A Royal Wedding Tea Party

It's no secret that I'm a self-confessed Anglophile.

I have an English degree that I got in England where I met the love of my life (who is now my husband).

I love British history, Jane Austen, and Colin Firth. And not necessarily in that order.

I love PG Tips tea, clotted cream, and nothing tastes better on French Fries than a bit of salt and vinegar.

I also adore British rock bands, Mr. Bean, and Colin Firth.

Oh, did I already mention that?

And my kids know, without a doubt, that I must be left alone if Masterpiece Theater is airing on our local PBS station on a Sunday night.

But, having said that, I'm really not big on the Royal Family.

I mean, sure, I'm fascinated with the Kings and Queens of yore. But the modern Royal Family just doesn't interest me as much. Maybe, because with the invention of the internet, everything is already out there.

Or maybe it's because I'm older and they're younger. I'm not really sure.

But I do know that I incurred the wrath of my mother-in-law when I once casually stated that I didn't understand why the Royal Family continues when it's obvious the Queen doesn't do anything.

Boy did she school me!

And, I'm fairly certain that she now does the sign of the cross whenever someone mentions my name.

But, anyway, despite all that, and despite not having a huge interest in today's Royal Family, I do distinctly remember being a 7 year old girl and lying on the carpet of my Granny Gilda's house and watching Princess Diana walk down the aisle on the television screen.

And I don't remember a whole lot from 30 years ago, but I do remember that. And I want that for my kids, too. Especially as they're technically half-British and go back to England with Simeon whenever they get the chance. (Nandi's going for the first time next month).

So, I think this is something they'll always remember.

And that's why we're throwing them a Royal Wedding Tea Party tomorrow night.

Now, I know the wedding will actually take place at 5am our time on Friday morning... and it's entirely true that our kids are usually up at that hour (well, Eli is) ... but Thursday night seemed like a good time.

We plan on drinking this tea....

You can buy it on the international aisle at Kroger's for $8.49 for 80 bags. Steep, I know.

Pun intended.

We'll be having cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches with the crusts cut off...

Strawberries and cream...

The world's best scones...

Made from this recipe . There's another recipe, too, which got excellent reviews. I haven't made it, but am definitely saving it for future use.

And because I know that this won't satisfy my hungry kids for supper, we'll also be having fish and chips. With salt and vinegar, of course!

I don't have a picture of that, but I usually just buy the Walmart brand of breaded fish and I usually make homemade oven fries... although I'm thinking of just buying some frozen ones because I'm feeling particularly lazy this week.

Simeon is also going to break out his prized English china that he brought over from when we first got married. He was brought up in a very refined household and he has a huge appreciation for National Trust sites and English china and pottery and the fine arts.

Which is why everyone was surprised when he married into my family. Our most cultural outing when I was growing up was going to Pancho's on Saturday night and seeing who could eat the most tacos and raise the flag first.

Gosh, I miss those days. Sopapillas with honey. Mmmmm.....

Anyway, no Royal Wedding Tea Party would be complete without royal hats, so I managed to find two Easter-y/Old Church Lady (okay, I know that is totally not PC) hats at our local thrift store and Eli and Nandi are going to decorate them with a slew of fake flowers, feathers, and rhinestones that I scored from Dollar Tree.

We'll also hang out the Union Jack Bunting...

And maybe we'll even color some William & Catherine coloring pages or do some Wills & Kate paperdolls or even attempt to replicate a double-decker bus which can all be found on THIS PAGE.

Because an event like this, as much as it's overplayed in the news right now, won't come along for probably at least another 30 years.

In which case, I hope to have remembered to save enough toilet paper rolls to make THIS.

Can't you just see one of those loo rolls all done up in white with a veil and some yarn hair?

What's that?

Okay.

Okay.

Maybe I do like the Royal Family.

Just a little bit.

Shhhhhhhhhh.