Teacup Tales

Greetings Tea Friends, I hope this post finds you in good spirits and enjoying the blessings of autumn. I am enjoying the subtle changes in the garden. We are still experiencing temperatures in the high 80's so the roses are flourishing. The cut roses here are from my Pinata rosebush. It's always a surprise which colors will bloom. As many of you know, Shelley teacups are my favorites. Their artistry is remarkable! A while ago I was on a mission to find an antique Shelley to add to my collection. Of course I found many on ebay and Etsy, but the costs were quite prohibitive.  A couple of months ago I did find an antique Shelley ~ very simple but still an antique! So this brings us to our featured teacup...a Late Foley Shelley in the Star Border pattern (#10333). Gainsborough Shape I have learned this "pattern was entered in the Shelley pattern book during or after 1908 and was still in production in 1919 when numbers were transferred from the ...

The Farmers' Market is the perfect place to witness the bounties of each season. I like starting the weekend with a visit to our local farmer's market Saturday mornings. Apples were the choice fruit! I purchased organic Gala apples and decided to make an apple crisp with them. When choosing apples, I do buy organic due to the high levels of pesticides found in the non-organic ones. The stand was selling Gala, Fuji and MacIntosh. I thought the Gala apples would add some natural sweetness to the crisp. Since I made a several cobblers over the summer, I was looking for a crisp with a different crumb topping. I found a recipe online (surprisingly) from Rachael Ray's sister. What I liked about this recipe was the graham cracker crumb topping. It was a nice change from the traditional oat one. Here's the  recipe  and how I tweaked it a bit. -I used eight small Gala apples. -I baked the crisp in a deep dish pie plate. -I omitted the white sugar. -I us...

Dear Tea Friends, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in Stephanie's Teacup and Mug Exchange through her incredible blog,  The Enchanting Rose . This was my first time participating and I chose to exchange a teacup. Stephanie played matchmaker and each participant was given the address of our match and some basic likes of our "soon to be new friend."  I had the honor of sending a package to Lynn who has an amazing blog,  Quaker Hill Farm . Because of this exchange, I discovered her blog which features her beautiful home in Indiana and her talented crafts. Check out her pretty painted pumpkin post! I feel blessed to have made a new friend. I have been so eager to share about the package I received a couple of weeks ago! After opening a nicely decorated large box, I discovered that Stephanie herself  sent the package! I feel as if I won the jackpot of teacup exchanges as Stephanie certainly spoiled me with many one of a kind items. Come take a look an...

Welcome to October! Finally there have been hints of fall in the air with cooler mornings, two quick rain showers and earlier sunsets. Still we are having eighty degree temperatures forecasted for this week. This weekend I took the Halloween tubs out of the shed. This year I'm going for more of a fall theme in terms of decorations vs. a Halloween one. I put many items back in the tubs. The nice thing is the fall decorations can be left out for Thanksgiving as well. I absolutely love the colors of fall! My own wardrobe has many orange and brown items in it. There is something soothing about peach and tan hues. On Saturday I set up a simple tea time under the pergola in the backyard; hence this will be a simple post. Come join me for some cinnamon raisin bread and Stash's Chai Tea. Costco sells really thick sliced raisin bread- a nice sweet and quick morning treat with tea. (Sorry for the poorly lit photos. Too many shadows in the early light.) Today...