Thrif-tea finds

Now that the thrift stores in neighboring Carrollton are on my shopping rotation, I've made a few observations: 1) They have a nice selection of junk. 2) They seem to turn over their merchandise pretty frequently. 3) Their prices are great! Recent finds included these butter pats and a plate (Salvation Army) and a silverplate butter dish (Goodwill).

I'm calling these melomine dishes "butter pats" because that's what I thought they were when I saw the little stack of them, but then I picked them up and realized they were just plastic. Rats! But then I stood there and thought, "Hmmm. Maybe these could be used when having tea outdoors? Or on a tea picnic? Hmmm." Since they were just 10 cents each, I knew I'd probably regret NOT buying them far more than I would buying them, so they jumped into my bag.

I've been wanting to try some sugar cookies with pale blue icing, but it occurred to me I don't have any plates with pale blue to serve them on. This one was a quarter, and I liked it for a weird reason: it's flawed! You see, this plate doesn't have any nicks or chips, but unlike the other plates in the stack, this one is missing the pink roses in the design. If you notice the little blank spot next to the blue flower, that's where a pink rose was supposed to be. I don't think it's faded either; it really looks like the paint or decal or whatever didn't make it onto the plate!

Still, I like my 25-cent plate, whose backstamp says it's by Noritake and the pattern is "The Sedan."

My splurge was this $2.42 Cross silverplate butter dish. I've wanted a pretty silver butter dish for a while now, and the price was certainly right, but I wasn't sure if the tarnish and the verdigris looking spots would come off.

I'm happy to report that after just a little polishing the butter dish already looks fairly presentable. A bit more elbow grease and I think this will be worthy of the tea table! Do you shop at thrift stores where you live? If so, what do you look for?

A Royal Albert vintage teacup giveaway!

This year I want to host at least one giveaway a month, and since January is marching along I thought it would be nice to kick off the week with a giveaway of this rosy Royal Albert vintage teacup and saucer!

The cup's got a pretty shape and a lovely scalloped handle, and I do believe one of you might enjoy using this set.

The pattern is called Two-Step, and I wanted to let you know it's part of the Gaiety Series of cups and saucers in case you'd like to fill your dance card with the rest of the patterns in the series! At any rate, I hope you will be doing the two-step when you win! To enter, just leave an "Enter me" type comment between now and 7 a.m. next Monday, Jan. 27, and you just may be the winner. Giveaway open to all residents of the U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

Tea Room Postcard #3 - Miller's English Tea Room (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

With this week's postcard I'm starting to see a little bit more of the feminine tea room look I'm accustomed to, rather than the "lunchroom" type settings of the tea rooms in the first two postcards I shared this year. I've never heard of Miller's English Tea Room in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but it looks like a pretty place, and I especially like what I believe is a fountain at left!

I'm not sure if serious postcard collectors (which I am not!) prefer postcards be used or unused, but the storyteller in me will always, always prefer to find a story to go with the photo. This one, sent to Mr. A.P. Welsey of 44 Curtis Ave. in Woodbury, N.J., reads, "Ten o'clock Sat. morning. Pearl & I just finished breakfast. She was on the platform to meet me. The train was 40 min. late. Love-Esther." Was A.P. Esther's husband? Was Pearl her sister, or perhaps a friend? This card is postmarked Dec. 23, 1939, and I also have to wonder if perhaps Esther and Pearl discussed that hot new movie "Gone With the Wind," which had just premiered eight days earlier in Atlanta. At any rate, it's fun to see what a tea room interior looked like in 1939!

Pukka Three Ginger Tea

Are you a fan of ginger? I am. I love the spicy flavor and the little zing it gives to food and drink, so this week I tried a new herbal tea with ginger, Pukka's Three Ginger Tea.

According to Pukka's website, the tea is made with "three delicious roots from the ginger family to create the fullest flavour (and) will help settle digestion whilst warming and uplifting your spirit." (No digestive issues here, I just like the ginger!)

When I opened the box, I was surprised to find individually wrapped teabags, since I often find a plastic bag containing the unwrapped tea bags. Individually wrapped teabags are particularly nice when traveling, and I plan to do a little of that soon. I was also pleased to find a very intense ginger flavor in this tea. If you're a ginger fan as well, you might want to give this tea a try!

Bargains & Baking

As a bargain shopper, I find there are not that many brands I'm truly loyal to. I like to mix it up and try new things from the grocery store, for instance, so it's rare that I buy the same products week after week. When it comes to baking pans, however, I am quite, quite loyal to Nordic Ware. I've used their scone and cake pans for years, and earlier this week I wrote about my happy experience with a new Nordic Ware shortbread pan I received as a gift. It occurred to me, then, that I should probably let you know that most of my Nordic Ware pans are bought "out of season" and at bargain prices, like these two recent acquisitions.

The Harvest Bites Cakelet Pan sells for $41.50 right now on the Nordic Ware website. I love the pretty autumn shapes you can use for cakes, or you can sandwich two of them together with frosting. I'm also thinking of making a savory bread with mine, and then I can use the shaped bread for tea sandwiches.

Whatever I end up doing with my Harvest Bites Cakelets, I'm very happy that I got my pan on clearance at Kroger in Carrollton the other day for just $5.29!

This week, I came across another Nordic Ware pan I'd not seen before, the Holiday Mini Loaf Pan which makes little loaves featuring Christmas designs. This pan (currently retailing for $36 on Williams-Sonoma's website) was on clearance at T.J. Maxx for just $10, but I actually got it for free since I had some T.J. Maxx rewards certificates to use. I do love having new Nordic Ware pans to look forward to using next fall and winter. If you're a fan of these products as well, be sure to visit the clearance aisle right about now!

Tea Rex the Tea Infuser

One of the tea goodies I got for Christmas was this cute Tea Rex Tea Infuser, and it was time to try him out!

To be honest with you, I knew full well this was not going to be a very practical tea infuser, more of a fun tea collectible. With such a tiny opening this guy was hard to fill with tea, but I managed, though I lost a few tea leaves along the way.

Soon I had him full, snapped his head on (that sounds sort of ugly, doesn't it?), and plopped him in the teacup. Once I added the boiling water, he fell face forward almost instantly. I couldn't help thinking, I'd probably try to drown myself too if I were such a lousy tea infuser!

As you can see, the debris field was pretty obvious when I removed Tea Rex from the cup. And cleaning out the tea infuser? Oh, my. I had to find a small knife and dig up in the pieces of Tea Rex to get the leaves to come out. Again, this was pretty much what I expected, I just needed to confirm my suspicions. But I'm still glad to have Tea Rex and am saving him to use when the little boys in my family come over so I can try to turn them into tea enthusiasts!

"Tastefully Small Finger Sandwiches" by Kim Hendrickson

I just got around to reading a book I found on eBay back before Christmas, "Tastefully Small Finger Sandwiches" by Kim Hendrickson (2008). I haven't really come across any "tea sandwich inspiration" in a while and thought this might do the trick. I was happy to find so many new recipes for sandwiches such as Cucumber Apricot Flowers, Tea-Smoked Egg Diamonds, Avocado Pine Nut Layers, and Grape, Brie, and Walnut Cups.

You may have noticed that each recipe listed above also references a shape (flowers, diamonds, layers, cups), so the delightful surprise to me was that so many uniquely-shaped finger sandwiches are illustrated in either a photograph (such as these Jam 'n Sponge Crosses) or …

… a graphic, such as this Stained Glass Sandwich, which features four different colors of bread. "For other arrangements, consult a quilting pattern book," Hendrickson says. Now why didn't I think of that? I love coming across books that inspire you to come up with new ideas, and this one does precisely that!

Chai Shortbread

I had planned to wait on a snow day to use the snowflake shortbread pan I got for Christmas, but since it appears I may not get a snow day after all, I decided to go ahead and make some shortbread this weekend. And I don't know why, but it occurred to me I ought to toss the contents of a teabag full of chai tea in the mix and see what happened!

Happily, the result was just terrific, and I could still see the snowflake impression on the shortbread. It wasn't too much chai, and it wasn't too little. My recipe came off the Nordic Ware pan's package with the only change being the addition of the chai. Here's how I made it, and I'm sure any shortbread pan will do. Hope you try it, as I was mighty pleased!

Chai Shortbread

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups plain flour
Contents of 1 chai teabag (I used Stash Chai Green Tea)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream butter well, adding in confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and finally the flour and tea. Knead dough until smooth. Firmly press into lightly-greased pan, and prick surface of dough with a fork. Bake for 30-35 minutes, just until light brown around the edges. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, loosen edges, and invert onto a plate. Cut along score lines while shortbread is still warm.

Tea Room Postcard #2 - Dutch Cupboard Tea House (Gettysburg, Pa.)

Last week "Snap" commented that she likes the look of the old linen postcards, and you know, so do I! There's something about that texture that is just so appealing. This week's card, for the Dutch Cupboard Tea House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is one I like because it shows both the exterior and interior of the tea room!

I also appreciate the fact that the back of the card tells us what was served at this tea room: "Schnitz un Knepp (apple slices and dumplings with ham, I gather), Shoofly pie, homemade bread and other Dutch dishes. And this tea room had a "homelike atmosphere," the postcard says. I do believe I would have enjoyed dining here! Although this postcard is postally unused, I've found others online that indicate the tea room was still operating in the late 1950s. And if any Pennsylvania readers can add to the narrative, please feel free!

"Macarons, Cookies, Bars & Biscotti"

Later this year, I will be hosting one of my most important teas ever. You see, a dear friend of mine's daughter is getting married, and I am going to have the honor of hosting the Bridesmaids' Luncheon! I had the pleasure of hosting Cydney at tea parties when she was a little girl, so I am beside myself that I get to play a part in her wedding festivities. (Or "festivi-teas," depending on one's outlook.) I'm already thinking macarons will be a part of the tea-style luncheon, so when I saw "Macarons, Cookies, Bars & Biscotti" at Barnes & Noble, I knew I needed a copy.

The photography in this book is just lovely, including the Table of Contents. The book was just $7.98, which I thought was very reasonable for a 128-page book.

Here's the intro to the chapter on Plain & Filled Cookies. Isn't it pretty? There are so many great-sounding recipes in this book, including Pistachio & Orange Blossom Macarons (Queen Victoria wore orange blossoms on her wedding day), Amaretti Cookies, Brandy Snaps, Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies and Rich Chocolate Hazelnut Bars. There are several recipes which include passionfruit, like the meringues above, and I think at least one of these might be fitting for a bridal luncheon. I'm also hoping to "up my game" on iced sugar cookies this year so I can make some in the shape of bridesmaids' dresses for the girls. Wouldn't that be fun! I'm now on the lookout for any recipes that look really *spectacular* that are related to weddings and bridal events, because I'd love to make this a truly splendid luncheon!

New at Michaels

So who remembers Waverly? If you read Victoria magazine back in the eighties and nineties, you probably lusted over many of their beautiful fabrics and furnishings. I know I did, so when I saw Waverly goodies at Michaels this week I had to gather a few.

These tubes of body lotion are so pretty!

And of course I was delighted to find a White Tea and Rose scent, even if the "tea" seems to be a part of the fragrance, since camellia sinensis wasn't specifically listed as an ingredient. It had a lovely light rose fragrance, and I liked the fragrance of the Chamomile variety too. I thought these $1.50 treats were some of the prettiest ones I've seen there in a while, and I just wanted to let you know!

"Tea with Miss Rose"

One of the many benefits of researching the history of teatime is that you also get to learn about some of the more fascinating women in history. That was certainly the case as I read the 2002 book "Tea with Miss Rose: Recipes & Reminiscences of Boston's Teacup Society" by Elizabeth W. Driscoll and Elaine Negroponte.

The inspiration for this book was Rose Standish Nichols, one of the so-called Boston Brahmins and — of importance to those of us who love gardening — the first female landscape architect in America. Rose was a lover of teatime not so much because she was a fan of tea and crumpets as because she saw the tea party as "her personal theater," according to an essay in the book by Belinda Rathbone. A very well-educated woman, Rose liked to host teas where guests of different beliefs were included. Rathbone says, "She would invite an arch conservative, like William Loeb, editor of the Manchester Union Leader, with a nice young Harvard student who happened to be a communist, and sort of steer them toward each other … Controversy was her spice." Rose didn't stir up things just to stir up things, however. She wanted these guests to find their common ground and be able to make peace. (Let's just send Congress home and try this in America today. Amen?)

Rose sounds like quite an intriguing lady, and while she never cooked for or ate at her own tea parties (imagine!), her cook and housekeeper Mary King did, and some of these recipes have been preserved and adapted for use at teatime today. The book includes suggested menus for six different teas, including A Beacon Hill Tea, A Cornish Tea, A European Tea, A Kitchen Tea, Tea in Bed (that's where Rose liked to take tea), and A Christmas Tea. You'll find treats such as Broccoli Sandwiches, Nunn's Puffs, and Emerald Ice, a beverage whose ingredients include mint jelly, tea, lime juice, and carbonated water. There's also a recipe for Souffled Crackers, which is said to turn "a basic common cracker into an airy frugal treat, comparable to puff pastry in appearance and texture." The book also has some fine quotes sprinkled throughout, my favorite of which comes from a 1996 book, "The Nature of Massachusetts," and says, "Proper Boston women, it was said, liked getting old. Abolitionist Julie Ward Howe, who wrote 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' and lived to be ninety-one, believed that aging was like a cup of tea: the sugar was at the bottom." If you haven't read it yet, I definitely recommend you find a copy of "Tea with Miss Rose" and learn about a very different kind of Boston tea party!

Heeeeeeeere's Luci!

Friends, I'd like you to meet Luci! That's the name of the new Tea Forté tea infuser that was amongst the goodies my husband gave me for Christmas, and I think it's about the loveliest one I've ever seen!

The pretty ceramic handle features a cherry blossom design, and it twists easily onto the stainless steel infuser on bottom. The straight sides on each piece indicate where to hook up the two pieces, and then with one simple twist you're set. There's also a base on which to rest the infuser once your tea is steeped.

This infuser stands at attention while it brews your tea, and the holes were large enough that my peach tea steeped just fine but no particles ended up in my cup. Definitely two thumbs up for this infuser, but then, doesn't everyone love Luci?

Winter Whites on the tea cart

For the past few years, I've gotten in the habit of leaving out a few Christmas decorations in the Winter White color palette. This year I used them and some coordinating teawares to get my tea cart all settled in for winter. And just for fun, I played with a few filters on the computer to make the photos look like scenes from long ago. The teapot at right is one I used on the guest registry table at my wedding, so that's an especially happy teapot memory! (You can see at left here and below some of the sugarcrafted flowers that came off my wedding cake, still just lovely today.)

I have the teapots surrounded by snowmen and old world Santas who could, if you use your imagination, be wintertime travelers, not just Santa Clauses.

This guy sits atop my favorite winter teacup, a simple cream Wedgwood cup and saucer. He's probably going to have to come off that perch soon so I can use my teacup again, now that I think about it!

This snowman picture and snowman paper stocking are some of my all-time favorite holiday decorations. I don't know why I'm so very fond of that cardboard stocking, but I am!

So the tea cart is dressed in its winter finery, and I frankly think my little tribute to snowmen and winter may be influenced by all you tea friends who have been blessed with snow already this year. Send some my way, would you, please?

Tea Room Postcard #1 - The Colonial Tea Room (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)

As I was cooking out of my tea room cookbooks in 2013, I often found myself wondering what the tea rooms of yesteryear looked like. I began to search for old tea room postcards online, and I decided this bit of history would give a focus to my tea research and collecting for 2014! I view these old tea rooms as the "ancestors" of the tea rooms of today, and I thought it would be fun to see what, if anything, I could find out about some of them. First up: The Colonial Tea Room at 39 Falls St. in Niagara Falls, N.Y. First off, is that really pink vinyl seating I'm seeing? I believe so. And mercy, have you ever seen so many flowers outside a hospital room or a funeral parlor? It's also interesting to observe what appear to be booths at left and right. Wooden, dark upholstery ... not exactly what I would have chosen to go with the bubblegum pink seating, but it obviously worked for them. I also love that this postcard says "AIR CONDITIONED" up top.

Here's the back of the postcard, where I learned this was not only a tea room but also a "Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge." Now that's a multi-purpose building indeed! Since the postcard was postally unused, as collectors say, I had no clue about the date of this tea room, only a general impression of forties or fifties era decor. An online search for the street address did turn up an October 1933 newspaper, The Niagara Falls Gazette, which listed The Colonial Tea Room as one of the local businesses participating in Greater Niagara's New Deal days. So the tea room was in business at least by 1933, and it was great fun to learn a little about such a colorful place!

Recommended Reading: Daphne's Diary magazine

This week I discovered a truly wonderful new magazine which, while not a tea magazine, I nonetheless believe many of you would enjoy! I found mine at a Barnes & Noble in Marietta, and it's a UK magazine called Daphne's Diary. You know how that Susan Branch book we were all reading in the fall, "A Fine Romance," featured a whimsical mix of artwork and photos and handwriting that had us all in love? This magazine has a similar style, and the beautiful cover alone was enough to let me know this magazine was going home with me. I also liked the large (about 9 x 12 inches) format.

Inside, there's this wonderful hodgepodge of articles that aren't really organized like most consumer magazines today. In this country, at least, I'm used to magazines having what they call the "feature well" up front, those stand-alone, one-time feature articles that a magazine so prominently displays. That is usually followed by regular departments at the back of the book. Well, with Daphne's Diary, everything appears in this lovely jumble so that you never know precisely what treat you'll come across next! Some of my favorites included a sweet Christmas story (see the handwriting at right), and the pretty teacup cupcakes at left -- no recipe, it's just artwork, but it's lovely!

But if you like recipes, there are indeed some of those too, such as the yummy looking Eggnog Cheesecake at left. The page at right in this spread is pretty typical of those in Daphne's Diary. I loved the home features, the peek into a famous London antiques shop, the feature on using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to dye fabric, the feature (with how-to photos) on elegant napkin folds—there's much to love here!

And did I mention that there are little gifts tucked throughout as well? This being the Christmas issue, there was an advent calendar to put together, some charming cardboard gift tags designed from vintage sheet music, and even these adhesive labels which could be used at any time of year. This is the second English-language edition of the magazine, which apparently began in the Netherlands (and I so hate I missed Number 1!), and I thought $12.99 was a reasonable price for such a unique, large-format, gifts-included kind of magazine. Let me know if you decide to check it out!

Gigi's Cupcakes: The Green Tea & Ginger Cupcake

So, I was out spending my Christmas money from Santa (or trying to, at least) when I decided a sweet treat was in order. I was just leaving the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores on Barrett Parkway in Marietta when I noticed a new Gigi's Cupcakes shop had opened up in the shopping center. Having had the pleasure of enjoying a few of these fantastic cupcakes before, I headed to the shop for a snack. I was just about to go for the Champagne Cupcake in honor of the new year when I spotted these beautiful Green Tea and Ginger Cupcakes!

The sweet salesgirl was so helpful and quickly gave me the OK when I explained that I wanted to photograph the cupcakes for my tea blog. In fact, when I got ready to take a picture of the pretty box she said oh wait, let me put this sticker on it for you first. Pretty classy presentation for a purchase that's only three dollars and some change, eh?

And oh, my, was this cupcake ever good! (In this photo it's actually sitting down in the little plastic holder that comes inside the box, so that's why you can't see the cake part.) I'm pretty sure I tasted matcha tea, and it was a nice amount of the tea flavor, not overpowering at all, and I got just the perfect little zing of ginger in the icing too! They are not stingy with the icing, as you can see, and even this sugar lover could eat only half the cupcake before I got full. So, you might want to cut it in half and enjoy the rest later.

However you choose to consume it, I highly recommend you hit the brakes the next time you see a Gigi's Cupcakes sign!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a blessed 2014 -- and may we all enjoy many happy teatimes!