I stumbled across Tea in My Cup the other day and wanted to be sure to let you know about it. Alice from Pennsylvania provides step-by-step themed guides for planning an afternoon tea, focusing on “Afternoon Tea Party Menus, Tea Party Themes, Tea Party Recipes, and Tea Party Ideas.” This week, her blog focuses on a Chocolate Fantasy Fund Raising Tea Party. Now who wouldn’t buy a ticket to that!?

I especially appreciate Alice’s site because she puts a lot of thought and time into planning the tea party food and outlining a schedule for its preparation. The last tea party she outlined completely, the “Winter White and Spring Green” theme offered nine different recipes with photos. The Lime-Filled Cupcakes in particular woo me as a reluctant baker.

And Mrs. Fussypants, you are just so fun! Are you REALLY pregnant with your fifth boy? Do I understand that correctly? I entered her “Fight the Frump” last Friday with my article, “How Often Do You Set the Table?” and received a nice boost of traffic ever since.* She just announced today the release of her FOUR new sites, including Blissfully Domestic and Homeschool Hacks each with corresponding social communities. Blissfully Domestic sounds right up my alley, and I will keep my eye on this site for a week or two to see what they offer. You may want to, as well. So far as I can tell, it’s Fussy’s humor that will help them stand out from the many other SaHM-type sites. This will hold my interest for a little while, but I will stay if they provide great content. I need all the encouragement on this journey I can get, but not just another social community to keep up with. I hope Mrs. Fussypants and her crew can differentiate themselves from the rest.

*My article about setting the table is turning out to be one of my most commented on articles ever; I find this interesting since it was written as an off-shoot of one of my most-read articles ever. When I wrote over the weekend about expanding this blog’s focus, I meant articles such as this one, not articles about coffee! Sorry that was confusing for some of you! I’m still toying with the direction to take this blog. I will either concentrate even more on the tea party niche or widen the blog focus to all that defines simple and classical beauty to me. We shall see. Opinions always welcome.