bishop&holland

Dallas Fashion Blog

afternoon tea in london

afternoon tea in London, teatime tradition, traditional afternoon tea, London traditionToday is our last day in New York and we are bummed to be leaving this city already.  We originally didn’t plan on going to Fashion Week this year, but decided on a whim to book a quick weekend trip.  And we are so glad we did!  As usual, there is never enough time in New York and we are hoping to make a trip back when there are no fashion week festivities and truly enjoy the city!

Let’s rewind a few weeks to our trip to London.  While we were there, we had the opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea at Four Seasons London.  Afternoon tea is a big “to do” in London.  It’s a time to dress up, meet with friends and catch up over tea, finger sandwiches, scones and bubbly.  Afternoon tea typically starts at 3:00 pm and goes however long you like.  Being that this was our first full day in London, we stopped by New Bond Street (a little retail therapy really helps with jet lag), and then made our way to Four Season London Park Lane.  It was a cold and rainy day, so we did our best to look put together for afternoon tea.  A floral dress with a leather jacket over it was perfect, and thankfully we had Hunter Boots to change into for the rainy commute home.

We tried four different teas, two herbal, one darjelinng and one oolong.  Each tea was incredible.  The food was what you would expect from Four Seasons… absolutely delicious with incredible attention to detail.  The miniature scones were the best we’ve ever had!  Each finger sandwich had a great combination of flavors and our favorite was the cranberry and chicken salad.  As far as desserts go, the presentation (as you can see) was hard to beat, and somehow each dessert was tastier than the previous one.  And yes, we tried one of each!

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Cheers,

homemade banana nut muffins

banana nut muffins, muffins with a twist, baking and entertaining, breakfast on the go, healthy recipesBanana nut bread and coffee is one of our all-time favorite, splurge worthy breakfast combinations.  Right behind coffee and chocolate chip cookies!  The smell of homemade banana nut bread immediately takes us back to visiting grandparents growing up.  This recipe has been used for years, being passed down to each generation.  With very little modifications (add chocolate chips if you have a sweet tooth) this homemade banana nut bread recipe has been made for many holidays and family gatherings.

Last Saturday, before leaving for London, we decided to make a tiny change to the recipe and make banana nut muffins, instead of banana bread.  The whole idea was an easy, grab and go breakfast for our husbands while we were out of town.  In the hurry of baking and getting packed, we forgot to add the nuts!  The batter was already in the pans, so we chopped some pecans and put them on the top.  After trying one of the muffins Saturday morning, we decided this will now be our go-to way of making banana nut bread!

Banana Nut Muffins:

  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 4 overripe bananas, mashed (we like to leave some chunks of banana)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla.  Sift together flour, soda and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Pour into greased and floured muffin tins, or use paper muffin cups.  Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top of each muffin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  Insert a toothpick into muffin to make sure the muffins are cooked enough.  The muffins can be kept in the refrigerator for a week, or frozen with great results.  They get even better!

Cheers,

watermelon margaritas

watermelon-margaritas-1

Every day there seems to be a new national holiday to celebrate!  Some of our favorites to celebrate are National Ice Cream Day, National Margarita Day, and of course, National Lipstick Day!  Today is National Watermelon Day.  Seriously though, who comes up with these holidays??

We spent Sunday by the pool, which of course required a refreshing drink!  Knowing that today was National Watermelon Day, we decided that would be the main ingredient for our cocktail.  This recipe (based on this one from the Food Network) is so easy and doesn’t take any time at all to make.  Our favorite part is that it is easy to make a pitcher of watermelon margaritas to have ready to go.  No one wants to be stuck behind the bar all day making drinks and not getting to enjoy the pool or the sun!  And, without the alcoholic ingredients, they are  mocktail approved.  Just add some club soda or ginger beer!

Watermelon Margaritas:

  • 4 cups of watermelon chunks
  • 2 teaspoons organic agave nectar (or to taste)
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 cup tequila
  • 1/2 cup triple sec

Cut up a watermelon into chunks – that’s the hardest part – and puree in a blender with the organic agave.  Strain over a fine mesh strainer and pour into a tall pitcher.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and pour over ice.  How easy is that?  We like to garnish with a sliver of watermelon, but a lime slice would be nice too.  Before pouring the margarita into your glass, salt the rim if that is your preference.  Enjoy!

watermelon margaritas, summer entertaining

Cheers,

 

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