Cucumbers

cucumber sandwiches at American Girl

Last week the my two daughters, my sister Sandy and I had a great time at the American Girl store in chicago. We had a reservation for a four o’clock tea. During tea time Ana (age 9), whose new favorite vegetable is cucumber, was excited when the 3-tier tray of snacks appeared and  included cucumber sandwiches. I thought that the cucumber seeds in the sandwiches might make it hard for Ana to eat but it turned out that the cream cheese spread was actually the most unappealing part to her. The presentation was so pretty and the plate was decorated with what I can only describe as a “cucumber trellis”. My appetite, as well as Sandy’s, was sparked so we began enjoying these delicate little sandwiches as we detailed many cucumber health benefits to Ana. She was determined to only find nourishment in the PB & J. Meanwhile Mary (age 7) was happily enjoying the turkey sandwiches with cheese. Overall, tray one was accepted and we were ready to pass the second tier.

Tier two had a beautiful selection of seasonal fruit. Leave it to American Girl to serve the fresh fruit in the same manner in which the dolls Marie-Grace & Cecile serve fruit in the Mardi Gras party scene from the book! Marie-Grace Gardner & Cecile Rey are the dolls that were added to the collection in 2011. They are historical figures from 1853 New Orleans. However, these two characters were not the dolls chosen to join us for tea; we were dining with Julie Allbright & a “bitty baby” that Mary called Marie. The dolls that Ana & Mary brought from Florida had an appointment at the “Doll hair Salon” during tea time. Ana & Mary were allowed to select dolls from the store collection in the dining area. Ana has been interested in the Julie doll, who represents the historical period of 1974 (ha!ha!). Mary loves the historical & look-a-like’s dolls too but the “bitty baby’s” are still her favorite. Both dolls that joined our party, Julie & Marie, were dressed in their holiday dresses. We all enjoyed passing around this second tier’s offering. Even the dolls were given a special seat, at table height, complete with a doll sized place setting.

Now it was time to pass the third tier…chocolate chip scones with Devon cream! The kids were feeling full but Sandy & I were ready to enjoy all offerings. Have you ever tasted Devon cream? If not, you need to. We were enjoying ourselves in this beautifully decorated room full of windows on two sides. Through the windows was a view of downtown chicago at Water Tower Place. We were warm inside, away from the honking horns & whipping winds in a beautifully appointed space complete with pink Christmas trees that were decorated with a “candy Wonderland” theme. Once we finished the scones dessert was served – are you kidding me? …Wonderful.