Let's Have A Jane Austen Tea and Parlor Party!

Or maybe a weekend retreat?

This coming July will mark the 200th year of Jane Austen's Death. Jane Austen has brought so much wit, humor and just plain good reading to us, we are so thankful for her life!    So, why not consider throwing a Jane Austen Themed Tea and Parlor Party?  I am beginning to make plans for mine, which means gathering up items over time that might come into play.   

Tea cup and tier cookie platter on clearance aisle at Ross.  Tea pot from Amazon.

I love tea accessories.  I love to have tea parties, but must admit that I haven't them as often as I should.   I am always trying to find frugal ways to decorate and to have themed parties.  I am slowly building up my Jane Austen themed party items.  I go to discount stores and always scour  the clearance aisles,  and of course the thrift stores are always great places to find inexpensive items.  I do not want you to think that I spend extravagant amounts of money on these items.   I am really just a poor relation from "Cheapside".  ;-)  I want  to encourage you to be frugal too.  So, I will try to let you know where I get my items (extremely discounted) so you can check these places out as well.   If you are belong to a  one income family like mine, your bread winner will love you for this.  

Cake stand for my cookies, borrowed from my daughter in law, who said she bought it for $5!

After a delightful time of tea, it might be refreshing to have a few activities .    How about playing this wonderful card game:  Marrying Mr. Darcy?  This darling game came to me by way of my very sweet niece , Sarah.  Thank you Sarah, you can see it will be put to GOOD use!

Another activity could be some relaxing coloring time from the  Pride and Prejudice coloring book!

It is always so much fun to have an envelope making session for some good Jane Austen themed letter writing.  Be sure to take advantage of deep discounts at crafting stores when they put their scrapbooking paper half off or more.  Try to make it your motto "Never Pay Full Price"!  It could even turn into a letter writing social!  Have your like minded friends bring a stash of fun things to share, and perhaps making an entire afternoon of it.  Who knows....it might even morph into a Jane Austen weekend retreat!  Now that would be quite felicitous, would it not?  

What about you?  Do you have some ideas that you could share perhaps about  a Jane Austen themed party?

Write Letter,

Write often!

Lady Pamela

Jane Austen Letter Writing Society Pen Friend Meet Up!

Do You Love A Good Tea Room?

We were DETERMINED to find a tea room that would take a last minute reservation.  The local tea room in my community was booked.  The prospects were bleak...but a quick call to The Eclectic Cottage Tea Room, netted results.  And that is just what two members of the Jane Austen Letter Writing Society needed at this Pen Friend meet up!

Each table had a different decor.  If we sat at this table, perhaps we would have typed up a letter or two while waiting for the high tea.

Perhaps this table is reserved for the "Red Hat Society" tea .  

Oh, bring it on.  I love fru fru....the more the better.  I also just love pink.

The tea fare was rather nice.   We had a nice chat as we enjoyed the delicacies.

We had an on looker....Audrey thought it was breakfast time....

It was a delightful pen friend meet up.  Sheryl is from Massachusetts,  and I live in central Virginia, so this does not happen often.  But if the distance didn't exist then perhaps we would have never been  pen friends all these years.  What about you?  Have you ever had a pen friend meet up?

Write Letters

Write Often!

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane...And A New Book...

Tea Time With Jane Austen

Today I had tea with  Jane... literally!  How did she know that I had out my beautiful pink Adderly Lawley England tea cup and saucer?  She matched perfectly!

She looked at the fare and approved.

I had a "new" book at my side while sipping on my tea by the title, Jane by Jean Gould.  I've had this one my shelf for quite some time and just have never taken the time to read it.  It is a juvenile biography of Miss Jane Austen, from her childhood on.  When reading the book, it is quickly quite evident that the author had done her research!

And my!  I happen to own a "first edition"!

The illustrations are lovely.

Have you read any good Jane Austen books lately?  My tea time was lovely, I hope yours was as  well.  Now off to write a letter.  

Clinking my tea cup to you,

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane, Books, and Letters!

The Making Of Pride And Prejudice...

We have had several days here in Central Virginia of heavy rains and very cool temperatures.  Today called for a hearty mug, not a delicate tea cup to take my tea . A cup of robust Chai and a nibble on one of these dense muffins of every sort of grain, or seed imaginable, and I am set! 

 I have been re-reading The Making of Pride And Prejudice, I think this is my third read  through.     The book is, of course, photo rich, and full of so many details  of the actual film making.   Just the fact that  the film project was on the back burner for oh, lets say, 11 years before production began is hard to imagine.  The book also chronicles all of the deadlines,  searches for the perfect houses,  procuring the period musicians (on period instruments), etc. etc  All of the dance scenes (Meryton assembly, and the Netherfield ball where musicians are shown , they  showed up and just played the music, absolutely NO practice beforehand.  The only exception to this was the fortepiano key board player.  He got a running start, receiving the score 2 days prior to filming!  It is such a delightful read, I highly recommend the book.

Do I have everyone settled for the  Nov. / Dec. Pen Friend Exchange?  Please let me know if you have not made contact with your pen friend.  I plan to get my letter out  by tomorrow.   Please feel free to leave comments below about how you plan to approach this round of letters.  Do you have any special topics of discussion?  Do you have any creative ideas to share?  Anyone doing the ghost writing challenge?   I am going to begin with an introduction letter, and go from there.  I have a special idea for December that I will be sharing later this month.  

Write Letters,

Write Often,

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane...and letters!

Tuesday Tea Time and Letters!

Autumn Tea...

I just got a box of "seconds" from an apple orchard.  Yesterday I spent the day in the kitchen making apple pie filling to freeze.  The whole house smelled of the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and tart apples.  But with all of that standing ... my sore feet were asking for a bit of a break, and so the kettle went on!  Spiced Apple Cider tea seemed to fit the bill.  Today, with the lingering memories of apple fragrances, the same tea  will be my tea of choice.

And you know ,of course, that it is not healthy to take tea alone.  It is always best to invite a guest.  Mr. Tea was just "hanging around" so  he naturally  was invited.



We have very autumn-ish weather happening here in central Virginia.  Temperatures are cool and the promise of rain is inevitable. This is definitely "snuggle down with a book" sort of day. What book are you reading right now? Currently, I am still reading The Jane Austen Guide To Life, and still enjoying it. Now, I realize that all great readers are not necessarily  letter writers, but I believe there might be a strong correlation for this:  All great  letter writers are usually bibliophiles!

I find that reading seems to inspire me for letter writing. I'm not sure if it is the dialog, vocabulary, or just the remarkable descriptions in so much good literature that keeps  me reaching for my pen and paper.  But I certainly notice the beneficial effect of reading and writing. I have plenty of correspondence to catch up with and am currently working on an organizational system to keep me from slipping into epistolary debt.  Not really being able to relate to Jane Austen's being a lady of leisure, I find that  trying to just keep order in all areas of my life quite a challenge.

But back to this dreary, chilly, rainy day (outwardly).  Inside is warm and dry and inviting for my spot of tea,  a few pages of a good read, and always...letters.  And Autumn colors lend themselves to cheerful, delightful mail!  So find that stash of goodness and put them to use.

Write Letters,
Write Often!

Lady Pamela

Tea With Jane Austen

Tuesday Tea Time And Letters

How has your Tuesday been?  I had a lovely cup of tea and started reading this delightful book by Lori Smith, The Jane Austen Guide To Life.  The book, described as " a light biography and guide...on everything from living our dreams, being a woman of substance, finding a good man, managing money, and more" certainly delivers.  I am enjoying its thoughtful, meditative style-- almost prosaic.  Perfect to snuggle up with on these chilly days and sipping a hot cup of  tea (in this case, Chocolate Chai).  And yes, I have laundry needing to be folded, dishes are in the sink, and papers need grading.  Those things can wait for I believe that there needs to be a time for loveliness and physical rest each day even if it doesn't amount to more than 15 minutes.  Do you concur?

After reading a bit about all the struggles Jane Austen endured with her writing, it made me feel ashamed of all the excuses I give for not pursuing my projects with the same ardor.  Did you realize that Jane Austen had been writing for 25 years before her first book was published?  Incredible.  I haven't read far into the book, but what I have read, I highly recommend.  

So my afternoon ritual of putting the kettle on , sipping tea, and reading a few pages from a good book gets me primed to sit down and write a letter to my own "dear Cassandra".  I am indeed blessed to have two sisters to write to.  To whom  will you be writing today?

Write Letters,

Write often,

Lady Pamela

Tuesday Tea Time and Letters

Tea with Jane

This is such a lovely book.  Have you read it?  I have re read it for a second time and it was just as enjoyable as the first read.  Kim Wilson  pulls out nearly every mention of tea from all of Jane Austen's novels and letters.  I find that fascinating--does that make me a nerd?

I am having some black tea, Lipton Natural Energy...for a little pick up  this afternoon.  What about you?  Do you have any tea rituals when you sit down to write letters?  I wonder if Jane did?  She was in charge of the tea in her home.  She held the key to the cabinet where the tea was stored and typically made the tea for the family at breakfast.

Sometimes, when I receive several letters in one day, I put the kettle on, and make a pot of tea, place it in it's cozy to keep it warm, put it on a tea tray with some goodies, and  then I make my way to my sitting room for some quite time to enjoy my tea and letters.  Perfect relaxation!

Just a business note...the Pen Friend sign ups for November/December begin on Thursday Oct. 15th.  But, I have already received several !  This will be a lovely exchange.  Details coming.

Have a beautiful tea (or coffee if that is what you prefer) inspired day,

Lady Pamela