Pumpkins, pumpkins, who's got pumpkins?

I will be hosting a tea later next week, so I headed to T. J. Maxx this weekend in search of some of those pretty cream-colored pumpkins with floral designs on them. They were all the rage last year, but alas, I didn't find a single one at T. J. So I headed next door to Michaels, and they didn't have any either, but they did have this cute pumpkin-shaped glass mug on sale for 60 percent off. It seems so fitting for my pumpkin spice tea!

Isn't it funny that it's just the middle of September and we've already reached the 60-percent-off phase with the Heirloom Harvest collection at Michaels? With my senior discount, I got both the mug ($5.40) and a cute pumpkin-shaped glass container ($3.60) for under $10, so yippee!

That purple and lime-green Halloween décor isn't anything I can ever imagine using for teatime,  but a glass pumpkin about the size of a sugar bowl? Yes, thank you very much, and I will use it for whipped cream or honey or sugar cubes or something at teatime. Since these are already marked down so much, I wanted to go ahead and mention them now in case you're interested, because you know the Christmas décor will be going up any minute now!

Adagio's Honeybush Pumpkin Chai Tea

Yesterday, I sampled another of the teas that Adagio recently sent me, this Honeybush Pumpkin Chai. These naturally sweet blends always seem to appeal to me during the fall, and this pumpkin-flavored chai definitely hit the spot. In fact, I had picked up some mini pumpkin spice cupcakes at the grocery store, and with this tea, it was just the fall-flavored treat I had been hankering for.

I love the way the loose tea looks, and the smell was delightfully rich. This blend contains honeybush, cinnamon bark, cardamom, ginger root, cocoa nibs, and safflower.

Using an Adagio ceramic mug I already owned, I was grateful for its fine mesh infusing basket, which is perfect for infusing teas with very small particles like those you often see with these chai blends. I so enjoyed sampling another sweet and spicy taste of fall courtesy of Adagio, and you can find this tea and other fall blends here.

The scent of a cozy fall

As I write this, it's a chilly morning here in Georgia, and I'm so looking forward to enjoying sweater weather, the fluffy warm blankets I pull out around this time each year, and lots of new fall flavors of tea as I type away at my computer or read a book. This little vignette perfectly captures my ideal fall scene.

And it's a Wallflowers Fragrance Plug from Bath and Body Works! Have you ever? And with a teacup on the armchair?

I saw this in a B&BW email, I believe, and decided to look for it the next time I was by our local store. It's $19.95 for the wallflower and $7.95 for the refill. Although you can find just about any scent imaginable, I was quite smitten by the thought of scenting my downstairs bath with pumpkin chai, and the fragrance is delightful. Bring on the fall!

New dishes from Daddy!

So the other Saturday night, I was going to visit my sister in Tallapoosa, and when I called Daddy to see if he would be home, too, since he lives next door to her, he said no, he already had plans that evening, but he’d found “some old dishes” he thought I might like and for me to run by and take a look. He said if I wanted them, they could be my Christmas present, and if not, he could "probably find somewhere to get rid of them." Naturally, I was intrigued, and I am now the happy owner of fifteen place settings of Warwick Old Abbey china!

Last week, I was super busy finishing my latest book, which had to be to my editor by that Thursday, so I didn’t even have time to unwrap everything, which was in four banker’s boxes. I waited until my little neighbors came over one day and got them to help me with the unwrapping, and they were great!

How funny that there is fifteen of everything. Did someone drop the entire sixteenth place setting (because you just know there were sixteen to begin with)? And while I have plenty of sets of four plates/cups/saucers for teatime visitors, I have never actually had dinnertime place settings for more than that. I have eighteen turkey plates for Thanksgiving, but if you’re not coming for Thanksgiving or tea, I could only host a small group—until now! I will be hosting a tea for six later this month, and I plan to use as much of this lovely stuff as possible.

I wonder if perhaps someone received these dishes as a wedding gift and never used them. There are no chips, cracks, or crazing, and the gold accents are so perfect that I just don’t think these pieces were ever used. That is going to change. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Daddy said he was at an antique mall where the booth was going out of business, so everything was half off, and he thought I might like these. He was right! (He and my mother used to be antique dealers, so I think he still has a good eye. He's eighty-six and just bought himself a new antique bedroom suite, which is lovely!)

I have: dinner plates, salad plates, bread-and-butter plates, berry bowls, soup bowls, cups and saucers, a creamer and sugar, two oval trays, three oval serving bowls, and eleven butter pats. (Upon closer inspection, I decided the butter pats aren't actually a part of of the original set because the roses aren't the same pale pink and they've got more of an etched design, but they're awfully close, so these are still a treat to have.) So, do fifteen of you want to come to dinner and/or teatime sometime soon? I’m ready!

Pumpkin Spice Tea from Adagio Teas

Yes, yes, I know it's still early September, but Adagio Teas sent along some new Pumpkin Spice goodies to try, and I waited as long as I could to tear open the bag. Actually, I didn't tear open the bag. My (almost) seven-year-old neighbor did when he and his sister came to tea yesterday and I asked them if they'd like to try this tea! This Pumpkin Spice blend contains black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, natural pumpkin spice flavor, cardamom, and marigold flowers.

I think you can spot the marigold flowers! This tea got a thumbs-up from all three of us, and I loved everything about it, from the wonderful scent to the lovely natural sweetness from the tea.

Adagio also sent along some of their Pumpkin Spice Raw Honey, and a tiny spoonful of that made that tea even richer and creamier. I'm greatly enjoying these new "tastes of fall," and if you're interested, too, visit them here to find these and other seasonal flavors.

E. Frances Paper's "Spot of Tea" Little Notes

Do you all like stationery? I *love* pretty stationery, and over the years, I've gone through a lot of it. As a writer, I'm drawn to paper anyway, and sometimes, it's important to have just the right thing on hand. I have plenty of notecards, and of course I love to make my own tea-themed cards when writing someone who is in my "tea circle," but occasionally, I need a different kind of card, and so I want to introduce you to "Little Notes."

I had recently seen an online ad for these blank cards, which are the size of a business card, and thought about ordering but did not. Then, just days later, I was at a crafting event and met a woman who needed my contact info, and that time, I gave her a business card, but the matter really had nothing to do with the fact that I'm a writer and editor, which is what my business card says. "If only I'd ordered those little blank cards," I thought.

Yesterday, I was shopping in nearby Pine Mountain, and there they were, the very Little Notes I'd wished I had purchased! This time, it was a no-brainer, and I came home with a package of 85 Little Notes and 20 of the cute little envelopes as well. I hadn't realized there was a design on the back of the card, too, and I'm greatly looking forward to using these as my new contact cards! There are lots of other designs as well, and you can see them all here.

Happy Labor Day, Friends!

 

A shout-out to Nancy Reppert of Sweet Remembrances!

I told you about some of the recipes I love in the new issue of Tea Time magazine, but what I didn't yet mention is that my friend Nancy Reppert is featured in this lovely piece about the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association!

Nancy and I met through tea blogging, and I've had the pleasure of taking tea with her on several lovely and memorable occasions. I haven't yet made it to Pennsylvania, but when I do, her Sweet Remembrances Tea Room in Mechanicsburg will be one of my first stops, and her sister Susanna's herb shop will be my next stop. #bucketlist

Congratulations, Nancy! It's fun to know a tea celebrity!

A Tea Time taste of fall

You know how I said the other day that I couldn't wait for the fall magazines to appear on the newsstand? Well, forget the newsstand. Turns out, the first taste of fall landed in my mailbox the other day, and it was the September/October 2025 issue of Tea Time magazine, and I couldn't be happier! Doesn't that Honeynut & Masala Chai Bundt Cake on the cover get you in the mood to bake?

Inside, there are so many yummy-sounding recipes that I cannot wait to try. I’m planning to host several tea parties for small groups of friends this fall, and I’m going to need some gluten-free recipes, so those gluten-free treats are especially appreciated. In this spread, the Fig Crumb Bars and Mini Pumpkin Cakes aren’t gluten-free, but the Brown Sugar-Cashew Fudge is, so … yay!

And are any of you in a book club? I’m not, but doesn’t this Bookish Teatime in the library sound like an elegant idea? As usual, there are tempting treats galore in this magazine, but the first fall issue each year is always a favorite, and this one is no exception!

Love Shack Fancy Stanley Tumbler: A Review

Are you familiar with the Love Shack Fancy brand? I first heard of it a couple of years ago, and I would love to visit one of the LSF stores, but alas, they haven’t come to Georgia yet. Still, I see their gorgeous wares online every now and then, particularly their “collaborations” with companies like Stanley. I never got on the Stanley bandwagon when those huge tumblers first became all the rage, but when I saw the Love Shack Fancy Stanley tumbler, I wanted it. Alas, the tumblers were sold out by then, re-selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars each! If I’m going to spend hundreds of dollars on something to serve food or drink in, it’s going to involve place settings, fine china, and cups and saucers, if you get my drift.

So when I read that another Love Shack Fancy “collaboration” with Stanley was coming up on August 19, I was ready for it. I was afraid the tumblers would sell out before I could tap “add to cart,” but to my surprise, they did not. My beloved Lilly Pulitzer tumbler I bought last spring was still serving me well, but the lid is hard to remove, and part of the plastic on the inside of the lid broke off one day. I can (and do) still use it, but I wish they’d made the lid sturdier. Also, of all things, I have small hands (I wear a size 4-1/2 ring and a 6-1/2-inch bracelet), and that 30-ounce tumbler has been bulky to hold with one hand. So I ordered the Stanley mug in a 20-ounce size, thinking that will also be a better size for all the hot tea I’ll be sipping this fall.

I was so excited when the box arrived on Friday, and I was not expecting such beautiful packaging, including a bag for the tumbler. Lovely!

The tumbler itself is as rosy and girly as I’d hoped it would be. At $40, it’s something of a splurge, and I was delighted to discover that the tumbler has a lifetime warranty—which I hope I don’t need.

The pink plastic straw has a bow-shaped seal, so fitting since Love Shack Fancy has lots of bows in its feminine, vintage-inspired offerings.

When I rinsed out the tumbler then reassembled it, I was delighted that the top twists on instead of popping in and out. Much easier to use (and clean). The first thing I sipped? Ice water flavored with a Mint and Rose Blossom tea bag from Luzianne just because that seemed rather appropriate! I’m so pleased with this new tumbler, and while I got it because of the LSF graphics, I’m impressed with the “Stanley” design as well. Are you a Stanley fan? (Or a Love Shack Fancy fan?)

Giveaway winner

 The giveaway winner is … Nancy in Northeast Iowa! Congrats!

"Drink My Morning Tea" as sung by "Bowlegs" in 1933

Boy, do I have some unique history to share today! You know how I'm always prowling the Library of Congress website for teatime images? I came across a new one this week, and I was quite puzzled by it at first. If you're in the vicinity of my age (61, to my utter amazement), you may be old enough to remember that pre-Google, there was this thing called "the card catalog" at the library, and that was where we used to look up all kinds of info. This card, with its little punch hole at the bottom, sure looks like something that was in a card catalog at one time. So "Drink my morning tea" (I noted that not all the words were capped here) was apparently sung by one "Bowlegs" at the state penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi, in August 1933. At that point, I wasn't sure who John A. Lomax was, but I was intrigued that this was a Works Progress Administration (WAP) Project.

Not having fast access to the card catalog, I turned to Google to see if I could learn more about Bowlegs, and that led me to a page about band leader Gene "Bowlegs" Miller, but that's not our tea-drinking Bowlegs, because Miller wasn't even born until 1933.

I wonder what Bowlegs, an African American man, did to end up at the state penitentiary and, considering the era, whether he was even guilty of it. Maybe he was, and maybe he wasn't. But I did learn that Lomax was the "recordist" who recorded Bowlegs singing in a genre known as "holler." You can click here to listen to this catchy one-minute-long recording yourself. Along with all the questions I have about Bowlegs, I'm also interested that he sang about tea yet also mentions coffee, which I would have assumed was the more common morning beverage back then. Obviously, I have more research to do, as the discovery of these recordings was like unearthing buried treasure!

A little bird told me …

The other day, it occurred to me that I’d never introduced my young neighbor friends to the fun of using a lemon bird to flavor their tea with fresh lemon juice. I couldn’t find my trusty old stainless steel model, so of course I headed to Amazon. And to my surprise, we now have acrylic models, so I had to order some!

This set of two arrived quickly, and they were just as easy to use as the old models. (The ones I ordered are here.) My little friends haven’t been over for tea yet this week, but next time they visit, I’ll be whipping these out to see what they think.

Meanwhile, look what turned up in the junk drawer!

A teatime giveaway!

It occurred to me that I haven't done a giveaway in a while, so on Saturday, I headed to my friend Nancy's shop in Senoia and picked up a few goodies that made me think of fall!

First, isn't this tea towel delightful? I love the saying, and I think most of us here would agree.

It comes with a cute little teapot cookie cutter too.

And since the tea towel itself is cranberry-colored, I decided this M2 Luxury Tea in the cranberry flavor would be a good one to go with this gift. So if you'd like to be entered to win, just leave an "Enter me" comment to this post (or on Facebook) by Friday, August 22, at 7 a.m. EST, making sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner, and you'll be entered to win! (US residents only, please.)

Also, I thought you might enjoy seeing a picture of this charming shop. Do you notice anything in that display out front?

I sure did!

How to pick a bouquet of roses

Yesterday, I was at a breakfast meeting along with an antique-store-vendor friend when I told her, “Yes, I agree that our thrift stores around here are crappy.” And I kid you not, one hour later, I was killing time at Goodwill, the only store I found open while I was waiting on Barnes & Noble to open, and ended up buying four gorgeous vintage plates with roses on them, grand total $5.98!

This single pink-trimmed plate first caught my eye and was just $2.99.

This stack o’ plates was also $2.99. I absolutely hate when they tape these together and wish they’d stop it. A) The result is a mystery stack, and I had no idea whether I was getting a gilded plate that said “Happy 50th Anniversary” or a commemorative plate from who knows where. B) The tape can lift the gold from the plate. (Goodwill, are you listening?) But I figured the plate on top was worth the $2.99, so anything else was gravy.

And when I got home, I discovered I liked the gravy!

Aren’t these roses pretty?

And these?

The two plates on the bottom of the stack had old, old sticky spots on them—probably from price stickers of yesteryear—but rubbing a little baking soda on the spots quickly wiped that away, so that’s a neat tip to use with a teacup or plate or anything that has sticky residue on it. (And baking soda is much less abrasive than scouring powder.) And that’s how I picked a bouquet of roses yesterday! I’m planning to copy that “plate wall” trend very soon—my only question is which room—and these are perfect additions.