Teacup Tales

Hello Tea Friends, One of the highlights since entering the blog world is participating in fellow blogger Stephanie's teacup exchange at  The Enchanting Rose . Stephanie hosts this exchange twice a year and this was my second time participating. Last fall Stephanie was my exchange partner and gifted me with a beautiful Spode teacup and many of her amazing handiwork crafts. This year I was delighted to receive two wonderful packages from Debbie of  Blogger Loves the King ! Debbie gifted me cinnamon stick tea. Cinnamon happens to be my favorite seasoning and I enjoy flavored black teas. Along with the tea, there was a devotional book which had space for journal reflections. I like the garden theme. This beautiful Paragon teacup was also included! The cup and saucer feature exquisitely painted camellias. If you read my blog, you may recall I featured a similar teacup. I am thrilled to have a pair! They are actually my first pair of matching teacups. ...

Beautiful scents and colors are in the air as spring has finally "sprung" here! One of my favorite spring flowers are lilacs.  Unfortunately several consecutive rain showers really "damaged" my lilacs this year which is such a pity as I adore their scent. This is a photo taken last year in my backyard with a lilac branch and Royal Albert's Blossom Time Series Lilac  teacup. Many of last summer's vacations provided me with the opportunity to visit various tearooms. I didn't get the chance to share this wonderful garden and tea experience until now. Another purple hued flower I enjoy is lavender. While visiting Portland, Oregon I came across a brochure advertising a lavender cutting farm in Hillsboro. I was so intrigued. We enjoy fruit picking, but I've never cut lavender before. My mom and I drove to  Helvetia Lavender Farm  and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon picking lavender and relaxing at the tea pavilion. So peacefu...