Promises Kept.
It's very comforting to know that certain people can be counted on to follow through when they make promises.
Among that short list of confidants is Holly Dye, who sent over this batch of photographs early this morning as promised. I did notice, however, that all of the photos which contained images of Holly have been carefully deleted. Hmmm. I can assure you that she looked absolutely stunning in a Hawaiian print dress in shades of periwinkle blue.
Holly had found the new Martha Stewart collection of craft materials at her local big box. Monkey loved her monkey! Note the dotted gift wrapping in Allie's hand; random brown dots are flocked for texture...a feature not listed on the label. Just a very clever surprise dimension.
Included with her monkey project was a Gel-A-Tin set of acrylic stamps (also featuring a monkey.) Allie took them to school today so she could amaze her friends.

Here, the Victorian fan cleverly conceals the 5,000 varieties of tea (well, okay, not that many...) including Lemon Souffle, Chocolate Raspberry, and other odd blends. We stuck with the English Breakfast tea with milk, except for Ben, who has a penchant for peppermint.
The Gilded Rose Manor's menu offering was not lacking. If anything, there were too many things to choose from. (Yes, those are Izze's black polished fingernails!)

By the way, if you'd ever like to open your own tea-house-as-a-business , The Gilded Rose Manor offers a course for success in that endeavor!

Each place setting has mismatched china for more charm. The kids had to switch their cups around between themselves and a neighboring table, in order to get the shape and pattern that suited their aesthetics. That was not so difficult; there were so many patterns from which to choose!

Somebody had a good time.
(See, no artificial sweeteners were encouraged!)

Included in the sugar bowl were the large lumps of natural brown sugar as well. Ben has a sweet spot for those; when he was younger, he always looked forward to munching on those lumps when we would eat at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson. We haven't gone there for at least four years (I don't know why!) They feature huge portions of healthy food, and they're right across the street from The Ivy.

I pretty much avoid that busy block now that the paparazzi are so pervasive. Parking can be a b%^&.

These quartered peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were served on the prettiest pastel pink bread. Even Izze, who detests the idea of pb&j, went hog wild and chowed down on the grub (that didn't sound very lady-like!)
Ben has deemed these grilled cheese sandwiches to be the very best in all the land. I can see why; crispy, buttery, no crust and no messy oozing!

I've only highlighted the children's portion of the tea, as the adult fare was not unlike any tea served across the nation. I'm sure you already know what they are like!