Valentine's Giveaway #5 goes to ...

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts! If you'll send me your address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get the Green Tea soap headed your way. Congrats!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #6

This card makes me think of my sweet nieces, and you might not be able to tell from the photo but the red dress is one of those velvety, flocked designs. Love this!

It's definitely a highly decorated Valentine on the inside, and I like that it is signed "Love from Aunt Margie." I'll bet Margie was a lovely aunt!

I also like how the image of the little girl is repeated on the back. As with so many vintage things, the quality and design of vintage cards continues to amaze me!

Of course I like the design of some new things too, like this tea tray I picked up at Ross while shopping with my niece Amelia last month. It's a narrow style of tray, about 7 x 15 inches, just perfect for organizing a row of tea tins!

If you'd like to win the tray, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, Feb. 14. Also, please make sure I have your e-mail address or some way to get in touch with you if you're the winner! Giveaway open to residents of U.S. and Canada only. Good luck!

Valentine's Giveaway #4 goes to ..

Nancy Reppert! I'll get these notecards headed your way ASAP. Congrats!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #5

Most of my vintage tea-themed Valentines are small cards, the kind we traditionally gave to each other in elementary school. This one, however, is a little larger than 6 x 9 inches and is unsigned on the back, so I have to wonder if it was ever used. This is another of the "mechanical" Valentines, with the gold brad being the mechanism by which the mouse's head swirls around. Cute card, but if I ever saw a dirty old mouse near my teacup I do believe I'd scream!

And then I'd get some soap. Maybe even some green tea soap like this yummy scented bar I found!

If you'd like to be entered to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, Feb. 13. Also, please make sure I have your e-mail address or some way to get in touch with you if you're the winner! Giveaway open to residents of U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

Valentine's Giveaway #3 goes to ...

Dah! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get this book headed your way. Congrats!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #4

This vintage Valentine is one of my favorite finds of the past year (but then I say that a lot, don't I?). I think this teacup design with the hearts on it is just so sweet!

I also like that it was given to Bernadean from Norman and Noel. Now why would a Bernadean (unique spelling, by the way) get a card signed by two fellas? Were they brothers in her classroom when she was a little girl? Or was Bernadean an aunt and Norman and Noel were her nephews? I always have to make up a story in my head about the Valentine and who sent it!

Years from now, maybe one of you will be the subject of such speculation if you win this set of 10 teacup notecards and send one that sticks around for a few decades! I found these cute cards at a Tuesday Morning store, and if you'd like to be entered to win them, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, Feb. 12. Also, please make sure I have your e-mail address or some way to get in touch with you if you're the winner! Giveaway open to residents of U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

NOTE: If Linda Metcalf is reading, you won Giveaway #1 and I need to get your snail mail address so I can get those dish towels headed your way. You can e-mail me via the e-mail button at top right. Thanks!

Valentine's Giveaway #2 goes to ...

... Joanie! And Joanie, I *think* I've got your correct address, but just to confirm, would you please send it again via the e-mail button at right? Thanks, and congrats!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #3

This vintage Valentine is one I found last year, and I love it both because you can stand it up (you'll note the little folding tabs on the base) and because it's "mechanical," which means there is a brad attached so the sweet lass can swing her teapot from cup to cup. So much thought went into these great old designs!

And this one was a girlfriend-to-girlfriend Valentine, from "Ann S." to "Sharon McEwen." I wonder if this was exchanged at a classroom Valentine's party?

My Valentine to one of you today is going to be a copy of this fun Leisure Arts book called "The Creative Kitchen," which offers ideas for more than 100 food gifts to make and give.

Among the many great ideas in this book, I think this Spiced Cranberry Tea Mix looks like a particularly fine idea, don't you? If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow. Good luck!

Valentine's Giveaway #1 goes to ...

Linda Metcalf! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get the dish towels headed your way! Congrats!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #2

This vintage Valentine should appeal to all the cat lovers out there, showing as it does a sweet little image of a kittycat couple having tea!

I love seeing the names on vintage Valentines. This one is to Geneve from Clifford, I believe. (I'm more familiar with the name "Geneva," but that sure looks like an "e" on the end of her name.)

For our second giveaway of Valentine's Week, we have a set of 12 miniature heart-shaped baking cups from Wilton. Since we take Sundays off on this blog, you'll have from now until 7 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 10, to leave an "Enter me" if you'd like to be entered in this giveaway. Good luck!

Tea Room Postcard #6 - Wanamaker's Great Crystal Tea Room (Philadelphia, PA)

When I wrote a book about department store tea rooms several years ago, one of the tea rooms I was unable to find an image of was the Wanamaker Great Crystal Tea Room, so I ended up just using a postcard showing the exterior of the store instead. Much later I came across this postcard and had to have it because a) it was a longed-for image of a famous tea room and b) it appears to be one of the largest department store tea rooms I've ever seen!

The back of the postcard shows it was postally unused, so I don't have a date to go by, but I'm still grateful to have the image of the Great Crystal Tea Room. At one time it was said to be the largest dining room in Philadelphia, and today the Crystal Tea Room is used as a banquet facility as part of the Philadelphia Convention Center. If you go here, you can see what the former tea room looks like today, and you can definitely see that the columns and ceiling moldings look just as they did in the postcard from yesteryear!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #1

It's one week until Valentine's Day, so that means it's once again time to share some vintage Valentines and offer some fun new giveaways! First, this vintage Valentine is the first one I've ever seen that has sugar tongs as part of the design. It reads, "You are the CREAM in my coffee, you are the SUGAR in my tea; you are my little SUGAR baby, you are just the 'SWEETY' for me!"

The back of the card reads, "To Junior and Harry From Junior." (Actually, it looks like Junior #2 really wrote "Form" instead of "From," but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here.)

For our first giveaway of Valentine's Week, we have a set of dish towels with a cute teacup and mug design. It says "I Love You a Latte," so you must think of this as a chai latte so it will fit with our tea theme. If you'd like to win these towels, just leave an "Enter me" comment before 7 a.m. EST tomorrow and you'll be entered to win. Giveaway open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

Flea Market Gardens magazine, 2014 edition

Every year since 2011 I have been able to do a little garden-planning with Flea Market Gardens magazine, an annual publication that has some of the most unique ideas for garden decor I've ever seen. It's always a great display of whimsical, out-of-the-box thinking, ideas beyond the typical garden statuary and birdbaths that you can find in most any garden. In the first issue, I remember falling in love with an old roll-top desk they painted pink and then used outdoors, pulling out the drawers and using them as planters!

I found the 2014 edition of the magazine last week, and as usual there are ideas sure to delight tea lovers who are into gardening, such as this gazebo one homeowner now uses for tea and entertaining.

She uses this teapot as garden art, which I think is a great idea for using some of the many teacups and teapots we have sitting around but perhaps don't use every day.

And I love how another gardener filled her birdbath with mismatched cups and saucers. If you're a fan of gardening as well as tea, I definitely recommend you look for this new magazine while you're counting the days 'til springtime!

Lipton Iced Teas ... in winter?

There was still snow on the ground the day I came across some new flavors of bottled Lipton Iced Tea last weekend, but because they were new-to-me flavors I had to give them a try!

The Pomegranate Blueberry flavor was very berry-ish but not as tart as you sometimes get with pomegranate flavored drinks. I liked it a lot!

My favorite flavor, though, was definitely the Passionfruit Mango, as it had a very authentic mango taste I simply loved! Both flavors of the iced tea have 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar per eight-ounce serving, which I think is pretty good for such a drink. I don't often drink iced tea in the wintertime, but these new flavors from Lipton sounded so good they lured me right in. Do you drink iced tea during winter?

Some new teas from Ahmad Tea

While I was at my conference in Birmingham the other Saturday, my chauffeur-husband was out gallivanting and visited a neighborhood market where he picked up two new boxes of tea for me! I was quite pleased to find he had purchased these large boxes of Ahmad's English Tea No. 1 and Green Tea.

I was so happy to receive both of them. I was introduced to the English Tea No. 1 by a Newnan friend several years ago. She first enjoyed this tea on a trip to England and now orders it by the case since she can't find it in local stores. It's been years since I've had some myself, so this brisk blend was a welcome treat.

Unfamiliar with the green tea from Ahmad, I was eager to see how this green-tea-in-a-teabag would taste. It smelled fresh, and when I steeped my first cup I was delighted at the slightly vegetal and yet buttery taste! Working as I do from home these days, I've found teabags are still my go-to choice for tea during "office hours," so it was extra nice to receive these terrific new teas!

Dressing the tea trolley for Valentine's Day

As longtime readers of this blog know, I love-love-love Valentine's Day, and I like to turn it into a celebration that lasts much longer than a single day. In fact, I'll kick off my annual week of Valentine's giveaways this Friday, so I decided it was time to begin celebrating by getting rid of the winter whites on the tea trolley and outfitting her (surely it's a "her") for February!

The focal point of my February decor this year had to be this teapot, which of course has a story behind it. This was a gift from my mother last year at Valentine's, so of course it's very meaningful to me this year. I had seen on my friend Bernideen's blog that there were cups and saucers to match the teapot, but I couldn't find any when I searched online. One day recently I found a matching cup and saucer on eBay, but it was $25 plus shipping and I decided that was too much. (I doubt my mother paid more than $2 for the teapot at a yard sale!) Well, the teacup didn't sell and the eBay seller listed it again, at a much lower price. Can you believe I FORGOT TO BID and someone else won it? I was soooo disappointed. Oh, well. It just wasn't meant to be, I told myself.

The very next week I was in Ross in Carrollton and I almost started turning cartwheels when I found six of these Gracie China teacups for $4.99 each! Can you believe that? They're a little lighter in color than my teapot, but I don't care, and I bought 'em all.

So I feel very happy about my teacup finds, and underneath them I am using a pink pineapple table topper that was crocheted by my Grandmother Doris, who was my mother's mother. This is the grandmother who taught me to crochet, so I always enjoy remembering that when I use this piece she crocheted.

I have to tuck a few tea-themed vintage Valentines into the scene, of course.

These little paper ones are so sweet, and yes, I'll be sharing a few "new" ones this year!

So that's my start on the February decorating, and I can't wait to start celebrating Valentine's Week with you all!

Tea Room Postcard #5 - Carolina Tea Room (Neptune, N.J.)

Since today's postcard features a little "North and South" discussion, I would like to ask my northern friends to be especially compassionate and merciful this week. Yes, it's true, my part of the country can be completely immobilized by two inches of snow. Yes, my governor claimed the storm was "unexpected" (which was indeed odd since I started hearing about the potential storm from a friend in Savannah Sunday afternoon). And yes, the mayor of Atlanta thinks reporters are picking on him for questioning that magnificent traffic snarl that left heaven knows how many good people stuck in traffic for nearly a day. (That's an exaggeration. A kind fellow I used to go to church with was stuck in traffic for a mere 23-1/2 hours. I, as a lifelong snowstorm scaredy-cat, did not leave the house after the first snowflake fell.) I've said all that to say this: Don't judge us by our snowstorms. Judge us by our food, OK? And why do I say that? Especially when this week's postcard is from the Carolina Tea Room in Neptune, New Jersey?

Check it out: "CAROLINA TEA ROOM. Helen and Jewel, Proprietors. 1734 Asbury Avenue, Neptune, N.J. Famous Throughout Jersey For Southern Home Cooking." I also found it interesting that the first photo shows tall electric fans on both sides of the tea room. Now that is certainly a touch that would be fitting in the (usually!) hot South, and good for Helen and Jewel for including it! I don't have a date for this postcard since it was never used, but according to a few postcard websites I consulted, the box reading "PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE" indicates the card is from 1951 or earlier. Fun stuff to learn! (How to drive on Atlanta highways in the snow and ice? Not so much!)

Sally Hansen Green Tea + Soy Cuticle Oil

This winter my hands and nails have seemed super dry, so when I was in line at T.J. Maxx last week I nabbed this package of Sally Hansen Green Tea + Soy Cuticle Oil.

When I opened the package, I was expecting some sort of roller ball thing but I realized it was a brush-on liquid, just like lip gloss.

It worked great at moisturizing my cuticles, but what most intrigued me about this product was the ingredients list. If you'll look near the end, it lists "camellia oleifera leaf extract," which is the only thing I can find that sounds like "camellia sinensis leaf extract," which I usually see listed on things said to contain green tea. According to Wikipedia, the camellia oleifera plant is known as a source of tea oil or camellia oil, which is a cooking oil and not to be confused with tea tree oil. I haven't even figured out what tea tree oil is yet, and now I have to go research tea oil too! It's so hard to keep up these days …

The perfect spot for a new teapot

See this sweet little teapot lamp? It was a gift from a friend several years ago, and it's been tucked away in an upstairs room just waiting for the time when it would be promoted to everyday use in the living room.

I recently switched out a too-big-for-this-space desk with the melodeon, a type of reed organ, that was passed down in my husband's family. Its small size suits this space perfectly, but it needed a little accent, and that's when I decided to fetch the prized lamp from upstairs!

The design of this piece is just perfect here, and it's almost like getting the gift all over again!

Miniature Olive & Cheese Biscuits

A couple of times I have made those knock-off biscuits that taste like the Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster. It's so easy to make those (and recipes are all over the Internet) that I started to think how easy it would be to use these for tea sandwiches by making miniature biscuits using a similar base of Bisquick, water, and cheese — but without the buttery garlic topping. I played around and came up with these Miniature Olive & Cheese Biscuits, and I just loved them! In fact, I used them as "sandwich bread" and enjoyed three mini-biscuits with thin-sliced turkey for lunch one day.

The Mario brand of black olives I used came from the swag bag I got at the Food Blog South conference over the weekend.

It was great fun when I got home and discovered all the goodies they sent us home with ...

... including a sample of Charleston Tea Plantation Tea, some Grey Ghost cookies, and a box of those Moravian Cookies you've probably seen in the Harney catalog. Delicious freebies, all!

The olives, however, are what inspired me to make the miniature biscuits, and here's the easy recipe.

Miniature Olive & Cheese Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup black olives, chopped in food processor
1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add all ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl and stir just until combined. Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until biscuits are beginning to brown. Yields about 30 miniature biscuits.