A visit to Botanic in Opelika

On Friday, I took a much-needed "mental health day," as I call it, to go thrifting in Opelika, Alabama, with my friend Liz. I found a wonderful vintage mirror I'd been looking for, and she found a vintage stool that was right up her alley, and when we finished, we headed to a place I'd been wanting to visit, Botanic. And there we are at the entrance to the greenhouse!

Botanic, which is owned by the woman who started Chicken Salad Chick, features several restaurants, a garden center, a lovely market shop, and more. When we stopped for lunch, we both ordered the Greek style crepe with grilled chicken (served in a cone-style stand), and it was delicious. I forgot to get a picture, but the hot jasmine tea I ordered was tasty as well!

As we ate, we both admired the plate wall nearby. These plate walls are all the rage in decorating magazines, and both Liz and I like them.

Speaking of decorating, Liz is also an interior decorator, and while we walked through the garden center, she mentioned that she thought this colorful lantana was the kind being sought by a client of hers. She asked if I would mind transporting a few plants, and of course I did not. 

They have wagons available for transporting plants, and a worker there kindly let Liz fill up the car to see how many it would hold. We ended up going home with 10 hanging baskets of lantana in my back seat!

Oh, and there were even beautiful swans in the lake there, although I forgot to go back and get a picture of them! So if you're in the Opelika area (or within driving distance) and want a nice new "ladies who lunch" spot where you can also enjoy a good cup of tea, check out Botanic!

A different kind of tea book

This is rather random for a Friday blog post, but my book-loving friend Liz spotted this unusual "tea set" at the Powell Library here in Newnan, and she snapped a photo and sent it to me. Is this not the coolest thing? And that's it. That's the post!

 

Sipping some springtime

When I went antiquing with a girlfriend back in February, I came across a vintage teacup for just six dollars that I thought would be perfect for springtime decorating. It sat on a shelf throughout Easter, but it dawned on me that I needed to actually drink out of this teacup too.

I think the yellow and purple colors as well as the green trim make this such a charming Easter/spring teacup, and the handle is interesting in that it's not a solid color, more like that sponge ware finish that was all the rage back in the eighties. (I checked photos of other pieces online, and they have this same finish on the handle.)

And it's by Royal Albert, which is always a plus. I consider this teacup six dollars well-spent!

A Garden Party Baby Shower!

On Friday night, some friends and I traveled to Macon for the CeCe Winans concert, which was as wonderful as I knew it would be, and then I was up bright and early Saturday morning to make cucumber sandwiches for my niece Amelia's baby shower! She and Korbin are having a girl, and little Ruby Jane (named in honor of my paternal grandmother, Ruby, as well as Aunt Jane) will be here in July. We love the two precious little boys in our family, but we are all very excited about the arrival of this little girl!

My sister decided to stage the garden party in the gazebo at my dad's, and she had a lovely (and tasty!) strawberry cake set up there, as well as cute cake pops made by one of Amelia's friends.

I loved how girly everything looked!

The tea station had both hot and cold teas. Rhonda pulled in some of my mom's Old Country Roses china, and it was so pretty on the tables. Mother would be thrilled!

We had mini pasta salads, a fruit tray …

Cucumber sandwiches, pimiento cheese sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, a veggie tray, and chicken salad and crackers.

My niece Madison decorated, and I loved these teapot banners that were waving in the breeze. It was a gorgeous morning, not too hot and not too cool, and we all enjoyed sitting in the outdoors as Amelia opened gifts.

Of course she received lots of cute outfits, and all the pink and ruffled things are right up my alley.

Our friend Sharon made the cutest baby diaper wreath I've ever seen. So much detail!

And this crocheted baby afghan? That was my gift!

I loved having tea parties with Amelia and her sisters Madison and Cari when they were little girls, and I am beyond excited about hosting tea parties for the next generation!

On pins and needles

Okay, fellow seamstresses. Do you know what this is? If not, you'll be on pins and needles until you find out, right?

Well, it's a vintage needle book, and I found it at an antique store a few weeks ago for just $6 and decided it needed to come home with me. Later, I saw a giant framed piece where someone had arranged their collection of vintage needle books behind glass. Clever idea, but I like to actually use my needle books.

And this one was marked "Made and Printed in West Germany," which tells me it dates from 1949 to 1990, and I'm betting it was from the fifties or sixties. Do any of you collect needle books?

Easter surprises in the mail

Are you ever astonished at the sheer number of tea vendors we have today? I am. And I was reminded of this when a new-to-me name in tea showed up in my mailbox last week: “Kittea.” My friend Nancy sent me a thoughtful Easter gift, and it included this Kittea Raspberry Oolong Tea, which very much reminded me of juicy raspberries.

Also included was this nice thick Alice in Wonderland bookmark, a leather-like design I’d not seen before.

I love the back too! Amidst all the political flyers that have already started clogging up my mailbox, this was a delightful and delicious package to find in the mail!

 

Wrap-up of this year's Easter tea wares

Before I move on from Easter, I realized I never shared my Easter table setting this year.

I had been so excited about using these Primuline teacups and bread plates that matched some dinner plates my late mother gave me. The matching dishes were a gift from a lovely woman named Rebecca, who read of my quest for them while she was looking up these dishes on the internet and gifted me with these pieces, which I had been stalking for years but never found. So thrilled that I can now set a full table with the dishes from my mom—all thanks to a kind woman I’ve never met in person!

I still love this T. J. Maxx bunny I found a few years ago and continue to use it on my table.

The tiered server with a bunny on top was a surprise from my friend Margie this year. Isn’t it adorable?

And Margie also gave me the pretty green teapot napkin rings, which I used with napkins my late mother made for me from the Welbeck chintz fabric that was once sold at Joann.

Finally, I was so happy to be able to use the jonquil silver plate pieces I found at a thrift store last fall. These are perfect for Easter and springtime decorating. I hope you all had a happy Easter, as I did, and now I’m preparing to turn to roses for my décor for the rest of April and May!

Wishing you a joyous Easter!

 

On this Good Friday, I wanted to share a favorite vintage teatime postcard and wish you all a truly joyous Easter!

Recommended springtime reading: "French Country Cottage Bloom"

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Have you all taken a gander at the prices of magazines lately? I was at a Barnes & Noble over the weekend and came across a gorgeous magazine that was packed with pretty photos, but it was $28! I stood there and thought, "Nah, I can get a book for less than that." And in fact, I recently did: French Country Cottage Bloom by Courtney Allison, a gloriously beautiful hardback, was on sale for $23 on Amazon. I loved her French Country Cottage Christmas book, and I just knew I would like this one, too, but I didn't know how much I would absolutely love it!

The author actually lives in California, but she loves the French Country aesthetic and is a great believer in using flowers in her décor. I was swooning by the time I got to these lilacs …

And these teacups among the camellias …

And these roses and dahlias in a vintage pitcher …

And more roses and dahlias! I was delighted to see all of the pitchers and glasses and teacups and plates she uses in her floral images, and I've been flipping through this book every evening, just savoring all the loveliness and deciding what I can plant that might give me a taste of this. She has a new book coming out this fall, and now I can't wait to get it as well. This Bloom one, however, may be the prettiest book I've seen in years, and I just know some of you would love it too!

An Easter shelfie

Now that I have young friends who pop by once a week or so, I'm really enjoying pulling out the decorations for each new season, which are on display in my small dining room. I haven't bought a lot of new things this Easter, but I did do a good job (I think!) of remembering where I stored everything from previous years. Some pieces can stay out in the garage after Easter, but others need to be stored inside, so I'm trying to do a better job of remembering what's where. This is the Easter shelfie for 2026, and I think I like it!

The only purchase this Easter was this little tin sign (because … teacup).

I am still just in love with the $1 vintage Avon bunny figurines that I bought when visiting yard sales with my sister on a rainy day last summer.

And then came the matching Avon figurine, a gift from my friend Margie, a piece I treasure not only because it features teatime but also because it belonged to her late mother, who, like me, was once an Avon lady!

I have three chintz teapots and used them all in the display since nothing says "springtime" quite like chintz.

And of course I will always love my vintage Easter postcards. I'm so looking forward to celebrating Easter this weekend!

Everything's coming up roses!

So I was at a HomeSense store this week to look for pink rose accessories to use on a coffee table that is temporarily located in front of my new pink sofa. My husband had an old glass coffee table he used in his “man cave,” and it was sitting out in the garage, awaiting its transfer to a local thrift store for donation. But then I decided I would clean it up and drag it inside just to get an idea of whether I really want a coffee table there. And I decided that yes, I do! I thought I wanted a white wooden coffee table, but I really like the airiness and transparency of the glass, so this will be staying until I find the (bargain!) vintage coffee table I now desire. I found one on Facebook Marketplace that was being advertised by an antique store not too far away. Alas, that gold bamboo-and-glass coffee table is $425, and I believe I can do better than that!

Meanwhile … accessories. That was the name of the game. I found a vase with pink silk roses that was just perfect, and then I innocently wandered down the dish aisle and spotted THIS! I’d never seen a handpainted cup and saucer quite like this before. A mug, yes, but a teacup and saucer, no. It was just $9.99, and I had rewards points that actually made it free.

The sticker says to hand wash it, so I will.

So technically, this wasn’t a new teacup but simply new living room décor!