I LOVE parties! Honestly, I want to be a party planner. Except that I want every party to be perfect like how it looks in my mind, and other peoples' stupid ideas sometimes frustrate my idea of 'perfection' so I have reconsidered my ability to be a party planner.
But still, I LOVE parties!
That's one thing that I'm very excited for this year; while I won't be planning nearly the number of surprise shindigs as occurred last year, I'll have ample excuses to throw mini-parties that will be made by small details and flowing themes. A new baby? "Meet the Baby!" party! A little boy turning 4? Knight-themed birthday party! Sister-in-law getting married? Wedding shower! Selling tea? As many tea parties as I can fit into my schedule!!!
I received my login information for selling Steeped Tea products yesterday and started reading through some ideas they gave for holding theme parties. It really got me thinking about what sort of parties I would love to hold:
A Spa party with a second consultant selling Avon or Arbonne products doing pedicures while the ladies sip Coconut Calypso tea and eat frozen yogurt with fresh berries served in waffle cones
A Rainy Day party focused on a group that shares a common hobby, like books or knitting, where they'll eat a freshly baked zucchini loaf and sip Dark Chocolate Chai tea.
A Summer Nights party where we sit around the fire, roast marshmallows and drink Apple Crumble Tea
A Backyard Block Party with the grill running all afternoon and iced Mint Julep Herbal tea waiting to refresh the crowd
A Play Date Picnic at a park where the kids will play while the moms taste Summer Sun Mate and then everyone cools off with BubbleGum Fruit Tea Popsicles
A Mar-TEA-ni Party with the girls featuring a Caribbean Daiquiri tea signature cocktail and anti pasti platters with gourmet cheese selections and dark chocolate aplenty
A classic Afternoon High Tea featuring tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, scones and showcasing the Earl Grey de la Creme and the Pink Lady White Tea. Pretty hats optional (or mandatory - I'd be cool either way)
Every single one of these ideas is layered with opportunities for me to go over and above! Would I really dream of having a Spa Party without the right music, lighting and aromatherapy? Or do you honestly think I could stop myself from making tea cup candles as centerpieces for my High Tea party?? I'm so excited!
And that Knight Birthday Party I mentioned in passing? That's totally a real thing. Gabe had every option in the world for party themes and he chose knights and princesses (I blame Backyardigans). I was worried he'd feel a little ripped off because he was dressed up as a knight for Halloween, but hey, one less costume I have to buy. I started scheming for this last night a bit: I picture games of Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Dragon, jousting practice and maybe even a life-sized medieval-themed Angry Birds built around a cardboard castle. Although perhaps it will be Angry Dragons and the dragon egg hunt will have to come at the end... I'm going to make a tunic for my two youngest boys (weird... I'll have three boys by then!), I'll be dressed as a queen, Matt gets to be the king, and Gabe will be the top knight. We'll dress up Gabe's rocking horse to be a royal steed, we'll make banners, shields and princess hats, and play in a big cardboard castle that the kids can decorate. I think the hardest part is going to be the food. Short of writing "Ye Olde" in front of everything, medieval food for kids is actually kind of hard. Medieval foods was typically very hardy, with not a lot of flavor, but lots of salt brining and smoking. I'm not sure about feed a bunch of 4 and 3 year olds drumsticks, especially not when half the group will be dressed in their finest princess clothes. So I'll need to think on that.
But before all of this happens, first I get to plan something for Valentines Day!!! I've informed Matt that this is his year to plan something whimsical and creative as a surprise for me, so while I won't be hiding 2 dozen hand-made valentines around the house again this year, I think I will serve dinner on the floor around our coffee table and we can have a demi-romantic living room picnic dinner (I say demi-romantic because the kids will still be with us for dinenr that night). I'm hoping to make borscht, maybe cook up those crab legs in my freezer and perhaps I'll find some asparagus on sale which I can wrap in proscuitto (although I much prefer my proscuitto around apple slices...) Oh, and I'd better have cheese of some sort.
And who knows what crazy thing Matt will do for us? At least he acknowledged he was joking when he suggested he write "Happy Valentines Day" in the snow with his urine.
That's why I'm the one who gets to plan the parties in our house.
Mrs. VanderLeek ;)
Showing posts with label Tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tea. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Steeped Tea
We're taking a short break from our Upside-Down House series to talk about tea parties! Yay!!
I'm sure I failed to mention this in light of my long absence from blogging, but I'm going to start selling Steeped Tea! Steeped is a loose-leaf tea company based in Ontario that operates using a home party business model.
Now, as you may know, I currently sell Pampered Chef, and while I love the products, the company and getting out once in a while to do a party, the reality is that I can't keep up with the one-show-a-month minimum, especially once I have a newborn. So I decided to take a break from Pampered Chef and go 'inactive' instead of just doing a poor job of it. But I really wanted to still sell something that I could do parties for, and be considered active and do a decent job!
Enter the tea world.
I stumbled across loose-leaf tea home parties back in the fall and I loved the idea! I love tea parties so much! And goodness knows we like our loose-leaf tea at home - we went through a phase where we had a $70 budget every three months just for loose-leaf tea. Matt actually commented that it would be fun if I sold tea and I knew that it would be, but I kept thinking it'd be crazy to step back from selling one thing to step into selling another. Well, that mentality only lasted until December, by which point I had resolved to take a break from Pampered Chef and I started looking seriously at selling tea. And then I met Steeped, which has no monthly sales minimums and consultants can get 40% off products. So basically I could have parties when I felt like it, take whole months off at a time, AND keep my house well stocked with tea for pretty cheap! The more I looked into it, the more I loved the idea, and I had a number of friends who loved the idea too - so I had a loyal customer base established a month before I officially decided to sell it.
Turns out, the way you get started as a consultant is by hosting a party that another consultant leads, and 45% of the show sales go towards paying for your consultant kit. That, or you can pay around $250 yourself for two mini-kits and get all the same stuff. So clearly the party is the way to go. So last night, I hosted my Steeped Tea Starter Party!
I invited everyone I could think of and crossed my fingers that at least some of them would show, and then prepped some pretentious little party foods that would go well with tea: mini Chocolate Pot de Cremes, White Wine Jelly and Grapes, Blueberry Brunch Cake and Single Bite servings of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I usually entertain mixed groups and I feel like I can't serve tiny portions to big burly men (seriously, you should see how big some of these men are!) so I never get to serve anything in my verrine cups or on my hors d'eouvres spoons. But at a tea party? Perfect!
The Pot de Cremes are a favorite go-to of mine: melt chocolate and sugar in some whipping cream and bring it to a boil to thicken it, then pour it slowly into egg yolks. Portion, chill, garnish, serve. Easy! And incredibly delicious.
The Wine Jelly and Grapes are quicky becoming a favorite of mine to serve as well. It's an even simpler recipe than the Pot de Cremes: set a pack of gelatin with 2 tbsp of water. Dissolve sugar in wine in a sauce pan, remove from heat and whisk in the softened gelatin. Let cool and then pour over ramekins of small, fresh grapes. Chill, garnish, serve! Awesome, hey? And they taste incredibly fresh and light! I top them with a bit of whipping cream and they are just sweet enough to be called dessert, but by no means 'rich' or overpowering. Perfect in summer, fyi.
When my consultant showed up we got some tea ready (those brushed metal Henley pots keep things hot for 2 hours - not just warm, hot.) and then people started showing up. Actually, people kept showing up all evening! I was hoping for 7 people, but worried not even that many would come, but by 8:30 I had 12, not including Matt and I. We sampled a green tea called Hawa-ya-doin (pineapple, papaya, bamboo and coconut), a rooibos called Toffee Crunch which Matt adored, and a weird little one called Cinnamon Hearts Pu-erh (a black tea that is fermented underground) which smelled just like the candy hearts and tasted earthy and hearty. They were all great, and even my devout coffee-drinking friend who only came for moral support loved them! It was nice watching one show before I had to go do my own, too! I got a few really good ideas and saw what people typically ask for at a show.
When it was all said and done, Matt had picked out a number of teas that he is desperate for, and I had earned enough for my consultant kit in one evening! Plus, some of my friends wanted more tea than they could buy in one night so they've booked parties, and I'll have regular orders from them just to restock their tea shelves. I think the best part though was that last night was the most stressful part of all this, and it wasn't actually stressful. Sure I was nervous that no one would show, but my friends are awesome, and they came. And now all I have to do is order tea for Matt and I when we want it, and for my friends when they need it, and I'm a successful Steeped tea Consultant!
I'm really excited to get my starter kit now and try everything. They make tea soaps that range from stress relief, specialized ones for scrubbing after gardening and even facial bars. Plus, they have a line of jams and chutneys that I'm stoked to sample (especially their mango chutney and their Matcha Mousse). And Matt is a little desperate for his big bag of Toffee Crunch tea to come...
Mrs. VanderLeek ;)
I'm sure I failed to mention this in light of my long absence from blogging, but I'm going to start selling Steeped Tea! Steeped is a loose-leaf tea company based in Ontario that operates using a home party business model.
Now, as you may know, I currently sell Pampered Chef, and while I love the products, the company and getting out once in a while to do a party, the reality is that I can't keep up with the one-show-a-month minimum, especially once I have a newborn. So I decided to take a break from Pampered Chef and go 'inactive' instead of just doing a poor job of it. But I really wanted to still sell something that I could do parties for, and be considered active and do a decent job!
Enter the tea world.
I stumbled across loose-leaf tea home parties back in the fall and I loved the idea! I love tea parties so much! And goodness knows we like our loose-leaf tea at home - we went through a phase where we had a $70 budget every three months just for loose-leaf tea. Matt actually commented that it would be fun if I sold tea and I knew that it would be, but I kept thinking it'd be crazy to step back from selling one thing to step into selling another. Well, that mentality only lasted until December, by which point I had resolved to take a break from Pampered Chef and I started looking seriously at selling tea. And then I met Steeped, which has no monthly sales minimums and consultants can get 40% off products. So basically I could have parties when I felt like it, take whole months off at a time, AND keep my house well stocked with tea for pretty cheap! The more I looked into it, the more I loved the idea, and I had a number of friends who loved the idea too - so I had a loyal customer base established a month before I officially decided to sell it.
Turns out, the way you get started as a consultant is by hosting a party that another consultant leads, and 45% of the show sales go towards paying for your consultant kit. That, or you can pay around $250 yourself for two mini-kits and get all the same stuff. So clearly the party is the way to go. So last night, I hosted my Steeped Tea Starter Party!
I invited everyone I could think of and crossed my fingers that at least some of them would show, and then prepped some pretentious little party foods that would go well with tea: mini Chocolate Pot de Cremes, White Wine Jelly and Grapes, Blueberry Brunch Cake and Single Bite servings of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I usually entertain mixed groups and I feel like I can't serve tiny portions to big burly men (seriously, you should see how big some of these men are!) so I never get to serve anything in my verrine cups or on my hors d'eouvres spoons. But at a tea party? Perfect!
The Wine Jelly and Grapes are quicky becoming a favorite of mine to serve as well. It's an even simpler recipe than the Pot de Cremes: set a pack of gelatin with 2 tbsp of water. Dissolve sugar in wine in a sauce pan, remove from heat and whisk in the softened gelatin. Let cool and then pour over ramekins of small, fresh grapes. Chill, garnish, serve! Awesome, hey? And they taste incredibly fresh and light! I top them with a bit of whipping cream and they are just sweet enough to be called dessert, but by no means 'rich' or overpowering. Perfect in summer, fyi.
When my consultant showed up we got some tea ready (those brushed metal Henley pots keep things hot for 2 hours - not just warm, hot.) and then people started showing up. Actually, people kept showing up all evening! I was hoping for 7 people, but worried not even that many would come, but by 8:30 I had 12, not including Matt and I. We sampled a green tea called Hawa-ya-doin (pineapple, papaya, bamboo and coconut), a rooibos called Toffee Crunch which Matt adored, and a weird little one called Cinnamon Hearts Pu-erh (a black tea that is fermented underground) which smelled just like the candy hearts and tasted earthy and hearty. They were all great, and even my devout coffee-drinking friend who only came for moral support loved them! It was nice watching one show before I had to go do my own, too! I got a few really good ideas and saw what people typically ask for at a show.
When it was all said and done, Matt had picked out a number of teas that he is desperate for, and I had earned enough for my consultant kit in one evening! Plus, some of my friends wanted more tea than they could buy in one night so they've booked parties, and I'll have regular orders from them just to restock their tea shelves. I think the best part though was that last night was the most stressful part of all this, and it wasn't actually stressful. Sure I was nervous that no one would show, but my friends are awesome, and they came. And now all I have to do is order tea for Matt and I when we want it, and for my friends when they need it, and I'm a successful Steeped tea Consultant!
I'm really excited to get my starter kit now and try everything. They make tea soaps that range from stress relief, specialized ones for scrubbing after gardening and even facial bars. Plus, they have a line of jams and chutneys that I'm stoked to sample (especially their mango chutney and their Matcha Mousse). And Matt is a little desperate for his big bag of Toffee Crunch tea to come...
Mrs. VanderLeek ;)
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