A few weeks ago, we hosted a charitable tea with New York Times Bestselling author, Rhys Bowen.  The monies raised from that afternoon go the Family to Family Foundation. This foundation provides scholarships to students in rural El Salvador who, due to lack of funds, would otherwise be unable to receive an education.

When my son was in high school, he was selected to go on a Family to Family trip out of the country and we were very impressed with the good work this organization does.

My friend, Susan Charlton and I created the centerpieces out of old books, fresh flowers, potted plants, and antique linens.

Some of the tables had small paintings that were available to purchase.  Note the fun stand my husband made from an old silver-plated fork. Paintings done by Susan Charlton and moi!

Rhys provided books for all the guests as a thank you for attending.

The food, tea and service was spectacular.  Julie Greder once again provided beautifully displayed tea sandwiches and scones with Devonshire cream.

And GORGEOUS desserts.

While the tea was flowing, we were entertained by Rhys and her delightful stories of England and how she develops the characters in her book.

What is an afternoon tea without a great hat? With a wide variety of fascinators to wide brim……

Even a vintage 1920s dress, hat and shoes!

And the winner of our hat contest is……

The weather was perfect and the cause was worthy.  Such a civilized way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Many thanks to Ashley Rekittke from Ashley Rose Media for graciously photographing and capturing the day!

This post shared with Tablescape Thursdays 618th by Between Naps on the Porch

On Saturday, March 17th we are hosting a charitable tea party at Bella Terra and have a few seats left! Our guest of honor will be Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author.  The event is from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Bella Terra, which gives you plenty of time later to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!!

Please email me asap (hopefully today or tomorrow, as we need to plan for food/beverage) if you are interested in attending at [email protected]. The cost is $60.00 and goes to a wonderful charitable organization, Family to Family.  Once I receive your email, I will provide further details. For more information about Family to Family, click here.

We had this tea 2 years ago and it was wonderful!  Here are some photos of the event.  Having tea and discussing books? What could be better!

So don your prettiest hat and come for tea!

For more information about our author, Rhys Bowen, please click here.

I hope you are able to join us!

 

 

I try to read every single day. Actually it is part of my bedtime routine~~wash face, brush teeth, put on my favorite jammies and climb into bed with my Kindle. I do love opening a hard cover book, which would always be my first choice, but the Kindle does make book shopping rather easy.

So here are the books I have been reading over these winter months. I love it when someone shares a good book suggestion with me, so I hope you will enjoy these as much as I did.

This book, Need to Know, was a page turner.  I finished it in 3 days.  I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

The author, Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She has master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar, and from Harvard University. This is her first novel.  Here is what John Grisham is saying about this.

“Perhaps there will be two or three readers out there who manage to finish the first chapter of this terrific debut and put it down for more than an hour. But they’ll be back. And they’ll devour Need to Know like the rest of us, skipping lunch, losing sleep, turning pages until the end, where we’re all left waiting for more.”—John Grisham

Perfect husband. Perfect father. Perfect liar?

The Inheritance is the first novel I have read by Heidi Hostetter.  I am always looking for a good story surrounding a fabulous house. Three estranged sisters jointly inherit a run-down beach house from a relative they don’t remember, in a town they’ve never visited. In a small beach community where nothing is private, the sisters attempt to restore the house and rebuild their family.

I am still thinking about this Dan Brown book, Origin.

In the trademark style of Dan Brown, he cleverly weaves elements including science, codes, religion, history, art and architecture.  I found the ending of this book a bit disturbing and continue to find evidence that it may, after all, be true.

John Grisham‘s newest legal thriller, The Rooster Bar, is a fun read…..so Grisham-like. This is about three disenchanted law students who try and game the system.

 

“Downton Abbey for the White House staff”—-Today

The Residence is a refreshing inside look into the private world of The White House. Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain on the world’s most famous address.  She spent countless hours interviewing butlers, maids, chefs, florists, doormen and other staffers. This book is focused on the professionals that do everything and anything within the White House over the course of several presidencies. If you want to find out which First Lady stole the White House silver, then read this.

The Good Widow was the first book I have read from Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke.  I liked it so much that I quickly read another. The Year We Turned Forty.

The Good Widow is a twisty, emotional thriller filled with suspense.  Again, I read this one in record time. The Year We Turned Forty is about three best friends who get an opportunity to return to the year they turned 40. Such an interesting concept that deals with friendship, regret, and redemption.  I like these authors so much I will more than likely read their other books too.

Sweet Tea Tuesdays, by Ashley Farley is about 3 best friends who meet every Tuesday for 26 years. This book is about friendships between women and the love between mothers and daughters.

I just started Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police series (recommended by my friend, Rick).  I do love most books with the plot located in France. Bruno, is a policeman in a small village in the South of France. He’s a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. Until there is a brutal murder….

Happy reading!  We’ve had cooler weather here in Phoenix which is perfect for cozying up with a good book….often times much better than watching television.  If you have a book(s) to share, please do!

 

 

The book that is open faced in my first photo is a beautiful collection of illustrations by Marjolein Bastin, Nature’s Sketchbook.  This book was given to me by my daughter.  It is filled with lovely sketches of nature-such as birds, bees, bunnies, and flowers.

 

 

 

 

As you know, I have been on a cleaning, sorting and organizing whirlwind.  Starting at one end of the house, my goal is to go through every drawer, closet, dresser and attack it with the mindset as if I am moving in 2 weeks. Expired makeup, business suits with shoulder pads, miscellaneous paperwork – GONE!

The master closet and bathroom are behind me and I just finished the master bedroom. I haven’t cleaned out my nightstand in many years.

It’s such a luxury to have fresh cut flowers in any room, but having them by the bed, seems extra special….bringing a bit of the nature indoors.

But I am also fine with a good quality artificial flower, like these peonies from The Enchanted Home. To see a previous post about these artificial flowers, click here.

The decadent picture frame was a wedding gift from a friend~~it’s a collage of old pearls, jewelry, and a cupid and is truly one of a kind. Not sure my husband is very fond of it, but I think it’s fun.  Wouldn’t this be a great DIY project with an abundance of costume jewelry?

Within reach, I keep a candle, books I may be reading, a water bottle, and a small Limoges box that holds a set of rosary beads.  There’s a great story behind the Limoges box.  My husband and I won a trip (charity raffle) in 2001 to fly to London, England, take the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express train to Southhampton, England and then board Cunard’s Queen Elisabeth ship for a 10-day transAtlantic cruise.  Up to this point, I had never won anything…lucky, lucky me!!!  This beautiful keepsake box is from our exquisite train ride on the Orient Express.

The jeweled frog is just something fun.  It’s a small box and I don’t really use it for anything, but I’m rather fond of it.

In the top drawer closest to my side of the bed, you will find Kiehl’s hand cream, Essie apricot cuticle oil, Smith’s Rosebud salve, a nail file, my glasses, a few flashlights (as we are always losing power), and multiple power cords for my iPhone and Kindle, and my headphones. The ceramic prayer book holds a few more of my rosary collection. The pottery plate I received as a gift on a business trip with my husband to Chile, South America.

Smith’s Rosebud salve is so good for chapped lips, extra dry skin or to help minor burns.  It smells good and the tin looks so retro to me. My cuticles tend to get dry in the climate here and the apricot oil does the trick.

Lastly, I just discovered this amazing app called “Calm“.  If you have difficulty either falling asleep or staying asleep, you may want to try this. Each night before I go to sleep, I listen to a Sleep Story.  There is a large selection of stories that are read aloud for adults.  I cannot tell you how much fun it is to settle in and listen to a story.  I have not, to date, stayed awake long enough to hear the entire thing.  Their narrators have such smooth, reassuring voices that lull you to sleep.  They also have selections for meditations to reduce anxiety, sleep better and feel happier for all ages (even a College Collection).  I can’t say enough about this app.  It truly is something that I look forward to each day. It’s my new latest toy!!!

So, what is on your nightstand or bedside table?

 

 

 

I feel like I’m on a roll.  The last few books I’ve read have been winners! The summer’s less hectic schedule allows more time to read~~especially if we are stuck inside due to triple digit heat.  I have fond memories of having “reading hour” every afternoon when the children were little.  I would pick 3 books that we would read aloud as a family during those summer months. Reading has always been a priority for us.

Here are the books I have read and the ones I plan to read:

A Gentleman in Moscow….by Amor Towles.  My friend, Janie, recommended it and let me borrow her book.  I typically read on my Kindle so it took me a while to realize that on a real book I couldn’t look up the definition of a word by simply tapping on it! I loved this book so much that I instantly downloaded his first novel, Rules of Civilihttps://amzn.to/3GDxHBnty.

If you’ve read The Girl on the Train, this is the second book from Paula Hawkins, entitled Into the Water.  Of course I like anything to do with water, but there is a darker, deeper mystery to this one.

The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe takes place in the Carolina Low country on the Isle of Palms.  Sweetly written, especially if you like loggerhead turtles.

This book was featured in Coastal Living’s summer reading list, The Book of  Summer by Michelle Gabel. I was drawn to the cover…who doesn’t like hydrangeas and a blue bike?  The setting takes place in New England (love!).  It took me a while to get around some of the language (not a big obscenity fan) and some of her political comments, but plowed ahead and rather enjoyed it.

John Grisham’s latest novel is Camino Island. He is a masterful best-selling author. I have enjoyed each one of his books and this one promises to be a page turner.  Love the mystery, intrigue and the beach setting.

The Little French Bistro is the first book I have read by Ms. Nina George and I absolutely LOVED it!  I found myself wanting French food and wine throughout. I liked this so much that I am in the process of reading her other book, The Little Paris Bookshop.

Barbara Hinske is a DEAR friend and neighbor.  She’s just remarkable~~a successful lawyer, wife, mother and now author. Her historical home here in Phoenix is stunning. I suspect the fictional estate in her series, Rosemont, is based on inspiration from her own beautiful home. She has 4 books in the Rosemont series, and I recommend you start with the first one and go from there, as each novel builds upon the last.  I just read her 4th book, Bringing Them Home. Reading Barbara’s books is comforting ~~like curling up on your favorite chair~~there’s mystery, love, deceit, a fabulous home, fine linens, silver. What’s not to like?

The Summer House by Hanna McKinnon is based on a multi-generational family summer home in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. We used to travel to New England every summer to visit my parents and Watch Hill is one of our favorite destinations.  So this book felt very familiar and takes you through the challenges and personalities of a large extended family vacationing together.

What happens when you start a book and just can’t seem to get in sync with the author?  I think I am finally at an age when I don’t feel I have to finish every book I’ve started. I give it 50 pages and if it’s not working for me, I move on.

When I love an author I read everything they write.  Here is a list of some of my favorites.

David Baldacci.  Since my son attends the University of Virginia, I have discovered this UVA alum author.  His detective/thriller settings tend to be in Virginia and reading his novels makes me feel closer to my Benjamin 🙂

Kate Morton writes about historical fiction and mystery.  Her last book, The Lake House was released in 2o15  and I am anxiously awaiting her next book.

Jon Krakauer.  I had nightmares after reading Under the Banner of Heaven...but he’s such a great author, especially if you like narrative non-fiction. Now there is a television series on Hulu about this. Very disturbing.

Last spring we had a fundraiser here at Bella Terra and Rhys Bowen was our guest speaker. Since then, I have read everything (historical spy mysteries) she has written.  To see more on that event, please click here.

Jennifer Weiner.  Her last adult book was released in 2015 and I am awaiting something new from her. Jennifer writes fiction, often replicating events or challenges in her own life~~witty, humorous and contemporary.

Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander books and Outlander television series, are an absolute favorite.  There are 8 books in the Outlander book series with a ninth one coming.  If you are looking for a reading commitment, this is it.

What are you reading this summer? Is there a book you absolutely LOVE and want to share?

Happy Reading!