Afternoon Tea, Gardens and a Royal Princess

I found myself on Saturday sitting at my computer staring at a door. Yes, a door. I kid you not. I got caught up in the hoopla of royal news.  I was waiting for this.

Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty

The day after HRH Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge was born I did something very English. It was quite a coincidence in timing, of course, but it was the perfect end to a royal news weekend.

I attended the 26th Annual Oakwood Garden Tour and Victorian Tea on Sunday. It was my first time attending this event, and I'm in love with it. Last year, I was out of town, and I gave away two tickets to a reader. I will probably never not go to this event now. Seriously, it's my cup of tea. It is a fundraiser for the Oakwood Garden Club, which is Raleigh's oldest garden club. The Oakwood neighborhood is very distinctive and the streets are dotted with Victorian, Queen Anne, Second Empire, Craftsman, and Greek Revival architecture.

I've not been attending many events lately because I've been sick with bronchitis so this was my first #outaboutnc outing since I returned from Asheville in early April. This Carolina day was gorgeous. I invited local blogger and friend, Ashley Shaffer, founder of Today's NC, to go with me. We attended the last seating of the day at 4 p.m, and because the hosts probably knew I was getting over bronchitis and everyone feared me, they put Ashley and I at a table alone. Well, that just meant that we got double portions of everything.  Hallelujah!

I'm going to go ahead and mention some of the sponsors because they helped the Garden Club put on a wonderful event. The tea was provided by Tin Roof Teas in Cameron Village. They hand-selected each tea to coincide with each tier of food. The first tea was my absolute favorite. I could have sipped a gallon. It's called Sadhu's Blend. We had this tea with Toasted Coconut, Almond and White Chocolate Scones from Yellow Dog Bread Company, Pimento Cheese and Fig Crostini with Dutch Kettle Apple Jim from Capital Club 16 and Southern Cheese Straws from Side Street Restaurant. The two other teas were Persephone's Temptation (a Green Tea) and the dessert tier was paired with Orange Blossom Oolong.  All of the tiers were great, but tier one knocked my socks off. I love a scone, and the Pimento Cheese and Fig Crostini was excellent.

 I also ate my share and probably Ashley's share of the Spring Vegetable Tea Sandwich with Dill Cream and Sweet Peas Microgreens from Night Kitchen Bakehouse and Cafe with Sweet Peas Urban Garden.

It was a divine event, and afterwards we went through the neighborhood and strolled through several gardens. We walked about 6,633 steps actually.

Oakwood is adjacent to Downtown Raleigh, and houses the Governor's Mansion. 

Here are some of the photos of the gardens we toured.

Oakwood hosts a Candlelight Tour every December where the homes become the focus, and the date is set for next year's Garden Tour and Tea. Mark your calendars for April 30 and May 1 of 2016. This event sells out quickly.


My thanks to the Oakwood Garden Club for inviting me  and a guest to this event as their guests. I helped with some pre-marketing for ticket sales, and I joke that I sold the event out after one tweet. Yeah, it sold out that quickly and of course, I had nothing to do with that little fact, but I sure loved attending.