Back - To - School Tea

Mama invited a few of her friends over for tea so that they could have a little time for relaxation before the school year begins - for them, not her. So when I asked her what they were having and she responded "tea and crackers," - what! You know I had to kick it into high gear! What she ended up with turned out really pretty on the table. I hope they enjoy their party.

I worked real hard on this table and Kisha was the perfect sous chef for the food. Actually she showed me a few things that I didn't know and did a few other things better than I did. There's still hope!

Now before I move on I have to make special mention of the palm tree apparel on the table. My mother has a friend from Rhode Island College that has acknowledged every special event in my life, which started with running around Hungary trying to find a gift for Mama at my birth that was not made in China. Only to discover later that it was and then sent me a personalized train for the wall of my nursery. Can you imagine the look on the shop owners face when that extremely white woman went in to order something that said "NATAKI!?!?" At any rate, although I have never seen this woman in person (or mother's other friend from college), they have both always been a part of my life. My wedding was no different - Aunt Dottie sent me this really nice, hand woven and hand painted set of glasses with matching pitcher, napkins, and napkin ring holders. In five years I have used the glasses and pitcher maybe five times, but never have I had an occasion to use the whole set. Today was perfect. The set coupled with my wedding china and other miscellaneous crystal pieces turned out fabulously! Thank you Aunt Dottie!

Pampered Chef is making it easy for me and it is motivating me. I was up till midnight last night and back up at 4:30 this morning. The fruit presentation was not perfect, but to the naked eye it was alright. Kisha had to show me how to use the melonballer - I've never been able to get that right. The new can opener is also a mystery still, but I am going to work hard at it. KWK and I cut the rest of the fruit this morning.

The cake was some box cake called "Pineapple Supreme," can't wait to find out how it tastes - it smelled different. It was inspired by my lemon creation the other day. Cream Cheese frosting. And I love those torte pans. My layers were even this time.

The pasta salad was a low calorie solution to cleaning out some of the stuff in our messy pantry that turned out to be a hit with the family. So KWK requested it again. I was very methodical about it the first time I made it and of course, had no idea what I did. Kish was there to remind me of what was in it and to help me chop all of the veggies. She cooked the pasta and put the dressing mixture on it. I tasted it and gave a few final touches before we put it in that beautiful scalloped bowl. It is one of her favorites of my dishes also.

I have to make sure that I say that Markisha was a hugely significant contributing factor to the preparation of the food because she wants me to make sure I give her some credit. She texted a picture of the cake, for which she did most of the piping, to a few of her friends. She got a wedding proposal out of it - if only they knew.