If you have been keeping up with my blog and following me on twitter you will know that this weekend was my 'Girly Downton Abbey Weekend' and what a weekend it has been.
We kicked the weekend off with some well needed retail therapy yesterday afternoon in the wonderful City of Cambridge. Love the quirky shops which are popping up around town including my two new favourite shops for gifts http://www.oliverbonas.com and the lovely Lilac Rose on Bridge Street. You must check this shop out if your local to Cambridge.
After a few too many hours shopping we were so behind on time that instead of going out for dinner we bought our Thai Green Curry essentials and had a homemade Thai instead of eating out. The next few hours were a mix of getting ready, drinking Procecco and deciding on which outfit to pick from our new goodies.
So we finally made it out into town at 10 which is a late start for me so we went directly to La Raza, a great spot in town for dancing. So we spent the next four hours dancing, laughing and chatting. The tune of the night has to be 'Rudimental' Feel the LOVE, absolutely love this tune, a great one to dance to with your girls or your man.
So onto the main event of the weekend and the 'Downton Abbey Tea Party'. We have spent the past 6 hours eating a luscious Afternoon Tea, drinking pomegranate and elderflower fizz and playing Downton Abbey games whilst watching various episodes from the whole series of Downton.
As you are aware I just love making each event special so I researched how to make this a memorable day for my friends; so I began my search for how to make this a day never to be forgotten. As you can see from my pictures below I found some fabulous decorations on line, including some amazing games which we have thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon.
I found the bunting on a beautiful blog called Little Vintage Trailer.
I used our pictures in the room to put up sayings from the show, I found these on the below link, they made us chuckle all day. http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/01/fridays-freebie-downton-abbey.html
To make this the perfect tea party I raided my Mum's house and borrowed some amazing goodies; this included the glass jug, cake forks and lace trimmed napkins which I used as a tablecloth. I was lucky enough to be given a china tea set years ago from a Great Aunt which turned out to be perfect for afternoon tea. I made a selection of sandwiches including cheese, traditional cucumber and egg mayo. Along with these we had cheese scones which @mclaurs made which tasted amazing. The savoury course also included hula hoops, cherry toms and picked onions. Obviously you can pick your favourite food for this course, maybe you would prefer ham sandwiches & a salad.
Next was the most important course CAKES! I had a baking marathon on Friday and made us flapjacks, chocolate & coffee cup cakes &
the most important cake the impressive Rainbow Cake.
I bought a recent issue of BBC Good Food & challenged myself to create this cake. Although I wouldn't say it has turned out perfect I feel it was a great first attempt and it certainly tasted amazing. I will post the recipe soon so you too can set yourself this challenge.
Last of all we come to the games which I found on the web. These included cut out paper dolls of Lady Mary & Matthew, O'brein & Thomas & Dowager Countess. Check out the printouts on the link below.
I first found this idea on the 'Sisters Suitcase' blog,
It is a fantastic blog full of great ideas for every event.
The best game was Downton Bingo which was fantastic, we ended our day watching a few episodes of Series 2 whilst playing this game. It was great fun and one we all recommend to do if you are a Downton fan.
You can find the print outs on the link below.
This weekend has been the perfect time, shared with two close friends & full of laughter and fun.
I hope that you are inspired to arrange your own Downton Abbey Tea party & I hope that you enjoy it as much as we have done.
It would be great to hear your thoughts on my ideas and would love to hear if you do arrange your own event.
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