Tea ~Friendship Tea Camarillo

Welcome to Tea Time 2025. These posts will be about Tea Rooms we’ve been to, Teas we’ve given for friends and family, Church Tea events, and High Tea in restaurants from 2008 to the present. Tea in the U.S.A., Tea in England and Tea in Canada. Many of the Tea Rooms are no longer in business, which is sad.

Greg and I lived in Camarillo, California from 2006 until early 2010 while Greg worked in Thousand Oaks. We bought a condo in Camarillo for that time period. This next tea is from our Condo and it is a tea I hosted in February of 2009.

Welcome to my Friendship Tea. I’m a table leader for our Women’s Bible Study at my church and I invited the ladies over for tea. It was fun putting together a tea table.

Our Bible Study Women’s Leader is part of my table and it happened to be her birthday on the day of the tea so we had an extra celebration.

We had 3 different types of tea, an Earl Grey, Peach Herbal, and a Russian Black Tea.

Cucumber- Basil sandwiches, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Scones, Dream Cookies, Heart shaped Red Velvet mini cakes, Mock Clotted Cream and Lemon Curd and Strawberries.

The Places were set and designated with these fun vase place card holders.

“Such items, if properly prepared and portered, jingle and tinkle, twinkle and shine, as if to announce their approach, and all the cups and saucers, the silver spoons and the sugar bowl, the steaming hot water and the shining strainer, the teapot and the plate of delicate sandwiches – all seem to combine and say as one, “Let your worries cease for now; the world is aright again!” And in the welcome pouring of the tea and the delightful crunch of the cucumber and cress sandwiches, not to mention the promise of the coming cakes and the possible surprise of strawberries and cream to follow, all else is held at bay: the past is forgotten, the future does not exist, and all is peace. ”

Toad Triumphant ~ by William Horwood

These are the recipes that I thought worked well for my tea…

Mock Devonshire Cream from If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes ~

1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup sour cream

In a chilled bowl, beat cream until medium-stiff peaks form, adding sugar during the last few minutes of beating. Fold in sour cream and blend. Makes 1-1/2 cups.

Cynthia’s Chicken Salad (from Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader)

4 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the chicken, pecans, green onions, and celery in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir into the chicken mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cucumber-Basil Tea Sandwiches (from Victoria ~ The Pleasures of Tea ~ Hearst Books)
1 – 8 oz. package softened cream cheese
2 Tablespoons half and half
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
1 unsliced loaf or 12 slices rye or wholewheat bread
1 English (seedless) cucumber, cut into thin slices
24 fresh basil leaves

In a medium-size bowl, beat together the cream cheese and half and half until it is the consistency of soft butter. Stir in the chives.

Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bread and top with several slices of cucumber and a basil leaf. Serve the sandwiches immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes: 24 Sandwiches

Tea ~ Country Village

Back to the year 2008 and to Madam Fifi’s with more of our family.

After our very successful trip to Goodwill the ladies arrived at Madam Fifi’s Tea Room at Country Village in Bothell for an Afternoon Tea. This was the day after Thanksgiving in 2008.

Madam Fifi (Christine) had our lovely room all ready for us. The usual after Thanksgiving Goodwill shoppers were in attendance and this year we inducted Pat (my DIL Laura’s mother) into the group. Katie, Laura, my sister Lana, sister-in-law Letty, Pat and me for tea.

We each chose our tea and enoyed a relaxing time.

Our sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, lemon curd, and sweets were divine!

Curiouser and Curiouser

It’s Wednesday so it’s time for the Hodgepodge questions Jo has come up with for this week.

1. What’s something you’re curious about right now?

I’m curious as to whether a trip next Spring will work out for us or/and if more local trips will come to fruition.

2. If you could plan the perfect girl’s weekend getaway, where would you go and what would be on the agenda?

A walkable, safe, quaint town with lots of restaurants, shops, gardens, museums where we could stay right in the midst in a comfortable cottage would be ideal in my mind. Something like a B & B would be nice.

Do you have anything like this on your calendar in the next few months?

No, nothing like this on my calendar.

3. What’s the most unique item in your refrigerator right now?

Elder/Aronia Berry juice made from our Aronia Berries and a friends Elderflowers.

4. In this season of your life, what do you find most challenging?

It takes me much longer to recuperate from strenuous activities and from trips away from home.

5. Do you collect anything? If so why that?

I used to collect a lot of things, tablecloths, napkins, napkin rings, place card holders, dishes, goblets, Beatrix Potter Figurines, etc. Now I’m working on downsizing all these collections and not collecting anything anymore.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of Beatrix Potter collections here is a peek at my Beatrix Potter Tea table from our Ladies event this past Saturday.

I’ll be late getting around this week.

All the Things

It wasn’t just Mother’s Day Celebrations like a Ladies Tea this past Saturday. We had other events stretching our calendars on Saturday and Sunday. Our First Baptist Ladies Tea and Blooms Luncheon was on from 11am to 1pm. My Beatrix Potter Tea Table was put together on Friday afternoon.

At 10am JJ had a Taekwondo promotion so his mom wasn’t able to be with us at the tea. (JJ’s daddy was working on Saturday). Uncle Andrew was able to be at JJ’s promotion, too, and JJ passed!

Uncle Andrew treated JJ to this monster of a sugar delight while we were enjoying our dainty tea sandwiches. We wrapped up our early events and spent a couple leisurely hours in the afternoon before we all met up for a Mother’s Day meal at a restaurant in Kettle Falls.

When our meal was done, Jamie and Addy left to get ready for Addy’s Irish Dance recital while the rest of us visited a local park for JJ to let off some steam before having to sit for two hours at the dance recital.

The park we picked had this great sculpture and tribute to the lady who started the school of Irish dance that Addy has enjoyed for a couple years now.

JJ had a lot of exercise while the adults kept a watchful eye on him and then we were off to the Woodland Theatre to get our seats for the performance.

Addy performed brilliantly for her dance routines and then as a leprechaun in the Giant potato play. I was busy with videos and did not get a photo of her in her costume but these group photos were shared with Jamie and she shared them with me. The narrated drama was fabulous and had us all in stitches!

Our Monday was full, too, with a drop in reception for our Assistant Pastor Candidate in the afternoon and then a Q & A in the evening with an ice cream social afterwards. It was good for many or our church members to be able to get to know the candidate and his family in a casual setting.

I’m sure many of you had busy weekends, too. I’ll be away from my computer most of Tuesday. Hope y’all have a great day!

Tea ~ Madam Fifi’s

I recently posted a Tea Room we enjoyed with our mom in Northridge, California in 2008.

Today’s Tea Room is Madam Fifi’s which was in Country Village, Bothell, Washington. This Tea Room didn’t last long and now Country Village is also gone and replaced with condos.

In August of 2008 I took my little sister Lana G! to Madam Fifi’s in Country Village for her belated birthday lunch.

The following was written in 2008…

We went to Madam Fifi’s Tea Room in Bothell at Country Village. I was wanting to share this Tea Room with Lana and since this is a rare day when we are both in Washington at the same time we took the opportunity. We were both delighted with the Grand Tea.

Madam Fifi’s Grand Tea

Pot of loose leaf tea or iced tea of the day

Cup of soup or garden salad

Fresh seasonal fruit

scones with cream & lemon curd

Generous tea sandwiches—

Smoked salmon cream cheese with cucumber

Crab salad

Chicken curry salad

Turkey with raspberry cream cheese

Grand assortment of decadent tarts, cookies and pastries.

We had the soup of the day and it was wonderful. We also chose the Lady Londonderry Tea. We really enjoyed it and both ended up buying some to take home to savor. It is really hard to treat Lana to a meal. She is very sneaky about picking up the tab. Today I was going to finally win but Madam Fifi thwarted me and insisted on giving us her Grand Tea on the house! Thank you Madam Fifi. We love your establishment and we will be back.

Tea~ Port Gamble

This next post was from July 17, 2008.

On Wednesday afternoon Josh, Laura, Michelle and I took the Ferry from Edmonds to Kingston for High Tea in Port Gamble. The Tea Room at Port Gamble is in an old Victorian house on the main street in this little town. You get off the ferry at Kingston and follow the road to Highway 104 headed for the Hood Canal Bridge. When you get to the 25 mile an hour speed zone you know you are close. You can’t miss it and it’s a delightful afternoon stop!

The name of this Tea Room was, The Tea Room at Port Gamble.

Josh was such a good sport to play along and don a hat, too. He had never been to High Tea and we discussed just how civilized it is. Of course none of us had to wear hats but we were just in the mood.

I think the highlights for us were the wonderful scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream and then the chocolate fondue at the end of our tea. Duhliscious!! (I miss-spelled that on purpose!)

We strolled through the little town and enjoyed the architecture and unique little shops. Took the picture of the Artful Ewe for you Willow!

My son Josh and our DIL Laura

Do you see the sign the antique dealer has under her cash register in her shop? It says “YOUR HUSBAND CALLED – And said you can buy anything you want” On the way out of town we stopped at the Anglican Church.

From the cemetery we could see the Hood Canal Bridge and we commented that we should drop in on Dave and Beth but we didn’t call ahead and our afternoon was turning into evening. Maybe you can meet Katie and I for tea sometime in Port Gamble Beth!?

At the cemetery Josh spotted this engraving on one of the tombstones. “Remember friend as you pass by, As you are now so once was I, As I am now you soon will be, Prepare for death and follow me”

Sobering thought or it could be taken as an encouragement to prepare ourselves for the inevitable by making decisions today that guarantee our future in Glory when we meet our Creator…

Well we decided it was time to head back to the ferry dock and journey across the Puget Sound to Edmonds and onward. But what did we spot on the way back…

CB’s Nuts! A small Roasting operation right off the main highway. We made a U-turn and headed back after we zoomed by too fast to stop. We are glad we turned around. We met Mr. Roasting Guy and he sold us some fresh peanuts, pistachios, and peanut butter.

Can’t get too much fresher than this!

At the ferry dock while we were waiting for our boat I zoomed in for this shot of Mt. Rainier and downtown Seattle. If you look closely you can see the Space Needle to the right of the rest of the buildings.

Another fabulous day in the Greater Puget Sound! To end the day we met my other kids, Dan and Katie, at PF Chang’s for dinner. A very full day that made this lady pretty tired but joyful.

There is a current open tea room in Port Gamble.

Tea ~Bridal Shower

This looking back post is from June 9th 2008.

My extended family came together to host a bridal shower for our future niece, cousin, granddaughter. June 28th is the wedding day. I put together some photos from the event. Good food, Fellowship, and blessings all around. A lovely colorful afternoon.

Can you guess the color scheme we chose for the shower? Yep, lavender, green, and cream.

I’m happy to say the fondant cake turned out and if the fondant had been fresher (confession time: I had this box of fondant in my cupboard for over a year) it would have been easier to work with and a lot more pliable. I will try fondant again, fresh fondant.

My niece Michelle getting the Mojito Punch ready. We love details, so my niece Melissa made ice-cubes with mint in them. That’s my niece Debbee in the kitchen. The Mojito Punch was virgin (no rum), but it was very good and refreshing.

Speaking of nieces, here they are ~ Jessica, Michelle, Debbee, and Melissa.

Jessica ~ Jessica and her mom, Connie ~ Jessica with Kelly (my Sil) and Kelly’s mom, Lynn ~ Jessica with my mother.

We had savory blintzes filled with chicken and broccoli, tabbouleh, fruit salad, Italian Wedding cookies, and Kefili cookies filled with apricot and plum jam. My mom made the cookies. The Kefili are one of her russian recipes. Growing up we had a great Italian friend living across the street, Lucille. She always made these Italian wedding cookies for showers and weddings. My mom hunted down her recipe to make them for this shower.

Details, details, we placed sprigs of lavender on each of the blintzes.

My sister Kathy had these great vintage snack trays that we used for the food.

The shower was wonderful. We ended up making each other cry (a good cry). Don’t you think that sometimes if there are tears that are shed we are being real with each other? We thanked God and prayed for Jessica and Tim and prayed for all of us. We wanted to give God the honor for all He has done for our family and friends.

I was exhausted but happy that everything came together well. I had left my condo at 9:30 am and returned at 8:30 pm. 181 miles round-trip. Today I’m a little brain dead. I hope to get around and see what you are all up to sometime today after I empty my trunk and put everything away…

Tea ~Queen Mary Seattle

This post is from May of 2008 when my sister Lana, our daughter Katie, daughter-in-love Laura, and I spent a day in Seattle enjoying tea at the Queen Mary Tea Room and time at the Japanese Gardens. The original posts are from June 2, 3, 5 and 10, 2008.

This last weekend my husband and I took a quick trip to our home in Washington. On Sunday my sister Lana (Above the Clouds) and my daughters had reservations for Tea at the Queen Mary Tea Room in Seattle, Washington. So of course my T is for Tea!

The table settings were beautiful with a different tea cup and saucer for each of us to enjoy.

Our Tea food was delicious and plentiful. We started with 3 flavors of sorbet with a butterfly lavender shortbread cookie, Scones, Crumpets, Quiche, Sandwiches, lemon bread, and a variety of sweets. Of course we had clotted cream and jams to go with.

Laura my DIL, Katie my daughter, and my sister Lana G!

All the lovely Tea accessories and amazing assortment of Teas. Each of us had our own pot of tea. I had Lavender Earl Grey, Lana had Jack Fruit (a staff favorite), Katie had a Mango blend, and Laura had a Chai blend.

On the way home from our tea party we stopped at the Seattle Arboretum and visited the Japanese Gardens so we could see this Japanese Tea house where Katie is studying the Art of Japanese Tea for one of her University classes.

The 4 of us were really in awe of God’s glorious creation and how He has given man the eye to plant and plan the beautiful landscape in this garden.

This is the tea house on the grounds of the Japanese Gardens where Katie attends class every Thursday to learn the Art of Japanese Tea.

“I finally received my yukata! Here are some pictures of me wearing it down at the arboretum. Don’t judge my obi tying too harshly, this was the first week that I dressed myself without help from my friend Mika or my teacher.”

It’s Spring so the Rhododendrons and Wisteria were in their glory.

I can almost guarantee that my sister Lana paid for our Tea Time even if the original post didn’t record that.

I’m happy to report that the Queen Mary Tea Room in Seattle is still open for business!

Later I’ll include some posts about Katie’s Japanese Tea class and the Art of Chado.

Tea ~ Mad Hatters Tea Shower

In April of 2008 my sisters and mom were invited to a Mad Hatter Tea Party Bridal Shower. This will be the original post from April 27, 2008.

On Saturday I drove 90 miles from Camarillo to Newport Beach to attend a shower for our future niece, Jessica, who is marrying my brother Steve’s son, Timothy. Timothy’s lovely mother is my SIL Kelly.

Oh, the destination and the setting and the beautiful ladies that we got to spend the afternoon with made the 180 mile round-trip so worth it.

The table was set perfectly for our Mad Hatter Tea. We gave thanks to the Lord for this wonderful occasion and began the festivities.

Jessica with her friends and most of these ladies will be her bridesmaids. Our hostess, Michelle, to the left of Jessica

Michelle, the maid of honor, was our hostess and the setting was in her parents gated community in Newport Beach. I can’t even begin to guess what the HOA fees are in this wonderful setting. Did I just say that out loud?

Ellen b. in a hat, you won’t see that everyday.

It was a Mad Hatter Tea which meant we were all required to wear hats. My SIL Letty and me. Jessica, the Guest of Honor. Jessica opening her Samovar from my mother and a tablecloth that my mother made when she was 12 years old (that would have been in Tehran, Iran) The last photo is of the daughters and daughter in laws with my mom. Letty, Vera, My Mom, Kathy, Ellen b, and Kelly.

Three of my lovely nieces, Melissa, Debbee and Michelle.

After we had our Tea/Lunch we walked over to the Rose Garden in the Community.

My hat won me a prize along with the great hat on the right that the mother of the hostess wore! I won a wonderful lavender scented candle.

We are having a very hot weekend in Southern California. See that 100 degrees for the outside temperature next to my odometer. That registered when I was driving home and reached the San Fernando Valley. Hot, hot, hot for Spring around here! (Looks like I need to dust off my dash!)

Made it home in good time praising our God for the blessing of family and friends to enjoy life with on this earth.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
~2 Thessalonians 2: 16,17

Tea ~ Tranquility Thousand Oaks

Greg and I were living in Camarillo, California from 2006-2010. Willow and I met through blogging when we figured out that we both lived in Camarillo. We met for coffee and then became walking buddies. This post is from April 18, 2008.

Oh what a delightful haven we found for Tea in Thousand Oaks. Willow and I had reservations for a mini tea on Wednesday Afternoon. We arrived at Tranquility Tea Room which is in an office space on the 2nd floor of a building set back off of Thousand Oaks Blvd. When we opened the door we were delighted with what we saw.

Lots of China, Antique furniture, Lace, hats, fresh flowers, and tea accessories.

We chose our table and settled in for a lovely time.

Willow decided it was OK if I took a photo of her at our table.

We enjoyed looking at so many pretty things and then our food started arriving.

Aprils menu included Blueberries ‘n Cream Scones, Orange laced Mini Swirled Scones with their homemade lemon curd and Tranquility cream. Then there was a choice of Gourmet Tea Sandwiches. I chose the Cucumber a la Provencale and Caramel Apple Brie with Pecans. Willow chose the Caramel Apple Brie and the Chicken-Almond Salad. For dessert I chose the Lemon cheesecake triangle and Willow chose the Strawberry Tart. It was all very fresh and tasty! The touch of fresh flowers that adorned the food and plates added such a visual treat. We found out that Candra’s mother does the flowers for her. Oh who’s Candra?

We met Sue (who graciously served us) and Candra (on the right). Candra owns and operates the Tea Room. We had a nice long conversation about Tea rooms and ministry. Here’s something I copied from her website about her and the Tea Room.

Tranquility Baking and Tea Room
Seven years ago, Candra Coogan began a baking business with a desire to help a local charity. She began delivering cheesecakes dressed in Victorian attire and donated 10% of her sales. Her business grew into a successful catering and baking business specializing in tea parties, and in December she took the next step, opening Tranquility Tea Room on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Tranquility Baking Company was created in order to help support a special recovery program for homeless Moms, The Lighthouse Women and Children’s Mission located in Oxnard, California.

What a wonderful ministry. They have a vision to move this tea room into a Victorian house in the Ventura/Oxnard area. That would be such an ideal setting. Thank you Sue and Candra for your wonderful hospitality and your heart for service to the community.

We highly recommend the Tranquility Tea Room to anyone who loves Tea in a comfortable, beautiful setting, with expertly created delicious delicacies. Can you tell I was impressed!

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.”
Chaim Potok

As with many of the tea rooms we’ve visited in the past this one is also closed permanently.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Tea