Tuesday, February 18, 2014

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

To use an expression that is all too quickly on the tip of this Southern girl's tongue,
I'm just tickled to death at how the second #LDNBloggersTea turned out!

When I first moved to London during those really rough, transitional months,
I attended a tea planned by Laura at Happy Homemaker UK.

It was a turning point for me.  It showed me that I would make new friends.
It also showed me that bloggers are pretty awesome
and when you get a group of them together, laughter is shared
and connections are made.  We just can't help ourselves.

This is why I've started planning these quarterly teas,
for purely selfish reasons.  I get to have a lovely afternoon tea
AND I get to meet some special people.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

Here are the ingredients for the perfect #LDNBloggersTea.

A personalized menu listing the wonderful treats that were in store for us.

An attentive staff that quickly took care of every need with a smile.
Terrace views of an amazing, sunny day along the Thames.
Delicate, pink china that made us all feel like royalty.
The elegant Royal Horseguards Guoman Hotel.
 A private room with tables lovingly set for twenty.
Red roses and hand-tied pink ribbons.
A complimentary glass of bubbly.
 And, finally, two words,
 Chef Ben.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

Chef Ben was as excited as we were about this event.
He was all over twitter and so was Louise, their pastry chef.
He greeted many of us personally and proudly talked about the exceptional tea they 
offer at the hotel.   The welcome that we received from this venue was over and above.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

And the food!  Oh, the food.
They were easily able to accommodate Gluten-Free, Vegetarian and Dairy Free options for  several of us.
Of course, all of it was accompanied by the most amazing tea.
I think I had about four cups of the pomegranate infused special blend.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

The sandwich selection included Coronation Chicken, Cream Cheese & Smoked Salmon,
Hummus & Cucumber and Roast Beef and Horseradish.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

Next came freshly cooked scones with clotted cream and jam.
There is still a debate raging on twitter as to whether it's cream first or jam first.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

The sweets included Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, Mango Curd Tarts, Meringue Lollipops,
Pink Peppercorn & Strawberry Genache Stripy Macaroons.
The "After Eight" Shot glasses were a big hit.

And my absolute favorite was the Banana Roulade.
I might have wandered over to some of the other tables to see if there were any left.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

The the true stars of the show tea were the twenty ladies sitting at these princess, pink tables.
You should stop what are doing right now and visit these nineteen blogs.

Runaway Kiwi
Sunny in London
Meg-Made
Wife School
Two Feet, One World
Passport and Toothbrush
Urban Pixxels
Sweet Serenity
Little Big Bell
{Erin Out and About}
Adventures of a London Kiwi
The Afternoon Blog
More Than Just a Cupcake Lover
Jess-on-Thames
Office Breaks
Happy Ever After Bride
Eat, See, Do
Love and London
Kiwi Footprints


I went home beaming with happiness.
I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with each of you, but I now consider you friends.
I look forward to seeing you all again and getting to know you better.
I hope you each had a fantastic time and made some wonderful connections.

#LDNBloggersTea at The Royal Horseguards

I don't know about you, but I've already finished off the decadent truffles they sent home with each of us.


Sweet treats, sweet smiles and sweet new friends.
All ingredients for the perfect #LDNBloggersTea.


If you are looking for the best London Afternoon Tea,
look no further than The Royal Horseguards Award Winning Afternoon Tea.

Don't just take my word for it.
Check out all of the other posts about the Tea that are linked up below.
With a room full of bloggers you can only imagine the amount of photos that were clicked!







The next #LDNBloggersTea will be Saturday, May 17th.  Be sure to mark your calendars.
Just send me an email at selena_jones@me.com to get on the mailing list
for all of the details.


Would you like to join us for #LDNBloggersTea?




40 comments:

  1. What a wonderful day it looks like you all had! I also love that china!

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  2. The food looks absolutely divine! I definitely hope I can make it to the next one! :)

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  3. That looks amazing! I think the next one should be early June :)

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  4. Looks like so much fun! Sad I wasn't there! Can't wait for the next one!! I'm hoping you already have me on the list! ;)

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  5. It was great to briefly chat to you! Thank you for organising such a lovely event!

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  6. It was such a lovely afternoon, fantastic company, lovely treats and your smile. Thank you so much for organising us all.
    As a collective noun, would you call us a babble of bloggers?
    Ps. I love Gina in the photo with her 'oh no you didn't just take that photo' smile :D!

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  7. This looks lovely! I can't wait for the next one

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  8. Looks like such a fun gathering. I am gutted I couldnt make it :(

    TRAVEL CONFESSIONS | BURG KRONBERG

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  9. LOVELY! it's exactly how i would picture an english tea in my head!

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  10. So lovely - I wish I'd known about all of you when I still lived in London!!

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  11. Thank you again for coordinating such a wonderful event! And, I really have to give you a HUGE applause for arranging such fantastic weather on our day as well ;-) CHEERS!

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  12. The food looks divine!

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  13. So jealous! This looks like such a great afternoon - not only because of those sweets.... but also the company :)

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  14. I hate I missed this! It looks like such a lovely time!

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  15. This looks so fantastic! I might try to make the next one :)

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  16. I would love that!!!! I'll add you to the email list.

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  17. We really missed you, but Austria looks FabULous!!! I can't wait to hear all about it!!!

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  18. Wonderful company! Are you based in London? You are welcome to join us :D

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  19. Particularly the banana roulade! Craving one right now.

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  20. You are more than welcome!!! It's purely selfish because I get to meet the most wonderful bloggers :D I'm so glad that you were there!!!

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  21. You would have fit right in! Such a great group.

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  22. The Royal Horseguards offers a perfectly British afternoon tea. I'm so glad that you commented Annie. I've connected with you on Twitter & Instagram :D Also added you to my bloglovin feed. I'm looking forward to following along on your adventures in Europe!!

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  23. Me, too! I hope you can make the next one. Was so great to meet you at Traverse! Did you have a great time? I certainly did.

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  24. You are not allowed to miss any more! We need you there!!

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  25. Definitely a Babble. And you are so welcome! Thanks so much for the great recommendation and spreading the word!! :D That's one of my favorite pics of Gina. Love that expression. Can't wait for the next one!!

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  26. Next time I hope we have more time to chat. I have to admit, I'm a little in awe of you... those photographs!!! I'm so happy to organize the event. I so hope to see you at the next one :D

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  27. You are on the list! We really missed your sweet smile.

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  28. We'll just have to plan our own little tea in June! I so hope we can meet up while you're here. I know you'll be crazy busy, but I'm hoping.

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  29. I hope you can, too, Melanie. We really missed you! I'll keep you posted on the next one.

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  30. The chef was teasing us about trying to take the china home. It was so delicate and pretty.

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  31. I'm so happy with how it turned out :D I always get a bit nervous when planning them. I really want everyone to have a fabulous time.

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  32. I am sure they did have a marvelous time :D

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  33. Haha I've never had anyone in 'awe' of me! Yep I'll definitely be keen for the next event!

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  34. I did. It was a lovely weekend meeting everyone. Hopefully will see you again soon.

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  35. It looked fabulous & I'm still so sad I haven't been able to attend a tea yet! Next time, I'm not going anywhere else but bloggers tea!

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  36. %$I'd love if you could add me to the mailing list! x

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  37. You have to be there!!! I won't take no for an answer.

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  38. Amanda, I've added you to the mailing list! We would love for you to join us! Mark your calendar for May 17th.

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Thanks for commenting. I love to hear from you!