APPLEBEES COPYCAT ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

I have been wanting to make this salad for

weeks to I invited my friend Janice over and

made it for lunch.  I found the recipe here!

The only suggestion I would have is to

 double the recipe for the dressing. 

 I used romaine lettuce, red cabbage 

and napa cabbage and it tasted to me just

 like the real deal!  Delicious!  I left

 out the onion and the cucumber and

 because I didn't have Dijon Mustard - 

I just used powdered mustard. 

 The dressing was perfect!

I did not make the fried chicken with the batter - 
just grilled chopped
pieces in Olive oil.

Just like Applebees - we had the

Artichoke Spinach Dip for an appetizer.

SHADY GABLES TEA ROOM IN VERSAILLES, MISSOURI

Today I was treated like royalty by 2 other bloggers who have become wonderful friends.  Thank you

Gina and Janice who took me to the

Shady Gables Tea Room in Versailles, Mo as

part of a birthday celebration. (I had no
idea we were going here today)

Janice and I made a big decision that we
 will no longer celebrate "birthdays"
 but we will call it "Queen's Day"

from now on - no more birthdays!

When we arrived many cars were parked outside

and ladies were already enjoying Afternoon Tea.

Some sites on the way over:

And here we are at the tea room below and I take terrible pictures and am in total denial about how

old I am getting.  This is Gina in the red,

Janice in the pink and me in the sweater

with the roses.  These two gals are wonderful

people who I dearly love!

THE VIOLETS ARE COMING for "Friends Sharing Tea"

One of the first flowers to appear in

the spring are little woodland violets!

Now that February is here, I couldn't 
wait to get out my violet cups and saucers

and since last year, I collected a few

new ones along the journey.

I sat up a little table in the kitchen.

I know I am so silly about these old
vintage doilies - yes I admit it!

This of course is a chocolate pot
 with the short stubby spout:

I think I counted 9 violet cups and saucers:

This one is unusual with roses also on it:

MORE DECOUPAGE TINS

Just a brief post to share what I did with 2 more tins.  On the left is Beatrix Potter's art and Tasha Tudor's art on the right:

This little tin was a gift from Janice

at "Curtains In My Tree" blog:

I participate in some exchanges 

on Face Book
 groups
so I imagine I will save them for that.

YEARNING FOR "THE SECRET GARDEN" for Friends Sharing Tea

I am so excited to see the early signs of

bulbs popping out in my garden here in Missouri.

Last year the day we moved was
 March 17th arriving in the evening and
seeing  both the Pussywillow

out front and the Forsythia on the side of our

house were in full bloom.

  Earlier when we left Colorado that 
morning there was

 lots of snow on the ground.

In regard to spring coming - 

I learned there is an exchange for climates

 that have milder winter's and early springs.  

The exchange is that it will be much hotter

 and last longer at that in the

summer.

Lately I have been enjoying buying a few used books

here and there and one of the sites I found doesn't

charge shipping for over 3 books and the books are really reasonable.

I got a copy of "The Secret Garden" from

 1911 and it is a second printing.

I love books like this type too (above).
Some were clearly used library books - all
are used books of course.

I am using my Spode "Dubarry"
 Coffee
 pot today for tea.

And this Royal Albert cup and saucer:

I hope spring comes soon for you so
 you can
work in your "Secret Garden"!
I will be sharing my post at:
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Home Sweet Home

An InLinkz Link-up

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Just a quick "Happy Valentines Day" greeting

to all of you who read this blog.  I did

want to share with you something I made

a month or so ago.  I participated in a

Valentine's Day Tasha Tudor Exchange

 in the Facebook "Take Peace" group and

 one of the things I sent my

 exchange partner was this:

I took an old tin and decoupaged it with some music score, then pictures from Tasha Tudor's book "A Time to Keep"

 and then an old Valentine.  After everything was coate several times,

I glued some brass findings on it and filled

it with seeds from my last summer's garden.

I also found this fun felt Valentine
decoration at an antique mall
in Boonville, Missouri - so I added a few
 vintage Valentines!

"STEEPED IN EVIL" - A Tea Shop Mystery Review

Another one of Laura Child's tea murder mysteries has been read.......................finally!

The simple fact of the matter is life got a little crazy for me these last few years.  I got behind doing reviews on Laura's books (what with going out of business to retire after 28 years, selling a retail building, selling a house and moving from Colorado to Missouri). Laura recently gave me a gentle and kind nudge.  I am determined to "catch back up".

When I first started reading Laura's tea shop books, I quickly realized that Drayon was my favorite character.  He is the mature gentleman who oversees
the smooth and efficient operation of Theodosia Brown's Indigo Tea Shop.  I hate to point this out but in the beginning, he was older than me. Now I am pretty sure I am older than him which can be a little unsettling but I just have to deal with that!

I love the familiar faces of Haley, Theo's Pastry Chef and Delaine Dish - owner of the Cotton Duck.  I read recently that some people who review books read the first few chapter and then the end of the book only.  Drayton would be most upset by such behavior and I can assure you that I read every word!

So are you ready for a visit to Charleston, South Carolina and in need of some southern charm mixed with adventure?  The murder of Drew Knight at the Knighthall Winery is front and center in this mystery book.  Of course Theodosia Browning whose determination solves yet another tea murder mystery is the real star of this story.    

Help yourself to one of these Apricot Scones
made from a recipe here in this 15th tea shop mystery book.  You can relax and have scones and feel like you are right
in the Indigo Tea Shop.

If you haven't read any of these books you can decide if you want to read them in sequence starting with "Death By Darjeeling"or you can pick one out and read it independent of the others!  Right now - I'm moving on to #16 "Ming Tea Murder".

Do I have any suggestions for Laura?  Yes, at the next Indigo Tea Shop "Downton Abbey Tea" I would definitely think Miss Dimple should do a little theatrical presentation as Mrs. Patmore - perhaps sharing about her brief romantic encounter? 
 The customers would love that! 
 And what about Drayton portraying Mr. Carson?

FIRESIDE GARDEN DREAMING

With 2016 behind us,

 we can now take some time
to enjoy dreaming about spring.
It is always fun looking at some 
gardening magazines and books. I am making
 plans to start growing some plants from
seeds down in the basement later this month.
  

I bought these inexpensive containers at 

Menards for  growing seeds.  

 I can't  be buying
lots and lots of plants at the nurseries this year.  The retirement budget reality is
definitely here but that's o.k.  It's fun
to learn new things.

I rooted a bunch of things during

last August and was so surprised how
easy it was to do - so that's for sure
one of the things I plan to do.

  This is definitely the time
 for tea time by the fire since it is
 damp and cold and overcast.  As I
get over my cold, my husband is
most unhappy.  We tried so hard to
keep him from catching it but alas........