A Mad Tea Open House

This month, I celebrated a milestone birthday with a Mad Tea Open House! Annnd for the second year in a row, we had a "significant snowfall" (10-15 cm or 4-6 inches) on the day of my party. I hemmed and hawed over where to cancel, but ultimately decided to proceed with the Open House since the majority of guests were local.

It's always tea time!

Alice in Wonderland napkins and plates

The guests selected their bone china teacups.

Three types of teas were served (left to right):

1) OTeas' Berry Bouquet herbal tea - a caffeine-free option

2) Clearview Tea's Winter Spice green tea  - this was the favourite

3) TWG's 1837 Black Tea

(coffee was also available for the non-tea drinkers)

Light refreshments

Sweet treats

My talented work friend baked me this awesome tea-themed lemon cake!

I was incredibly touched that my friends braved the inclement weather to celebrate my birthday. They made my 20+20 birthday special and reminded me how blessed I am to have such amazing friends!

Tea-lightful Christmas gifts

In addition to the interesting teas that I received for Christmas, my family and friends also gave me some really cool tea-themed gifts.

What does the fox say?

A two-cup teapot

A tea cozy (the new teapot is small, but it matches the cozy perfectly!)

A lovely teacup in my favourite colours: purple and yellow!

A lavender tea set that includes a creamer, sugar, and spoon.

A new Sereni-tea mug for the office.

A tea infuser bottle that can keep the liquid hot OR cold.

You can never have enough cute tea towels or napkins!

A Mrs. Potts and Chip tee.

Tea-infused candy.

A teacup night light and magnets.

I'm so thankful to have such thoughtful friends who spoil me!

2020 Sipdown Challenge

Once again, my family and friends spoiled me on Christmas with some unique and interesting teas!

Teas from France: Laduree and Lov Organic

A variety of green and herbal teabags by Touch Organic, Muji (my cousin brought all the way back from Japan), and Tetley.

Loose leaf teas from Canadian companies: Totalitea (Calgary), Geek+Tea (Hamilton), DavidsTea (Ontario), Pluck (Toronto),and Waterdown Tea House (Waterdown).

I have enough teas to last me for years. So I'm recommitting to drinking what I own in 2020! No more new tea purchases for a looooooong time!

Now it's time to announce the winner of my 5-year blogiversary!

And the WINNER selected by Random.org is...(DRUM ROLL):

Congratulations to CHERYL from Two Sides of the Ocean!!!

Cheryl, please e-mail me your mailing address by January 15th and I will ship your prizes you.

Celebrating a new year and my 5-year blogiversary!

Happy 2020!

As usual, the holidays flew by! But I'm looking forward to what this new decade will bring.

I kicked off the new year with a cup of Goddess oolong tea from the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC. This decade, I hope I can finally cross off afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress from my bucket list!

My tea empties from the December sipdowns.

Left: teas from my customized tea advent calendar.

Right: other holiday teas that I enjoyed during the Christmas season.

Today is a very, very, very special day: Tea in the Valley is celebrating its 5-year blogiversary! 

I was a lurker of tea blogs for years before I finally joined the fun! Starting this little blog has been an incredible ride. The connections I made through blogging enriched my life in so many ways. I've even met some of my local blogging friends in real life! Extreme gratitude goes out to everyone who has supported this blog by visiting, commenting, or following via e-mail over the last 5 years.

To thank you all for your awesome support, I am hosting a 5-Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

 The giveaway winner will receive:

1) This vintage bone china (Made in England) tea cup and saucer.

2) Some tea samples and other surprise items

Eligibility: 

Due to high postage costs, the giveaway is only open to residents of Canada and U.S. (sorry!)

How to enter: 

Drop an "Enter Me" comment and a way for me to contact you below
(if I don't already have your e-mail address).

Entry Deadline: 

5:00 pm Eastern Time on Sunday, January 12, 2020

The winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on: 

Monday, January 13, 2020

If the winner doesn't contact me within 48 hours, a new name will be drawn.

Good luck everyone!!!