I thought my girlfriend and I were visiting a local tea room to mark the last year I’ll spend in my 30s (!), but these ladies had a better plan!

Nine dear friends surprised me with a birthday tea yesterday!

Carleen is my number one tea student and friend–she was our hostess.

I laughed and cried with these ladies as they presented me with flowers, gifts, and words of affirmation.

We were so happy to just sit, gab, and laugh together.

They honored me with my favorite children’s picture book, Miss Rumphius, the story of the Lupine Lady.

See the lupine seed packet at the top right? They were a simple and beautiful favor to remind us all of the day.

I loved how they decorated the punch bowl simply and beautifully with the in-season camellia flower.

My friend is more autumn than spring in her style, and yet she pulled together a simple and beautiful floral theme.

Our menu included roasted carrot soup, herb chicken salad sandwiches, goat cheese prosciutto maki rolls with asparagus, spinach salad with poppy seed dressing, fresh fruit, a creme brule’ black tea (a favorite among my friends thanks to a popular local tearoom), and in honor of this entry, cupcakes!

Thank you, dear friends, for bringing spring to my soul through your simple acts of beauty and kindness.

And thank you for providing me such a fabulous entry to Risa’s First Day of Spring Virtual Tea Party! Please join us, it’s not too late! I hope it’s beginning to feel like spring wherever you live.