Jennifer: Valentine’s Day at Bluestem: All About the Experience

Valentine’s Day is not just about the passion and romance in an intimate relationship. It’s about anyone and everyone that gives us love and warms our heart.

Bluestem recognized this fact, and on February 12, Chef Colby Garrelts and pastry Chef Megan Garrelts transformed their dining room into a tea party. For $25 guests were treated to fine teas, elegant pastries and assorted tea sandwiches. The Garrelts, who have two children of their own, made this special event available to children under 10 as well for $7 each.

Say the words "Tea & Pastries" and you immediately equate the event to a stuffy afternoon, driven by monitored etiquette and whispered exchanges. That can be true, but this event felt more celebratory.

Although the estrogen in the room was quite obvious, I did notice a few brave males who must have figured out that going to a tea party was going to get them a lot further then that creepy teddy bear they saw on an infomercial.

At our table, it was all about the ladies. The four of us had not met up since last summer when we had enjoyed another girlie favorite – Cafe Provence. I was reminded how utterly soul satisfying an exclusively female gathering can be. I don’t mean the baby shower type which makes you double check your birth control.

I mean the kind of day that is enriched by a mutual respect and quiet understanding of what it’s like to be a girl in this world.

For me, life seems to be flying by and this day was an effort to put time into slow motion – a perfect opportunity to absorb and acknowledge our current reality. As women, we’re always somewhat disconnected, out there changing the world and being changed by it. Afterwards as I was driving home, I realized that each of us had shared major moments and huge life changes. A new job, a new home, a new career, a new engagement, a new car, a new lover and a new baby. Simple exchanged words, yet so much life-changing meaning behind them.

Thanks Colby. The cucumber sandwiches were divine, but the company and the shared moments were even more satisfying.

For other upcoming Bluestem events:

www.bluestemkc.com/special-events