One of my favorite days of the year is visiting one of my favorite book clubs: Tantalizing Ladies Tea–A Christian Book Coterie. This is the group of women I fictionalized as the “Ladies Tea and Knitting Society” in my Tales From Ivy Hill series.

They invited me to join them again last Friday, and again, it was such a blessing to be included! Best of all, we had a surprise visit from one of the members (Sherri) who has moved away to Chicago, but was able to come back and join us for the afternoon!

What a soul-nourishing time of sisterhood, prayer, tea, and delicious food. Oh yeah, and we talked a little about my latest book, The Bridge to Belle Island, too. 😊

Here was our menu:
Roasted Tomato Bisque
Smoked Gouda & Rosemary Scones
Sweet Potato Phyllo Cups
Broccoli Salad Roulades
Lingonberry Turkey Tea Sandwiches
Quinoa Stuffed Mushrooms
Tomato and Pesto Crostini
Dotted Shortbread Cookies
Earl Grey Truffles
Coconut Lavender French Macarons

I am honestly not sure which item was my favorite. The soup, perhaps? The crostini? The shortbread? The scones? They were all delicious.

Here is one of the recipes from the delightful Tea Time magazine, if you feel inspired to try it:

As always, it was a great afternoon with friends old and new.

Front row: Becky, Julie, Sherri.
What about you? Do you belong to a book club? Like having tea? Do tell!
Latest posts by Julie Klassen (see all)
- Seven Ways to Bless an Author - February 11, 2025
- Movies I Watch (Almost) Every Year - January 28, 2025
- Julie’s Favorites - January 26, 2025
What a fabulous group! And such fancy finger food. My mouth is watering just from the pictures. I love tea and scones and books, and your Tantalizing Ladies Tea group just took that to the next level. How wonderful!
Fun! I do want to try that recipe. As I read your post, I was telling myself, OOOOH, I have smoked gouda and rosemary. Et voila! You included the recipe. Thank you! What a neat book group! I would join it if they were closer. 🙂
What a lovely group! And a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
What fun! That is my favorite kind of meal, too! Except, could I have coffee instead of tea? 😉
Fabulous group! I don’t belong to a book club. I do enjoy a cup of hot tea while reading.