A New China Teapot Trivet

Last week when I stopped at my favorite antique store [LaBelle's] after my hair appointment, I spotted a hand painted china teapot trivet.   It was only $6, so I couldn't pass it up.  I blogged about my small collection of china teapot trivets here, and now there's another one to the collection for a total of four.  

My friend, Linda, has a large collection of trivets.  She said they used to be abundant and inexpensive before everyone knew what they were. Now that they've become collectible, they're a lot harder to find.  When I was at her house last Thursday for the tea luncheon, she got one of her trivets to show the ladies who didn't know what they were.  Since her trivet fits into Pantone's 2014 color palette of Radiant Orchid, I asked if I could photograph it, and she graciously granted permission.  Isn't it beautiful?

Do you have a teapot trivet collection?  They not only fulfill their useful purpose for setting a hot teapot on to protect the table's surface, but they're a beautiful tablescape enhancement as well.

Sunday Reflection...

Isn't it interesting how time can reverse roles in life?  When my son, Steve, was a little boy I was the one who read him Bible stories, and taught him about God's love.  Steve grew up to be an ordained minister, who is my pastor.   Now he's the one who teaches me from God's Word!

His first sermon series in this new year has been about "First Fruits Living."  First Fruits is a Biblical concept of giving back to God the "first fruits" of crops/harvest [or tithes and offerings from income in modern day living], and scriptures stipulate its to be the first and best fruits, not whatever might be leftover after we've taken care of everything else on our priority list.

Steve has been challenging us to not only give back the first fruits of our income to God, but the first fruits of everything we do involving our time, talents, abilities and spiritual gifts.

January is the first month of the new year.  In the US it's known as National Thank You Month. Steve has challenged us to give God praise for who He is, and thanks for His countless blessings throughout the first month of the new year.  That's not to say we shouldn't praise and thank God the other 11 months of the year, but in January start the year off with praise and gratitude, rather than petitions and requests.

Sunday is the first day of the week.  Give it to God by attending church and worshiping Him.

Give God the first fruits of every day, by having prayer and devotions first thing.

Thank God for meals and His provisions before eating.

You get the idea!  It's my desire to maintain a pattern of "First Fruits Living" in everything I do.

Steve was invited to present a devotion to Michigan State University student athletes in a voluntary chapel service earlier this week.  Can you guess what he talked to them about? Yep!  "First Fruits Living!"  There were sixty-some athletes present, and Steve said they were so receptive.  How wonderful to see these students giving God the first fruits of their life - their youth.

"But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what He wants.  Then the other things will be yours as well."  Matthew 6:33  [Contemporary English Version]

May God bless your week!

An Upcoming Charity Tea

My friend, Linda Pudlik, is the coordinator of an upcoming Afternoon Tea with Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund, who is from Farmington Hills, MI.  The charity tea will benefit The Kirsten Haglund Foundation, which provides treatment for women struggling with eating disorders and body-image issues. 

Kirsten Haglund - Miss America 2008
[Internet Photo]

Since plans are for 300 attendees, Linda formed a committee to help with various areas of the event.  As one of the eight committee members, I attended a tea luncheon and planning meeting hosted by Linda yesterday.  

It was so lovely that I wanted you to enjoy it vicariously.  

Linda's beautiful tablescape.

Linda introduced me to something new - the lapkin - which is the outer teal and gold cloth in the photos.  The lapkin is designed to be placed on one's lap, and remain there throughout the meal. Tucked inside is the napkin, for blotting one's mouth. I turned the lapkin/napkin duo upside down in the photo below so you can see the solid teal napkin tucked inside the lapkin.   

[Committee member, Judy, and me]

Linda is a fabulous cook, and she outdid herself with this luncheon.  She served us the Butternut Squash soup, and then the salad course, main course, and dessert course were buffet style.

The salad course consisted of Tomato Aspic and Cucumbers in Sour Cream and Dill Sauce, accompanied by Savory Scones.

The main course was Lemon Chicken, Orange Glazed Carrots, Braised Red Cabbage, and Potatoes Dauphinoise.

Desserts were a Banana Berry Sundae Cake, and a Chocolate Biscuit Cake.   I only took a small sampling of the Chocolate Biscuit Cake.  It was decadent with rich dark chocolate, and English tea biscuits.  

Our tea was a delicious Thai Tea that contained pieces of lemon grass.

After the meal we went into the living room for the planning meeting.  Pictured below is Kirsten's lovely mother, Iora Haglund.  You truly meet the nicest people over tea!

Below is the publicity flier.  The charity tea will be held on May 15th at Glen Oaks Country Club in Farmington Hills, MI.  Before the tea there will be boutique vendors, as well as a silent auction.  If any local blog readers are interested in attending, tickets are $65.  Please leave a comment following this post, and I will respond with detailed information.   The cut off date for getting a ticket is May 1st or when the 300 tickets are sold.

You can be sure there'll be more posts in the future about this very lovely event.

The Giveaway Winner Is...

Sandy Clough's company motto was "Hospitality Opens Hearts," and the first person to respond with the answer was, drum roll please...

Carla Shiver

Congratulations, Carla!  If you'll send me your mailing address I'll get your giveaway prize mailed to you.

Thanks to everyone who took a few moments to search for the correct answer, and respond. I know it took a little more effort than just leaving your name, but I wanted to do something different, and I knew the search box on my blog would lead you to the answer in a short amount of time.

Special thanks to all of you for visiting my blog.  Of all the posts I've written pertaining to tea, I wanted to spotlight this motto, because hospitality opens hearts, and tea is the universal gesture of hospitality.  The two go hand-in-hand.

Now onward and upward to the next 500 posts!  ;-)

500th Post Giveaway!

My second blogging anniversary isn't for nine more days, but today marks my 500th post, so to celebrate the milestone I decided to have a giveaway for U.S. residents.

The giveaway includes Sandy Clough's book, The Art of Tea and Friendship, and a tea-for-one with matching teabag caddy pictured above.   The items have never been used.

I used to be an independent Sandy Clough tea lady, and sold her products at home parties. To win this gift simply answer this question:  

What was the motto of Sandy's company?

Hint:  The answer is found in a blog post.  The first person to respond with the correct answer will be the winner.   To add an element of surprise and suspense, I will not publish comments until tomorrow morning.  Blogger [my blog host] automatically arranges the comments in the order they are received for publishing, so the first person will be determined with accuracy. Come back tomorrow morning to see if you're the winner.  Good luck!

Radiant Orchid for 2014

This post is dedicated to my mother-in-law whose favorite color was orchid/lavender. Perhaps her name, Viola [a genus of flowering plants in the violet family], shaped her fondness for the delicate shades in the purple palette. The picture below was her engagement picture taken in 1943.  She was a tea drinker who particularly enjoyed Bigelow's Constant Comment tea.  She succumbed to cancer in 1998.

On January 8, one of the creative members of Afternoon Tea Across America [an e-group I belong to] wrote a post informing us: "Pantone, which creates palettes for the home, fashion, and graphic-arts industries, named "Radiant Orchid" as its 2014 Color of the Year, calling it a 'captivating purple that draws you in with its beguiling charm'."  A spokesperson at Pantone said Radiant Orchid is an enchanting harmony of fuchsia and purple with pink undertones.  Wedding planners are predicting it will be a popular color in weddings this year.

The member presented a challenge to the group to see how many ways the color orchid could be incorporated into a tea party - be it tablescape linens and china, flowers, decorations, food, invitations, clothing and jewelry, or anything else applicable.

The mother and daughter duo at Miss Spenser's blog belong to the e-group, and Spenser wrote a lovely post about Radiant Orchid.  Go here to read it, if you haven't done so already.

The challenge sent my mind swirling.   I don't have any orchid linens, and I don't recall  ever seeing any in stores.  Have you?  Maybe that will change this year!

I do, however, have a few china pieces in the orchid color palette that I photographed for today's post.  The hand-painted Lefton china trio below was given to me by a friend of my mother's when I was still in high school.  That was long before I had an appreciation for beautiful dishes and tea, but it survived until I was ready to enjoy it.

The teacup below is a Royal Albert, and is part of their 100 year commemorative tea cup collection I was gifted with.  The pattern is Hartington Lane, manufactured in 1990 with clusters of lilacs adorning it.  I love the fragrance of lilacs in the springtime, don't you?

When my hubby and I visited Scotland in 2001, I got the Highland China trio below.  The thistle is the floral emblem of Scotland.

The Royal Albert tea set below, is called English Chintz [from the 1940's], and is also a part of the 100 year commemorative collection.

My birth month is February, and the month's designated color is purple.  February's flower is a violet or iris, and the birthstone is Amethyst.   The only jewelry I have in the orchid color palette are two birthstone rings, pictured below.

While searching the Internet for orchid linens I came across a blog called Swede that had a gorgeous orchid tablescape posted in 2011.  The author of the blog made her tablecloth.

[Photo courtesy of Swede blog ]

There are no orchid garments in my wardrobe, so I selected someone else wearing a garment in the orchid color palette.  Isn't Kate stunningly beautiful?

[Photo courtesy of www.express.co.uk]

Lastly, orchid colored food for a tea party - a frozen yogurt butterfly...

[Photo courtesy of bentoriffic.com]

accompanied by orchid colored French Macarons.  Yum!

[Internet Photo]

I hope you've enjoyed viewing this post as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.  Thanks for the inspiration, Martha!

Can you visualize hosting a tea party in 2014 with Radiant Orchid as the theme color?

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Today I'm joining:
Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday
Artful Affirmations for Teacup Tuesday
Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for Friends Sharing Tea

Northville Historical Society

Northville is a quaint, affluent city that was  incorporated in 1955, and is known for its Victorian era architecture.  It is 32 miles west of where I live.

In mid-November the program chairlady of the Northville Historical Society contacted me about presenting my J.L. Hudson program to their members and friends on May 3, 2014. My contract arrived in Friday's mail.  The vintage J.L. Hudson box and teacup [pictured below], are ready to go! 

The Northville Historical Society established Mill Race Village in 1972, where the presentation will be held. The village is built on 12.5 acres of land donated to the City of Northville by the Ford Motor Company.  It consists of an inn, blacksmith shop, school, church, gazebo, rustic wooden bridge, and several homes with architectural styles common to the area prior to 1900.  The village is a Michigan Historic Site.

[Photo courtesy of Northville Historical Society]

Before the Hudson presentation begins, there will be a tea at Cady Inn, believed to be an early coach stop. The saltbox style building was moved to the Village in 1987 from another city location.

[Photo Courtesy of Northville Historical Society]

The tea begins at 1:00 o'clock.  Tickets are $35 for non-members and $25 for members. Further information can be obtained by calling 248-348-1845.  

[Internet photo of their Christmas Tea]

Following the tea, the Hudson presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the church.  The church was built in 1845 by a splinter group of the Presbyterian Church of Northville.  It served as a church for four years, and was then used as a school, a township hall, a Salvation Army barracks, and the Northville library for 70 years.  The historical society was formed in 1964 to save the building from demolition, and was moved to the village in 1972.

[Photo courtesy of the Northville Historical Society]

I think Mr. Hudson would be very pleased his beloved department store will be featured at a Mill Race Village event.