The cafe we played almost daily in the winter has been closed for some time now. The lure of longer days and warmer temperatures have drawn us outside. Yesterday we played outside after school thinking the rain was on its way for the weekend. So we decided to skip our chores and play as long as we could. Today we got up and got to work stripping beds, washing clothes, and picking up the house. Secretly, I started baking for a surprise! With the latest addition of sugar and lactose to our allergy list I wanted to recreate a cream cheese danish Shelton loved but without table sugar or goat cheese. I wanted to surprise Shelton with a tea party and a new book from my friend Christa Howard: Ivy & Olive.

The tea party was a success with the danish, hot chocolate for her, and mocha coffee for me. I used my great grandparents’ china and set a table in the cafe. I told her to change from her jommies to her favorite dress. (Yes it’s Lilly). Shelton was so surprised and excited. We enjoyed our treats and Shelton made sure we held our pinkies up for proper tea like on When Calls the Heart. (Yes we are Hearties waiting patiently to return to Hope Valley). After we ate we took turns reading to each other from our new book. We loved how Ivy & Olive use their imaginations. Shelton loved the bubble bath illustration as she and Bailey had recently shared a bubble bath. I especially love that there are no TVs or electronics required for a great day of play.

So now that we’ve played we will return to our chores dreaming about our next tea party. Until next time.

💗,

Julie

PS: pinkies up 💕