Monday, March 21, 2016

New Tableware + The First Day of Spring = Afternoon Tea At Home With Friends


Although the temperatures outside might indicate otherwise, yesterday was the first day of spring. Can you believe it? We're nearing Easter already! It seems like I was just dragging my Christmas tree out of the house yesterday. To celebrate, I invited a few of my friends over for afternoon tea. But secretly? I just wanted to an excuse to use my new plates and bowls from Amara.com, a website I often browse for home decor and furniture since it carries so many of my favorite brands, like Missoni Home and Pols Potten (the brand behind these plates of my obsession!).

There's a story (sort of) behind these plates. I've had my eye on this colorful set for ages. I first spotted them in a store 8 months ago, right before we moved into this house, and gravitated towards the whimsical pattern then. A few months later, I noticed them again at a restaurant in Mayfair. So when I stumbled on them again at Amara.com, I knew that it was meant to be!



Armed with nine mini cupcakes from Lola's bakery (which I had carefully brought home from Holborn), I woke up early on Saturday morning to make Rice Krispie treats and brownies, before scattering some paper decorations I found at Tiger (for £1!) on our dining table. Coincidentally, the paper decorations matched our plates and coasters perfectly. I like to think that it was all planned, but it so wasn't. I'm the furthest away from 'the hostess with the mostess' stereotype you can get ... typically, I throw a bunch of things together, cross my fingers, and hope for the best.



My friends arrived with gorgeous bouquets of tulips, so by the time we sat down to take our first bite of cake, it looked like I lived in a flower shop! But I love tulips and, along with daffodils and cherry blossoms, they always remind me of spring.

Sometimes, it's nice to have a small group of friends over who don't know each other very well but who you know will get on like a house on fire: we talked everything from weddings (my friend Jilly is getting married in August) to business plans (my other friend Erin is developing her own line of natural beauty products and they are AMAZING - stay tuned!). It felt grown-up, but fun.

Did you celebrate the arrival of Spring this weekend? I'm looking forward to stepping out of black opaque tights and into light jackets (and a whole new collection of shoes, ha!). Hopefully we won't have to wait much longer in London.

My Pols Potten plates and bowls were generously provided by Amara.com. Shop their extensive collection of tableware here. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Angloyankophile! All opinions are my own.
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13 comments

  1. That's me through the door of Tiger this morning ... those decorations are beautiful and a perfect complement to your bowls. I have a(nother) question ... how do you ask/find companies willing to sponsor a blog post?

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    1. Hi Ruth, if you'd like to send me an email at angloyankophile [at] gmail [dot] com, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. :)

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  2. I love the look with the bright colours, and the cakes mmmmm :-)

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    1. Thank you! I love bright colors in the kitchen/dining room. We didn't eat all of the cakes so I'm eating lots of leftovers this week!

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  3. Your afternoon tea party looks like so much fun! I sometimes think it's an even more lovely tradition when it's hosted at someone's own home - the gorgeous brightly coloured plates are just perfect for a girly tea ☺

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    1. Aw, thanks, Shikha! Yes, it was fun to sit around and just chat! The plates are my new favorite thing right now ... I often have them out just for decoration, haha!!

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  4. Those plates are beautiful - you're house is just one stunning photo after another whatever nook or cranny you capture! It sounds like a wonderful weekend, I spent mine attending a blogging meet up and shopping with my mum - my perfect weekend. Off to browse the Amara site now!

    Kara

    ❤️

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    1. Thank you so much, Kara! It is slowly coming together, but for now I am just really enjoying the process of picking out things with John and browsing on places like Amara for little touches to add. We desperately need things like built-in shelves and new bathrooms though, so it isn't all sunshine and roses, but we are really grateful to have this home to call our own xx

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  5. Beautiful photos, love the bowls and plates!
    On the first day of spring here in nyc, it snowed haha, even though a week before the weather was in the 60s/70s. Unbelievable haha.

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    1. Thank you, Farrah!

      I saw some photos from the East Coast - that's crazy! You'll probably be back in that warm weather by next week haha!

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  6. Wow, interesting article. Maybe, this is of interest, I recently hired Furnishr to design my living
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    ReplyDelete

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