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| Happy Holidays! Guests were welcomed at the door with a champagne flute of Veuve-Clicquot. |
The Celebration!
Food, Guests and Fun!!!
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| Tea Party Desserts (vegan, gluten-Free & homemade) |
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| (back left to front right) On our dining room table were; three different types of cookies, an assortment of raw chocolate, fresh fruit, three different types of raw pies, raw truffles, three different types of muffins & a warm Apple Cobbler. |
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| Coconut Banana Cream Pie-top, Pumpkin Pie-middle, Spicy Mexican Chocolate Pie-bottom (vegan, gluten-free, raw & homemade) |
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| I was very happy when guests starting slicing into our pies! Pictured is a detail of the Coconut Banana Cream Pie. |
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| Raw Cinnamon, Chai & Lavender Truffles (forground) Cardamom-Vanilla-top, Gingerbread-middle & Pumpkin Walnut Muffins-bottom (background) |
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| Strawberries and Blackberries Gorgeous! |
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| Raw Broken Chocolate Pieces with Almonds and Rock Salt-left & Pistachios-right |
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| Tea Party Savory Dips & Spreads (starting with dip by the cucumbers and going clockwise) Served in Ball Jars in our family room were; Cashew-Based Ranch Dip, Artichoke Seed Cheese, Pickles (from our garden), Sun-Dried Tomato Seed Cheese, Basil-Pesto (from our garden), Olive Tempenade, Bombay Cashews & Ginger-Rosemary Seed Cheese. (vegan, gluten-free, homemade) (top of tiered tray) Rock Salt, Rosemary-Sage & Tamari Flax Crax (vegan, gluten-free, raw & homemade) Assorted crackers and breads |
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| Soup Shots! Staying warm on a bed of salt in our kitchen were shots of; Wine & Curry Butternut Squash Soup garnished with thyme & creme fraiche (vegan, gluten-free & homemade) (foreground) & Lentil Soup, made by my neighbor, Karen Roth (vegan) (background) *Crime or no crime, we just had to pull this off. |
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| Prepping the tea for the party, our kitchen was sparkling with silver and stainless steel. |
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| Guests could pour themselves a brewed cup of Joy, Starbuck’s special holiday black tea (left) or a cup of a coveted Taiwanese green tea (right). |
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| Tea Bar Guests could make their own tea as well. |
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| My girls, Teddy & Ellie, greeted guests as they arrived. |
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| Who says girls can’t have a little bubbly in the afternoon? Barbara Gerson is ringing in the season with a glass of champagne poured by my sister, Sue Dejaeghere. |
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| Our “Neighbor Bubby”, Florence Silverstein, arrived with her daughter, Linda Barbour. |
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| Andrea Maison & Florence Silverstein Andrea was very interested in our kitchen garden and took a rain-check for a spring garden tour. |
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| Anne Eardley & Jacque Smith Anne, gluten-free, was in HEAVEN! |
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| Joanne Nicola, Marney Salmon & Jan Greene Marney is new to the neighborhood and I’m sure had fun meeting her new neighbors. |
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| Gretchen Birkbeck, Lindel Hoff & Leisa Snow Lindel braved the party despite her twisted ankle! Gretchen lives in one of my FAVORITE homes on Reeds Lake, it’s lovely!!! |
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| Lesley Goebel & Me Lesley and I went to high school together in Bloomfield Hills and now my son and her adorable daughter are dating. It’s a small world! |
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| Carolyn Grin & Joan Secchia Carolyn started the neighborhood holiday tea tradition years ago. Joan is one of the kindest women I know. |
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| Eileen Brander, Jacque Smith, Joanne Nicola, Melissa Janes, Karen Roth & Lori Vacchiano Melissa, my partner in crime, on the “Great Soup Shot Cup Caper”, looks so prim and proper but lurking below all of that polished goodness is a dark and mischievous side. I LOVE THAT! |
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| Bella Surrell & Renate Behnen Bella’s daughter, Sam, used to be our tall and lanky-with-braces babysitter. Now, she’s a SUPER-MODEL, wonder where she gets her looks? 😉 Renate has very special German candy that she reserves for neighborhood kids ONLY on Halloween. Our kids never miss her house! |
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| Judi Morgan, Susan Levine, Jacque Smith & Lindel Hoff “Aunt Jacque” watches our kids when we get time off for good behavior! |
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| Terri Devon & Marney Salmon Terri is one of the most beautiful (inside & out) women I know, Marney is one of the coolest! |
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| Barbara Gerson, Eileen DeVries, Teddy & Ellie I met Barbara and Eileen through our shared passion for gardening. Great relationships start in good dirt! |
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| Tamara Christians & Sandy Pearson Sandy owns a company that distributes wheatgrass among other produce, and is nice enough to deliver weekly to us on her way home! |
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| Carolyn Grin, Sue Dejaeghere (my sister), Marguerite Dejaeghere (my Mother) & Noel Horn (my Sensei) I was very happy my Mum and two of my three sisters could make it to the tea party. One of them, Janet Loridas, was BEHIND the camera for the day. THANK YOU JAN!!! |
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| Eileen DeVries & Me It was nice to finally be able to relax and enjoy our guests. |
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| My Mum & Me Did I mention it was great to have my family here? |
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| Janet Loridas, Sue Dejaeghere, Marguerite Dejaeghere & Me My family! |
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| Jamie & Maria My “behind-the-scenes” saviors of the day! I couldn’t have enjoyed it without you both. |
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| The Hostesses Ellie, Margaux & Teddy Drake |
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| Tea Party Favor Each guest left with an updated map to our neighborhood with first and last names of our neighbors. Full credit must go to Ellie Drake for pulling this together. From visiting our city offices to simply knocking on doors, she made this from scratch in limited time! Thank you Ellie!!! |
Surrounded by family and friends,
a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays!
*Photo Credit: Janet Loridas
The Shade Shop, Inc.
What a fabulous presentation and looks like everyone had a wonderful afternoon! I am coming to live in your neighborhood!!!!!!! Happy Holidays!!!
Ellen
thanks for sharing-looked LOVELY!You & your girls are beautiful!!!
Anonymous
Everything looks so delicious!