Noteworthy: A Visit to Shady Gables

The three sisters on the porch of Shady Gables.

When I go down to the lake house at the Lake of the Ozarks, I enjoy relaxing by having afternoon tea at Shady Gables in Versailles, MO. Marilyn,my mother-in-law, introduced me to the enchanting tea room about five years ago and we both enjoy taking friends and family to Shady Gables. The tea room was discovered by accident by Patricia, my sister-in-law. She was exploring the area during a visit to the lake and drove past Shady Gables. Ironically, my sister-in-law has never been to tea at Shady Gables.

When Aunt Emmy Glo and Aunt Dixie came to the lake house for a visit, we knew Shady Gables would be one of the places we would visit. The following photos were taken on Friday, June 26, 2009. This was Aunt Dixie's first visit to Shady Gables and Aunt Emmy Glo's second visit.

Aunt Dixie, Aunt Emmy Glo, and Jennifer, get their picture taken by the "Tea Time Bicycle." The gardens surrounding Shady Gables are filled with flowers and fun tea related touches like this pink bicycle

The three sisters take a swing in the garden at Shady Gables.

Enjoying tea at Shady Gables. We each got our own pot of tea. It was difficult to decide what variety of tea to select. We had over four pages of tea choices to select from! I tried Chocolate Strawberry. Marilyn chose Ginger Apricot. Emmy Glo enjoyed Orange Apricot. Dixie, who is always open to trying something new, had not one, but two pots of tea! Her first pot was a specialty blend called Butterfly Kisses. It has just a hint of Jasmine making this delicate tea irresistibly mysterious. It's flavor is as light and elegant as a butterfly in flight. Her second pot was my favorite, Angels Dream. It has a hint of maple in the tea. I bought a sample of Angels Dream to take home with me. It is Shady Gables most popular tea.

Three Tiered Tray- We enjoyed "The Queen's Choice" Full Afternoon Tea Meal. Along with our choice of tea we enjoyed a chicken salad croissant, individual Quiche Lorraine, various homemade buttermilk scones, imported clotted cream and lemon curd. We also enjoyed assorted savory finger sandwiches and delectable sweets, fresh fruit and frozen fruit sorbet served in tiny tea cups. The recipes for several of the items we enjoyed during tea are featured in our wedding cookbook called "A Symphony of Recipes" which Ken and I gave to each of our guests at our wedding reception. Reba Starling, the owner and operator of Shady Gables, gave me permission to include these yummy recipes.

Sweets- My favorite part of the tea! We enjoyed tea pot sugar cookies (which I always take home to Ken), brownie bites, lemon tea cookies, and homemade mints. Reba recently posted the recipe for the lemon tea cookies on her blog. The cookies have a yummy cream cheese frosting, which I love! I had never tasted her lemon tea cookies and now that she shared the recipe, I plan on making some to serve at my next tea.

Party Hats- Shady Gables has a variety of hats that you can borrow and wear while you enjoy tea. Aunt Dixie and I selected a hat for ourselves and one for Marilyn and Aunt Emmy Glo to wear. I think the hats match our personalities! Aunt Dixie chose a blue Victorian hat with a long bow down the back and I chose a simple pink hat with a rose. The hats added an extra touch to our perfect tea party!

Aunt Emmy Glo - the eldest and wisest sister