Tea Review Revisit: Son and Garden

I got the opportunity to go back to Son and Garden in Palo Alto! They change themes every once in a while, so while it's the same place with the same atmosphere several of the offerings were different this time around. 

Tea Review: Croissante Bakery

Long time no blog! I've been quite busy at work and going back to take some classes. Without a blogging goal this year and the stress/work from my job situation plus classes blogging has definitely taken a backseat. However I do still plan to try a few of these places that aren't dedicated tea places but offer afternoon tea now that I'm a bit farther out from my yearlong tea journey. 

First up we have Croissante Bakery! This is a bakery in Santa Clara that offers an afternoon tea if you reserve in advance. 

Tea Review: Muir's Tea Room

I was able to finally make it to Muir's Tea Room! It's located in Sebastopol so it's quite a ways away from me and most of the rest of the Bay. It's unique though in that is an entirely vegan menu and the theme changes around every month or so! This month happened to be Alice in Wonderland theme ♣️

Groundhog Day Theme!

It's a little outside lolita this month but the theme for Bibliotheca is Groundhog Day and I couldn't resist! I'm originally from Woodstock Illinois which was actually the filming location for much of the movie. I was very young when the filming happened and I didn't watch the movie until much later but every time I do I get a little thrill of recognizing the gazebo, or the opera house, or the bed and breakfast house. 

It's such a big thing in Woodstock there's quite a bit of tourism around it! You can take a walking tour (self guided/digital except on some dates in February) of the film locations, there are plaques at many locations commemorating the film and what role it played in the film on the walking tour. 

There's a whole bunch of events the first week in February you can do that are Groundhog Day Movie themed. These events include a trivia night, guided walking tours, a viewing of the film at the local theater, and more! Check out https://woodstockgroundhog.org/ for more info if you're in IL this February and are a fan of the movie! I actually think this would be a unique meet-up idea if people didn't mind driving or taking the Metra train to downtown Woodstock.

If you take the guided walking tour and want a more lolita specific event added on, make sure you get a reservation at Casting Whimsy for tea located just off the square! Or just stop by to grab some loose leaf tea if you don't want to do a full reservation. (You can find my review here if you want more information on what to expect).

For those of you who can't make it to a random suburb of Illinois at the beginning of snowy February there is also a Youtube video guided tour available:

Overall if you are a fan of the movie and happen to be in Illinois I'd recommend checking out downtown Woodstock! If nothing else you can get your picture taken by the giant Bill Murray Groundhog Day Mural located next to the Woodstock theater:

Photo from Real Woodstock

low-buy update 1 year later

Last year I made a goal to wear the things I have and try to only focus on wishlist items and I mostly succeeded! But did I keep up with a low buy in 2023? Not really unfortunately. I bought quite a few things. I did try to keep it to basics I felt were missing in my wardrobe, things that had been on my wishlist for a while that I got second hand, or purchases from indie brands. I still feel pretty good about my level of purchasing lolita items this year, I think I ended up going a little more to make up for not buying as much last year. I do track my clothing spending (all clothing spending) on a spread sheet because I want to see where my money on clothes is going and what I'm buying at what prices.

Bibliotheca: Wishlists and Dream Dresses!

This January Bibliotheca theme is wishlists and dream dresses. I'm going to combine them a bit here and talk about my current wishlist and all of my dream dresses over the years (some of which I own now and a few that have yet to be acquired!)

Tea Review Round Up!

Phew! I did it! All the current standalone(ish) tea places in the bay that I can reasonably get to! It was definitely a journey and I do still love afternoon tea but I think I'll take a pause for a bit unless there's a particularly good theme that someone hosts.

Remember this is only my experience one time and my personal tastes/bias. There's quite a few things (like not preferring smoked salmon, favoring flavored black tea, and being located in the peninsula) that will definitely skew my reviews and ratings. If you live in a different part of the bay area or value different things in your tea experience you'll probably have a different rating than me and that's ok! I'd recommend looking at both my individual review of a place for a more detailed description and other yelp or google reviews to see which you would like to try. 

And without further ado, The List!

8/10: Leland Tea Company

8/10: Dartealing Lounge

8/10: Crown and Crumpet

7.9/10: Pardee Home

7.8/10: Sip Tea Room

7.8/10: Masion Danel

7.6/10: Malaya Tea Room

7.5/10: Lovejoys

7.5/10: Chelo Tea House

7.5/10: Tea Time

7.5/10: The Rotunda 

7.35/10: RoyalTEA Garden

7.3/10: Tyme for Tea

7.25/10: iChina

7.2/10: Lisa's Tea Treasures

7.2/10: Son and Garden

7.1/10 Jade Chocolates 

6.8/10: Dainteas

Honorable mentions that aren't in the bay area:

7.1/10: Casting Whimsy, Woodstock, IL

6.5/10: The Tea Terrace, Las Vegas, NV

Thank you all for coming on my tea review journey with me! It was a lot to do in one year but I am really glad I did it and can now have a more definitive answer for which tea places in the bay area are my favorites 💖