Post Birthday Gifts

Don't you love receiving gift cards from your favorite stores?  My girlfriend gave me a Home Goods gift card, so I had fun roaming around the store recently looking at items to get with my card.   From the looks of the merchandise I selected [pictured below], I must have been feeling very British!  ;-)  You probably recognize the mug, because it appeared in a post earlier this week.  The tin of tea contains 40 bags of premium English Breakfast tea.  I love the large copper teapot cookie cutter, which is different from my other ones, and I'm anxious to make a batch of sugar cookies using it.

I received two Barnes & Noble gift cards and knew exactly what I wanted.  I mentioned  Pippa Middleton's book, Celebrate, in a previous post before I actually had it.

What fun I've had reading through it, and in spite of some uncomplimentary reviews on Amazon, I like the book a lot.   It's not surprising that there's a chapter on Afternoon Tea, which includes a section of Afternoon Tea Crafts using brown card stock tags and homemade vintage-looking bunting.  I will definitely be making the bunting for one of my tea parties.  It's festive and so quaint.

Pippa talks about mixing English Breakfast tea with Lapsang Souchong for a more subtle flavor, and I'm anxious to try her suggestion.  The book is full of color photographs, illustrations and recipes - including Nutella Madeleines, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Toad-in-the-Hole with Onion Gravy, and Shepherd's Pie Baked Potatoes.  Don't those sound yummy?

All four seasons are covered in the book: Autumn [Halloween, Sunday Lunches, Cozy Supper Parties];  Winter [Christmas, New Year's Eve, Robert Burns Night]; Spring [Valentine's Day, Special Breakfasts, Easter, Afternoon Tea]; and Summer [Children's Parties, Barbecues, Picnics, Camping].

If you like celebrations, you will like this book.

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I'm joining Antiques and Teacups today for "Thursday Tea Things and Talk"

and

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for "Open House"