Afternoon Tea

We went to Julien Plumart (the one on Duke Street in Brighton!) for a little afternoon tea.

Our English Breakfasts came in tiny clear glass pots that I loved

And then our stand of treats showed up!

My pretty tea date in her new dress :)

Let's take a second to appreciate those treats, yes?

Felicia's apricot-lavendar-chocolate cake

My raspberry white chocolate mousse cake *heart eyes emoji*

Hi!

Obviously chose a pistachio macaron (along with black forest and salted caramel)

Hi again! (I had a new dress on too, and my new Brighton necklace! )

The cute little room we were in overlooking the street

Hard to resist not buying one of each rainbow macaron dreamy goodness as we walked out!
I really wouldn't mind having afternoon tea daily, especially with such good company :)

25

I turned 25 this month!

And like all mature 25 year olds, I sent out invitations to my birthday party.

Which was an afternoon tea.

Last year (if you recall) was my very first afternoon tea ever with my new (and now best) London pals, and even though I'm back in Canada I couldn't resist having another here.

Now, my dining room is no Bea's of Bloomsbury, but I have to admit I think I did a pretty decent job whipping up some treats and sandwiches for me and my friends. I say whipping up as if it took minutes when really it took perhaps a week and couldn't have been done without my sous-chef, AKA my mom. Thanks mom!

So everyone came over and we ate all the treats (tea sandwiches and macarons and fawn shortbreads and eclairs and scones and cake, of course) and drank all the teas. And all the prosecco, if I'm being perfectly honest. What's a birthday without a little bubbly?

The cake I baked was from this lovely book that I got for Christmas and it was deeeeelicious. Seriously delicious. My mom and I made the homemade jam and paired with the sponge layers and the cream in the center.. cake heaven.

So that was my birthday! And now I'm 25.


A few side notes:

1) Let's pretend the 12 Days of Baking Mega Fail at Christmas never happened, okay?
2) I should probably have some wise list of things I've learned in my quarter-century on earth but I don't and I'm sure if I did someone else has probably already also learned them and blogged them in a much more eloquent post than I could possibly ever write.
3) I move back to England in two months!
4) I have given up social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for Lent. I don't usually give anything up but one of my friends was doing it and social media has kind of taken over my life so, if you're wondering why I haven't tweeted about my breakfast or instagrammed a sunset in a while, that's why.
5) I wish I had that cake again right now

Birthday Afternoon Tea

Yesterday was my birthday!
Woke up to sparkling wine and chocolate outside my door, went downstairs to a salmon and eggs breakfast, hung out with my flatmates all afternoon. Left for Afternoon Tea at Bea's of Bloomsbury (Another Tea & Cake London find, actually!) that Bella so kindly booked for us. The sun was out all day, I don't think it rained once.
Tea was amazing; baguettes, cupcakes, brownies, marshmallows, scones with giant amounts of cream and jam. I had a hibiscus and blackcurrant tea that my be my new favorite (or maybe Birthday Teas just taste better?). We chatted our way through the treats, managing to finish all but three cupcakes.
Feeling high on sugar and just a bit (okay a lot) full, we wandered past St. Paul's to London Bridge for the train home, me stopping and sighing over London's views every ten feet (look at those lights!).
At home more cake was waiting - a carrot cake with mascarpone frosting that Bella had whipped up earlier. In true tradition, there was a cake chop, which my flatmates seem bewildered by but is now totally normal to me. And then there was more cake eating.

I honestly couldn't have asked for a better birthday. I was worried, before I came to London, that my birthday would be spent by myself in a cafe with a book. Instead I've made the nicest new friends who treated me like a princess and had the most amazing day, made even better by wishes from friends and family back home.
Thank you thank you everyone who made my day so amazing. 24 couldn't be off to a better start!