ROYAL WEDDING

'Twas the night before the fairy-tale Royal Wedding...Husband was sent off to sleep in the cottage out back, The Royal Wedding Official Programme was laid out so that I might be able to follow along with the service, the Book of Common Prayer was also at my side, and the Cartier alarm clock set for 3:00 a.m.!
At 3:00 a.m. I heard the sound of the posh clock ringing for me to get up...as I waited a few minutes to muster the energy to crawl out of bed, the Bell Towers appropriately rang very British-y on my iPhone! Feet to floor! Much to do before BBC America began their coverage of the event.

I pulled myself together and donned my Lilly PJ's in the 'Pick of the Bunch' pattern. Yes, I wore my comfy PJ's to watch the Royal Wedding:)

My pink Royal Slippers are monogrammed in green...

Mlle. Coco Chanel does NOT like waking up at 3:00 a.m.--but, all the same, she looks pretty cute in her PJ's!

Of course the pajamas have a tiara-motif pattern...just for my little Princess!

Her cute little topknot barrette...perfect for Miss Coco!

I decided that it would be just myself and Miss Coco watching the wedding together. I wanted to soak up every single detail of the entire event...with no interuptions:)

Since we were both gonna lounge around on the bed, I prepared a Royal Tea. Savories, scones, sweets, and a special dessert are served at a Royal Tea. Champagne/Sherry are also served. The Queen of England quite possibly serves a Royal Tea to her guests at Buckingham Palace.

I set up a small tea table in the corner of the bedroom, with all the accoutrements needed for a Royal Tea...

Pink roses and babies breath in a Waterford vase...

The tiered tea tray, with the savories on the bottom plate, the scones on the middle plate, and the sweets on the top plate--all placed on top of pretty dainty doilies. Tea foods should be eaten in that order--from the bottom to the top of tray.

Tiara sparkling on the tea tray...

The first course--savories...closed-faced, tiara-shaped cucumber sandwiches. Closed-faced sandwiches should be eated with the fingers and remember to use the 3-finger rule {use the thumb, index & middle finger} Take dainty bites--don't put the whole tea sandwich in your mouth at one time--that would be tacky.

The second course--British scones. There are several methods of eating scones; this is the one that I prefer.

With the serving tongs provided, place a scone onto your tea plate. Spoon small dallops {just enough for a single scone} of jam and clotted cream onto your plate. Never spoon directly onto the scone. Break off a piece of the scone as you would do with a roll and put only that piece into your mouth. Use your knife to dab the edge of the scone with jam, then clotted cream. Sip a little tea and repeat! Between bites, remember to rest the knife on the upper right side of your tea plate, with the cutting edge of the blade facing the center of the plate.

I made fresh Strawberry Preserves earlier this week and this jam was wonderful on the scones!

Remember, the clotted cream is added after the jam onto the scone.

The sweets are the third course. Y'all it was just me, so I tried to go soft on the sweets. Ha!

The teapot holds the steaming hot water. Since I chose tea sachets today, the tea was steeped in the teacup, not in the teapot.

'Royal Wedding Tea' from Harney Tea was a must-have for my Royal Tea. This tea was commissioned by the Historic Royal Palaces organization. It's a Chinese mutan white tea with almond, coconut, and vanilla to taste and a floral abundance of pink rosebuds & petals. Perfect for this special morning!

You may purchase either loose tea, tea sachets, or teabags. I love tea sachets, as they are a better quality of tea than the teabag, while a bit quicker and easier to steep than loose tea. If you are served hot water and a tea sachet, place the tea sachet into your teacup and allow it steep in the water for approximately five minutes. Do not dunk the tea sachet of wrap it around your teaspooon to drain it. Place the used tea sachet on a separate saucer--never onto your tea saucer.

Remember that the tea goes into the teacup first...then you would add sugar {loose or cubed}, if you prefer. Today I used a sugar scuttle to hold the sugar cubes...a pretty touch to the tea table! If you take lemon with your tea, you would add a lemon slice {not a lemon wedge, ugh!} after the sugar is added.

Remember that milk is added to tea {not cream} and it goes in last. You would not use milk and lemon together because the acid from the lemon will curdle the milk.

A waste bowl {also called a slop bowl} is used for the spent leaves after steeping or the dregs of the tea not sipped! I had a lot of dregs this morning 'cuz I was Tweeting so much about the Royal Wedding and not paying attention to my tea temperature!

I used a white battenburg Tea Cozy to keep my hot water HOT!

The cozy bed tray set for my Royal Tea...in bed!

Dainty pink tea plates and teacups and saucers placed on a white battenburg placemat. I used a dessert fork, luncheon knife, and dessert spoon, in addition to the teapot-motif teaspoon. {A dainty doily was also placed under the teacup}

When handling the teacup, place the index finger through the handle, with the thumb placed on the top of the handle to support the grip, and the second finger below the handle for added security. The next two fingers naturally follow the curve of the other fingers. It is considered an affection to raise the pinkie finger while sipping tea. Also, you should look into the teacup while sipping your tea.

Remember to softly fold the liquid when adding sugar or milk and then place the teaspooon on the saucer behind the handle.

Serviettes are used at teatime. I added a silver tiara-motif napkin ring for my Royal Tea. The serviette is a tea napkin, 12" square. It is picked up and unfolded on the lap. A tea serviette is opened completely. Proper etiquette dictates that you blot your lipstick with a tissue before taking tea or using any cloth napkin at the table. When using a serviette, blot the corner of your mouth and don't use the serviette as a handkerchief.

Of course, Miss Royal Janice had a tiara-motif placecard holder and pink gingham place card...making it just a little bit more prissy!

Just like millions of others in the world today, I am so happy that I was able to watch this royal event. As I'm writing this post, I have almost finished watching it for the SECOND time and for sure it will not be the LAST time:)

I must say that British ladies certainly know how to dress appropriately inside of a church sanctuary! The beautiful hats {Fascinators} will surely be all the rage in the United States after this wedding.

William and Kate, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge...So young, so in love, so beautiful, so happy...Their wedding just leaves me excited for both them and what their futures hold.

As they stood on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, I could not help but think of Princess Diana. How very sad that she was not there with them.

It was time for my fourth and final course of The Royal Tea...a special dessert of strawberry sorbet, whipped topping, and a fresh strawberry glaze. After their first public kiss, I lifted my 'Alaina' Waterford goblet of champagne and toasted them out loud {in my best British accent, of course} "May you have good health, happiness, and peace together"!

The royal dessert and champage...

Miss Coco and I had a fabulous morning and she is now down for her afternoon nap...wearing her little Princess tee-shirt!

Thank you for joining me today. I've now got to take my royal self to Petsmart to buy some dog food! Ta Ta!