Where or where does summer go and why does it pass so quickly?  On this Labour Day Monday, I thought I should have one more summer outside afternoon tea before the weather turns here on PEI to much cooler temperatures and I start to think of fall menus as opposed to summer foods.  Funny when the calendar changes to the months that end in “ber” (aka “brrrrrrrrr”), we stop thinking so much of the pretty, soft summer colors and more of deep hues of golds, oranges, rusts, greens, purples, and so forth.

For this afternoon tea, I  decided it would be a dessert tea that would feature hydrangea cupcakes and monogrammed cookies.

The inspiration for this delicate tea came from the hydrangea bush we have at the backdoor.

Pink was the primary color scheme….  Flowers for a tea table do not always have to be in a vase.  Rose petals can be scattered on the table itself and a single tea rose can be placed at each place setting.  The guests then get to each take their rose home with them as a souvenir of their afternoon tea event.

I selected a couple of my favorite teacups and saucers.  The first is quite plain in shape but it is a lovely, decorative teacup.

The second teacup is a much more stately and elegant shape.

The napkin fold I am using today is the rose.  It is a simple design, easy to fold, and is well suited to being placed inside a teacup.  It is particularly convenient if the tea table is small and there are a number of items to be placed on it.  In those situations, sometimes there is insufficient room to display the napkin properly so the rose napkin fold inside the teacup takes care of that.

I don’t always try to have matching dishes on the tea table.  Sometimes, it is much more interesting with eclectic pieces.  So long as they all blend and compliment each other in color, it works.

Sparkling pink lemonade is always a refreshing drink on a warm summer’s day.  It’s even more fun when the ice cubes sport edible flowers!

Monogrammed cookies are always fun, particularly if you inscribe guests’ initials on them as I have done in the photo above.

Cupcakes make tasty little cake treats.  My hydrangea cupcakes are vanilla flavour and are iced in hydrangea design in shades of pink and mauve.

I hope you have enjoyed coming along on my afternoon dessert tea today.  I will be joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for her Tea Time Tuesday this week.  See you there.

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