Unusual Teapot Find

I found this unusual coffee/tea pot combination at a local antique store and had to have it.  The delicate ring of roses was too precious to pass up plus the stacked pieces fascinated me.

My parents had a dripolator coffee pot so, even though the pot was in the shape of a teapot,  I believe it was meant to brew coffee.

There was also a tea strainer which leads me to believe it was meant to be used for coffee or tea - unless this strainer was meant for the coffee.   I believe the holes are large enough that coffee grounds would go through them so have discounted that theory.   Of course we tea lovers know you would never brew coffee and tea in the same pot!

I looked the coffee pot up on the internet and the Apilco  China was made in France and known for its special glaze which would maintain the color permanently.  It made special reference to the interior glaze so I'm assuming it would not stain.

View inside the dripolator.

Outside view of the same.

The tea strainer fits on next with the top of the coffee pot fitting snugly on top of this stack or on the coffee pot itself.

I love the uniqueness of this piece, and since I am strictly a tea drinker,  this will remain a teapot in my house.

I will by joining Sandi for Teatime Tuesday

Tea Cup Heaven Part V

Welcome to the last of my 5- part Teacup Heaven posts sharing a collection of teacups recently given to me.  I've saved the best for last as this is my favorite of the teacups.

I had starting collecting "black" teacups over a year ago with the intent of using them for a Halloween Tea.  So far I have only been able to find 2 so this was a welcome addition.

Even if I hadn't been looking for black cups this would have been my favorite.  I love the deep pink roses against the black.

This delicate rose teapot is the perfect companion.  The cross stitch rose napkins were a Christmas gift and go nicely with the cross stitch luncheon cloth.

The black cross stitch picks up the black in the cup.

I'm especially fond of teacups with a flower on the inside.

I had to take a picture with the full table cloth to show the pink tulips.  I'll do a future post on the unusual coffee/tea pot that's shown.

This ends my series on my very special gift of teacups that belonged to my friend Dottie's mother.  These cups are so very special to me and I will cherish them and give them a loving home.  Dottie's house is small and she didn't have a place to store or display them.   I did these posts to thank her for her generosity and honor her mother--plus she can visit them whenever she likes.

I will be joining Sandi for Teacup Tuesday

Teacup Heaven Part IV

I have two more teacups to share today from my girlfriends's mom collection.  I wish I could have known her mom as we are definitely kindred spirits.

This floral bouquet is as pretty on the back as it is on the front.

The yellow rose has been replaced by a buttercup on the back.

There is yet another bouquet on the inside of the cup.

I added the next photo to show off the beautiful embroidered tablecloth.

The table looks a little busy but the embroidery has all the colors of the teacup.   I love my embroidered tablecloths but often end up not using them because they seem to fight with my dishes instead of enhancing them when setting up for a tea.

The second teacup today has a pretty orange flower in the bouquet.

I immediately thought of my Hall Orange Poppy Teapot.  I seldom used this teapot because I didn't have a tea cup to compliment it.

The back of this teacup has a pretty blue and white motif.

  My mom made this blue cross stitch tablecloth for me.  It accents the tiny blue flowers on the teacup and teapot.

I've took all the photos for this 5 part series in one day .  I have fasting blood work next week so have avoided putting any sweets in the photos but all these shots have my sweet tooth throbbing and the pictures are begging for a proper teatime treat.

With only one more post in this series I want to thank all of you who have made me welcome to "linked" tea parties.  All the kind comments and words of encouragement are truly appreciated.

I will be joining Sandi for Teatime Tuesday to get my sweet fix as I view all the treats in my fellow blogger's posts.

Teacup Heaven Part III

This week's teacups again come from my girlfriend's mother's collection which she passed on to me. 

What stood out to me when I unwrapped this teacup was the white violet in the center of the bouquet.  I thought this was so unusual until I checked my other violet cups and found that I have 3 others that have one white blossom.

My violet teapot is  perfect for this tea celebration.

I did a lavender tea post a couple years ago which was probably the favorite of all my teas.  You can view that here.

 This simple white teacup with its gold border  is so eloquent.

It has no markings on the back.

A couple years ago I purchased 6 of the dessert plates pictured to go with a "Golden Snowball Tea" that I was hosting. (The plates were 50 cents each at Kohl's clearance counter.)  You can view that post here.   Mix and matching cups and plates is my style but this makes for a classy tea for one when I want to pamper myself.

I still have more cups to reveal next week from this generous gift.

In the meantime I will  be joining Sandy for

 Teatime Tuesday

    

Teacup Heaven Part II

Teacup Heaven continues as I share more of the teacups belonging to my friends mother.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I had to share this teacup today.

I fell in love with the row of gold hearts  against the burgundy backdrop on this beautiful teacup.  

Definitely a cup for Valentine's Day 

As I continued to unpack the cups I found this smaller teacup (demitasse possibly?)  in the same colors.

Together with my burgundy Hall Wind sail Teapot, I think I have the perfect beginning for a Grandma - Granddaughter Tea.

This little cupid is ready for Tea.

 Teacup Heaven continues next week  as I unwrap more of these beautiful cups.

I will be joining  Sandi this week for a Valentines Tea at

 Teatime Tuesday 

Tea Cup Heaven

A dear friend recently gifted me with her mother's tea cup collection.  My friend has a small house and didn't have a place to display or store the cups and knew how much I enjoy my teacups.

The first tea cup is a Lily of the Valley.  This makes my 10th Lily of the Valley tea cup, all with slightly different patterns.

What makes this one so unique is the tannish color on the outside of the cup. 

As you can see my Lily of the Valley collection goes way beyond just the teacups.

The second tea cup for this post is a Snowdrop Teacup.

One of the bloggers I follow featured this cup a couple weeks ago which made unwrapping this cup a special treat.

My dilemma here is what teapot to use.  Do I go with white?

Or my favorite everyday green teapot.  I found this in a second hand shop a couple years ago and use it almost every day.

I'm going to have to do some research on Royal Albert's Flower of the month series as I love scouring antique shops for a specific style or flower on a tea cup.

 

Both teacups, Snowdrops and Lily of the Valley remind me that spring can't be too far off although I've yet to receive a seed catalog in the mail!

I'm will be joining Sandi for Teacup Tuesday at

www.sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Christmas Tea 2014

I started my day with good intentions of packing away "Christmas"  but felt guilty that I hadn't found time for a Christmas Tea.  I took a quick look in my fridge and decided maybe I could pull something together without a trip to the grocery store.  I called my tea ladies and 3 of the 5 said they could come so I rushed into action.

Luckily the table was still set with Christmas Linens so quickly added dishes and silver.

I added my new Christmas Teacups which I had been searching for since last Christmas when I decided my Pfaltzgraff mugs where just to heavy for a Christmas Tea.  Christmas teacups were almost impossible to find in our area but a girlfriend found 4 for me at an antique show in Ohio.

Our savory was a Pillsbury Crescent Roll Broccoli Chicken wreath.  This picture was taken as it came out of the oven and I forgot to take a better picture after it had been cut and re-plated.  Promise I didn't serve it like this.

Luckily my pantry was stocked with an Orange Almond Scone Mix which was the perfect accompaniment for the "Wild Blueberry with Limoncello" and "Chai Tea Marmalade" jams I purchased for the holidays.  Notice the pretty shape of the jam jar.  I was not embarrassed at all to place the jam jar on the table.  The Pistachio macaroons were a Christmas gift.

Dessert was a Chess Pie.   I had cut the recipe out of a magazine months ago to try.  It was made with buttermilk, sugar and eggs.  It was one of the most delicious pies I've ever eaten.  I needed something for a garnish so added an orange twist.  I served each piece with a dab of whip cream and orange wedge.

Tea was served from the Pfaltzgraff teapot that matches my dishes.  Far from my prettiest teapot, its one of my favorites as it has a wire infuser insert.   Tea with the first course was Lavender Earl Grey.

Some of my new Christmas Tea cups.

Dessert was served on these red transfer dishes.  Tea was Stash Black Forest.

One of my tea ladies brought me the following teacup puzzle.  It was a labor of love to complete.  When I first looked at it I thought it would be a cinch but getting the right flowers with the right teacups was much more of a challenge than I expected.

From Start

To Finish

The finished puzzle slipped easily on to the top of my tea cart where it will stay until I decide whether to take it apart or maybe have a piece of glass cut to size and leave it on the cart.