Blue Skies and Apple Pies: Afternoon Tea and Kelle Hampton.

On vacation we stayed in an amazing bed and breakfast called The Ballastone Inn. It was one of the most fabulous places I have ever stayed. Hands down. Every corner was decked out with ornate decoration, orchids, and small touches that made you feel like you were a Southern Bell getting ready to sit on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea. It was absolutely beautiful and I love beautiful things.

So anyway, everyday at the Ballastone we had afternoon tea complete with tea sandwiches and tiny little scones. The china convinced me that I made a mortal mistake not registering for my own complete set on my wedding registry. I talked myself down by telling myself that it would probably get dusty in some corner cabinet with all the other things that I don't use on a daily basis... nonetheless it was a wonderful dream... I actually had visions of Caleb and me sipping tea from our china while eating little tea cookies...

And on second thought, why shouldn't everyone have a tea set, eat baby scones, and drink tea on Sunday afternoons?

As the end of my week of sipping tea and practicing the art of doing nothing neared an end, the anticipation of the grand finale of my vacation grew greater and greater. I had an even better tea party in the making. The highlight of my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is often reading Enjoying the Small Things, the blog written by life lover Kelle Hampton. In a previous post I shared the link to the site for her new book Bloom in which she beautifully shares the birth of her second daughter Nella and her journey in "finding beauty in the unexpected." After recruiting a group of ten ladies to pre-order copies of her book, I was given the pre-order incentive of a Skype session with Kelle.

Meeting Kelle through Skype definitely stirred up more nerves and emotions than meeting Paula Deen on my vacation earlier in the week. You see, Kelle's blog provides me with balance. Working as a therapist in mental health can be difficult, and it is easy to forget that, no matter what, there are beautiful, wonderful, and amazing things surrounding us even in the "small things." You just have to look.

Thanks to my mother-in-law, Kim, we had the most wonderful tea party at my dear friend Jessica's home where we held the session. Kim's friend, Donna, graciously allowed us to borrow her mother's fine china (much like the set I drooled over earlier in the week) to make our evening special.

I keep trying to think of all the words that I could use to describe how special it was for me to Skype with Kelle. She has really changed my perspective. Chatting with her for 30 minutes reminded me why I love reading her words so much. She was lovely, inspiring, and ever so insightful about this thing we live called life.