Tea-themed birthday gifts

It dawned on me that I never shared the sweet tea-themed gifts I received from friends for my birthday last month, so I thought today would be a good time to do so. First, have you ever heard of Origami Owl? I knew it was some sort of custom jewelry line, but I've never actually owned a piece of it. To my delight, my friend Kathy surprised me with this great Origami Owl bracelet!

Apparently you can personalize these pieces with individual charms, and I absolutely adore the ones Kathy assembled for me in the pink rhinestone center. The teapot is an obvious choice since we have shared many happy teatimes together. The emerald is my birthstone. The cross represents our shared Christian faith. The Eiffel Tower represents a shared love of travel, and while Kathy had already visited the Eiffel Tower, she knew I would just be getting back from there when the gift arrived. The fifth charm is partially hidden, but I think you can just make out the edges of a sewing machine. Kathy and I both love to sew and once had a very memorable road trip where we power-shopped fabric stores in Georgia and South Carolina. I love the bracelet, and I really, really love all the thought that went into it!

And it is so fitting that one of my handful of gardener friends, Sandra, gave me this cute denim gardening apron with a teacup on it.

I've never seen a garden apron with anything "tea" on it before!

She also gave me a lovely new teapot pin for my collection -- I love the tray that comes with this one!

And last but not least, my friend Susan gave me this cute teacup plaque bearing the phrase, "A friend loves at all times." (And especially at birthdays!)