March 31, 2010

‘Tis a privilege high to have dinner & tea

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Part of my b-day festivities included a very important date to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. It is one hundred and eight minutes of magic from start to finish. The film provides a nice twist on a classic story and a glorious visual experience. Speaking of visuals, I get lots of daily inspiration from a host of wonderful blogs and sites, one of which is Design*Sponge (check it out if you haven’t already!). It features a column called Living In. By providing a round-up of items and products inspired by books and movies, Living In's author Amy Merrick gives you a virtual feast for the eyes. My absolute favorite was the one she did on Grey Gardens, but she also did a round-up for Alice in Wonderland (a 1970s musical version…I gotta see that). I definitely don’t want to steal her idea, but after seeing the new Alice movie, I couldn’t help but have tea parties and whimsical things on the brain.

When I was younger I would have been perfectly happy to have some piece of official movie memorabilia, like an Alice in Wonderland washcloth and towel set or a cereal bowl with the Cheshire cat around the rim. Now that my adult style has evolved (ok, I still have a Hello Kitty alarm clock…and bank…and shower curtain but whatever), I set out to find some things that would convey the fun of Alice in Wonderland without being so overly kid-approved

 alice collage

A little searching on Etsy and Ebay and resulted in a vast amount of  things that are reminiscent of Alice and her adventures. Whether you want to add a bit of forest magic to your home with this cute blue ceramic vase or drink your tea  Mad Hatter style out of this delicate floral teacup (while wearing a handcrafted top hat, kettle pendant, or teacup ring, no less), it won’t be hard to add some curious and peculiar things to your collection.

Can’t you see yourself pouring tea from this green faced pitcher, only to have the grin reappear as that of a certain mischievous cat from Wonderland?

green face pitcher 
Or if you are going for somewhat of a fancier affair, why not serve tea cakes and scones on this intricately designed iris platter. It wouldn’t even matter if the food were ugly, the plate is so beautiful.

iris ceramic platter
Let your guests eat cake…off plates covered with adorable images of cake and other sweets. I would fully expect the Red Queen to approve of these, even with her ill-tempered disposition.

cake plates laurie simmons

These melamine plates caught my eye as well. They are the perfect way to add some cheer to an otherwise boring pimento cheese sandwich (homemade of course, like a good southerner).

floral melamine plates

So give me the skinny. Have you seen Tim Burton’s Alice and if so, did you love it as much as I did? Do you have a favorite version of Alice and her adventures in Wonderland? Do you have a great recipe for crumpets or pimento cheese? Please share at once!