New Tea-themed Purchases

Recently, another blogger shared photos of Cracker Barrel's gift shop.  She was actually showing photos of  lemon items which are so popular right now both in clothing and kitchen accessories, but my eyes spyed a top with teacups off in the distance.  So while I was out running errands yesterday I stopped by a nearby Cracker Barrel to see if they had the top.  Yes, they did, and one came home with me!

It looks gray in the photo, but it's actually dark blue.  It was reasonably priced at $24.99 and will be perfect for summer.  If you're interested and don't have a Cracker Barrel nearby, you might be able to find it at their website.  It's called Stacking Teacups.

Another item I saw while looking at photos in a Facebook group, was a teapot warmer to match my Polish Pottery teapot.  I didn't see it at the time I purchased my teapot and this vendor, Blue Rose Polish Pottery, may be a different pottery than the one my teapot came from.  I immediately ordered it and it arrived within three days at no additional cost.  

Now I'm thinking I want to order three more teacups and luncheon plates so I'll have service for four.  They have a 25% off sale going on right now thru April.  I also saw a long-handled candle holder to slide inside the teapot warmer which I plan to order.  It'll be so convenient for removing candles and will prevent wax spills inside the warmer.

What new purchases have you made lately?

A Family Dinner

Yesterday my first cousin invited my hubby and me to dinner at her home.  It was a delicious meal, lovely evening of fellowship, and her tablescape was beautiful. 

She gave a nod to her mom [who passed away Oct. 2020] by using Franciscan Desert Rose dishes [a pattern her mother gifted her].  She placed the dishes in a beautiful Spring/Easter tablescape.

A bag of milk chocolate candy eggs and a box of Harry & David Jordan Almonds were at each place setting for us to take home.  Yum!

I loved the flowerpot placecard holders that she got at Michael's.  I think I see a trip to Michael's on the horizon!

She served Baked Mostaccioli, Meatballs, Tossed Salad, and rolls for dinner [and sent the leftovers home with me!].  Dessert was delicious Apple Pie with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. I volunteered to bring the tea and make it.  I took my Breville electric kettle and Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea.  Cindy like it so much I ordered a tin for her today and had it shipped to her home. Because I wanted to sleep last night, I made a Hisbiscus herbal tea for myself.  I drink very little black tea these days, opting for green tea during the day.

~ My hubby and Cindy's husband, Victor ~

~ Tammy [Cindy's sister] and husband, Jody ~

L-R:  Tammy, Cindy and Me.  I'm the oldest and am honored that they think of me more as a sibling than cousin.

Cindy sent me home with a Lenox teacup ornament that was among her mother's things.

Thanks for a wonderful evening, Cindy and Victor!

And the Winner Is...

The winner of my 2,000th post giveaway is...

Connie Armstrong

If you will e-mail me your address, Connie, I'll get your stationery basket mailed to you first thing Monday morning.

Thank you to everyone who entered and left kind comments about my blog.  I'm looking forward to writing many more posts.

Happy April 1st

From my window I saw light snow flurries today, and that's no joke!  It was 35 degrees when my hubby and I went out for breakfast this morning, and it's 37 degrees now.  I took the photos below last Sunday [just five days ago] on our way to church.  It sure isn't feeling like spring right now, but it's not unusual weather for Michigan.  

The May/June issue of Tea Time magazine arrived in today's mail.  I'm looking forward to sitting down with it to see ideas and recipes for warmer weather, and I love all the beautiful pictures.  

I never use my blog for political purposes so I'm stating in advance that what you're about to read is not politically motivated. Based on a recent conversation, I'd like to share a means of hope and encouragement during the troubling times in which we're living. 

When my friends were here for lunch on March 22nd, one of the ladies commented how scary it is that one man - Vladimir Putin - can bring so much evil destruction and pain to so many innocent people and get away with it. Another friend replied that people are consumed by an ongoing cycle of fear. As I listened to the conversation, I was grateful for inner peace knowing God is sovereign and in control of ALL things.  He's well aware of everything that's happening. It's all been prophesied and recorded in the Bible.   For committed believers, we need not fear.  

If Covid, violence and crime [mass shootings], war, unusual weather occurrances, or whatever, have you consumed with unending fear, Jesus said in Luke 21:28 "When all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up!  For your salvation is near."  He has a plan and signs point to His imminent return when sin and earthly strife will cease.  

Here's two Biblically based books I've been reading that will bring peace, solace and clarity. And the best book of all is the Bible - our guide for every situation in life.

Tomorrow is a work day.  April 16th is our Easter Bunny tea, so I decorated a glass to show my boss tomorrow for serving beverages to children [instead of adult teacups].  Hope he approves. It'll make more work for me, but it's all about the details.

Have a great weekend!  The giveaway winner will be announced tomorrow.  If you haven't left a comment yet there's still time to enter.

2,000th Post Giveaway

I've finally arrived at my 2,000th posts.  When I began blogging in 2012 I didn't realize I'd still be blogging 10 years later, and I definitely didn't think about a milestone of 2,000 posts.

It often seems like blogging has run its course in today's busy society with newer and quicker  communication platforms replacing it.  Like several other blogging friends, I've been tempted to stop, but it's become a journal of sorts and an invaluable reference resource while working on Shutterfly albums, etc.  I've referred back to it many times.

I think I have a couple of followers who have been with me from the beginning and one in particular has always been so faithful leaving a comment [yes, that's you, Joy!].  

I have met many wonderful people through my blog, and that is another good reason to keep writing.  So if you've been with me a long time or a little while, you have my heartfelt gratitude. Your support is greatly appreciated.

As I approached this 2,000th post I began thinking about a meaningful giveaway that would be connected to my blog, and I came up with the idea of a writing or stationery basket.

So here's what's in the basket...  A Hallmark desk set [tablet, pen, and notecards]

A magnetic refrigerator notepad and a teapot rubber stamp and ink pad.  Back in the day, craft stores had an abundance of tea-themed stamps, but the selection today is almost nil, so I went online and ordered one from an Etsy vendor.

And lastly, I went through all my posts and selected a few pictures to have made into blank notecards.  The basket will contain 8 notecards and envelopes.

To enter the giveaway leave a comment sometime between now and Friday, April 1st [no joke!]  ;-)  Names will be put in a basket and I'll draw a winner on Saturday and post it on my blog when I get home from work.  Regrettably, due to the high cost of postage this giveaway is limited to US residents only.  Good luck!

Lunch at Edsel & Eleanor Ford House

The last time I was at Edsel & Eleanor Ford House was in 2018 when they were building a new Visitor Center.  It opened in May 2021, but I'm just now getting around to going for a visit.  My girlfriend, Lori, picked me up yesterday [Thursday] at 11:00 a.m. and we traveled the 11 miles to the destination.  

It's been wet, dreary weather in southeastern Michigan the past few days, but the rain and overcast skies didn't dampen our spirits.

Beautiful new Visitor Center - much larger than the old one.

Lobby with Edsel & Eleanor's portraits above the fire place.

Entrance to the new Continental Restaurant.  The name of the former restaurant was Cotswold Cafe, in keeping with the architecture of the mansion.  Guess they decided to go with an automotive name this time since it was Edsel's vision for the Lincoln Continental. 

Interior of restaurant.  When we arrived there were hardly any guests dining, but by the time we left almost every table was filled.

We both ordered the Maurice Salad with a Popover and Cinnamon Butter.  Their tea source is Tea Forte and I ordered Herbal Citrus Mint.  I had just had a Maurice Salad the day before, but I wanted to see how their's was prepared.  It's not surprising a Maurice Salad is on their menu because Eleanor Ford was the niece of J.L. Hudson, founder of the iconic department store, and the salad was the store's signature dish.  It was a bit on the sparse side - almost like Macy's Lakeshore Grill's half salad, but it was good.

~ My girlfriend, Lori ~

We had a nice time getting caught up with each other's news.  We browsed the gift shop and then headed for home.

I don't have any details yet, but there will be a tea celebrating Eleanor's 126th birthday on June 5th [her actual b-day is June 6th].  Details will be on the website the first part of April. That's a Sunday, so I hope I can attend.

A Black and Gold Tablescape

Yesterday [Tuesday] I had four lovely ladies over for a tea luncheon.  It was the first time we had all been together since the COVID pandemic prevented gatherings.

With my recent blog post about black teacups in mind, and two of those teacups were gifted to me by two of the ladies who were coming, I decided to go with a black and gold tablescape. Those colors were a first for me, but I was quite pleased with the dramatic and elegant look.

I really wanted to fold the napkins into bows, but the night before when I sat down to work on them, I just couldn't get the hang of it - even though the tutorial said it was very easy! When I finally got one made, the teapot on the napkin ring wasn't in the upright position and I was too tired and frustrated to continue.  I ended up just putting the napkins through the rings the same old ordinary, uncreative way.  I'll practice for next time!

Louise sat by the teacup she gave me, and Barb by the teacup from her.  Louise told me afterwards that her teacup sat in her china cabinet ever since her grandmother passed away in 1988, but she had never had tea in it.  She was grateful for the opportunity to drink from it in honor of her grandmother.  As for Barb, she didn't remember giving me the teacup, but said she really liked it and I was lucky she gave it away!  ;-)

Since these were ladies who all had fond memories of Hudson's Department Store and the famous Canadian Cheese Soup and Maurice Salad served in their restaurants, I made those items my menu.  The recipes were in The Marshall Field's Cookbook that devoted a section to Hudson's.

Hudson's used to serve popovers with their soup and salad, but since I didn't have a popover pan I went with another item on their menu - blueberry muffins.

We were so busy chatting and enjoying each other's company that I forgot to take a picture of the soup, but Linda took a picture of the salad and sent it to me.  I served two black teas from The Tea Room in Savannah throughout our meal - Emperor's Bride and Asher's Georgia Peach.

Dessert was Hot Fudge Ice Cream Puffs - also a Hudson's specialty.  I have made the cream puff pastry from Julia Child's cookbook several times with success, but for whatever reason... like the napkin bows... the recipe met with resistance this time.  I thoroughly read the recipe before starting, and accurately measured, but the pastry paste wasn't stiff enough.  So I pitched it and started over and got the same results!  I decided to bake them anyway to see what would happen.  With 'creamy' paste instead of stiff paste, they spread out on the baking sheet like a small pancake, but did manage to raise a little.  After baking, I cut a slit in the side so the insides could dry out a bit, then removed the excess egg-like mixture.  I sampled one and they tasted like a cream puff so I decided to use them, and like Julia Child always advised, I made no explanations or apologies!  ;-)  My guests must have enjoyed them because they all ate the whole thing, but what went wrong with the pre-baking pastry paste will definitely be a question for pastry chef, Eric, at The Whitney the next time I see him.

It was such an enjoyable afternoon.  It was Linda's birthday and we all had an opportunity to reflect on the gift of friendship.  I made a chocolate mound cake for Linda, and was glad she got to take it home to enjoy with her family in its entirety, rather than part of it being served as 'Plan B' at our luncheon.

Back row L-R:  Me, Louise and Barb

Seated:  Linda and Joanie

I requested no hostess gift because the luncheon was my gift to them, but Linda brought a 1,000-piece teacup jigsaw puzzle.  Can you believe I have never put together a jigsaw puzzle before? Jerry and I decided it would be a fun project to work on together.