Dine at Mine
Before you get excited this is not an invitation to come and eat at my house lol. Instead it's something better! Sometimes you may not have the time or money to go out and have expensive dinners or experience afternoon tea. However, this doesn't mean that you should miss out all together, you can always re-create the same dishes and experiences in your own home and invite whoever you want (or be greedy and have it all to yourself) ;)
So this is exactly what I chose to do one day. Even though I love finding my groupon deals I decided that I would plan and organise a birthday afternoon treat for a family friend. It was something simple, easy and quick to do so anyone can rustle this up in their spare time.
All it took was a quick trip to Marks & Spencer as they sell afternoon treats such as cakes and biscuits for you to use and the bread and sandwich fillings you can grab at any local supermarket fairly cheaply. For the sandwich filling I chose: egg and cress, coronation chicken, cheese and chutney, ham and tomato and cucumber. There was a widerange of choice to suit everyone but obviously when making you're own you can pick and choose the ones that suit you.
The sandwiches and cakes were served on Wedgwood Cuckoo Tableware which is available on the John Lewis website. Once again you can get your own from similar stores or just stick to the basic tableware that you have at home. At the end of the day you need to decide what works for you and once you get the hang of it you will be having regular dinner parties at your house.
The table was dressed in an old tablecloth that my mum had in the airing cupboard and the mats were also something else that we had hidden away in the draw but luckily the two went well together colourwise. Then at one end of the table we placed a ballon, flowers and the present just to make it more special.
Afternoon tea wouldn't be much without tea itself which once again we had quite a selection from early grey and different flavoured herbal teas. You can also opt for coffee or something of the same family if that's what you prefer or even a bottle of bubbly like I did aswell. To be honest the choices are endless but you do have to discipline yourself so that you don't go overboard and overdo it. Afternoon Tea is simple and classic and too much fanciness will be distracting.
Overall this was an easy event to plan as it was small, intimate and in my own house so it was kept nice and cheap and cheerful. So if I can plan it then anyone can :) To see the pictures in more detail you can check out my facebook page.
Enjoy!
SXFRANKSONxo
