This and That for May

Do you get suckered into buying things on Facebook even though you've had bad experiences in the past?  I should have learned my lesson, but when I saw a cute personalized teapot tissue holder I couldn't resist.  It looked beautiful in the photo as though it was made with some kind of  leather-like material.  

It took forever to arrive [shipped from China] and the material resembles terrycloth fabric.  A small square box of tissues won't fit into the opening, but that was remedied by removing the tissues from the box.  It's not a horrible purchase [I've had worse], and it was only $31, so I will still use it on my nightstand, but such deception!  If you see 'Joymemento' ads, beware!

I recently received a text message from a teacher my middle son had in high school.  She retired years ago, but still keeps in touch with Steve.  She knew I was into tea and saw Facebook posts about the church teas I've coordinated.  She was purging her cupboards and wanted to know if I'd like to have the teacups and china plates that belonged to her deceased mother-in-law.  She said they had been taking up space in her cupboard since the 1990's and it was time to part with them.  She dropped them off at Steve's house and he delivered them to me last week.  They're lovely.

Yesterday was International Scone Day.  Did you have a scone in observance of the day?  The beloved baked good originated in Scotland in the early 16th century and in the 18th century the English refined the recipe and adoped the treat.  By the 19th century scones were a staple at Afternoon Tea and remain so today.

I had to work yesterday, and scones are always on our Afternoon Tea [or Mansion Tea as we refer to it at The Whitney] menu, but I didn't eat one.  I had a scone mix in my pantry that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas, so today after dinner I decided to bake them.  

The mix only called for the addition of 1 cup of whipping cream.   They didn't rise a lot - looked more like a puffy sugar cookie, but they were delicious and had the texture of a scone.  So here's to International Scone Day, a day late!

The plate they're on as well as the plate behind them are just two of several plates in the things  Steve's teacher gave me.

Great-granddaughter, Evie [Evelyn], turned 9 on May 23rd.  How can that be?!  Tiffany sent pictures of her opening gifts we sent.  Belle is her favorite Disney character.  They will soon be coming back to Michigan for a visit and we're all looking forward to seeing them again.  

At midnight we say goodbye to May 2026 and welcome June!

Memorial Weekend 2026

I hope you're enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day.  It's a picture perfect day in Southeastern Michigan with sunny skies and 77 degree temperature.  While summer doesn't officially begin until June 21st, Memorial Day seems to kick off the season.  

My hubby and I are enjoying a relaxing holiday at home this year.  I considered visiting my maternal grandparent's graves at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, but decided it probably wasn't a good idea since the neighborhood surrounding the cemetery isn't a safe area anymore.  My grandfather wasn't a veteran and died in 1945 before I was born, so I never knew him.  My grandmother died in 1968 and that was the last time I was at the cemetery.  It's sad when areas deteriorate over time.  Below is a picture of the cemetery at their website, and it looks lovely, but I don't know when the picture was taken.  Do you visit cemetery graves of loved ones on Memorial Day/Decoration Day and decorate them with flowers?

While I was at work Saturday, my daughter came and planted geraniums in the front porch planters for my Mother's Day gift.  She has done that for several years now.

While at Hobby Lobby recently, I purchased a festive red, white, and blue star for the front door...

And a patriotic garland for the kitchen window.  Maybe they can both stay up until the 4th of July??

No new dishware for this year's holiday even though I have a $50 HomeGoods gift card to use. I'm posting photos [below] of  tablescapes/dishware from previous holidays.  

I mentioned grilling today, but my hubby wasn't keen on the idea, so I'll use my air fryer instead for our Italian sausages [served with diced and sauteed green peppers and onions]. Are you grilling outdoors today?

These cakes [below] are from a few years back.  I didn't bake and decorate a cake this year, but we did have a pasta salad to go with our corn on the cobb and Italian sausages, and a fruit salad.

So grateful to those who gave their lives while serving in the Armed Forces to preserve the freedoms we enjoy.

Bees Are 'In'

Three posts ago I shared photos from the recent spring tea I coordinated for the ladies of my church where the theme was 'Bee All That You Can Bee'.  The tablescape color scheme was yellow and black and all the table accessories were bee themed [scroll back to see photos].  

You can find bee accessories [for table and home decor] at almost all home decor stores and online businesses.  I purchased several things for my recent tea at Hobby Lobby and Oriental Trading Co.  But the first place I encountered beautiful bee dishware was in 2024 at Stonecliff Inn on Mackinac Island.  They set their tables with Williams - Sonoma's Honeycomb Collection.

Their bee-themed collection is beautiful and extensive from china to glassware to cutlery to cookware to linens.  Go to Williams - Sonoma website and type in Honeycomb Collection and scroll through all the beautiful things.   Sadly, it's out of my price range, so I just admire it.

I ordered a bee/honeycomb teapot by Certified International from Macy's for the ladies' tea at church and that began my bee tea collection.  One thing always leads to another!

After the church tea I went online to Amazon and purchased the coordinating sugar & creamer, teacups, and luncheon plates [service for 4], all very reasonably priced.  Of course, I needed napkins [which still haven't arrived yet] napkin rings, and a table runner!  It's such a cheerful tablescape that says spring and summer.

During a quick stop at Dollar Store recently I noticed they joined the bee bandwagon.  On a display right by the front door were bee themed dinner plates, salad plates, cereal bowls, mugs, glassware and linens.

I couldn't resist getting the placemats.  At $1 each how could I go wrong?

Initially I purchased four water tumblers [pictured above] but decided I liked the shorter wine glasses better [they weren't as busy with printing only on one side], so I exchanged them. They'll be perfectly fine holding beverages other than wine.

Bee clothing and jewelry are popular too.  Belk has some beautiful Napier bee brooches, earrings, and necklaces.   A Google search of bee jewelry brings up many beautiful things.

A few years ago I put together an outfit for a bee-themed tea that I'm still waiting to wear!  ;-) It seemed too formal to wear to the ladies' church tea this year because it was outdoor/picnic oriented.   

So I wore this informal bee top instead...

Have you been stung by the bee craze yet?

Did you know May 20th was World Bee Day and the third Saturday in August [celebrated since 2009] is National Honey Bee Day?  Bees do so much for us.

2026 Mother's Day Reflections

My kids always make Mother's Day special.  After church Steve made dinner reservations at a new Italian restaurant none of us had ever been to before -  Verona's located in Cambria Hotal in Shelby Twp.  There were several buffets to choose from:  breakfast, pizza, appetizer, Italian and dessert.  The food was amazing.

Hubby and I arrived the same time as our daughter and son-in-law so a picture was taken of Lori and me.

It was a difficult day for daughter-in-law, Sharon, since it was less than a month since her mother passed away.  It wasn't planned, but there was one empty chair at our table and Steve said that was meant to be in honor of Sheena.  Sharon gave me a thoughtful box of decorated cookies from Cookies & Cupcakes by Design.  They were SO good with hot tea.

[Sharon, Me & Steve]

[Granddaughter Brooke]

[Lori, Me & Dave]

[Hubby and Me]

After we finished eating we had a group picture taken in front of the Mother's Day sign.

~ My lovely Mother's Day Cards ~

I hope you were treated special on Mother's Day.  While I received money, gift card and flowers, the best gift was my three wonderful children who made me a mother!

This week happens to be our son-in-law's birthday so on Monday I baked him a carrot cake [his favorite] and delivered it on Tuesday.  

A Quick Trip to Zeeland, MI

With the Spring Tea at church behind me, hubby and I made a fast trip to Zeeland last Tuesday to visit our youngest son and family.  Ellie is on the school's tennis team, so shortly after arriving we went to her tennis match.

We ate diner after her match, played a few rounds of UNO and then watched the Detroit Piston's basketball game on TV.

Samantha asked us to bring our power washer so they could power wash their brick patio, so that was the agenda for Wednesday. It tipped over in our car during transit and gasoline got into carburetor so it gave Jerry a challenge to get it started.  

When it finally started, Samantha was the first to begin the power washing.

Then Jeremy took over.  The job turned out to take longer than anticipated, so we left the power washer so they could finish up as their schedules permitted.

They humored me by letting me take a few photos.  

[Jerry and Jeremy]

[Landon and Jeremy]

[Samantha and Izzy]

Izzy finished up at Michigan State so she was home and we got to be with all three grandkids. While we were there Izzy gave me a tutorial on using Instagram, so I'm up and running there again.

I took two tea samples for us to taste while we were there. The musical Hamilton is being performed at the Fisher Theater so The Whitney is doing a special tea to coordinate with the performance on May 16th. Hamilton grew up in the British West Indies, so I asked our tea blender to give me something tropical that would be found in his native land.  She gave me two pineapple tea blends - one with coconut and one without.  We liked the one with coconut best.

I posted the picture below on my Facebook page and got a couple of comments that the cups were coffee cups, not teacups.  It wasn't a tea party.  The cups were simply vessels used to taste the tea.  We weren't focusing on visual aesthetics.  Thought I better explain that here.  ;-)

We left Wednesday evening to head back home because I had to work last Thursday.  Jeremy and Sam opted to stay in Zeeland this Mother's Day, so they gave me my gift before we left - a cute teapot book marker and a gift card to HomeGoods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx.   It will be useful for a couple of items I plan on shopping for.

Thursday wasn't overly busy at The Whitney, but Friday and Saturday made up for it.  105 guests on Friday and 219 guests on Saturday.  All three floors of the mansion were used as well as every room.  The majority of guests were treating moms for Mother's Day but there were a couple of bridal showers.  I took a photo of the sign used for one of the showers.

The ladies were pleased with the favors we passed out at the 'Generations Tea' on Saturday.  I ordered the cups and saucers from Hobby Lobby so it was an easy task.  I won't have to shop for any other favors now until September when we have the Autumn and Apples Tea.

Teatime photo from The Whitney's Facebook page.

When Saturday's work day was over I was glad to come home and put my feet up.  I was thankful my kids were taking me out to dinner on Sunday for Mother's Day... next post.