#CosmoBlogAwards: The Ceremony, The Cocktails and of course, The Cupcakes.

Well after 43,000 nominations, six months of voting and one panicked, last minute outfit rush, the Cosmo Blog Awards are all over - and what a fabulous night it was!

It felt absolutely amazing to be greeted at the door of the OXO Tower by the famous pink Cosmopolitan logo and there were plenty more girly surprises to be found inside.

OXO Tower

The Vintage Cosmetic Company were on hand to give our eyelashes a touch of Hollywood glamour and Electric Hair were at the ready with the straighteners for any pre-awards hair touch ups. We loved dressing up in the photo booth and posing in front of the Best British Bloggers board too! 

Cosmo!

Of course it would be wrong to be at a Cosmo event and not indulge in a Cosmo cocktail or two and there was a constant flow of these amazing cocktails and of course cupcakes, all evening. In true ATC style we treated ourselves to several miniature cupcakes which were sprinkled in glitter dusting and topped with strawberry buttercream - yum! 

But on to the important part - the awards!  We were nominated for Best Food Blog. Unfortunately we didn't get our hands on an award this year but to all the fantastic bloggers who did, well done! A huge thank you to all of you who voted - we really do appreciate your support. 

Awards time!

Moving on to our favourite bit - the goodie bags! All bloggers went home with a Cosmo goodie bag filled with tonnes of stuff from cookies to fake tan and jewellery to PhotoDirector software. But by far our favourite item, which we can't help but feel we inspired (ahem), was Gizzi Erskine's latest book - amazing!

Pinky Vodka - Yum!

It was great to meet all of the other bloggers and catch up with some blogging friends too like Ann from A Quirky Lifestyle - be sure to check out her site! 

Laura with Ann from A Quirky Lifestyle

'Best British Bloggers' - Oh why not?

We had an amazing time and would like to thank all of our readers for getting us there. Roll on next year! 

Laura and Caroline x

Nominate the Afternoon Tea Club for a Cosmo Blog Award 2013 (Best Food Blog)

We're asking for your support... again!

To begin with, we'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us in the Company #StyleBloggerAwards2013. We really appreciate the support and feel very lucky to have such a lovely lot following us - we'll be sure to keep you updated on how it all goes (and of course celebrate with you if we win!)

Now to ask for your help again...

Whether you've just found  The Afternoon Tea Club or have been following for a while now, we’d be thrilled if you could nominate us as 'Best Food Blog' in the Cosmo Blog Awards 2013.

If you'd like to support us, simply visit the Cosmo website HERE and fill in a short form, including our URL when prompted. (www.theafternoonteaclub.com)

Thank you so much for all of your support - we can't wait to welcome you back to the site soon!

Laura & Caroline

X

Company #StyleBloggerAwards2013: We've been shortlisted!

#VOTEATC
 

The votes have been counted and we're thrilled to reveal we have been shortlisted in Company Magazine's Style Blogger Awards 2013! Thank you so much to everyone who nominated us, we really appreciate all of your support.

 

Voting has now opened for each of the 10 categories. If you would like to see us named as Best Blogging Duo, simply visit the Company wesbite and vote for theafternoonteaclub.com!

 

We're really excited to be involved and would absolutely love to win - and celebrate with lots of cake!

 

Thanks again to all of our fabulous readers - #VOTEATC!

 

Laura & Caroline

Afternoon Tea News: The Flowering Afternoon Tea at The Park Lane Hotel, London

Complete with its own chocolate hanging basket and edible garden gnome, The Park Lane Hotel's Chelsea Flower Show inspired tea looks set to become one of this summer's Afternoon Tea highlights

Bloomin' Marvellous

Here's a little of what you can expect:

In celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show, The Park Lane Hotel in London has created a very special Flowering Afternoon Tea.  Available from Tuesday 14^th May to Sunday 9^th June 2013, the Flowering Afternoon Tea will include a delightful array of horticulturally-inspired teatime treats [...]

[...] To begin the Flowering Afternoon Tea experience, guests will be greeted with a Wild Blossom Champagne Cocktail – Champagne topped off with an edible hibiscus flower soaked in syrup.  A selection of five sandwiches and savouries are then served, including Poached Scottish salmon, cucumber and fennel crème fraiche served on a mini muffin with cucumber flowers; Orange blossom honey, wholegrain mustard roast ham, candied tomatoes and watercress on white bread; and Goats cheese, asparagus and lemon verbena tartlet with a soft boiled quails egg.

Warm, homemade plain and apple and raisin scones will follow, served with lemon verbena curd, clotted cream and seasonal preserves.  Finally, guests will be presented with a selection of floral pastries, including a Chocolate hanging basket with spiced Chai tea mousse and chocolate soil; a Honey orange blossom pain de gene with mango compote and edible honey bees; a Rosewater and raspberry mousse with crystallised rose petals on a rose macaroon and Pistachio and hazelnut chocolate financier “garden patch” with chocolate ladybird.  The pastries will be presented on a marzipan gardening patch edged with a chocolate rockery and will be complete with the edible garden gnome centrepiece perched on a white chocolate toadstool...

So what do you think? We're loving the sound of those summer cocktails and goats cheese tarts - YUM!

Are you booking yourself in for a summer treat? Let us know!

The Park Lane Hotel was amongst a select handful of London hotels to be recognised recently with a prestigious Award of Excellence 2013 by The Tea Guild. The Flowering Afternoon Tea at The Park Lane Hotel will be served from 14^th May to 9^th June 2013 (3pm-6pm on weekdays and 2pm-6pm at weekends) in The Palm Court and costs £45 per person.  Bookings must be made in advance. To book, call The Palm Court on 02072907328 or visit www.palmcourtlondon.co.uk

Afternoon Tea News: W London Rock Tea by Gizzi Erskine

Last week our favourite retro chef, Gizzi Erskine, launched her brand new take on W Hotel's 'Rock Tea', with a cool mix of edgy-yet-girlie treats, served on a dazzling gold record stand. We couldn't be more excited...

Rock Tea Re-Mixed

Adapted from last year's incredibly popular 'Rock Tea', this new off-beat menu offers an exciting selection of retro delights, which are certain to make for the perfect scone and 'jam-ming' session! 

Alongside the old classics are a selection of new choices, which include: Wild Things - a salted caramel and popcorn eclair (with kooky leopard print design), Rockabilly Rebel - a devil’s food cake with peanut butter mousse and peanut brittle, and Flipsville - a cherry cola and yuzu tart.

- Oh dear... a cherry cola and yuzu tart? We can hear it calling our names already.

Unfortunately, this lovely tea is only running for a limited period of three months, so be sure to book yourself in now to avoid missing out on this masterpiece of culinary innovation!

Have you tried the Tea? Are you booked in for a visit? Let us know your thoughts - We love to share the Afternoon Tea love - and boy do we LOVE this Afternoon tea.

The W Rock Tea by Gizzi Erskine is served in the W Lounge at W London Leicester Square, from 2pm daily (for a limited three-month period) and costs £25 pp. For more information or to book, visit http://www.wlondon.co.uk/