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Entry Tags: stegmaier garden party tea jim thorpe victorian friendship society victoriana ladystegmaier garden party tea jim thorpe victorian friendship society victoriana lady
We were quite fortunate to have a perfect warm weather day for the Victorian Friendship Society of PA's Garden Tea Party, held yesterday at the Stegmaier Mansion. Several new memebers were in awe as they walked from room to room, one more amazing than the other. The finished library, and I use that term loosely since owner Joe Matteo is always brainstorming, was breathtaking. The ceilings alone are a sight to behold with fine art replica paintings between each of the beams. The ambiance there is purely magical, like walking back into the Gaslit Era.
We were enticed by a lovely array of delectables as we entered the formal ding room. The elaborate table, laden with every sort of silver & china imaginable, was pure eye candy! Our menu consisted of scones with clotted cream & jam, assorted tea sandwiches, fruit salad, quiche, and assorted chocolate bite size desserts. Beverages were a delicious peach blend punch, assorted herbal & traditional teas, coffee and hot chocolate.
After our tea luncheon guests were delighted to have a personal tour of the mansion, soon to be featured in Victorian Homes magazine in 2010. There were flashes everywhere, it was like being on the red carpet, as everyone was taking pictures furiously of every angle of every room and hallway.
We assembled in the lovely garden to take pictures by the Victorian inspired fountain. I had a display out on the patio with some examples from my Ephemera collection for the ladies to enjoy. These consisted of calling cards, trade cards, greeting cards, photos, ladies magazines such as Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, antique magazines, sheet music and more, all circa 1890-1920.
We also played a few parlor games in the Victorian spirit. Ladies shouted out names, adjectives, verbs, body parts, etc. at random, then we plugged these into a story, the results were hilarious! The Victorians loved to start a story where each person going around had to add to it, so by the time it came back to the first person, it was a tall tale!
As always, the time went by too fast and it was time to depart. We can't wait for our next event with the society, next month shopping and tea in a traditinal English Tea Room, The Albright Mansion in historic Victorian Jim Thorpe PA. Anyone care to join us?? 
http://www.victorianalady.com/stegmaiermansiontour.html
