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Let's face it: Fancy tea parties are usually reserved for little kids and the British Royal Family. It's just something we kind of let go of as we get older and swap in things like over-priced brunch and daily coffee runs. That is, until this beautiful, boozy tea party came into our lives.

The Mad Hatters (Gin &) Tea Party, reported on by Food and Wine, is a traveling pop-up tea party that takes all of the magic of Alice In Wonderland and gives it a modern, more adult twist. It's hosted by your favorite characters from the Mad Tea Party and includes craft cocktails and small bites.

From the looks of it, the event is totally decked out in bright colors, teacups everywhere, and 'gram-worthy moments as far as the eye can see. Costumes are also strongly encouraged, so if you love a theme, this is the event for you.

You get a "small welcome drink," as well as three craft teacup cocktails and some snacks to tide you over while you enjoy the hour and a half event. To complete your look, you'll even be gifted a Mad Hatters hat that you can wear while dining in Wonderland.

The event has already been held in London and Los Angeles, and it's coming to Chicago and New York soon. You can find tickets for New York here and Chicago here. Just don't be late for this very important date, because tickets are selling out QUICKLY.

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This Boozy Tea Party Inspired By 'Alice In Wonderland' Is The Perfect Way To Spend A Saturday - Delish

AZLE, Texas Rep. Kay Granger wanted to win. Cash in hand, she kept raising her bid as the auctioneer at Silver Creek United Methodist Church rattled off prices for a chocolate cake.

The Texas Republican eventually paid $220 for the cake, leaving a candidate forum here Thursday night with a wave to the crowd after she collected her dessert. Her primary opponent, former technology executive Chris Putnam, did not bid on the cakes, which were auctioned off between candidate speeches to raise money for the church.

But a different kind of spending the hundreds of billions negotiated annually between the White House and congressional Democrats and Republicans is very much the focus of his Republican primary challenge to Granger in the Forth Worth-area 12th District. The race is reminiscent of tea party primary challenges from the last decade, with an insurgent hopeful taking on a longtime incumbent and railing against government spending.

But Putnam could have one problem: The GOP isnt the tea party. Its Donald Trumps party now.

The president has endorsed Granger, which shes touting in television ads and flyers. Trumps backing helped her win over Frank Zamarron, a 53-year-old truck repair shop manager from Parker County, who attended the forum Thursday.With all of the negative ads hes seen, Zamarron said he might have voted against Granger otherwise.

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Will a tea party challenge work in Trump's party? Kay Granger will find out - Roll Call

Conservative radio host and former Tea Party congressman Joe Walsh reiterated what never Trump truly means in a piece published byThe Washington Poston Tuesday, stating, the word never is right there in the name.

Walshs remarks were sparked by his Republican and ex-Republican brethren, noting they would struggle to vote for Sen. Bernie Sandersif he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.

But thats not how this works, he explained, adding, when I finally came around to saying, never Trump, I meant it. And if youre a Republican who claimed the never-Trump label then you should have meant it, too.

Walsh admitted to supporting Donald Trump during the 2016 election, labeling himself as a second-wave never-Trumper, who now believes the ways in which Trump threatens this country go beyond left-right ideology.

Despite being a conservative, Walsh clarified that he would support anyone over Trump, promising, What I can do, and what I have done, is pledge that Ill vote for their nominee. Even Bernie. He and I hardly agree on anything, but if hes the nominee, I wont just vote for him, Ill campaign for him.

Walsh ended the piece by pointedly announcing, If that surprises you, it shouldnt Because never-Trump means never. And Id rather have a socialist in the White House than a con man.

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Former Tea Party Congressman Joe Walsh Says Hed Back Bernie: I Wont Just Vote For Him, Ill Campaign For Him - Mediaite

RICHMOND, Va. Virginia Democrats are in the spotlight as they argue over how legislative and congressional boundaries should be drawn, with only a few days left to make a decision.

Redistricting reform has been a top priority for Democrats in Virginia and around the country after a tea party wave a decade ago helped Republicans convert big electoral gains into favorable congressional and state legislative maps. Democrats have called those maps political gerrymanders that have helped accelerate polarization and entrench minority rule.

Many Democrats have pledged to back changes to make sure voters pick their politicians and not the other way around, and Virginia represents a key opportunity to put their money where their mouth is.

All eyes are on Virginia, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former California governor who is an anti-gerrymandering advocate, tweeted earlier this week.

Virginia Democrats are split on what redistricting reforms should look like and lawmakers are continuing to put off any final decisions as this year's legislative session winds to a close.

The U.S. Constitution requires a census once every 10 years. The census conducted this year will be used to redraw districts for the U.S. House and state House and Senate chambers next year.

Both parties have been accused of using partisan advantage to draw unfair maps and more than a dozen states, both conservative and liberal, have passed some sort of redistricting procedures designed to keep partisanship in check.

This year, voters in 35 states will elect more than 5,000 state lawmakers who will help craft the new district maps.

Virginia is ahead of the curve because it holds off-year legislative elections. Democrats won full control of the General Assembly last year for the first time in a generation and are now in charge of determining how maps are drawn next year.

Schwarzenegger and many other anti-gerrymandering advocates around the country are urging Virginia lawmakers to accept a proposed constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan commission made up of lawmakers and citizens charged with drawing maps.

The measure passed the General Assembly last year with broad bipartisan support and must pass again without any changes this year before going to voters for final approval.

Republicans said the delay in passage of the amendment is an ominous sign that Democrats aren't serious about redistricting reform.

Somebody needs to make a decision, let everybody know what their decision is, said House Minority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert. I hope it's that they follow through with their longstanding commitment.

But several black lawmakers in the state House objected to the proposed amendment last year on the grounds that it would dilute African Americans' influence in drawing maps. They still oppose it this year, and have proposed an alternative they said ensures fair redistricting next year and allows lawmakers to come up with a better constitutional amendment in future years.

Both the proposed constitutional amendment and the alternative plan would form a bipartisan commission made up of lawmakers and citizens who would present maps to the General Assembly for approval.

But a key difference is who would have the final say in approving new maps if the commission's work ended in a stalemate. The proposed constitutional amendment would give the last word to the conservative-leaning Virginia Supreme Court while the alternative plan would still give the General Assembly that power.

Proponents of the proposed amendments have advanced accompanying legislation that would ensure minority representation on the commission and limit the Supreme Court's discretion at drawing maps in the event of a stalemate. But opponents of the constitutional amendment said those measures are still inadequate and a new one is needed.

There is no way that I get to a yes vote for a fatally flawed amendment that does not equally protect voters of color," said Del. Cia Price.

Price's alternative plan has the backing of some liberal groups and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which is led by former Attorney General Eric Holder and endorsed by former President Barack Obama.

The Senate has already passed the proposed amendment this year with strong support from black senators and there are more than enough votes to pass it on the House floor. After a lengthy delay, a House committee on Thursday scheduled a hearing on the amendment Friday.

Meanwhile, the Senate has put off making a final decision on Price's alternative proposal.

The session is set to end by March 7.

The worst outcome, said some anti-gerrymandering advocates, would be if nothing passed. Terrance Carroll, the former Democratic Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, said it would hurt Democrats' image nationwide.

It would send a strong message about the commitment of the party to its own principles ... and whether the party is for power for power's sake or whether it's really a party about empowering the people that elected them, he said.

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Virginia in the Spotlight as Decision on Redistricting Looms - The New York Times

AUSTIN Texas Republicans arent devouring their own as much as they used to, but in a Tarrant County House fight and two other GOP contests in legislative districts that reach the fringes of Dallas-Fort Worth, there are big philosophical splits.

And big moneys sloshing.

The past months expenditures in a Hurst-Euless-Bedford Republican House primary surpassed a quarter-million dollars. That was small potatoes, though, according to campaign finance reports published Tuesday on the Texas Ethics Commissions website.

In a GOP fight for the open House seat in District 60, which stretches from Granbury nearly to Abilene, the two biggest spenders including the son-in-law of fracking billionaire Farris Wilks burnt more than a half-million dollars between Jan. 24 and Sunday.

Make it nearly $850,000 for the three Republican contenders in District 59, which rambles from Glen Rose to Brady in West Texas.

Led by self-funded, staunchly conservative Stephenville businessman Cody Johnson, the two other primary candidates are center-right incumbent GOP Rep. J.D. Sheffield of Gatesville and Stephenville lawyer Shelby Slawson.

For GOP, a mostly calm cycle

With second-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott playing a larger role, and GOP leaders still chastened by the Democrats dozen-seat gain in the House in 2018, the 2020 primary lacks the all-out brawling that characterized the height of Republican rule in Austin.

Its gone out of vogue to challenge Republicans in primaries in a significant way, said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus. That said, there are points here where youve got some significant money from the conservative interests.

Most of the decisive action in this years crucial battle for the Texas House wont come until the fall. The 2020 election will determine whether Republicans get to maximize their gains from next years redrawing of political maps for the third consecutive decade.

Seizure of a House majority by Democrats especially would impair a GOP bid to wring more Republican seats in the U.S. House out of the states next congressional map. That has national implications, and partisan groups from outside Texas are prepping for the November contests in Texas.

In the run-up to Tuesdays primary, Gov. Greg Abbott also is flexing his political muscles in House races. He and some long-standing, GOP-leaning political action committees intervened after Speaker Dennis Bonnen became ensnared in a scandal last year that forced him to announce he will leave the chamber after 14 terms.

This years Republican House primaries have been relatively quiet, especially after tea party-style insurgents spent nearly a decade trying to topple moderate conservative Joe Straus, the former speaker of the House. He stepped down after the 2018 elections.

Freedom Caucus toeholds

Two open-seat GOP contests, though, are spirited, high-dollar affairs. One is for outgoing, staunchly conservative Bedford Rep. Jonathan Sticklands seat in District 92; the other is a battle to replace retiring Granbury Rep. Mike Lang in District 60.

Jeff Cason, who is Sticklands choice to succeed him, spent $120,000, while former Bedford Mayor Jim Griffin spent $113,000. Associated Republicans of Texas, which in recent cycles often has not flinched from backing incumbents under fire from the tea party, gave Griffin nearly $115,000 $90,000 in TV ads and mail pieces, and $25,000 in cash. Taylor Gillig of Arlington, the third Republican in the race, spent about $10,000 in the period.

In the race to succeed Lang who was, like Stickland, a charter member of the Texas Freedom Caucus that strongly criticized Straus for being too moderate Cisco oilman Wilks gave $150,000 to Jon Francis, his son-in-law. Francis is the favorite of the party-purifying group Empower Texans, which says Republican centrists have sold out true conservatives.

In the period, Francis spent more than $372,000, while Graford veterinarian Glenn Rogers spent almost $158,000. Former Gov. Rick Perry is supporting Rogers. Two other GOP hopefuls, Kellye SoRelle and Christopher Perricone, are running shoestring campaigns.

Trying to topple an incumbent

Even bigger sums are being poured into staunch conservatives latest challenge to Sheffield, who was a Straus ally and represents District 59. Over the period, Sheffield raised about $200,000 and spent nearly a quarter-million.

That paled against the tide of money unleashed by Johnson, his biggest-spending opponent. Owner of a country music venue, Johnson has put more than $1.1 million into his campaign. Between Jan. 24 and Sunday, he spent $501,000. Slawson, the third Republican in the race, emptied her coffers, shelling out $110,000.

The 92% recipient

Tuesdays money reports showed that in District 106 in Denton County, conservative activist and donor Darlene Pendery of Flower Mound is largely bankrolling freshman Frisco GOP Rep. Jared Pattersons challenger Harold J. Trombley.

Pendery has given Trombley $127,500 or 92% of the more than $138,000 hes raised throughout his campaign.

Patterson, whos raised more than $350,000 for his reelection, outspent Trombley during the latest period, $109,000 to $73,000. Patterson is also flusher, with almost $153,000 of cash as of Sunday, compared with Trombleys balance of about $20,500.

Abbott steps in

After the scandal over a secretly recorded Capitol conversation with an Empower Texans leader brought down Bonnen, Abbott has sought to defend House members of his party, a role the chambers speakers usually play, according to Rottinghaus.

Greg Abbott has circled the wagons and has made it known he will be the one wholl do the culling in these primaries, he said. He is the pack leader, and the message is, everyone else can step aside.

During the reporting period, Abbott shelled out about $250,000 to help 10 Republican House candidates in contested primaries, mostly for digital ads.

Patterson received $32,000 of help from the governor. Retired Navy fighter pilot Jake Ellzey of Midlothian, whos in a three-way GOP race for the Ellis County-Henderson County seat of retiring Waxahachie Rep. John Wray, got nearly $43,000.

And Lewisville school board member Kronda Thimesch, Abbott's favorite in a two-way primary for the right to try to unseat Carrollton Democratic Rep. Michelle Beckley, received almost $20,000 from Abbott. Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board president Nancy Cline is the other Republican contending in Denton Countys District 65.

In a 15-second ad Abbott began running on Facebook on Feb. 18, the GOP governor sits beside Thimesch and says hes proud to endorse her.

Generally, though not in every instance, tracking Abbotts efforts was Associated Republicans of Texas, the group founded by the late Sen. John Tower more than 40 years ago. It gave GOP House hopefuls almost $225,000 in the period. Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a group that successfully undercut trial lawyers political clout, gave House hopefuls of both parties just over $322,000.

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Millions being spent in remaining Texas House GOP primary battles between tea partiers and moderates - The Dallas Morning News