============= FIRST LADY'S TEA
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 Since 2000, Iowa's First Lady, Christie Vilsack, has held the First Lady's Teas on every third Monday of the month at 2300 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, which also happens to be Iowa's historic site and the Governor's mansion.
For your information, there are two sittings available for the First Lady's Teas. The first is at 11:00 am and the second at 3:00 pm. Each tea sitting can serve up to 54 guests. Usually a tea room from Iowa is also invited and featured during this tea event. They bring to serve the guests, their own favorite tea room "specialty", be it their own featured entrees or their scrumptious dessert that they serve at their tearooms. However, all other arrangements, for example, the preparation for the rest of the menu, place settings, serving during tea time and the cleaning up are actually done by a tea committee consisting of happy volunteers.
A pleasant invitation by Cyndi Pederson, senior advisor to the First Lady, gave me the wonderful opportunity to attend the afternoon sitting for the First Lady's Tea last month, which happened to be on February 17. Now if you arrive about 20 minutes early as I did, you could actually take a tour of Terrace Hill and learn the history of the mansion. Built in 1866 and completed in 1869, this impressive Victorian mansion has even been featured on A & E's America's Castle. Today, it is the official home of the Governor of Iowa. As I walked from one room to another on the second floor, I bumped into the First Lady, Christie Vilsack, in her office. Dressing the part in her Victorian gown, First Lady Christie Vilsack, graciously and warmly greeted us as we walked through and I felt right at home!
 By the time 3 o'clock arrived, we all gathered in the Grand Hall, where First Lady Christie Vilsack, formally welcomed everyone as she stood on the Grand Staircase, with the impressive stained glass window as the backdrop (pictured at right). She also made special mention for anyone that were there to celebrate a birthday or any other special occasion, which I felt made the occasion even more special for those that were celebrating, I'm sure. Once the welcoming and introductions were done, each guest was invited to be seated at their assigned seats. By the way, if the backdrop seems familiar, do you remember the First Lady's inaugural gown that she wore this year?
Once I arrived at my designated seating, I could not help but notice that each teacup and saucer w as different from those settings around me. What's the story behind this? Well, I'll just leave that out for you to find out. The menu for the afternoon tea was dainty cucumber dill tea sandwiches, chocolate puff with raspberry angel cream, cranberry studded scones with lemon curd, strawberry and watercress wheat wafer, chicken salad on onion dill rye hearts and fresh fruit served on a three tier tray. Each setting was neatly presented and included a menu card, giving you an idea of what was on the tray. Also each guest got to take home a souvenir miniature teapot ornament. While we feasted, the conversations flowed around the table, Darjeeling tea was continuously served by the happy volunteers. Now the featured tearoom last month was the 1886 Painted Lady Tea House from Britt, IA (pictured at right are the 3 generations of ladies from this tea house) who happened to serve their special Carmel Pie, which was to die for!
While we were taking tea, First Lady Christie Vilsack, continued making the rounds to each room, stopping at each table to visit with everyone. Picture at left is the First Lady entertaining at our table when she was finally able to take tea herself.
 Another thing to note is that, since 2001, the First Lady had commissioned a china painter named Phyllis Craig of Coin, IA, to hand paint tea cup and saucers. Now these are a limited editions and are signed by the First Lady herself. This year's design features wild violets (see right) and there are available from the Terrace Hill Gift Shop.
A special mention needs to be made to the ladies from Qwest, whom I happened to be seated next to. They were at this tea event to celebrate a birthday. Pictured on the right is Karen Van Schamburg (the birthday girl) with Amy Gale to her right. 
Pictured at left is Gayle Jordan and to her right
is Jan Hoffman.
After tea is served, a short program usually follows, lasting about 20 to 30 minutes. Luckily for me, it happened to be a program presented by Ton Stam of Chocolaterie Stam. Samples of his store's yummy chocolates were passed around, and of course it had to be tasted! If you ever get a chance, stop by at any one of their three locations in Central Iowa. Their main store is on Ingersoll in Des Moines, one in West Des Moines and Pella. I have also happened to try their chocolate made out of Earl Grey, and it tasted absolutely delicious. 
Overall, I would say that I spent a delightful afternoon taking tea at Terrace Hill. If you ever get a chance, I encourage you to experience this event. Not only would you get to experience taking tea with the First Lady at the mansion, but you also get to learn the history of Terrace Hill, a national heritage of ours. Take a morning off or an afternoon, bring your friends, your mother, daughter or even your spouse and experience the First Lady's Tea first hand. Please note, however, that the Terrace Hill itself is not a tea room and do allow at least a couple of hours when you plan to attend the tea. Check out our website at www.tearoomsonline.com to view more pictures. The First Lady's Office is currently taking reservations for the following tea dates in 2003:
March 17, April 21, May 16, June 16, July 28, August 25, September 15, October 20, November 17 and December 15.
These dates do fill up pretty fast and it is also encouraged to put your name on the waiting list if possible. Tickets for the First Lady's Teas are $25.00 per person. The proceeds from these events actually benefits educational efforts at Terrace Hill. For more information or reservations, you can contact Alissa McKinney at 515.280.3980. To download an RSVP application, visit this website at http://www.christievilsack.org/events/firstlady_tea.html. Checks should be made payable to Terrace Hill Foundation.
To learn more about the Terrace Hill Foundation, visit http://www.terracehill.org/. Tours are available every half hour from 10 am to 1:30 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, March through December. For groups of 10 or more, please make your reservations.
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Warm wishes,
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