Tea in the Valley: May 2016

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage, and Garden Blog Party

Monday, May 23, 2016

Victoria Day Long Weekend

Happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canucks!

Sandi from Rose Chintz Cottage provided a nice summary of why Canada celebrates Victoria Day here.

2010 Mother's Day Tea with Queen Victoria

Back in 2010, we attended a Mother's Day Tea at the Ireland House in Burlington, Ontario.

Queen Victoria (right) graced us with her presence.

I took last Friday off from work so I enjoyed a super long weekend!

I treated myself to a delicious brunch of Eggs Benedict and raspberry tea at Jax Sweet Shoppe.

In the afternoon, I dropped by the Hazel Tea & Dessert House, a newly opened internet cafe specializing in bubble tea.

I tried one of the signature milk teas (iced): Hazel's Brown Sugar Milk Green.

The creamy green tea was sweetened with brown sugar, but I could still detect a slight bitterness from the green tea's tannins. I used to like tapioca beads when I was younger, but now I prefer my bubble tea minus the bubbles!

My sweet tooth very much enjoyed Hazel's signature milk waffle.

My yummy "Very Matcha" waffle was served with green matcha ice cream, red bean paste, and cheesecake bits (unlike the traditional cheesecake, the Japanese-style cheesecake is light and fluffy).

I'll definitely go back to Hazel Tea and Dessert House to try the other milk teas and enjoy the "Very Matcha" waffle again!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage, and Garden Blog Party

Monday, May 16, 2016

Crowning Glory

Last week, I shared this unique item that I found at a church sale.

Many of you guessed that it was a cover of some sort which was half correct...

Photo Source: Internet

The crown was part of Emma Bridgewater's 2012 limited edition decorative jar that celebrated Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. The commemorative jar was sold for 100 GBP but I only paid 50 cents for my souvenir crown because it was missing the jar bottom!

At the same church sale, I also purchased this James Sadler (Made in England) teapot for $5. I thought that the teapot was lilac in colour, but when I brought it home, it looked more like periwinkle blue. Does it look purple or blue to you?

The last treasure that I scored was this gorgeous embroidery for only $2!

I'd love to have these teapots in my cupboard!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage, and Garden Blog Party

Monday, May 9, 2016

Twice the Luck

Last month, I was the lucky winner of two giveaways hosted by tea bloggers that I greatly admire.

Tea with Friends was one of the first tea blogs that I followed. I had enjoyed reading Angela's delightful Saturday series of "Teatimes Tales" so I was thrilled to win an autographed copy of the book!

One of my favourite stories was Tempest in a Tea Cabinet which featured talking teacups!

Another favourite is Plain, Reliable Betty about a teapot in therapy.
(I've always been a fan of anthropomorphism!).

Thank you, Angela, for the signed book!

You can read all 52 Teatime Tales by clicking here.
You can also order the book on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Last month, Ruth, the lovely hostess of Tuesday Cuppa Tea and our resident expert on the British monarchy, celebrated Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday with a "Right Royal Grandkids Giveaway" and drew my name for these wonderful Royal memorabilia.

This tea towel commemorated "The Royal Kiss" shared by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their Royal Wedding in 2011.

This bright blue tea towel commemorated the birth of the future king of England, George Alexander Louis, on July 22, 2013.The tea towels are too pretty for everyday use so I will have to think of a creative way of displaying them...

This bone china mug by Adderley celebrated Princess Charlotte's birth on May 2, 2013.

Thank you, Ruth, for the generous giveaway!

In other royal topics, I purchased this interesting item at a church sale for only 50 cents!

Can you guess what this is?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage, and Garden Blog Party

Monday, May 2, 2016

Potter Around

This past weekend, thousands of pottery fans flocked to the Spring Sale of the Hamilton Potters' Guild. Of course, I went to scope out the teawares!

How cute are these miniature teapots?

These whimsical clay teapots by Danuta Tydor are perfect for a Mad Hatters' tea party.

You can view more of Danuta's decorative teapots here.

A dragon teapot for Daenerys Targaryen.

I loved this purple birdhouse, but left it behind as I didn't have a proper place to hang it in my backyard.

This turquoise teapot necklace by Frances Ward was the only teapot that I could afford to take home with me.

The highlight of the weekend was meeting Wendy from September Violets (my first blogger meetup!) who came down for the pottery show! We had a blast browsing the 10,000 (!) pottery pieces at the show.

Taylor's Tea Room was packed with the lunch crowds so we ended up going to Jax Sweet Shoppe for a post-sale snack. We were so busy chatting that I forgot to photograph the delicious savory scones that we enjoyed.

Thank you, Wendy, for the wonderful company!

I'm joining the following parties this week: