A gift from Boone Tavern of Berea College!

Some of you may remember that in March, I had the pleasure of meeting up with some tea blogger friends for an event organized by my friend Linda (Friendship Tea) at the Historic Boone Tavern Hotel of Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. I wouldn't think of it again until just this week, but before we left the manager asked us for our addresses and said he had something to send us. Now it's not like me to forget a gift is headed my way, but I guess I came home with so many great memories (and treasures!) from that delightful trip, I didn't give it another thought until these lovely treats appeared in my mailbox this week.

Boone Tavern has very wisely gotten its fellow Kentuckians, the good people of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, to create its own tea blend! According to the information on the tin, "Boone Tavern Blend is a unique balance of exceptional single-estate teas from the finest gardens in India and Sri Lanka. It makes the perfect accompaniment for your afternoon or morning tea times."

When I opened the tin and sniffed the tea leaves, I got that nice woodsy scent I associate with the freshest and best teas. When I steeped a cup, I was pleased to find a brisk (but not too brisk) blend, a classic worthy of being associated with the classy Boone Tavern.

And of course I was also pleased to receive a handcrafted pottery mug from the craftsmen at Berea College. I do like to mix up my tea sipping vessels sometimes, swapping out a fine bone china teacup with a unique mug, and this one just happens to feature a band of that pretty blue-green color I'm so fond of. It was such a treat to be remembered by Boone Tavern in this way, on top of a fun trip that still provides so many great memories!

Daphne's Diary magazine No. 3, 2014

Have any of you read Daphne's Diary magazine yet? I read my first copy earlier this year when the English-language version started showing up here in the U.S., and now I'm a full-fledged fan! Alas, it's hard to *find* the magazine, and though I have the first three English issues (I believe it originated in the Netherlands several years ago), I missed out on one. I couldn't even find that English edition in England when I was there! So, I was positively giddy when I found this one lone copy of a new Daphne's Diary in my local Barnes and Noble the other day.

There are so many fun features in each issue, as well as little gifts that are an absolute delight to discover. This time there are vintage clockface coasters, charming bookmarks, giftwrap paper, and this fun sheet of jam label stickers, among other treats. Wouldn't these be fun to use with jars of lemon curd?

If I showed you all the eye candy in each issue I'd be in trouble for reproducing the entire magazine, but suffice it to say that these pretty pale pink and milk glass table settings caught my eye.

But the best thing in this issue? Step-by-step instructions on how to make a teacup chandelier! Guess I'll be headed back to Goodwill soon in search of a cheap light fixture so I can work some magic on it. I've just ordered the newest issue of Daphne's Diary from a source in the UK (at the same price it would be here), and if it arrives safely I'll be sure to share the source, as I don't like to recommend something I haven't first tried myself!

Zhena's Double Vanilla Gourmet White Tea

While visiting a World Market store recently, I came across a flavor of Zhena's Tea I've not seen before, Double Vanilla Gourmet White, unusual in that it was in loose tea form rather than the teabags I've tried from Zhena's before.

There were several tempting varieties on hand, but I was in a "Double Vanilla" mood. I also loved the glass container with its own little bamboo scoop. The instructions said to steep five scoops of tea (the equivalent of two teaspoons) in boiling water for three minutes. I followed that to the letter and oh my, was this a wonderfully sweet (with no sweetener added) and satisfying tea! It definitely falls into the "dessert" category of tea.

And isn't it pretty? I love seeing those hairy little white tea leaves. It's best, of course, if a tea tastes good, but I give bonus points when it's aesthetically pleasing as well! These teas retail for $9.99 each at World Market, and I may have to try another variety next time I'm near a store.

"Tea & Cake London" by Zena Alkayat

I love to read about tea rooms, even if it's a tea room I can't go to. It's just fun to read about all the tea room "personalities" and how each one is slightly different. For that reason, I was tickled when my husband came across this new (2013) book in a London bookstore last month and pointed it out to me. A few quick peeps inside and I knew I needed this book, even though it was by then too late to add any more London tea rooms to our visit.

The wonderfully named Orange Pekoe located southwest of London is just one of the tea rooms featured and sounds well worth a visit — but so does every place in this book!

If I get to visit London again, I'd love to go somewhere new like The Teahouse at Petersham Nurseries, which I learned serves seasonally-inspired food and Canton Tea Co. teas. The book includes well-known tea spots such as Fortnum and Mason, The Ritz, The Dorchester, Claridge's, and The Orangery at Kensington Palace, all featured in the chapter "Grand Affairs-Afternoon Tea." But chapters also include "Everyday Specials" (Cafes and Tearooms), "Pop In, Take Out" (Bakeries and Patisseries), "Tea With a Twist" (Alternative and Themed), and "Virtuous Vices" (Vegan and Allergy-Friendly). I had seen this book somewhere online and thought it was similar to a cookbook I already owned. After I saw it "live" and realized it was actually a guidebook, not a cookbook, I wished I'd had it before my trip. If you're planning a visit to England in the near future, or even if you're simply an appreciative armchair traveler, you might want to check it out!

Good times at Goodwill

So Aunt Jane and I were doing our weekend shopping at the thrift stores when I, out of habit, headed to housewares. Last time, I'd left behind a Christmas teapot and regretted it. Was it still there? Indeed it was, and a couple of other goodies as well!

The teapot is a classic (and unmarked) Christmas design that I know will come in handy, and now, of course, is a great time to buy Christmas teawares before the prices shoot up in late fall. When I saw the price, I thought, "This was only $3.33? Why didn't I go ahead and get it last time?" When I checked out with it, however, the nice cashier told me the "G" stood for "Green Ticket," which meant it was half-priced. I'm not quite sure how the untrained Goodwill shopper is supposed to know that a "G" written in black china marker means "Green Ticket," but okey-dokey. I like finding a teapot for $1.67!

My other teapot find wasn't quite as much of a bargain, but I can't complain about the price of it either. They had these two teacups taped together ($1.31) and the teapot and its lid taped together ($2.52), but I had a hunch that everything was supposed to stack together and couldn't wait to get home and untape it all. I think I'm right about the stackability, and even though the set screams 1970s to me, I like it!

Last but not least, when I was in the mountains last fall I bought a book called "More Sweet Tea" from Belle Books, a publisher whose authors include a number of women writers I admire. I knew from the title I needed to find the first "Sweet Tea" book, and there it was at Goodwill for just $1.50, "Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes."

The collection features stories from six authors, and I was delighted to see that all six signed my new and thrifty ($1.50) book. Now I'm thinking I need to add some more thrift stores to my shopping list and see what other bargain-priced teatime goodies are out there!

Tea Room Postcard # 23 - Culbertson Tea Room (Spokane, Washington)

The older the postcard the better I like it, so I very much like this 1919 postcard that was mailed to someone in Michigan featuring the Culbertson Tea Room in Spokane, Washington. When I bought it online, I liked the look of this place and wondered where such a fancy tea room was located. Imagine my delight at discovering Culbertson's was a *department store* in Spokane! I found an article in the Dry Goods Economist from 1921 which discussed the store's recent addition. It said, "The new building is so joined to the old that all floors except the main one are entirely open. On the latter floor a delivery alley runs between the two buildings. An entrance vestibule gives access to elevators opening on all floors of the new section, and two of them are special lifts to handle tea room visitors." Wouldn't you like to have enjoyed afternoon tea here? I would!

The card reads, "Sun. A.M. Best place in the city to eat. Can take advantage on Saturdays only. No evening meals. Ate here yesterday. On my way to E's for dinner today. Lovely — Lin" (or Lina or Lisa — your guess is as good as mine!).

'Tea Clipper' (and a friend) rides again

I just love documenting each year's first blooms on my David Austin 'Tea Clipper' rose, a birthday gift from my friend Deberah several years ago. Actually, she's given me a David Austin rose bush as a birthday gift for several years in a row now, but 'Tea Clipper' will always be my favorite because of the name, the color, and the heavenly scent!

Earlier this spring I shared a photo of the lovely David Austin 'Wedgwood' rose that was in bloom (it's shown here), and my 2014 rose bush gift was this cheerful 'Graham Thomas' rose, a climber. But oh, deer, do I have some unpleasant news. I have discovered that the deer are eating not only my hostas (including the treasured 'Tea and Crumpets' hosta I found last year) but also my roses! When 'Graham Thomas' arrived, the potted bush had about a dozen tight little golden buds, and within just a few days of planting I had lovely, lush yellow roses. But it was a sunny afternoon when I noticed how pretty they all were, so I decided to wait and photograph them the next morning when the light would be softer. I went out to check on the roses and there were none — just mere stalks, not even a bud in sight! I was not amused. Fortunately, one more bud appeared and blossomed, and at least I have this image as proof that 'Graham Thomas' was flowering in the garden in 2014.

And while I like to enjoy my roses outside, I decided the deer had munched the last of my David Austins for this season, so 'Graham Thomas' and 'Tea Clipper' were clipped and have since come inside where they can be admired as they deserve. The deer aren't too dear, are they?

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!)

Thé de Marie-Antoinette by Nina's of Paris

Since I didn't get around to buying any tea when I was in France last month, when I got home I had a bee in my bonnet to go online and find some genuinely French tea to try. The blend that caught my eye was this Thé de Marie-Antoinette by Nina's of Paris.

This tea is described on the Nina's website as "a very delicate tea, flavored with apples & rose, with a touch of strongness with Ceylon tea basis. Apple aroma done with apples coming from King’s Kitchen Garden – Versailles." Now what could be more French than a tea made with apples from the Palace of Versailles, right? Well, the tea came and I got the strongest whiff of rose-scented tea you can imagine. It was lovely! I steeped a spoon full of the leaves for about three minutes and took a sip. I like roses, but I really felt as if I'd just eaten one when I finished sipping that cup of tea. I steeped the leaves again, for just under two minutes, and still it was too strong. Later in the week, I steeped less than a spoonful of the leaves for only one minute, and finally, that gave me the slight suggestion of rose I was seeking in this nice black tea. At this rate, I will be drinking this tin of tea forever!

At least it's a pretty pink tin, and I love that it has an "A" and an "M" on top, as if it were personalized just for me!

Teatime at the revamped potting bench

Just about this time four years ago, my husband surprised me by building me a potting bench from some scraps of wood. It served me most honorably for almost four years, but last year the plywood boards on the two main shelves began to splinter pretty badly. I came home from shopping on a recent Saturday and found Alex had replaced the wayward wood, so I headed to Lowe's for new paint. (Can you tell that my color inspiration was Fortnum and Mason's eau de nil color?)

I haven't planted squat this year because I was far more into travel planning than garden planning in the spring, but it's never too late to start a container garden! My largest teacup planter is this one, currently sporting Peppermint, Chocolate Mint and Sweet Mint.

Um, what exactly *is* Sweet Mint? I was happy to find that Bonnie Plants explains the uses for this mint, grown from cuttings which came from Israel.

I always think of mints as my first herbs each year, but the grocery store had a nice batch of basil plants the other night so I got one of those as well. All that Italian food I ate last month has me on a quest to grow herbs for Italian cooking. And I love using this terra cotta teapot and teacup, gifts from a friend many years ago which have withstood the test of time!

Friends also gave me the wire hanger at back and the wire teapot and teacup at front. I may line the wire "tea set" with moss and keep these pieces decorative.

Another friend gave me a small rose bush in this pink teacup planter years ago. I planted the rose bush (still alive!), and now I'm on the lookout for something new to go in the planter.

Some of my other favorite planters are these tiny terra cotta teapots I bought on clearance during a trip to Wisconsin several years ago. I love these baby teapot pots!

And finally, just a little reminder of the joys of gardening—even the better-late-than-never kind!

The Italian biscotti cookbook giveaway winner is ...

Joanie! And I have your address already, so I'll get this packaged up and headed your way. Congrats!

New tea mystery: "Tempest in a Teapot" by Amanda Cooper

Over the weekend I finished reading an advance copy of a great new tea-themed cozy mystery, "Tempest in a Teapot" by Amanda Cooper, and I'm delighted to have discovered another great mystery series for tea lovers! Now if you're like me, I get rather impatient having to wait a whole year for the new Laura Childs tea shop mystery to appear each year. I was surprised to learn earlier this year that Berkley Prime Crime had another tea-themed cozy series in the works, and I must admit I was a bit wary. Would it be a knock-off of my beloved Laura Childs books? How could someone even attempt another tea-themed cozy series? And just what kind of writer was this Amanda Cooper anyway? I'm delighted to report that the new mystery series is terrific, and yet all it has in common with the tea shop mysteries is, well, tea!

Cooper's immensely likable heroine is Sophie Taylor, a young chef whose Manhattan restaurant has gone under, leading her to regroup in the town of Gracious Grove in upstate New York, site of her grandmother's home and tea room, Auntie Rose's Victorian Tea House. Sophie is soon helping her Nana run the tea room, including preparing for an upcoming bridal shower tea for one of Sophie's old childhood friends.

This tea room, it so happens, has a rival tea room right next door, and the proprietor of that tea room, La Belle Époque, sees Sophie's Nana as an enemy and would very much like to put her out of business. An engagement party tea for Sophie's old childhood friend is held at La Belle Époque, where a poisonous cupcake kills a very important guest. So whodunit? There are loads of suspects with loads of motives, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Cooper includes lots of red herrings to throw us off the murderer's trail. Cooper is particularly gifted at creating distinctive characters and voices, and I'm already attached to quite a few of these new "friends."

I also enjoyed the fact Auntie Rose's Victorian Tea House has a teapot collectors' club, the Silver Spouts, who meet at the tea room for tea and conversation about their teapots. I found myself thinking of my own favorite teapots and which ones I'd bring for show-and-tell if I were allowed to join the group! A yummy-sounding scone recipe is included in the book as well. I greatly enjoyed "Tempest in a Teapot" and wanted to learn more about this "new" author, who it turns out is actually a Canadian writer named Victoria Hamilton, who also writes the Vintage Kitchen Cozy Mysteries. If you'd like to learn more about the Teapot Collector Mystery books, visit the Facebook page for the series here. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Tea Room Postcard #22 -- The Hitching Post Tea Room (Chickamauga Park, Georgia)

Some of the "yesteryear" tea rooms I find most charming are those that were located in simple homes. The one depicted on this vintage postcard, the Hitching Post Tea Room in Chickamauga Park, Georgia, appealed to me because Chickamauga is well-known here as the site of the Battle of Chickamauga, the first major battle of the Civil War to be fought in Georgia.

Dated Dec. 21 and postmarked 1912, the card is addressed to a "Miss Antoinette Asam" (?) in Detroit, Mich., and reads, "Dearest: Unexpected change of trains here - last u will hear of me for a few days I think. All OK. Hope u are feeling better, will send address later. This is not a Tenn. card but can't find any. Yours, Ross." Maybe Ross was supposed to send his lady friend postcards from all the states along his journey? Yet another postcard mystery …

Winding up our trip — and a visit to Rome!

On our final morning at the agriturismo in Tuscany, before we left for Rome, we decided to have a nice big breakfast there at La Pietriccia. I loved the fact you could get freshly squeezed pear juice, and I can see just a bit of mine in this photo! Not realizing what other goodies awaited, I selected from the buffet thin slices of the cheese and meat so central to Italian meals, a plum, and what I thought was biscotti with some of my beloved Nutella. I soon learned that the packaged "biscotti" was melba toast, so that didn't exactly work with the Nutella!

No worries, though. Soon, to our table comes this magnificent array of breakfast breads. Alex and I just laughed, and he wondered how many guests this would feed at teatime!

Oh, I do love croissants, and I definitely ate my share of them on this trip! It's probably best I never learn to make them …

So when we finally arrived in Rome, we barely had time for another hop-on, hop-off bus tour. (Yes, we know. We tried to do too much on this trip!) At any rate, at least we can say we have seen the Colosseum!

As with so many of the major attractions in Europe, we learned we should have booked tickets online if we wanted to avoid spending several hours (in the rain!) waiting to go inside the Colosseum. We just didn't have that kind of time, and frankly, we both agreed we wouldn't have waited in line if we'd had the time. (I'm not sure there's a perfect solution for the line-averse traveler. If there is, I'd love to hear it!)

The other highlight of our time in Rome was seeing St. Peter's Square. Next time I'm watching on television as the Pope gives a speech there, I'll have a feel for what the square looks like!

The city's incredible architecture, I must say, left me with a bit of an inferiority complex about the U.S. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but … our old buildings just aren't quite as grand, are they!

I have a dear friend who is a devout Catholic, so I had to pop in a shop near the Vatican and buy her a few items while I was there. And this is out of the norm for me, but I wanted an Italian-looking cup and saucer to take home with me, so I was delighted to find this one in the gift shop. It definitely says "Italy" to me!

And since you all are devout tea lovers, I figured that one of you would enjoy this little book of Italian biscotti recipes featuring cute teatime artwork! When I Google-translated the title, here's what I got: "Small manual biscuit Italian ingredients, good and fantasy." Make of it what you will, but I just loved all the cute tea illustrations and figured it shouldn't be too hard to translate a recipe.

This one is, I believe, for Rosemary Biscotti. So to thank you for joining me on my travels, I'm giving away this little cookbook to someone who leaves a comment between now and 7 a.m. EST on Monday, June 2. Good luck — and thanks again for reading along!