Suzanne Carillo

Who says you need a guy (or significant other as the case may be) in order to have fun on Valentine's Day?

My friend and I were both flying solo this Valentine's Day (hubby is still away overseas). Instead of staying at home in PJs with a large box of wine, over-sized bags of chips and endless sappy romantic comedies on Netflix my friend had the brilliant idea to go out for high tea and celebrate GALentine's Day in style.

That meant:

– ditching the PJs, taking a shower, putting on fancy clothes & makeup

– no over-sized bags of questionable chemical laden grease filled fluff, but rather gourmet elegant bite sized mouthfuls to be savoured slowly rather than thoughtlessly stuffed

– being served by a handsome man in a tux, instead of snoozing with a snoring pug who is currently shedding her weight in pug fur daily

– and laughing with a dear friend, instead of sobbing uncontrollably after watching The Notebook

SO much better than doing a Bridgette Jones.

I don't know if you remember this little Polyvore set that I made way back when…but this is the dress from it and doesn't remotely resemble PJs.

I wanted to wear this for a dance at Christmas but then the weather ruled that out so the dress wasn't worn. I figured Galentine's was a perfect occasion for it.

Very lady-like don't you agree?

Dress – Ruche, Shoes – Nine West, Belt – Anthropologie, Bag & Earrings – Vintage

We went to Langdon Hall in Cambridge Ontario. It is gorgeous and I would highly recommend it to anyone that should want to come and experience the Canadian countryside in high style. It is a 45 minute drive from my house so if you're coming let me know and I'll come out and visit! : )

Of course high tea starts out with some bubbly. What? You didn't know that? That's what the little British Granny's don't tell you.

Actually I can tell you that during all of my time working for little old ladies in England only one of them was dipping into the sauce for high tea. The rest just had biscuits and tea. boring!

Landgon Hall knows how to properly start a high tea.

Then you move onto the refined delicate food…thankfully they bring each of you your own tiered tray. Don't want to be fighting over those baby sandwiches.

These were high fat scones. I could tell as soon as they hit my mouth. Nothing gives that little crust on the outside and the fluffiness on the inside quite the way butter can. They were small so I figured it was okay. I won't even mention that we asked for more. Please Sir! May I have another scone?

The best bit out of the lot for dessert was the cupcake and the meringue. Although I do love a good rose petal, they don't quite fill me up.

And of course there was the tea. We both had a lovely exclusive Langdon Hall herbal tea mix.

When I lived in England I was addicted to tea. I could drink 8 cups Earl Grey tea per day no problem.

I was instructed on the "proper English" way to make tea.

Make sure the water really boils.

Pour some of it into the pot to heat it for a few minutes. Swish it around the inside of the pot and pour it out. If you really want to be anal you can also heat the cups with some of the hot water. Thankfully I didn't have to do that.

Add the hot water to the pot and the tea. If it is loose tea you can add that before the hot water, tea bags should be added after the hot water.

Allow to steep for around 3-5 minutes. Less for tea bags, more for loose tea generally, but you need to check it.

When pouring the tea always serve the guest. Heaven forbid they should pour their own tea!

Always pour the milk or cream in the cup before the tea. This is very important. I didn't do it the first time we had guests over for tea and Mrs. Watson was quite embarrassed by my mistake. I think she may have blamed it on the fact I was from "the colonies" and one really couldn't expect much from them. LOL

Add the sugar they request and place a teaspoon on the saucer to allow them to stir their own tea. People with no sugar do not need a teaspoon. The milk/cream will mix in on it's own because you've added it first.

Thank you Mrs. Watson for the detailed lessons on tea service!

She actually was a fine old lady. Very witty and sharp as a tack. It saddened me that instead of family looking after her they hired out for help.

I've since kicked my tea habit. Now I drink hot water and my teeth thank me for it.

This reminded me of another old woman I looked after in the UK. I'll call her "Elderly Amazon That Carries A Big Stick & Sleeps With A Sword".

I'll tell you all about her next time ; )

Are you a tea drinker? Have you ever gone out for high tea? Did you enjoy it?

PS none of this post was sponsored in any way unless you count my girlfriend since she invited me out. Thanks for a fun afternoon Hazel!

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