I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Dining Room "Tea Room" , The Buffet......Bed and Breakfast Series

 

 




 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Just a reminder, I will be posting on Wednesdays and Sundays every week so be sure to check back on those days to see a new post......  
 
 Today, I am going to be sharing how and why I decided to decorate my Dining Room like a "Tea Room" for the Summer....

In my last post, I shared the Gnome/Fairy Gardens and a Fur Baby Memory Garden in my small Cottage Barden back yard....
 
 

 

 

 

 

 Click HERE if you missed that post....

 
I am skipping the Personal Notes for this post as this is going to be a long one, even taking a walk down Memory Lane with me....
 
 
So pull up a chair and get comfy....

 
A Blast from the Past!!!

I always say that in my 40's, when all my multiple Medical issues started to rear their ugly heads, I knew that my days of traveling for any distance were over....

So I decided that since I loved the Victorian Era so much and enjoyed visiting Victorian hamlets like Cape May. NJ., where we took a day trip every year that we vacationed in Wildwood, NJ since I was a child.....


 Jim Thorpe, Pa. where I visited on many a day trip with Joe and the boys and then several times a year, meeting friends there to shop and have lunch....
 

 A gem of the Poconos, Jim Thorpe offers history and fun things to do
 
 And Belvidere, NJ. meeting up with friends and attending their annual Victorian Days Celebration along with going on House Tours....
 
 
That I would turn my 1970's built townhouse into the Victorian Bed and Breakfast that I would love to stay at if I was able to continue traveling....

Now this is the time of year that I do not decorate the Dining Room, Kitchen or Powder room for any Holidays or Seasons so I was trying to think what I wanted to do with the Dining Room from now until October when I decorate it for Halloween.....

Then I saw these pictures on Face Book posted by Miss Spencer's Special Teas on Longview Farms in Iowa....
 
They have a Tea Room and it is also a Bed and Breakfast!!

These are pictures of the Tea Room in the early morning before Guests arrive....




These were pictures I found on their Face Book page of an actual Tea hosted there...



 HERE is a link to their website....

 
These photos made me think back to a time when Joe and I belonged to a local Victorian Society headed by my friend, Lisa, who was also known locally as Victoriana Lady....

Lisa would present programs to different organizations about Victorian times and the taking of Tea....

Several of our meetings were held at the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion in Wilkes Barre, only 10 minutes away from my home...
 
 

The Mansion also hosted Specialty Tea's and  Lisa would put on a program at each of them....
 
My good friend Anne Marie and I attended many Teas there like the Chocolate Lover's Tea held in February around Valentine's Day.....







And the very popular Titantic Tea's....





I apologize for the pictures not being larger as they were taken from my early posts in 2011!!

Joe and I even stayed for a wonderful weekend at the Mansion to celebrate our 33rd Wedding Anniversary and Joe's Birthday..

We stayed in the Amelia Suite, which is named in honor of Amelia Stegmaier ,who was the lady of the house.


This was the Suite that former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, First Lady Roslyn Carter,  stayed in when they visited the mansion not once but twice!!!


Yes, this is the bed that the Carter's slept in during their stay.

Joe and I can say that we slept in the same bed that a President and First Lady slept in!




We had a private Sitting Room.....





The Royal Wedding Tea was being held there that weekend...




Which we also attended meeting several of our friends there and were allowed to have them come and visit us in our suite afterward!!!!





This is our friend Joe Matteo who owns the Mansion....

 
I gained so much inspiration from our times at the mansion that I incorporated many of Joe Matteo's decorating ideas into my own home to create my own little Bed and Breakfast...

But that will be in a post for another day....
 
 
We also attended several Tea's at a lovely Tea Room in our area that has since closed, long before the Pandemic.....

Sugar's Tea Room.....

These are pictures of a Christmas Tea the Victorian Society attended.....



The different rooms in the Victorian house which served as the Tea Room.....







Members also hosted Teas and Dinners at their homes and I have an entire album of photos from those events and all the other wonderful things we did and went to while members of the Victorian Society....

And then my friend Lisa moved to New England and the group disbanded....

And suddenly and sadly, it was all over.....
 
I also went to a few Tea Rooms in the Easton/Nazareth, Pa. area with a group of friends that lived  there and that I would meet up with at Jim Thorpe and Belvidere........ 


I hosted many Tea Tables at our Church as a Hostess for our Harvest Teas over the years....
 
I have pictures in albums of the ones I did before I started my Blog in 2010...
 
I did 2 tables for 20 guests in 2010

"Guardian Angels"


 
"My Country Tis of Thee"


In 2013, "Quoth the Raven Never More"


I even had my guests wear black and white to match the table!!


A "White and Gold Christmas" in 2014




In 2017, my "Under the Sea" Table


 
 
 In 2018, I actually chose an Autumn theme after doing the Harvest Tea for many years.....

"Pumpkin Kisses , Harvest Wishes"
 
 
 
 
 
 Doing the Harvest Tea as a hostess is extremely labor intensive and also very expensive....
 
Some years, I spent close to $300 as the hostess provides the food, favors and decorations for her table and in my case, I was having over 20 guests at times...


After thinking back on these lovely times, I decided that I would decorate my very Victorian looking Dining Room as if it was a "Tea Room".....

I also gained inspiration for this from a fellow Blogger, Bernideen , who has a Tea Room in her own home....



HERE is the link for a charming post she did when she had some ladies over for Tea!! 


 
As I mentioned many times before, my Dining Room is my most Victorian looking room in the entire house!!

So why not have a "Tea Room" in my own little Victorian "Bed and Breakfast"????


About 20 years ago, I decided that I was going to paint it in a rich deep rose color on top of a chair rail that we installed and a hunter green below.....

All to match a wall paper border that I found and loved.....

Now this was quite a frightening thing for me to do as there are no windows in the room but after watching multiple episodes of the Christopher Lowell decorating show and hearing him say that if you had a small room with no windows then why not make it a "Jewel Box" and use rich jewel tone colors.....


He did not believe in white walls or white ceilings for that matter and it is because of his show I went with using color in my rooms and never looked back!!

In this post, I am going to share the Buffet and the area around it in my newly decorated "Tea Room" Dining Room.....


In the corner by the buffet....



On a Home Interiors shelf, is one of my Thomas Kinkade Pink Ladies.....


2 women sipping Tea ....


My FB friend Angela gifted me this beautiful plaque that she made...


What amazing detail!!!



On the side of the buffet.....



On a pedestal, is one of my Victorian dolls.....





Hanging on the handles of the buffet are tassel doll ornaments....





I display some of my Tea Cup collection on a few shelves in the Dining Room.......
 
 
 
 
 
 This Home Interiors shelf is above the buffet....


Let's take a closer look at the tea cups I have dis[played on it...


This tea cup and saucer is a newer one....






This vintage luster finish tea cup and saucer has a Moss Rose like pattern on it....





On the other side of the tassel doll is another vintage luster finish tea cup....





And the last tea cup on the shelf....

 
This is a newer one....







The 2 pictures are Home Interiors....


The one of the left was given to me by a former co-worker and ironically, it matched the larger one that I had for many years....




 
 
The chandy is reflected in the picture when it is turned on....


On another small Home Interiors shelf....


In the frame is a photo of Joe's maternal grandparents....

His grandmother Rose traveled from Poland by herself at 18 years old to meet up with her Father who was here in America, working in a coal mine....
 

She later married a man, much older than herself, whose wife had recently died.....


She became a Mother to his 3 children and had 4 more children of her own of which my MIL and her fraternal twin sister were the youngest...

The tea cup was from a Child's Christmas Tea Set and was gifted to me by my good friend Anne Marie....


And the tea pot is a mini ornament...


And now to the buffet....


I started with a very pretty toile runner that was handmade by a friend of mine who sells them at Craft Fairs and was my Co-Chairperson in running our Parish Craft Fairs, which she is now in charge of....


I added a venise lace trim to it....



After looking up pictures of Tea Rooms on Pinterest and in books, I saw that a lot of Tea Rooms have a buffet with several Tea items displayed on it ....

So this is my version of such.....


I bought this lamp at a Flea Market.....



A pair of lace gloves with a pin from my pin collection pinned to them......


On top of one of my Tea books.....


On a cake pedestal that I bought from Amazon.....


I paid $1.00 for this vintage Tea Pot at a yard sale.....



Same thing with the pink depression glass creamer and sugar....

 
A silver tea pot ornament and a vintage Victorian Calling Card.....

 

A faux cupcake placed inside of a Mikasa Individual Butter Dish and a strainer for lose leaf Tea....



Tea Bags placed in a pink depression glass tea cup with matching saucer.....


The pink depression glass tea cup is placed on top of a vintage white milk glass plate.....




Another one of my Tea books.....
 
 
 
This book was gifted to me by a fellow Blogger, Martha, who has since stopped Blogging....



I bought this Tea and Toast Set for 4 at Salvation Army.....


Usually those Made in Japan have this shape to them....

Similar to a Moss Rose Pattern.....


These 2 Tea Bag Coasters were also gifts from a friend.....



Over on this end of the buffet.....


I bought this Tea Serving Stand several years ago at The Christmas Tree Shop and I had to dig it out of the attic.....


The clear dishes came from Dollar Tree.....


I placed paper doilies on them....

I bought the pink dishes that I placed on top of the clear ones at a yard sale for $1.00......


I then placed smaller paper doilies on top of the pink ones.....


I wrapped a rose garland around the tiered Tea Stand,,,


For my purposes, I used this to display my faux desserts on it.....


On the top plate.....


This was a "dessert" that I bought on Ebay.....


I placed it inside this vintage cup.....


The silver tongs were a gift from a friend.....


The "chocolates" are candles from The Christmas Tree Shop.......



Now I do know if I was hosting a proper Afternoon Tea Party, I would not set up this tiered tea stand this way as it is not the correct way to do so.......


This is the right way of doing so if serving Afternoon Tea.....


I wish I had some faux sandwiches......


Another tea strainer and a butter dish with a faux chocolate cupcake.....

 
Another pair of vintage gloves with another pin from my collection......


And another Tea book.......




I had a lot of fun setting up this "Tea Room" buffet.......


I had to search around to find a few things that I forgot I had......


It does remind me of those I saw in the Tea Rooms that I used to frequent.....
 
 
So what do you think of the "Tea Room" in my Victorian Bed and Breakfast???

 
 Now I am quite aware that this style does not appeal to everyone and that most people find it too cluttered.....

But, they do NOT live here....
 
I do and I love this style and it makes my heart sing and after all, shouldn't our homes make us feel this way when we enter them????

I used to say that when I returned home from a very hard night at work, I always felt like I could drop to my knees and my house would wrap it's loving arms around me....

Everyone should feel that way when they enter their home, no matter what their decorating style is....
 
Now that I am retired, I never want to leave my home because I LOVE living in it!!

I certainly hope that you get to feel that way when you walk into your home!!!
 
So I guess I accomplished my mission of creating my very own Victorian Bed and Breakfast that I would want to stay at while on vacation....
 
Now I feel like I am always on vacation.......

 
In my next post, I will continuing on with the "Tea Room" theme in the Dining Room......
 
  
 






So I hope you will stop by to visit again on Sunday when I will be share more of my "Tea Room"!!!!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 
 
 



Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

 

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12 comments:

  1. Miss MerryMay 18, 2022 at 12:18 PM

    I love this post so much! I have memories of some wonderful tea parties, my very favorites were the themed teas at Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Maumee, Ohio, about an hour and forty-five minutes from my house. I would gather friends and family to fill a table and they never disappointed. They would have a single themed menu for the month of the most elegant and gourmet tea treats to stuff yourself (I became good at eyeballing the menu and deciding what would travel well and what to take home for the next day) and would have an activity to match the tea. Pampering tea, hand massages, Harvest Tea, a history of Thanksgiving presentation, Mother's Day, poetry readings. I can't remember them all! Unfortunately they closed in May of 2021 and, unknown to us, we had booked a table at the very last tea party.

    Your church Harvest Teas are stupendous! I would have so enjoyed those and I am sure I would have done a table or two myself! My confirmation class organized a small Mother's Day Tea one year (nothing on this grand scale) and for a few years a "partner in crime" and I organized an extravaganza of simple desserts, teas and a fashion show once a year. Our first year was Wedding Dresses. I had 3 in my closet (mom's, mine, sister-law) and figured we could gather a nice number. Well, it exploded and we had at least 50 or more dresses. It was a challenge finding models since brides in the 30's, 40's and 50's were so tiny. My high school volleyball players couldn't squeeze in! The skinny girls changed several times and we actually pulled 10-12 year olds out of the audience. The second favorite was the year we did First Communion dresses. We also did aprons and hats and I don't know what else. Then my friend dropped something on her kitchen floor and bumped her head under the table. She didn't know it, but it caused a small brain bleed. After a few months her family noticed changes and it ended up she had progressive brain damage. It is a sad story and I could not go on without her, especially since that was the year my dad had a stroke, too.

    I have thought about decorating my dining room as a tea room. Great minds think alike! I am going to wait until the toddler grandchildren get just a little bigger. Mine will be a little more country than Victorian and I plan to leave it like that year round! You have the best ideas and treasures!! And I still giggle at "Tea and Toast", so much better than the "snack set" we always called them. I can't wait to have an occasion to use my collection and call them Tea and Toast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernideen May 19, 2022 at 4:33 PM

    I stopped by before but could not find this comment section as this is a very long post (I only do a max of like 12-14 photos and often less). Looks like you enjoy many things and I see Donna Hardin's Bed and Breakfast here which is really love. Hope you enjoy your gardening too! Thanks so much, Bernideen

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  3. My thrift store addictionMay 19, 2022 at 5:19 PM

    What a fun post, Debbie! My favorite local tea rooms have all closed and I have so many fond memories of taking my girls when they were little. LOVE that pretty mint green floral tea cup--pinned! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

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  4. AnnMay 19, 2022 at 7:47 PM

    I am a tea lover and have afternoon tea each day - not formally, but it's tea! Love this post, Debbie!

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  5. Lowcarb team memberMay 20, 2022 at 6:21 AM

    Wow! Super photographs on your post.
    I am definitely a tea lover.

    My good wishes.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amy JohnsonMay 21, 2022 at 9:08 AM

    Oh, your fairy gardens look incredible and those mansions are breath-taking!

    ReplyDelete
  7. BetsyMay 21, 2022 at 12:00 PM

    I hope this isn't twice repeated, I hit something and lost my comment, Ugh!! I want to say your Tea Room looks wonderful! Fantastic! My husband has his tea every afternoon, cucumber sandwiches also. Earl Grey, I have to have cream and sugar in mine, his is just lemon. Eloquently put how you feel about your home. I love my home but I do like to hit the country roads and see nothing but pastures with horses, old barns and cows. I like Victorian, Queen Anne and Tudar with a little British Colonial thrown in.

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  8. JeanieMay 21, 2022 at 1:39 PM

    Oh, I loved seeing and hearing about your memories! Cape May looks so magical and the Wilkes Barre mansion lovely. Ah, tea! Gotta love it! Happy weekend!

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  9. PJMay 22, 2022 at 10:34 AM

    What you wrote at the end of your post touched me. Yes, we all have different styles and interests in decorating our homes. We should do what we feel comfortable with and it's obvious you love your Victorian style. I can just imagine a nurse coming home after a long shift and finding a haven in her home. We put new flooring in our entire house a few years ago and that project led me to get rid of things. I'm not a collector of anything specific, but I now find peace with less stuff around. It's interesting to me how that happened, so I can relate to what you said. Plus, it's less for my kids to deal with when I'm gone. :) Have a good day. PS I'm a bit jealous of the phlox in your yard. It's so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasMay 23, 2022 at 10:49 PM

      PJ,
      Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for your sweet words...I am glad that you liked my post . I think it is so important for everyone to feel as if their home is their haven...I believe that that is the difference between a house and a home...Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
      Hugs,
      Deb

      Delete
  10. Denise/My Home of All SeasonsMay 24, 2022 at 10:03 PM

    Oh Deb! This was just such a fun post! Thanks so much for sharing as I really needed a pick me up. I've been a bit under the weather for awhile now so it's been a long time since I came for visit. I enjoyed every last picture you shared and I loved your trip down memory lane. Your tablescapes were all so lovely but of course I fell head over heels for the "Under the Sea" one. So many wonderful memories you shared. Thank you! Now... on to the present. Your "Tea Room" is amazing!!! I spent such a long time taking in all the detail. The tiered trays are so beautiful! I will be back tomorrow as I missed your fairy garden post. I have not even started on mine. So incredibly behind this year. Loved this visit, thank you again, and have a wonderful week!

    ReplyDelete
  11. LaurieMay 25, 2022 at 10:55 PM

    So much detail! The tea room is nice.
    It’s definitely a different era!

    Thanks for sharing this at the Homestead Blog Hop
    Laurie
    Ridge Haven Homestead

    ReplyDelete

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