Saturday, May 09, 2009

Recap & Photos of Aficionada Spring Tea and Jewelry in the Garden


Breezy sunshine and fragrant flora of all varieties finally delighted Washingtonians following a determined spell of heavy rains that plagued the region for what seemed like weeks. Fortunately, the showers and ominous clouds gave way just long enough today to enjoy a gorgeous afternoon outisde enjoying tea, sweets, and the company of friends in the garden. The brilliant blossoms came alive everywhere when embraced by the sun's welcome rays.

But the real flowers to behold were the J.Crew Aficionadas, who gathered on this gem of a sunny spring day to partake in the elegant tradition of Afternoon Tea. We swapped adventures about shopping, tales at home, and of course scintillating gossip about goings on around town -- all the while savoring champagne and canapes followed by finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries with assorted teas.

The 14 ladies were bedecked in bright spring motifs and floaty dresses, and adorned with sparkling baubles. Heidi G. allured in her refined Bouquet Cardigan topping the quintessentially chic little black shift dress. Slastena fluttered in debuting the ethereal Tiered Linen Playa dress in papaya. Not to be outdone, Drewablank stunned everyone in the new Watercolor Floral Pencil Skirt paired with a Lydia Blouse and Cate Slingbacks in matching seashell. Rosa channeled Audrey Hepburn in a delicate eyelet dress topped with a smart navy Jackie cardigan, while Summer looked ravishing in the new cotton poplin Ruffle-Top Tie Dress in a sultry dark olive (in stores now). It was Mediterranean-meets-Virginia prep for Dinagideon as she continued the Fresco fabulosity in an olive Bria Cami and pink Chinos finished with matching Printed Ballet Flats. Nancy breezed in with an invigorating Silk-Linen V-Neck Sweater in fresh mint paired with Cocktail Capris and striking Magdalene Heels. Kelly picked up the nautical theme in a classic navy knit dress topped with a crisp white jacket, while Diana P. continued the beachy vibe in the navy Printed Coastal Tunic. Finally, Cloggsy and Stephanie opted for cool, billowy white, with Cloggsy flaunting a cheery full skirt in rhubarb.

Equally dazzling was the exquisite jewelry created by the talented Diana P. as she unveiled her Spring-Summer collection. Floral details were abloom in several pieces, as were tropical shades of yellow, orange, aqua, and lime. Devotees and new fans alike took advantage of the swell discount as they scooped up freshest must-wear pieces, no doubt anticipating the receipt of many compliments on their unique finds.

The icing on the teacakes were the surprise favors for all the guests, courtesy of Richmond Aficionada Cloggsy. The artistic Ms. Cloggsy, who owns the deliciously addictive English Tea Paperie, thoughtfully made each guest a set of their very of personalized notecards, complete with their names and teacup embellishments. Thank you, Cloggsy! What a lovely gift to take home, and what a gracious gesture.


Thanks to all the Aficionadas who made this the loveliest of afternoons. I hope you enjoyed this (rare) sunny day in May, and I can't wait to see you next month! Also, check out Slastena's, Cloggsy's, Summerilla's, Heidi's and Dinagideon's posts for more tidbits and photos. Here are the rest of my pictures:








25 comments:

Patina said...

ohhhh, everyone looked so beautiful!!!! thanks for sharing the pics. I hope that i can make the next event

Diana said...

I had such a wonderful time! Thank you all for coming, and a special thank you to the hostess(es).

I sincerely hope to see you all again soon!

sparrowsandsparkles said...

SO fun!! I love the outfit descriptions! :) Everyone looks fabulous.

GingerSnap said...

It looks like you all just had a fabulous time! :)

Unknown said...

Way too cute! Thanks for sharing the photos. Everyone looks so great. They should have shot the catalog w/you ladies. That would have been memorable.

Summerilla said...

Thanks so much for everything you did yesterday! I had a fabulous time and everything was just perfect! I will put my pictures up sometime this evening! Thanks again.

Cloggsy said...

Thank you for hosting such a wonderful event - I really enjoyed myself and it was great to meet such lovely ladies. Now, if anyone has come down with the flu, I really apologize. Turns out it wasn't food poisoning and I was in bed with a fever by 8pm. I don't know how i held up all day!

HeidiG said...

Such a fabulous day!! You are such an amazing hostess! It was such a wonderful way to start the weekend. I finally posted on my blog just now - but linked to you & Slastena since you have pics up and I just have outfit pics. Next time I'll bring a camera, I swear. Or at least I promise to try!

Cloggsy - hope you feel better!!

Anonymous said...

I had such a great time. Everyone looked so lovely. I had never been to such a perfect party. And the jewelry was so pretty.
3PP: You should be a party planner
DianaP: I love your jewelry line so much
Cloggsy: Thank you so the party favors, they are so lovely.
Rosa

ny0311 said...

You all look so pretty!
Which dress is that dark olive tie dress that Summer is wearing? I love it! Is it available online and/or in the stores?

Alexis {J.Crew Aficionada} said...

Everyone looks amazing- thank you so much for sharing the photos!!! :)

Drewablank said...

Words cannot describe how perfect everything was on that day. :) Anne, Ann and Diana P did a fantastic job on setting up, and all the ladies looked fabulous in their outfits - from their jewelry to their sweet shoes!

And thank you, Cloggsy, for the fabulous and oh-so-thoughtful gifts! I hope you felt better on the way home and feel even more terrific today! ;)

p.s. - I have no idea what my arm was thinking posing by itself like that. ;p LOL!

3-Penny Princess said...

Ladies, thank you so much for gracing me with your presence and for making it such a beautiful event! I loved meeting the new faces, too. And thank you for all your kind words. We loved hosting you and it was so much fun catching up. I definitely couldn't have done it without loads of help from mom-in-law. Also, a big thanks to Diana, Stephanie, Rosa, and Kelly for help with setup and cleanup.

Cloggsy - So sorry to hear you have a bug. I hope you feel better soon! You looked great despite being under the weather. Thank you again for the thoughtful and pretty notecards!

Diana - your jewelry rocks! Thanks for transporting the entire collection to the house for everyone to see!

Rosa - thanks for your help and for your compliments! Can you please make sure that Kelly gets to see the photos? I don't seem to have her email.

I can't wait to see you all again!

dinagideon said...

3PP: What a wonderful recap...you are so good at writing these posts!!! I had such a wonderful time...all thanks to you and your sweet as pie mother-in-law!

I will get my post up soon...I hope...life does manage to get away quickly, though!!! ;)

Anonymous said...

It looks like a wonderful tea party! How fun!!

caliglam said...

Wow ~ so pretty, everyone looks so festive & the table scape is fab! So delightful, thanks for sharing this.

Cloggsy said...

I finally posted pics!

http://chloehumphries.blogspot.com/

3-Penny Princess said...

Heidi, Summerilla, Slastena, and Cloggsy - I've updated my post to link to your blog posts. Thanks for posting your photos and reviews!

krista.alana said...

So cute!

Needs Help said...

Looks like everyone had a wonderful time :)

Beth Dunn said...

So fun! Really great pics. So nice to see. xo

dinagideon said...

Agh...I did this in the wrong post...

3PP: I have nominated you for an award!!! Come on over to my blog and check it out...

Melissa@AllThingsSimplified said...

Ohhh...you all look SO pretty! I'm glad you had such a fabulous time, too!

A said...

Thanks for posting all these wonderful pictures! Everyone looked amazing and tea party looked like so much fun. :)

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