Hi, guys! Just wanted to pop by and say hello. I’ve been away from the computer because I spent the day in San Francisco with friends from school. We met for afternoon tea at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and did some much needed catching up!
Despite 3-inch heels, I’m the short one in the middle…
Feed me, Seymore
The Royal Tea service ($49 per person) includes:
- Champagne “Ritz” Cocktail
- Selection of Tea
- Smoked Salmon with Pickled Onion & Caviar on Dark Rye
- Cucumber, Roquefort and Walnuts on White Bread
- Prosciutto with Melon on Light Rye Bread
- Egg and Chive Sandwich
- Freshly Baked Scone with Devonshire cream, Lemon Curd and Strawberry Preserves
- English Tea Cakes, Chef’s Choice of Tea Pastries
- Chocolate Mignardises
- Fresh Strawberries with Vanilla Cream
Select Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide offer afternoon tea service.
I’m not wearing any lipstick in the picture above, but this is what the lips looked like before I munched on cucumber sandwiches and downed 10 cups of darjeeling tea (with lots of cream and sugar).
Yes, you read that correctly. That’s 10 cups of tea. I’m so hyper right now, WHEEE!
Anyway, I hope you had a good day too. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Lilan says
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pmYou are too cute, Karen! 10 cups of tea! Whoa! Looks like you had a wonderful time with your friends in the city – hope you stayed dry 🙂
Karen says
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 pmLOL, yeah, there were quite a few trips to the ladies room. I dunno if I’m going to fall asleep tonight!
Hope you had a good one, too! 🙂
Glosslizard says
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pmOh, Karen, I love you! Why? Because hubby looked at that picture of the tea tray full o’ goodies and said “OMG, we HAVE to do that!” Woo-hoo!
What a great day! Hope you scored your Girl Friendly paint pot too! 🙂
Karen says
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 pmHi Glosslizard,
Yay, you guys will totally love it. The Ritz is a beautiful hotel and afternoon tea is very fun. Gotta say though, when you go, don’t go when you’re ravenous…the sandwiches are pretty dainty! I went and hung out at one the girls’ houses beforehand and we actually ate brunch before we headed on over to the Ritz, ha!
Did you do anything fun today? I hope you got to play some more with your haul!
Anna says
February 24th, 2008 at 2:27 amLooks like you had a fab day Karen !!!You’re not short- same as your other friends on your right. Now I’m short- 5foot little thing I am….stand next to me and you’ll feel like a supermodel !!
who could down 10 cups of tea ??!! he he
Shame on me- living in London and havent had afternnon tea !!! I must go….The Ritz or Claridges I reckon for a lady like me.
Ooh big favour to ask..when you have time, could you swatch or do a tutorial with Fafi Not so Innocent ? 🙂 Thanks chick
Ping. says
February 24th, 2008 at 2:54 amoh my.. the royal tea service look so good.. and for once i’m focusing on the food not the make-up haha!
I heard of Becca before, quite excited to try out the cheek gels/cream. am a blusher girl hehe. I heard Tarte famous for its gel blush.
hopefully i will get to go soon, but very likely beginning of winter means around the middle of year. shit, I hope I could go earlier haha!
Sandy says
February 24th, 2008 at 6:23 ampeople who are short are so cute. i stand abt 170cm and if i wear heels, i’m about 173-175cm, depends which heels i wear. lolz.
just asking, u’ve tried the rimmel soft kohl kajal eye pencil, does it work on the waterline? will it last long?
Kate says
February 24th, 2008 at 6:49 amI’m a big tea fan – English Breakfast Tea, though. Not Darjeeling. I thought I was bad drinking 4 cups a day but 10 is another level!
Holly says
February 24th, 2008 at 7:12 amHi Karen,
Aww what a lovely way to have a reunion, when I was in NY we went for afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria which was lovely, although I do have to say that a good cup of tea is not one of the things America does best!! But i will forgive you as what America lacks in tea abilities it makes up for in cup cakes and makeup!
Glosslizard says
February 24th, 2008 at 9:03 amHappy Sunday, Karen!
Hubby and I eat at the Dining Room at the Ritz every year for our anniversary, but we’ve never had the tea!
I had an aikido weapons seminar in the morning, so I got to use my tinted moisturizer for a perfect, barely-there polished look! In the evening, there was an informal party so I did a really pretty eye with Girl Friendly (yet again), brule and the Shu Ebi shadow and the brown Shu liner! Whee! It was super-pretty! I’m stoked because all the colors really look great together!
Aahh, nothing to do today! I think we’re going to go see a movie and relax! Yay! Hope you have something equally satisfying on your plate! 🙂
Glosslizard says
February 24th, 2008 at 9:12 amHappy Sunday, Holly!
That’s because we’re so coffee-obsessed over here! We’ve only just started managing to produce decent beers (in our microbreweries), I think we’re still a long way from excellent tea! 😉
What’s your favorite tea?
Holly says
February 24th, 2008 at 11:10 amHi Glosslizard,
Happy sunday to you too!
I just love our standard tea over here, its called Tetley and its the only one i really like! Its really strange in the u.s. the tea bags dont seem to brew in the water! Gosh I sound like a real tea bore!
If you are ever in London you must go to a hotel called The Berkeley it is in Belgravia and is super posh and expensive. They do something called pret-a-portea which is an afternoon tea served on a missoni dining service and all the cakes are inspired by current season designer collections! And if you have some spare cash stay there too! It is my favourite hotel in the world!
http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/restaurants_and_bars/restaurants/the_caramel_room/the_caramel_room/
On a totally seperate note did i read somewhere on hear that you have your own blog??? If so i would love to take a look at it!
Dao says
February 24th, 2008 at 11:24 amChampagne, finger sandwiches and tea do sound really cool. From the look of it, the sandwich tray is not that filling, am I right? Your 2nd friend from the left looks like one of my cousin but I don’t think she is my cousin (cause you wend to Davis but she did not!)
ponikuta says
February 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pmOMG the food look so yummy, love the lip colour too. Just right and doesn’t look too over the top !!
Amanda says
February 24th, 2008 at 2:13 pmwhat a fun place to go to spend an afternoon catching up with friends! It looks fab, and so do you. (and now I have another thing to add to my “to do in SF” list)
Glosslizard says
February 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pmHi Holly!
OMG, I must go there someday! I love the wee orange Hermes bag! 😀
Alas, you must have heard wrong! I don’t have my own blog, I just use Karen’s comment areas to exercise my blogging tendencies! Thanks for the vote of confidence, though! 🙂
Holly says
February 24th, 2008 at 2:45 pmHi Glosslizard,
It is an amazing hotel but the prices are stupid even by London standards so i cant imagine how bad they would seem with the currency exchange rates at the moment!
I must have totally made up that memory then! Perhaps it was somebody else i got you confused with! Oh well if you ever do decide to start one be sure to let me know haha!
Glosslizard says
February 24th, 2008 at 5:48 pmHi Holly!
Don’t worry, I’ll settle for tea without accomodations! I know how pricey those places can be, and that would be after the plane fare!
Back atcha, you tell me if you start a blog too! 😉
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:24 pmHi Anna!
I know, 10 cups. It’s not my usual amount, but those cups were kind of small, and our server just kept pouring, and we were there for a couple of hours. Next thing I know, I’ve downed 10 cups of tea, ha!
I did a tutorial featuring Not So Innocent on the lips last week! Here’s a picture of what it looks like with a nude liner and clear lipgloss, I hope this helps…
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/mac-fafi-makeup-tutorial-a-black-and-gold-smokey-eye/
I am one inch taller than you! Short people unite! 😉
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:26 pmHi Ping,
Oh, yeah, Tarte Cheek Stains. I like wearing those on my lazy minimal makeup days and on gym days. They are fun, smell good, easy to apply…and they also look weirdly edible, ha!
Your trip is just around the corner, girlfriend. Just hold on till then… I’ll give you makeup strength, LOL!
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:28 pmHi Sandy,
Unfortunately, Rimmel eyeliners don’t work on my waterline, boo. Pretty much every pencil I put on my waterline ends up fading away…I guess I have exetra watery eyes or something. The only thing that stays put is Fluidline.
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:29 pmHi Kate,
LOL, the 10 cups was an exception. I usually am a two cuppa coffee girl, but that day we sat around and talked for a long time, so I ended up drinking a bit more.
I love English Breakfast too, with lots of cream and sugar. 🙂
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:30 pmHi Holly,
Yeah, I’m with Glosslizard on this one – the tea issue is because we’re all about the coffee here.
Next time I’m in NY I’m going to the Waldorf Astoria for tea, woo hoo!
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:31 pmHi Glosslizard,
Sounds like fun! I ended up writing all day but now the day is over (8:30, le sigh), so it’s time for a celebratory brownie and some mind numbing reality television. Yep, I aim high.
I still gotta bust into my Girl Friendly Paint Pot!
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:33 pmHi Dao,
Yep, that’s my friend Chris. She’s shown up on the blog before, as my Justin Timberlake concert date.
But wouldn’t that be funny if we did know each other through a few degrees of separation?
And you’re so right, that tray is so not filling. I had to eat brunch at my homegirl’s house before tea (her fiancee made us brunch, it was so cute).
Hope you had a great weekend!
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:35 pmPONIKUTA!!!
You gotta try that lip color, it’s super easy and goes with a lot of looks. Hope your Sunday was grand!
Karen says
February 24th, 2008 at 8:36 pmHi Amanda,
Thank you, hon! Oh yah, there’s so many wonderful things to do in my fave city 🙂 I can’t wait to share more of them on the blog.
Hope you had a fab weekend!
Mrs. Lynne says
February 24th, 2008 at 10:42 pmOoh sounds like fun! I loves me the tea!
Karen says
February 25th, 2008 at 8:42 pmHi Mrs. Lynne,
Tea is so much FUN! You should take your homegirls to tea at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki…it’s the shizz! Or maybe we can go sometime when I’m on the island, how fun. 🙂
Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net says
February 28th, 2008 at 9:58 amWe should definitely do something when you come next! Tea, shaved ice,… you name it!!
Karen says
February 28th, 2008 at 10:07 amThat would be fun! I’d love to hang with you and your wee ones (hey, there’s always room for another aunt!). I am thinking we will be there in the summer, which always means 1-2 foot baby surf waves and warm water. HOLLA!