Treasures from Sandy Lynam Clough

It's too bad my lunchtime friends from yesterday's post got stuck in traffic on I-285 and were running a little late, but nothing could have made me happier than to have some extra time for browsing at Collectors Corner! I have rarely left there empty-handed, and this visit was most fruitful. I solved the problem of what to put on a certain blank wall that's been staring at me for nearly four years: a set of Sandy Lynam Clough teacup prints! I have been holding out for "just the right thing," and when I saw this set of four *signed* and framed prints for just $22, it was a happy moment indeed! This one with roses on it is probably my favorite.

I was volunteering at a conference of Presbyterian women meeting in Atlanta many years ago and first bought one of her prints and got her to sign it. I have loved her and her work ever since! Sandy gets so many details in her work, and she gets them exactly right. I love the shape of this teacup, the beribboned cameo and the elegant doily.

In this piece, I am drawn to the shading on the teacup and how it leads your eye to the pansy. I also love the lacy appearance of the linens in her work.

Frankly, I am still stunned someone would part with these prints. Signed Sandy Lynam Clough prints. I mean, really. A beautiful teacup, sentimental locket photos, a lace doily with even the picots depicted exactly right! (I don't know if she is a needleworker herself, but she certainly is precise with the needlework details, which I so appreciate.)

Finally, I have to add that my mom once found this signed SLC print at a yard sale for $1 and gave it to me for Christmas! Great minds think alike!

Collecting new tea friends

Phyllis in Michigan, I wish you had been here on Tuesday to see what you have inspired! You see, earlier this year, fellow tea lover Phyllis was kind enough to send me a wonderful new tea-themed devotional book by Diane Graham and Julie Norris, "Woman of God - Moments of Grace," which I wrote about here. Not long afterward I heard from one of the authors, Diane, and since she and Julie would be coming from Missouri to Atlanta, near my town, in September we agreed to get together. And here we are -- Julie's in front and that's yours truly and Diane at back!

Also in the group (and shown at left) were Diane's sister-in-law Phyllis (who serves as the writing team's business manager) and Julie's mother Stella. I cannot *tell* you what a delightful time we had! Diane had asked about meeting at Holly Cottage, my town's now-famous tea room, but since they were visiting on a Tuesday when the tea room is closed we went to another favorite venue, the Jasmine Tea Room at Collector's Corner in Sharpsburg. This isn't a traditional English style tea room and is more of a ladies-who-lunch place with tasty quiches and salads and assorted tea beverages, but it is one of my favorite places to meet up with friends, and the adjoining antique mall is another plus. (I've also joined my friend Maureen (ParTea Lady) there for lunch before, so if any of you care to visit, let me know and I'll meet you there too! I'm collecting friends as well as antiques!)

I am absolutely delighted when I meet with authors who are kind enough to let me pick their brains about their writing -- the product, the process, the whole shebang. I *love* talking to writers! Diane and Julie were sooooo gracious and let me ask every nosy question I had, and they were even kind enough to autograph my tea devotional book that was the gift from Phyllis in Michigan, as well as another copy of their book which I'll be giving away at a local fundraiser this Christmas. I was simply fascinated to learn that Diane has also written a book about her journey through clinical depression called "Whispers from the Pit: The Pathway of My Life." I have known more than a few dear friends who've experienced challenges with depression (they are some of my funnest, funniest friends, interestingly enough!), so I am particularly eager to read about her healing and how she now ministers to others with what she's learned. Diane and Julie are just brimming with ideas for future book projects, and I can guarantee you I'll be on the list to order a copy of everything these tea-loving gals write! All this shared over a cup of tea? It was truly a delightful afternoon! And if you'd like to get in touch with the ladies about their books or perhaps a speaking engagement, e-mail janddtime4tea@yahoo.com.

The tea giveaway winner is ...

Frivolitea! Congratulations, and I'll get your tea and mug in the mail straightaway! Enjoy!

Loving that Cath Kidston Magazine!

The best things in life truly *are* free! Case in point? The wonderfully British-flavored Cath Kidston magazine/catalog, which the fine folks across the pond will send to us, amazingly enough, for free. (I checked last night, and copies could still be ordered here, and yes, that includes free shipping.)

Sadly, there is no longer a Cath Kidston outlet here in the U.S., yet we fans of Cath Kidston's cheery prints can usually find the books and stationery products. When the magazine debuted last year, I was astonished to find I could get a copy for free (each issue must be ordered individually, but hey, free is free). The latest issue (August 2010) happens to be the "Vintage Issue," and I absolutely loved this vintage photo of some Women's Institute ladies with all their old-style teawares.

Here you see some "Tea Ladies" in their new Cath Kidston tea dresses, a scene inspired by the vintage photo.

I've never heard of Gizzi Erskine, but I was delighted she is sharing several pages of teatime treats like this Millionaire's Shortbread with Rosemary-infused Salted Caramel. Yum!

I've long thought attractive tea towels qualify as art, so I was tickled pink to see them framed and hung in this kitchen vignette pictured in the magazine!

The magazine does feature lots of photos of Cath Kidston's products, and if I were a wealthy woman I would tell them "Send me one of everything on this page, please!" I'm a Facebook fan of Cath Kidston, and often I see other U.S. residents like myself begging them to re-open in the U.S. So please, my fellow Americans, get your name on that mailing list so they'll see the U.S. loves their wares! (And the free magazine ain't too shabby either, I promise.)

More new teas ... and a giveaway!

Because The Tea Nation was kind enough to share so many samples with me recently, and because one of them, Pineapple Ginger, is a flavor I already own, I thought it would be appropriate to give away this tin of 50 round teabags. I'm also including a Tea Rose mug just to make it a little more fun! The giveaway runs through 7 a.m. EST Wednesday, Sept. 15, and to enter all you have to do is leave a comment and/or tell me the name of the last glass or cup of tea you enjoyed. That's it!

The last cup of tea I enjoyed was the Ginger Peach White Tea at far left, which was just delicious! I knew I was going to like this the minute I opened the tin and caught a whiff, and this was my favorite of the remaining teas I tried. The Papaya and Passion Fruit was a lightly fruity green tea, the Pineapple Ginger is the duplicate tea (and the one I'm giving away), and the Oriental Green Tea is a tin of those pyramid-shaped teabags, and it is the "office tea" I have been enjoying this week. So now it's time to share some tea with one of you. Good luck!

Treasures from a church yard sale

My mom has the best yard sale instincts of anyone I know. She has even talked about writing a book filled with her years of yard sale wisdom, but she doesn't want to share it until she's ready to retire from The Business. When we passed by the St. Stephen UMC yard sale in Marietta on Saturday, she thought it looked promising and suggested we stop. It was nearly 1 p.m. by the time we arrived, and thus well after prime yard sale shopping hours, but it turns out we were hitting the end-of-sale shopping exactly right, as it had just been announced that everything remaining was a quarter! Yep, just 25 cents!

So I ask you, could *you* have left this large (7-1/2-inch tall), clear glass pedestal bowl for a quarter? No, I didn't think so. Besides, I'm hosting a tea in a few weeks and have just the dish to serve in my new bargain find.

I've seen pieces like this rosy container referred to as cachepots used to hold houseplants, but I had another use in mind ...

Tea infuser holder! Perfect!

I like picking up vintage Christmas pieces throughout the year, and the price was definitely right on this rectangular dish. I love the graphics!

I had been looking for a metal basket to use when picking cherry tomatoes out of the garden, which are still coming in daily. Ideally, I wanted to use it for picking tomatoes and then rinsing them off in the kitchen sink as well. Almost bought one for $15 last weekend. Glad I didn't!

Also couldn't leave these three rolls of gift wrap -- two white-on-white bridal, one rose design.

And my final bargain of the day was this $5 wooden whatnot shelf -- for a quarter. So I got everything you see here today for $2. I was so spoiled by my bargains, I wasn't tempted by a single thing at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, or either of the two antique malls we visited afterward, but at least I didn't come home empty handed. My mom spent about $5 at this sale and her haul ranged from a vintage punch bowl and cups to an unopened case of water goblets, new-in-the-package linens, lots of Christmas decor and more. We were both impressed that there was "good" junk left at this sale at the end of the day, and we left with a trunk full of treasures. Score!

Tea and Books Saturday #37 - "Tea Time: An afternoon tea primer"

Tea Time: An Afternoon Tea Primer
Gooseberry Patch, 1996

This week's book is really more of a booklet (it's just 34 pages), but it's such a delightful little thing I decided to go ahead and mention it here. If you're familiar with the Gooseberry Patch mail order catalog and publications, then you already have a good idea of the whimsical drawings that surround the text in this booklet. It is simply packed with sweet images of teapots and teacups and teabags galore. But what I realized after reading this book through again is that it features what I consider true "must-have" items for a basic tea party, including some of their sandwich choices — Cucumber Sandwiches, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Egg Salad Sandwiches. And the authors are very specific about how to prepare these sandwiches: "Tea sandwiches should be oh-so-dainty, delicate and bite-sized. Bread for sandwiches may be cut in hearts, stars, rounds, diamonds or any shape that fits a theme party. When preparing sandwiches, allow for at least six per guest."

The book also includes a recipe for Basic Cream Scones, with suggestions for additions such as citrus zest, semi-sweet chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, etc. "No tea party is complete without scones!" they say, and who of us would disagree with that! The book also includes recipes for Lemon Curd and Homemade Devonshire Cream to accompany the scones. Sweet treats are covered as well, such as Tiny Tartlets with either pecan or apple-raisin filling, Spicy Ginger Cookies, Victoria Jam Cake and more.

There are tidbits about decorating the table, such as this one: "Collect a variety of different teacups to serve in … big ones, little ones, flowery ones, striped ones. Hit the garage sales and second-hand shops! And while you're there, pick out a stack of old hankies. With a good laundering and a hot iron, they add nostalgia and make swell napkins at your tea table. Remember, everything doesn't always have to match!"

This book would be especially great for those new to teatime, but it is such a pleasant reminder of the joys of taking tea that I think *any* tea lover would enjoy it. And since it's small and inexpensive, it would make a great tea party favor as well. Go here to see the book and more fun things from Gooseberry Patch. (Just noticed they have a "Coffee & Tea" cookbook in this series as well. Anyone read that? Hmmm ...)

UPDATE: While this book is no longer available on their site, see Gooseberry Patch's comment below for where to find it. Good luck!

The Teapot & Tea Calendar for 2011

Many of us tea lovers are fans of Workman Publishing's Teapot & Tea Calendar, although the past few years I've waited too late and *almost* didn't get one! This year, I'm skipping my usual trick of waiting 'til the last minute and trying to get it on clearance, so yes, friends, I paid full price.

The new calendar is beautiful as ever, and I absolutely love the teapot featured in February, a three-tiered stacking teapot from Lefton China. Gorgeous!

I always hope May gets a "good" teapot, since that is my birth month, and even though I don't normally like this style of Japanese teapot I thought this blue one was perfectly lovely. So if you haven't gotten your teapot calendar for 2011 yet, well, don't miss out! And I hope your birth month teapot is a great one!

A nifty new display shelf

Several years ago, I received a wooden case of Browne & Ashley tea as a Christmas gift. The tea itself was not very good and I ended up using most of it to tea dye lace, but I kept the wooden case figuring I might find a use for it one day. I'm always trying to figure out how to get more things organized in my small craft room, and one day it occurred to me I could mount this on the wall and use it to hold some lightweight items. Today, it serves as the happy home for my tea-themed rubber stamps!

I never had the urge to display any of these rubber stamps until tea friend Frivolitea and I met over the summer and she gifted me with some beautiful new tea-themed stamps, including this one on the right, which I am looking forward to using to make invitations for future tea parties. Above it is an ATC (Artist Trading Card) I made using the other stamp.

This stamp with the definition of tea is next to a tea-loving Dreamsicle figurine, which I believe just may be the one and only tea figurine I own!

Here are some smaller stamps, including two tiny ones that friends were kind enough to give me.

This lovely teaspoon stamp gets a place of honor next to one of my most favorite things. That blue polyester teddy bear was stitched by my sister when she was a very little girl, and would you believe it is one of my most prized possessions? I mean, I would part with my entire Royal Winton Welbeck tea service before I'd let you have that bear! When I taught middle schoolers in Sunday School years ago, I always enjoyed taking that teddy bear in and asking them to write down a description of it. Inevitably, they would try to outdo each other by saying how ugly they thought it was, and one kid gave the memorable description, "Its eye is in its ear." Then, of course, I'd share how this was made for me by my sister when she was very young, and again I'd ask the kids to describe it knowing what they know now. They would say things like "sweet" and "pretty," and I would explain that this is how God sees us, that He looks not on the outside but on the heart. And that doesn't have anything to do with tea, really, but I thought someone investigating the photo might just wonder about the teddy bear!

Sampling some new RTD teas

It's been a while since I've sampled any new ready-to-drink teas, but I've tried two in the past week and thought they were both worth a mention. First, I was at Whole Foods when I found this Mango Oolong tea from Ito En. The company describes it as "the full taste of oolong tea paired with the bright taste of mango." I describe it this way: "Yum!" I've had Ito En tea before (found some super cheap at Big Lots, of all places), but the mango was a new flavor and I very much enjoyed it. This drink is "lightly sweetened" with cane sugar. Whole Foods is always a fun place to shop, and I highly recommend their Pecan Pie Cookies if you happen to come across them!

Sipping the Mango Oolong reminded me of the earlier Ito En I tried, and of the fact I hadn't stopped by Big Lots in a while. The local store is being renovated and I had trouble finding the aisle where teas are normally for sale. I headed for the soft drinks and snacks and came across this 1.5 liter bottle of a tea and juice drink, Arteasia's black tea and peach flavor, which contains peach and pear juice as well as brewed tea. The taste was delicious, but because it contains high fructose corn syrup this is not the sort of thing I'll buy on a regular basis. It was certainly more than worth the $1 I paid for it, though!

Fond of freebies

Back in July, I received a great package of freebies sent to drum up publicity for the new TV show "Rizzoli and Isles," based on books by Tess Gerritsen. The show stars Angie Harmon as a tough Boston cop and Sasha Alexander as her brainy and beautiful coroner friend. The package included a copy of the book on which the first episode was based, a DVD of the first episode, a T-shirt, some bookmarks, a puzzle, and my favorite, this cup and saucer and tea bag featuring the show's logo. A teacup figured into the plotline of the first episode, so this was a very clever freebie they designed.

Now I don't really like to promote a show until I've seen a few episodes, but I have to say I have really enjoyed "Rizzoli and Isles," mainly because the two female leads are strong characters who are great at nailing the bad guys, and it's a very witty show as well. Also, I have a friend who is a police officer, and Angie Harmon's character reminds me of her a lot!

Most of the freebies I've received through the years have come because I'm a journalist, and marketers will go to interesting lengths to try to get you to write about them. I'll never forget the time the morning mail arrived and I was handed a manila-colored padded envelope that weighed a ton! Inside was a black iron skillet promoting a new Turner South cooking program, and this was one of my favorite freebies ever! Other goodies I've received through the years have ranged from the yummy (boxes of new flavors of Girl Scout cookies) to the strange (plastic eyeballs promoting "Fright Night" at Halloween) to the whimsical (a Norman Rockwell floaty pen in honor of an exhibition of his paintings) to the wearable (t-shirts, flip-flops, aprons). The other day a colleague received an empty ice cream carton containing plastic raspberries and a coupon for her to try the new berry flavor of their ice cream for free. Of course plenty of other companies and consumers get freebies as well, so I'm curious. What's the best (or perhaps the weirdest) freebie you've ever received?

Celebrate National Sewing Month

At least once a year I like to take a week off work and stay close to home, using my days to read, write, piddle or just do whatever I like. Last week, one of those days included a trip to Little Quilts quilt shop in Marietta. It is a wonderful quilt shop, just packed to the brim with fabrics, books and notions, and I got these two prints from the Garden Tea Party line of fabrics by Audrey Jeanne Roberts.

I just knew there had to be other prints in this line, and an online search confirmed this, but these two made me happy, especially this design printed with names of teas. Did you know September is National Sewing Month? Well, it is, and I made a deal with myself: I would not buy this fabric unless I purposed to actually sew something with it in the month of September. So be watching. If I don't stitch it up by October, one of you gets the fabric. That's the deal!

Another reason I wanted to go to Little Quilts is because at the register, they have the most wonderful emery boards printed with lovely designs of quilts and other graphic images. I have several of them throughout my house and car, needed another and came across this design. Yes, I know it's got coffee beans on it, but I'm thinking that cup in the middle is dark puerh tea.

As I was checking out, I saw a display of jewelry and this handmade card. The pin is made in Thailand, the card is made of great specialty papers, and I just knew it would probably be out of my price range. Would you believe the whole kit and kaboodle was just $9.95? What a pleasant surprise! "Do I see a theme going here?" the saleslady asked as she rang up my purchases, and of course I nodded yes. If she only knew!

Tea & Books Saturday #36: "A Fine Tradition of Tea"

A Fine Tradition of Tea
By Rosemary Moon and Janie Suthering
1998, Fortnum & Mason

I particularly enjoy reading books about tea companies themselves, and Fortnum & Mason's "A Fine Tradition of Tea" does a fine job of chronicling the firm's 303-year-old tradition of serving as a purveyor of teas (and lots of other goods) to the British. The trading began in 1707 when William Fortnum and his landlord, Hugh Mason, opened a grocery. "The original shop was small," the authors say, "but it enjoyed the highest patronage owing to the links that William had established during his time as a footman at Court, and it is likely that tea was amongst the first commodities to be stocked as Fortnum & Mason has been known as a tea merchant throughout its long and illustrious history." The book follows the business down through the years as it was handed over to the founders' sons, grew and moved to 181 Piccadilly, where it remains today.

It's fun to read the varying accounts of which tea might have been thrown into Boston Harbor in 1773, and Fortnum & Mason claims it may have been some of theirs. The authors say that when the tea-transporting ships arrived, "The Dartmouth, which docked in Boston carrying Lapsang Souchong, some of which was rumoured to be from Fortnum & Mason, was boarded. Within three hours the entire cargo of tea was thrown overboard into the harbour." (If you have to waste tea, Lapsang Souchong is certainly the one to toss!)

Royal watchers will enjoy the many references to royal preferences for tea. It was during Queen Victoria's reign that Fortnum & Mason received the first of its many Royal Warrants, and F&M was appointed "Grocers and Tea Dealers" to her son, Prince Alfred, in 1867. Skipping ahead a few years, when Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, Fortnum & Mason was beautifully decorated in honor of the coronation, and an image of the store at that time is among the many illustrations and photos in the book.

"A Fine Tradition of Tea" also includes 40 recipes, which I'd forgotten since I bought this book (at Fortnum & Mason, actually!), shelved it and forgot about it. I'm especially impressed with the recipes using tea as an ingredient, such as Assam Fruit Compote; Date, Walnut and Assam Scones; Spiced Coconut Tea; Lemon & Jasmine Tea Ice Cream with Earl Grey Sultanas; Tea Salad Dressing; and the one I am most eager to try, Tea-rimisu! (It calls for "Boudoir Biscuits," which I learned are what we call Ladyfingers.) With great history and lots of yummy-sounding recipes as well, I highly recommend this book. And if you want to lust over some incredible teas and teawares, take a cyber visit to Fortnum & Mason right here!

End-of-summer morning glories

Don't know where they came from, or how they managed to take over the back-of-the-house rose border I have neglected since June, but I sure do love these beautiful blue morning glories I discovered this week! I suspected (and quickly had confirmed) that they don't make very good cut flowers, but I couldn't help myself. I thought they would be a perfect match for this blue chintz teapot, and indeed they are. The morning glory is such a classic -- and classy -- old-fashioned flower. I don't mind their takeover at all!

And that's all I've got for today, friends, since I'm getting ready for a great Labor Day weekend. Hope all of you have a fun-filled and *safe* time!

New teas from The Tea Nation

Want a perfect afternoon snack? Then let me suggest a cup of refreshing raspberry tea and some two-bite cranberry-orange scones. Ahhhh.

The scones are from Harry's in Marietta (which is just like Whole Foods), and the tea came in a generous box of samples from the folks at The Tea Nation. After discovering their wonderful Pineapple Ginger Tea at T.J. Maxx earlier this year, I wrote a review and later heard from the company asking if I would like to try some of their other teas. Of course I would! After the package from Sri Lanka showed up on my doorstep, I began my "tastings" by sampling from these three 25-count canisters of their round teabags. I noticed on the packing invoice that three of these teas were described as "Walmart" teas. Are these sold at Walmart now? Indeed yes! I stopped by my local store to see for myself, and these are on the shelves and selling for $2.78, which I found a pretty amazing price. So how were they?

• I loved the Raspberry green tea best! It had a really refreshing flavor, and the combination of the fruit flavor and green tea was one I greatly enjoyed.
• The Mango white tea was fine as a hot tea, but it didn't seem to have as mango-y a flavor as I expected. Then I tried cold-brewing it in the refrigerator, and soon I was enjoying tumblers full of Mango iced tea each evening after work. Very nice!
• The Orange Spice black tea was just delicious and had the pleasant orange flavor I was hoping for.

I still have a few more flavors of tea from The Tea Nation left to try. Hopefully I'll be able to sample them all by the end of next week, and when I do we will be having a giveaway so you can sample some Tea Nation tea too!

Christmas is coming!

Christmas items are beginning to fill the crafts stores (they've been at Hobby Lobby for weeks now), and Michaels was putting out some great decorative pieces when I was out gift shopping last week. As usual, I found some great items in the $1 bins!

These glittery notecards (8 for $1) would make great invitations to a Christmas tea, or they could even serve as cute tea-themed thank-you notes.

Every year I like to have Christmas-y stationery for all the lists I make. I got a notepad for myself and three to give away. (So if you're one of my friends who receives one of these this December, act surprised, OK?) Just felt I should share this *now* so we tea lovers can raid the Michaels bins ahead of other shoppers who wouldn't appreciate these designs as much as we do!