Tea on Tuesday

Well, here we are again, for another episode of "Tea on Tuesday"! A week really does fly by!!!

My tea this week is a matcha latte. I was reminded that I had this jar of matcha in the pantry (sent to me from Teresa, who builds up frequent flyer miles going to Japan!) by an article in Sept/Oct's Tea Time Magazine.

Matcha is green tea that is ground into a powder - similar to iced tea, but  a finer consistency. Kiley Holliday, the youngest certified Tea master in the country, mentioned( in an interview in Tea Time Magazine) a chai she loves to drink Indian style. She uses matcha tea, adds almond milk and a sweetener. 

I have been using almond milk lately in other things, in place of regular milk - and love it. So, I put 2 little spoonfuls of matcha in a mug, added hot water, a tablespoon of almond milk, and a smidge of dark honey. Delicious!!

I usually take my tea straight up,  sometimes with honey , and maybe lemon, but NEVER milk. This matcha latte was a nice change.
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In keeping with the tea theme - here are some recent thrift store scores- below, a trio of English ironstone cups- Hunt Club, 2 different raised hunt scenes on the cup. Guess how much???? 25 cents for the trio!!!! Missing saucers, but who cares!!!

Next, is another little teapot with infuser, and a copper coil to put on the burner, so you can actually heat this one on the stove. I probably won't do that, but it's nice to know you can- I forget how much that was, but it probably wasn't more the $2 or $3.

Next to it, is a lovely orphan teacup- no markings, but very similar to some Homer Laughlin that I own.

Last, altho not tea related, is my favorite thrift find of that day!!! Let me preface this by saying - I have always been averse to wearing fur of any kind. My children were raised with this thought in mind, altho we do eat meat from time to time, and wear leather shoes, sooo....

As a result of their upbringing, when I showed them the coat, they both read me the riot act, "but MOM, it's FUR!!!!!! "
Being a fan of things vintage, I could NOT pass up this lovely vintage custom made jacket, circa 1940's/ 50's, I'm guessing.Made in a shop in Johnstown, PA, that no longer exists.
Since no other animals will be killed to replace this jacket, and I hope there are no PETA activists hiding behind a tree with a can of red paint, I am wearing  and just love this little coat! I am not an expert on fur, unless I have handled it while on the live animal(!), but am thinking this is either a dyed chinchilla, or a sheared dyed beaver. It is sooo soft, the craftsmanship that went into making it is something you don't see often today- the clip closures, ruffled edges in the lining, inner pockets- and it was just being reduced - so it was $21.50!!!! And, it is warm!!!

When I went out in it, my daughter said, Mom, you are wearing a fur, looking like a rich lady (ha!), we live in the boonies, you are driving a mini van,that is covered in mud and missing two hubcaps!!! What can I say, I am a contradiction in terms, an anomaly,a dichotomy....and definitely never been rich!!!!

These are before and after photos- my daughter was taking the pix, and said I never smile and always look so serious, so when I acted like a fool, she snapped a shot!!LOL

Please feel free to join us each Tuesday for tea- drop by Kimmie and Patty, for a list of other tea participants.



Thought for the day:

Our homes are our cocoons, our sanctuary, and our safety nets......

Tea on a Rainy Tuesday

It is finally raining!!!YAY!!!! Not a torrential downpour, mind you, but rain, nonetheless. Hopefully enough to soggy up the parched grounds around here. Puffs of dust float up with every footstep, and the grass crunches underfoot. Weeds grow quite well, hardy little things- my lavender loves this weather - but that is about it!!!


So, rain, and lower temps call for a hot cup of tea this morning - English Breakfast it is!!!
Instead of showing you my cuppa - I'll "bore" you with some of my yard sale finds from over the weekend- it was a banner day on Saturday!!!

The first one - and one of my favs - is appropriate for Tea on Tuesday - it is a square of handpainted silk. It came a bit wrinkled, so it may be hard to see the picture- it took me a few minutes to realize this was not just an abstract splashing of paint on silk. It is actually a teapot!!!! Once I get around to pressing it - I will have to take another photo, so you can really see it!!

The next fabric is a rather odd one - little headless girls in each corner - with the head in the center of the fabric - not quite sure what to make of this!!!LOL You can click on it for a closer look.

Above is a delicate English teacup, with a hairline crack - probably will become a pin cushion. It is sitting atop a vintage Roseville pottery bowl,still usable, even tho it has a tiny chip on the rim. The littel squash pitcher was just too cute to resist!!!
Below, from a local Goodwill, another English bone china teacup, some vintage Glasbake molds, teal Melamine cups and bowl, a vintage Limoges hand painted bowl, a stamp for my collection, all sitting on a like new lazy susan for the studio!!!

Above - a ton of miscellaneous treasures - a Reed & Barton coffee (tea?) pot, a brass teapot, and a cute FTD morning glory teapot- none can be used for their original purposes due to slight damages, so they will be turned into planters and wind chimes.

Next post, more fabulous finds from the Saturday sales!!

Enjoy your tea, please feel free to join us on any Tea on Tuesday!! We love new participants. Please visit Patty and Kimmie for a list of the others who come to tea each week!!

Tea on Tuesday

I am late again, and just arriving for afternoon tea,sharing just a few pictures of tea worthy thrift shop and flea market finds.............

Above is my "new" thrift store tea cup stand, with some thrift store tea cups. I was actually going to paint this stand, and use if for something else, when my mom walked by, and said," You do realize that this is a tea cup stand?" I didn't - but I do now!!! It found a perfect home with me!!

Don't you just love this pair of delicate, vintage, almost translucent,  blue transferware/flow blue teacups that a friend found at a very famous flea market in England( the name escapes me at the moment!). I can't believe she gave them to me!!!! If you look closely, you can see the saucers are uneven, a true testimony to their age. I do love them!!!

My very vintage, thrift shop treasure, a Japanese lustreware teacup filled with dried peony petals. My friend told me, in some of the very vintage Japanese teacups, when held to the light, a tiny image of a geisha will appear. Sadly, not in this one, but I will continue to search for her!!

When company was here, we had a delicious lunch of paninis filled with brie, chocolate and fresh basil, iced caramel coffee, lemon ricotta cookies, and lovely store bought European cookies meant for dipping in coffee!!!

My daughter made the lunch, and insisted great grandma's vintage desert server wouldn't do - she needed a two tier server- so I put together one of my upcycled china pedestals with some daffodil thrift shop plates.

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And, did you know (or care) that Lady Gaga is a real tea aficionado? She takes her own purple teacup with her everywhere- and even sent someone back to get it when it was forgotten!!!
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Please visit  our other tea partiers, and join us on Tuesdays! See Kim's blog for a list of Tea on Tuesday participants!

Afternoon Tea at My Dining Room Table

I could have shown you the view out my windows, where the neighbor is mowing our fields - but instead I will share the view on my dining room table.

Thrift shop treasures, a turkey vulture's feather (it might have been more appealing to say a goose feather, but that would not be true!), a silverplate 1915 knife that I stamped with a reminder to myself, my spirit horses, dried peonies from the garden, and a tiny copper bird's nest I just wove (after inspiration this morning from Barbara and having seen the nests Patty has made). You can click on the photos for a closer look......

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