A Spot of Tea

A Quick Intro


Do you ever wish that you could spend an afternoon feeling like the Queen of England? Or maybe you're a fan of unbirthdays and the Mad Hatter. Either way, perhaps it's just a spot of tea you're missing. The place I'm about to describe to you is fairly magical for little princesses, old souls, and anglophiles alike. It's in the middle price range. Not dirt cheap, but not expensive. What can I say? You must pay for a little class. Oh...and it's in a little town called Woodstock, Georgia, a place full of elegant Southern charm right on the outskirts of Atlanta.

 

It looks like a cottage in a fairytale, right?

One Lump or Twenty-One?: My Birthday Brunch

The Who:

The Lovebirds: Leesie and Roberto (aka Elise and Rob)

Zany Zo-Bug (aka Zoe)

The Classy Columnist (aka me)

The What: A bit of sophisticated fun to kick off the festivities for my 21st birthday

The When: Friday September 16th, 2011

The Where: Tea Leaves and Thyme (Woodstock, Georgia)

The Why: My way of rebelling against the "Get wasted!" connotation of that 21st year and to remind myself that although I can legally drink, rent a hotel room, and, um, do other grownup stuff--I will maintain that childlike sense of wonder and fun. :)

The How: This is a fairly fancy place. I believe they generally prefer that you make reservations, as they can get booked otherwise.

This fantastic little tearoom is a place I've been going to since I was a kid. One of our dearest family friends lives in Woodstock and she just loves the custom of tea time. We knew if we were spending my birthday weekend in town, we'd have to make a visit to TL&T. Our reservation was for the brunchy hour of 11am. Rob, Elise, Zoe, and I got a bit dressed up and set off. The tearoom has always been in historic downtown Woodstock, but its current location is even cooler than the original: the Sam and Georgia Carpenter Dawson House, built in 1909. We were seated in a room named after Georgia. Next to her picture hung a caption stating that Sam and Georgia's children were born and raised in that very house. Maybe it's just me that's a history nerd, but I love knowing that I'm sitting in a place that is a big part of a town's legacy! (So much so that it is noted in a timeline here.) Another cool feature is that the proprietors of this establishment keep hats, furs, gloves, and shawls on hand for guests to play dress up (because, realistically, whether they're 5 or 50, girls just wanna have fun). We took advantage of that...

I've got my pinky out, and well, Zoe looks like the Queen of England.

Cheers, darling.

Nothing fancier than what appears to be a stuffed animal on your back...Um...Suuure.

Now, not only is it fancy-fun, Tea Leaves and Thyme has phenomenal food. You can take a little look at their menu here. We had the Full Afternoon Tea, which involved either a chicken salad croissant or a sundried tomato tartlet (I've had both--and I can't say which is better!), three different kind of real scones (not the same as the soggy sugary ones you get at corporate coffee shops) ((with lemon curd and a nice almondy-tasting whipped cream)), three kinds of delectable finger sandwiches, and a little plate of gloriously decadent desserts. Since it was my birthday, they gave me an extra little dessert bar with a candle in it (of course). (Too many parentheses?) Then of course, they have so many types of tea it's ridiculous: caffeinated, decaffeinated, fruity, spicy, hot, iced...We had some sort of peach tea. Mmm. And their seasonal Apple Spice which they automatically gave us before the order. It was the perfect Fall treat.

TL&T is the perfect place for special occasions. While I was there, there were three other birthday girls in the building at the same time. They really personalize it by giving you a name card and doing everything they can to make your time there unforgettable. Also, they have an adorable gift shop with things like awesomely eclectic handmade jewelry, tea things (of course), and books.

Do I sound overly zealous about this place? I probably do. I just get really excited about silly, girly, childlike things...shouldn't we all every once in awhile?

This picture means yes--yes, we ALL should.

So...one lump or two? :)