Monday, January 26, 2015

My Favorite Things

The Sound of Music was one of my favorite movies as a child. So it was a dream come true when my friend and I visited Salzburg in the spring of 2008 and toured the original film locations.


The lake where Fraulein Maria and the von Trapp children's rowboat capsized.


The romantic gazebo which made female viewers wish they were 16 going on 17 again...Now if a guy told me that I need someone older and wiser, telling me what to do, my response would be: "So long. Farewell. Auf Weidersehen. Good bye."



Maria and the Captain's wedding scene was filmed at St. Michael's Church in Mondsee, a picturesque lakeside town located 20 minutes away from Salzburg.


The beautiful Mirabell Gardens where Maria and the children frolicked and danced while learning the notes to sing. And yes, I had the "Do-Re-Mi" tune stuck in my head for days afterwards!


On our own time, my friend and I visited Nonnberg Abbey, where Maria resided as a young novice and puzzled the other nuns with her eccentric ways. The real-life Maria--who was the inspiration for The Sound of Music film--lived in Nonnberg Abbey and later married Baron von Trapp at the Abbey church.


As you all know, one of my favorite things is tea, a drink with jam and bread. Over the years, I have amassed quite a number of tea pretties that I enjoy for different reasons. To determine which ones I love the best, I asked myself: If I had to flee my homeland and can only bring a few of my precious teawares with me, what would I take? I shared my favorite teacup last week.


My favorite traditional teapot was a 35th birthday present from my parents. Royal Albert's Old Country Roses design is the blockbuster musicals of china patterns. I had been aspiring to acquire a Royal Albert teapot for years so I was thrilled (insert Liesl's ``Wheeeeeeeee!`` face) to finally own one of these beauties. The classic design of Old Country Roses makes it perfect for any occasion. I particularly cherish this teapot because it symbolizes the awesomeness of my parents who have guided me through so many good times and bad times.


My favorite modern teapot is the Le Creuset's "Soleil" (ray, a drop of golden sun!) teapot given to me a couple of Christmases ago by my brother. This stoneware teapot comes with a stainless steel infuser and is extremely durable (it survived an airplane flight in checked luggage). The cheery yellow colour uplifts any mood and every time I use this teapot, I think of my brother.


Edited to fix photos.


I am joining the following parties this week:

Monday, January 19, 2015

Royals

My first Royal Albert teacup is very special to me because it was given to me by a friend on my 30th birthday. Aren't the yellow and lilac roses so pretty?


A part of the 100 Years of Royal Albert commemorative collection, this gorgeous hostess set is a reproduction of the beautiful 1910 design "Duchess". The black background represents the dark days of World War I.


My friend picked the 1910 Duchess pattern because the Royal Albert Figurine counterpart shares my name!


It's the perfect teacup to to use while viewing my favourite tea-drinking, British drama, "Downton Abbey"!

I am in good company with other famous January babies.


The Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 33rd birthday on January 9th. A love of tea must be a prerequisite for the future Queen of England.


Oprah will be celebrating her 61st birthday on January 29th.  The Queen of Daytime TV loves tea so much that she created her own blend--Oprah Chai.
"You get a tea! You get a tea! You get a tea! EVERYBODY GETS A TEA!!!"

Edited to fix photos.

I am joining the following parties this week:

Monday, January 12, 2015

Gifted

My family and friends know me all too well and spoiled me with many tea-related gifts on Christmas.


I won't have to worry about running out of stock during Hot Tea Month (or the next 6 months)! These teas from international (Italy), national (Alberta) and local (Greater Toronto Area) tea shops are all new to me and I look forward to trying them out!


One of my work friends surprised me with this lovely vintage sugar and cream set which had belonged to her husband's aunt. I love the chintz design--it'll go well with my other teawares!


Now I have to keep an eye out for the matching cups and saucers at local thrift stores...


Anything purple and tea-related are always enthusiastically received! This is the first Japanese cast iron teapot in my collection.


I was also delighted to receive these unique gifts: a set of 3 cork "Kettle" trivets; a fun magnet (the message is so true!); and interesting notecards featuring traditional Scottish tea room recipes on the back. Not pictured: a jolly Santa teapot, a miniature tea set, and tea ornaments which I neglected to photograph before packing them away.


Last, but not the least, are these super cute Disney Princess Tea Set. Be my guest...or heads will roll!



Look at this stuff.
Isn't it neat? 
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?

Edited to fix photos.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

New Kid on the Blog

My love of tea started in my early 20s. Back in the olden days of LiveJournal, I had thought of starting a blog about the different tearooms that I visited but alas, this never came into fruition. "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" to all the fun online tea parties. So in 2015, I'm finally jumping down the rabbit hole of tea blogland!

For my inaugural Tea Time/Tea Cup Tuesday post, I'm sharing one of the first bone china teacups that I acquired in my collection.
 

This vintage teacup was kindly gifted to me by an elderly woman I met through work who thought that I would appreciate the lovely bone china cup and saucer--and she was right!


What an excellent start to my teacup collection!

Edited to fix photos.

I'm joining the following parties:
Tea Time Tuesday
Tea Cup Tuesday
Friends Sharing Tea
Tuesday Cuppa Tea