friendly, the answer is NO.  The sandwiches were...and, of course, the fruit, but the rest of it was...ahem...carbo-loading!  haha!  Yes, that's what I'm calling it and I double dog dare you to call me out on it considering I am now slightly over 2 days away from my big race!

Here are a couple more pics for your viewing pleasure:

my cute mom!

Double Cousin Nicole (note the pinky is OUT)

Double Cousin Danielle

My mom and dad (note - the pinky is OUT)

So, this was our inaugural High tAcKy Texas Tea.  I did tell my dad (since he seemed to enjoy himself SOOOO much) that arrangements could be made for me to serve high tea every Thursday, but I don't think he was thrilled with the idea.  

Have you ever had a tea party or been to a tea room?  Good times, my friends...good times!