Swap and Tea Party 2017

Wow another year went by very quickly ......still can't believe it.
May Day rolled around and it was time for my annual get-together with my girlfriends.
It's so much fun having my best buddies over for an evening of togetherness and thankfulness.
It's a lot of work to prepare but I usually pace myself by starting everything early.

Most of the prep work for the eats was done the day before and the cold desserts and juices were prepared two days in advance.

 The ginger beer was made from scratch with fresh ginger.

 The filling for the samosas.

Through it all The Overseer made sure that everything was in order.

 Red Velvet Cake

 Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 Mango, Tangerine, Guava Pineapple Juices along with Ginger Beer and Lemonade

All that was left to do on the morning of the event was the baking of the savoury items on the menu.

 Rolled Cigar shape Samosas and Cheese Sandwiches

 I made the samosas with Wraps and baked them...healthier that way.

 Puff Pastry Log filled with Cheese, Ham and Pineapple

 Cucumbers filled with Mint and Cream Cheese stuffing

(I took this photo in the fridge)

 Miniature Ham Cutters

The ham was stored in the fridge until assembly.

 Peach Cobbler

 Pumpkin Fritter Muffins

My "girls" came by excitedly laden with all kinds of items for the swap and even more food items for the table.

 As you can see we ended up with so much more eats to enjoy.
Bajan Black Fruit Cake,  Fruit Cake, Delicacies from Israel (where one of the girls had just returned from), Fish Cakes, Salsa Dip and Chips, Pudding Trifle and even mini mangoes...yummy.

We are all so busy with our lives and we hardly have the time to relax and enjoy ourselves together anymore these days, and this is the main reason that I make a BIGG effort to host the swap and tea party every year.  It's a chance for us to sit, breathe, exhale, laugh, talk, cry and joke, tease each other, catch up on the happenings in our lives and just be surrounded by love and togetherness.

 Lots of interesting items for the Swap.

My girlfriend Dawn choosing with care.

We had a wonderful time...we chatted like if we had just had long conversations with each other the day before.
We laughed out LOUD and HARD.
We hugged and kissed each other in the true spirit of sisterhood.
We embraced our faith.
We know we are blessed to have each other in our lives.
We shared stories of gratitude.
We ate and drank to our hearts content.
We shared our Whatsapp jokes on our phones.
We agreed to keep in closer contact.

My girlfriends...my sisters...Not sure what my life would be like without them.
I love them all in their own way with their goodness and their faults and they love me the same.
We can all be ourselves around each other....no pretenses and no back stabbing....we care and adore each other.
We tell you like it is and there may be some upset but it all blows over and we move on ...we prefer truth and honesty among us.


And so another evening of deliciousness and friendly sisterhood came to an end.
I fell into bed a happy and tired hostess.....until next year.