Teacup Tales

As the world celebrates  St. Patrick's Day, I want to share with you some teaware that I hold near and dear. One of the things I cherish about Ireland is its traditions of craftsmanship. Whether it's intricate wool weaving, fine Waterford crystal or beautiful bone china, people from around the world (and in Ireland) want to collect these quality pieces. Courtesy of wikipedia Belleek is a well known Irish pottery that produces bone china pieces. In fact it is the one of the world's oldest working potteries in the world. It opened in 1857 and its location has remained the same throughout its history: County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The above photo is the factory (open for tours) and there is a welcome center along with a tea room. Here  is the information about the visitors centre. Belleek pieces have many traits which make them so unique from other potteries. The older pieces are remarkably thin, slightly iridescent and appear "wet." ...

I hope all of you are enjoying the start of the Christmas season. Our weather has cooled considerably and we are now finally able to wear sweaters.  It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... ~The house is decorated and the outside lights went up yesterday. ~I certainly haven't finished my shopping, but I know what I want to gift each person on my list. ~I want to "treat" myself to a new Nativity scene. Growing up I had one with a lit background for the stars. I would like one in that style again. I've been looking on amazon. ~I've cut out some new cookie recipes from HGTV magazine and Southern Living. I really want to try and bake the red velvet cake featured on the December issue of Tea Time Magazine. I look forward to a big baking day soon. After teacup collecting, ornaments are second on my list of favorite collectibles. I love glass ornaments! I also look for ornaments while on vacation and each Christmas we choose an ornament that represents s...

Greetings Tea Friends, During the fall and winter months, my desire to bake and my intake of desserts definitely increases. Desserts provide comfort on cold nights along with a pot of tea. Too often the dessert teas I've tried have been overly sweet and artificial tasting. I feel as if I need to drink a glass of water afterward. I am happy to report my dessert tea dilemma has been solved thanks to a tea from  Plum Deluxe . Plum Deluxe sells organic loose leaf teas and is located in Portland, Oregon.  The owner, Andy Hayes, reached out to me to sample some of his teas and now I'm delighted to share Coconut Macaron Dessert Tea with you.  (sorry for the glare) The ingredients are organic black tea, honeybush tea, Rooibos tea, coconut pieces and natural almond essence. The steeped tea is golden brown in color with a scent and taste of light caramel.  I look forward to serving this tea after holiday dinners with dessert. It will complement not overpower de...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Please join me for tea as we celebrate this special day.  Barry's tea will be served in vintage Belleek tea cups (featured on my blog two weeks ago). This pretty tablecloth was an early St. Patrick's Day gift from my mom. I really like the sweet details and the lace-like cut outs. Thanks Mom! I love how there are lavender flowers among the shamrocks. It's not over the top St. Patrick's Day. I plan to use this tablecloth for spring and summer teas as well. Help yourself to sugar from a Belleek Neptune sugar bowl. Fourth mark (first green mark) circa 1946-1955   Please enjoy some gold covered chocolates in a basket of Belleek along with tiny erysimum flowers from my garden. My last pieces of Belleek to share...both were gifts from my uncles. The harp is the national symbol of Ireland and this vase is special to me because it holds soil from my first trip to Ireland. (I know, very sentimen...

Cead Mile Failte....One Hundred Thousand Welcomes in Irish Welcome to my Belleek Teacup Party!  St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching and it's a special day indeed for me. My mother is from scenic West Cork in Ireland. Visiting my aunt, uncles and cousins in Cork has provided me with some of the most memorable trips and experiences of my life. Growing up there was Belleek and Waterford crystal in my home as these pieces were much more affordable years ago in Ireland. I'll share some of my favorite Belleek teacups along with a few images of West Cork. This teacup is a birthday gift from my sister in law. The woven textured body and shamrocks make it quite endearing. It has the Eleventh Mark back stamp from 2001-2006. All Belleek pieces have back stamps which give you an estimate of the production date. If you're interested, you can use this link to date your pieces: http://www.belleek.com/date-your-belleek This is my oldest piece...