This summer has been a mixed bag when it comes to weather. Cold, rainy, grey days seem far too frequent and it’s been a while since we could sit out under the heat of a warm summer’s sun! Earlier in the summer though we were lucky enough to have a baking day of glorious sunshine that happened to perfectly coincide with an afternoon of al fresco dining with friends and afternoon tea!
I’m happy to say that over the past couple of years Pete and I have found the most glorious set of friends! We laugh together, cry together, sing together, eat together and hang out most weekends (particularly on Sunday afternoons) and it’s been super lovely to share life with this lovely group.
With many a creative person amongst our friendship group, we’re often found to be cooking up a feast of some kind and we’ve had a fancy afternoon tea on the cards for a while, so it was about time we got baking, dug out the fine china and set up an afternoon tea worthy of Pinterest!
Our friends Mikey and Beth have a beautiful garden, with Mikey’s home grown vegetable patch, a fire pit for colder days and lovely festoon lighting, which they kindly provided for our afternoon of fun and together we coordinated the making and baking of delicious treats. We’re also fortunate to have a chef in our midsts, Tim, who is often found in one of our kitchens showing us his culinary delights. To start with Tim knocked up some open top sandwiches made with his own homemade olive oil and parmesan bread, parma ham, mozzarella and balsamic dressing – there’s nothing quite like fresh bread!
Alongside our savoury sandwiches and nibbles, we had a wonderful selection of cakes, including my very own lemon drizzle (my favourite bake!), a red velvet cherry cake, rocky road, carrot cake and some freshly baked cookies. We also had the traditional afternoon tea delight of scones with clotted cream and jam – delicious!
Drinks of Pimms and an iced selection were served in cute milk bottles with straws that perfectly set off the decor of wild flowers, tea cups, tinted glass candle holders and plant pots!
It was a really lovely afternoon and much food, laughter and fun was shared amongst friends. I’m super grateful for gatherings such as these and this bunch of glorious people who always pull out all the stops to pull afternoons such as this off. Thanks to everyone who hit the kitchen and baked for this lovely afternoon!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this snapshot of what community gatherings looks like for us and our friends. It’s something we’ve really tried to invest in since our trip to Le Vay last year. There’s something beautiful about getting outside and enjoying fresh, homemade (and homegrown) produce with the people you love!
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