Our birthday tea in photos

The table is all set. I used tea cups that I've thrifted, been gifted, and yard sale-d. The table cloth was a birthday gift from my grandmother when I turned 26. The placemats were my mother's.

The sundae cups were from both thrift stores and vintage shops. The pink glass plates were from Value Village 2 springs ago.

I filled the sundae cups with shrimp-avocado-celery-cucumber salad as a starter.

After the shrimp salads were finished, we started on the main course of the tea -- platters of sandwiches, fruit cups, and diced salad cups.

These sandwiches were fun to make and very springlike. I cut thin sliced bread into flower shapes using a cookie cutter.

Using my smallest cookie scoop . . .

I put a large ball of egg salad as the center for each flower sandwich.

The scrap slices of bread will become French bread tomorrow night.

a platter of egg salad sandwiches

a platter of roast beef and horseradish on rye sandwiches

a platter of chicken salad in mini croissant sandwiches

strawberry and blueberry fruit cups

chopped vegetable salad cups -- tomatoes, orange bell pepper, cucumber, black olives

My phone died just before the dessert course. We had small chocolate cakes, cookies, and chocolates. 

All of the above was served with copious amounts of hot tea, juice, and sparkling water. I waited on everyone, so they all could have the feel of dining out. I did spend most of last week's grocery budget. But we'll be fine. I have enough leftover grocery budget to pick up a little fresh produce tomorrow, and our pantry, fridge, and freezer are still full.

It was a fun afternoon. My daughters loved the tea. My daughter-in-law said it felt very fancy. My whole family enjoyed the food and tea. I thought we would have lots of leftovers. No such luck!