Tea by Three's Closing Sale

As King Solomon once said, "To everything there is a season..." And so it is with Tea by Three tea room in Clinton Township, Michigan. The tea business began in 1999, and I attended my first Garden Tea there in 2002. I returned for a private tea with my three granddaughters in the summer of 2004. Even though the girls are 17, 18, and 22 years old now, they still remember their tea party in Cheryl Nix's adorable Teacup Cottage.

~ Our tea party for four ~

[L-R: Marissa, Brianna, Tiffany and Me]

Shortly after that tea party, I retired from a long-held job to pursue my interests in the world of tea. Cheryl asked if I'd like to help her at Tea by Three, and I was there until 2009. The tea room was always an enjoyable place to be, and I took my camera to almost every tea party to capture the beautiful tablescapes and themes in photographs.

I remember the grand opening of the Sun Room overlooking the gardens for the 2004 Christmas Tea. In 2005 there was a February "Dreaming of Chocolate Tea," an Easter and Jewish Passover Tea, an elegant dinner on board the Titanic where First Officer Charles Lightoller was portrayed, a special Henry & Clara Ford tea in July, and a Halloween "Mourning Tea" in October.

[Cheryl Nix, owner]

In 2006 I typed a commemorative cookbook, "A Year of Themed Teas at Tea by Three." It began with an "I Love Lucy" Chocolate Valentine's Tea, and a second Titanic event where the "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" was portrayed. May featured a Mother's Day Apron Tea. Summer provided four beautiful outdoor teas - a Victorian Wedding Tea in the Rose Garden; an American Girl Garden Tea; Fairies in the Garden Tea; and a Lavender and Lace Tea. In the fall the teas resumed in the Sun Room with a Japanese Tea and the portrayal of a Geisha Girl. A Halloween and Christmas Tea finished out the year.

[Me at the Mother's Day Apron Tea]

2007 featured a Gone With the Wind Tea with Scarlett O'Hara, and many other lovely theme teas. Over the past fifteen years Cheryl has created wonderful tea time memories for countless people.

When I read an e-mail announcing her closing sale, I went last Friday. Unfortunately, the sale had been in progress for three weeks, so many things had already been sold. Below is the green house where some of the tea wares for sale are displayed.

I purchased a lovely chintz snack set. It was bargain priced at $8.00 and I wondered why no one else bought it before me, but I'm glad they didn't.

~ Backstamp ~

I also bought two Titanic items. Who knows, a Titanic theme tea might be in my future. If not, they're a nice keepsake from Tea by Three's Titanic teas.