Apples to Apples

The impending arrival of fall means it's time to start sipping some apple teas!

Celestial Seasonings' Caramel Apple Dream herbal teabags consist of: cinnamon, hibiscus, natural flavours (caramel, apple), orange peel, chamomile, roasted chicory, ginger and sea salt.

The tea lived up to its "Caramel Apple" name and tasted sweet and fruity!

Tealish's Apple Cinnamon herbal tea contains real apple pieces, as well as chamomile and cinnamon.

This apple cinnamon blend had a delicious scent and a pleasant fruity taste with a touch of spiciness!

What are your favourite apple teas?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Transitioning to Fall

Although fall doesn't officially start for another 11 days, I've already started bringing out my seasonal decor.

This lovely teacup came from a friend's late mother's teacup collection.

The yellow and brown colours are perfect for autumn.

As usual, I'm unfamiliar with these yellow flowers (hibiscus, maybe?). 

If you know, please enlighten me!

Interestingly, the saucer and teacup have different Windsor China backstamps.

The saucer backstamp was circa 1946+, while the teacup backstamp was circa 1950+.

The colouring of the "newer" teacup is noticeably darker than the "older" saucer.

If you missed out on all the teacup exchange fun last spring, registration for the 11th exchange starts on September 13th. Click here to visit The Enchanting Rose now!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Tea in the Shady Grove

During my staycation, I visited a cozy tearoom called the Shady Grove Lukaya Cafe.

The cafe was named after the owner's daughter, Lukaya.

On "Songwriter's Nights", the patrons can enjoy live music with their tea.

Tea Tower!

I enjoyed an empire cookie with a delicious cup of walnut crunch green ta.

Last week, we celebrated the end of summer with a tea social at the office.

My "Summer Fling" oolong tea was a hit. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph the treats that my co-workers brought (blogger fail!).

How did you spend the last days of summer?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Aberfoyle Antique Market

At the beginning of August, I went to Canada's largest outdoor antique market, Aberfoyle Antique Market. 

The market is open every Sunday (April-October) and offers antiques, vintage items and collectibles from over 100 vendors--a treasure hunter's heaven!

There were teacups GALORE!

(Due to the crowds, I only photographed a few displays).

I loved the yellow gilded teacup on the bottom right corner.

My willpower prevailed and I left without taking any of the teacups home with me.

I had fun browsing and would definitely go back!

 

The other day, I spotted this super cute microfibre hand towel at the local Dollarama store.

I just couldn't say no to this adorable purple teacup.

You can never have too many tea towels, right?!?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Soleil

In honour of the rare solar eclipse that is occurring today, I'm sharing my "Soleil" (English translation = sun) teawares by Le Creuset.

 These sets were gifted to me by my brother a few years ago.

"Soleil draws on the sun-filled spirit of late afternoon gatherings in the southeastern French countryside. With its radiant range of yellows, Soleil is a sophisticated, appealing gradient that arcs from soft butter to bright citrus." (Source: Le Creuset)

 Tea for one 

Teapot

I also have the matching whistling kettle, mugs, and 3-tiered plate (not pictured).

Credit: Canadian Space Agency

A partial eclipse of the sun will be visible in Canada.

Click here to view NASA's eclipse maps for the U.S.

Credit: International Association of Fire Fighters

Safety tips for viewing the solar eclipse.

Bonnie Tyler will sing her classic song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart", on a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship during the actual eclipse.

"Turn around bright eyes."

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Afternoon Tea with English Flowers

Happy National Afternoon Tea Week!

"Summer Passion" by The Polar Tea Co. was a herbal blend of pineapple, papaya and lemon.

 The tea tasted sweet and fruity. 

I had made it as a hot tea, but it would also be refreshing as an iced tea.

Paragon is one of my favourite teacup makers. 

This pattern is called "English Flowers."

Can you identify these English flowers?

(Because I have no clue!)

A butter tart and vanilla slice was the perfect accompaniment to my afternoon tea!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden

Wonderland

Last month, I visited the new location of the Mad Hatter Tea Co. The proprietor had a degree in interior design so the shop was beautifully decorated!

Whimsical decor met me at the door.

I love the huge mural of Alice and the Queen of Hearts!

Isn't this floral light fixture gorgeous?

"M" is for Mad Hatter.

The menu and teawares for sale.

The Wonder Blend Wall

Choose Me!

Patrons are encouraged to create art on the chalkboard tables. 

I had a sample of the Mad House Rosé: an oolong tea blended with strawberry, coconut and pineapple. This tea was too tart for me though so I purchased different samples instead.

The samples came in these cute little tins.

"Cherry Bomb" was a fruity tea made of rooibos tea, cherries and coconut flakes.

 "We're all mad here."


I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea in the Garden