How we feel about handmade
December 30, 2011 § 3 Comments
When Renee was here, we took a day to swing by Firefly Handmade, a market for artisans and craftspeople in the Boulder area. We saw lots of pretty things. Here are a few:
Renee took a home a blue silk flower for her hair and a handmade lip balm that smelled so fruity-luscious that it made your mouth water. I saved my pennies, this time, but took notes and business cards. And a sample of a salted caramel.
Afterward we almost passed the Dushanbe Tea House. Instead of passing, though, we paused. And went inside for another teatime. (I must mention that the next day we toured Celestial Seasonings. It was a tea-filled weekend.)
The tea house was built in the 1980s as gift to the City of Boulder from the capital city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan – a country I perhaps once heard about in eighth-grade geography, but must have promptly forgotten, as it sounds kind of made-up to me. Here’s some interesting history.
Inside we waited to be seated with our heads tipped upward. The tea house has the most beautiful ceilings.
And a delicious house chai.
It was an uplifting day!
So much art to be seen, touched, tried on and even tasted. Best of all with the best of friends.
Teatime at the Thompson House Inn
December 12, 2011 § 4 Comments
My very dear friend Renee has come to visit me! So we have been out and about around Boulder County, and I am happy to be discovering more fun to be had as well as sharing favorite places and things.
Our first outing took us to the Historic Thompson House Inn – a venue I’d spotted a year ago, before I’d even moved up to Longmont, and somehow forgotten all about. We pulled up the website, laughed when we found out you got to play dress-up if you wanted, and decided we had to give it a try.
The house is just as Victorian as you would expect, with an excess of floral decor, lace curtains, trinkets and towers of teacups. When you enter, you’re invited to sign in to the giant guest book, then visit the powder room to select what you like from the gloves, hats, stoles, and pearls. Once you’ve donned your fancy duds, you’ll walk through the parlor to the sunny tea room, remove your gloves, and be offered a steaming scented hand towel for washing your hands. The towel is essential, since Victorian teas consist primarily of finger food.
Napkins in laps, we were ready to have our cream tea. The orange tea came in a classic pot along with cucumber sandwiches, turkey on cranberry-sauce bread, heart-shaped scones, and gingersnaps. And one mustn’t forget the pots of lemon curd, cream, and orange marmalade. Scrumptious.
The other guests in the room were celebrating parties. Two tables featured young and old women all delightfully decked out for a bridal shower. The other small corner table had a grandmother, mother, and little girl – and the girl got a cake with a great sparkling candle for a Happy Birthday. We all sang, and grinned. Weren’t we all feeling a bit like little girls today?
Once Renee and I finished eating and drinking, we were given a small pot of raspberry sorbet “to cleanse the palate,” and sent away with packets of sugarplums in our purses. We aren’t the kind of girls most folks would call fancy young ladies, but for a few hours that afternoon, we got to pretend we were.
Kinds of Honey 