Time for Tea - Regency Style

Gosh, time really flies when you are busy. And that’s what I have been. So busy that I have become a bit lax in my blogging over the last month, and it’s about time that I played catch-up. First up, early in November, I attended a Regency tea hosted at the home of a fellow re-enactor and costumer. She invited us over to enjoy tea and put on a spread of food using recipes collected from cookbooks of the period (of course, taking into account our various food intolerances). It was lovely to try out some of her period baking creations. It really makes me want to have a crack at some of my own historical cookbooks.

Unfortunately, the day turned out to be one of the hottest days in November. Not really a surprise given that we live in sunny Queensland. But this day, the humidity was right up and the heat was cooking us all. You would think that given how flimsy regency gowns look that we would be cool enough. Unfortunately you never really consider the layers that go into regency - chemise, stays (made of a 3 – 4 layers of fabric), petticoat, gown (lined). And even though they are all natural fibres, it can still be quite warm. We spent quite some time fanning ourselves and sipping cold water as we wandered the shady gardens of her home.

For the occasion, I decided to finish my new regency stays – created from Jill Saleen’s book Corsets. I made the 1790s transitional stays. I don’t have any photos of them worn as they are VERY low cut at the bust. In fact they don’t really cover much at all, but they do provide the correct support for the new gown that I made. Earlier this year, I was gifted a chunk of yellow gingham muslin which I just knew would be perfect for a Regency gown. I decided to use a pattern that I had made previously but with a couple alterations (buttons and elbow length sleeves). I love how soft and pretty this gown has come out. The only disappointment I have is that the bonnets I currently have don’t really match too well, so there might be a new bonnet in my future to really make the outfit pop (yellow?).

Neverland Party

The next major event on my calendar for early October was my 30th Birthday Party. This year I decided to celebrate in style and go out with a bang. So, I hosted a Neverland party. I knew from the beginning that I would be dressing as a fairy, but I had to decide my party layout and food – which took the most amount of time.

I decided to breakup my party space into different zones – Pirate Cove, Mermaid Lagoon, Lost Boys Hideout and Pixie Hollow. And I accomplished it by breaking up our back yard between the patio, the pool and the gazebo. I had been collecting decorations throughout the year since deciding on my theme back in January but a lot of the atmosphere came from the food which I strove to theme to the various areas. I’ll break it down for you:


PIRATE COVE:

Decorations included: mast and sail, lanterns, gold doubloons, golden goblets, guns. 

 
Food:
Cannonballs (thai chicken meatballs and lamb koftas)
Hot dog ships (mini chipolatas in dinner rolls)
Sea Scrolls (pistachio, pork and apple sausage rolls)
Golden Nuggets (chicken)

Seaworthy Muffins

MERMAID LAGOON:

Decorations included: shells, mermaids, glowsticks, pool.

Food:
Catch of the day (little fishies)
Seafoam sponge (blue sponge cake)
Clamshell cookies
King of the sea (prawn cocktail)
Octopus Dip (capsicum)

LOST BOYS HIDEOUT:

Decorations included: ivy, marbles, pan’s flute, Michael’s teddy, thimbles

Food:
Imagination Pie (from Hook – cheesecake)
War paint (onion dip, corn relish dip, toblerone mousse)
Pan’s Caramel Corn
Never Grow Up Punch
Star Sandwiches (egg salad)
Second Star Cookies (custard creams)

PIXIE HOLLOW:

Decorations included: fairy lights, oversized flowers, bunches of flowers, moss

Food:
Fairy Champagne Cake
Fairy bread
Lemon butter cups
Berry White Chocolate Mousse
Pixie Nectar (fruity punch)
Butterfly cakes
Citrus Cream Clouds
Jam Drops

I did try to get some photos of the night, but I was mostly trying to just have fun, so didn’t get as many as I would have liked. I did stop at the end of the evening and make my dad snap a few photos of my bestie and I in our Disney Fairy costumes. Diana Daring wore an outfit inspired by Rosetta and I dressed as Periwinkle. I love how my costume turned out and cannot wait to get some better photos of it taken. I’m planning to wear her to Supanova this month, so hopefully there will be some photos.

But overall, I had a fabulous party and it was a great way to welcome me into my 30’s. And after 13 hours of standing in the kitchen preparing all the food on Friday followed by a Saturday of setting up, more cooking and final party prep, I think it will be nice to take the easy route next year and skip the big party. But at least I went out with a splash! I love planning and setting up, but it is of a lot of work and really no wonder that I woke up the next day with the start of the head cold / sinus infection from hell.