2021 Wrap-Up

 I sipped my way through 2021!

My "Drink What I Own" Tea Advent Calendar: Days 19-24

January to June tea empties

July to November tea empties

I finished tons of teas in my collection...

...but I also bought a lot of new blends (and restocked my faves) from Canadian tea companies!

 

A new tea company that I tried in 2021: Teamancy is a woman-owned tea company from Nova Scotia.

Unexpected plot twist: I started liking lavender teas!

Thank you all for your visits and comments throughout the year.

 

The second pandemic year was filled with high highs and low lows. 

 

But I'm still here!

Gingerbread teas and decor

I'm really leaning into the gingerbread this holiday season.

 

My gingerbread tea station

 

Top (L-R): Clearview Tea Co.'s Gingerbread Pear Cake green tea (a holiday fave); Dessert by Deb's Banana Gingerbread Waffles black tea

Bottom (L-R): DavidsTea's Gingerbread matcha; Celestial Seasonings' Gingerbread Spice herbal tea
 

 

These gingerbread cookie ornaments look very realistic!

 I also love the adorable little gingerbread house.

 

My kitchen rug and gingerbread scone.

 

 

"Drink What I Own" Tea Advent Calendar: Days 13-18

Wishing you all a safe and joyful Christmas!

DIY: Tea-themed ornaments

The crafty YouTubers have influenced me to DIY my own tea-themed ornaments this year.

 

O Christmas Tea!

I painted these wooden tree ornaments from Dollarama and decorated both sides with teapot and teacup stickers.

 

More wooden ornaments

 

 2015 DIY Decoupage Disaster

I didn't have proper decoupage glue, so I improvised and used watered-down glue which resulted in these sad baubbles. They got trashed!

 

This year, I found Mod Podge at Dollarama and decided to give it another shot.

These Christmas baubbles turned out MUCH better!

 

 

My curiosity got the better of me: I tried Justin Bieber's timbits with a cup of DavidsTea's Merry Mistletoe white tea. The Sour Cream Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Fudge "timbiebs" were just okay.

 

My "Drink What You Own" Tea Advent Calendar: Days 5-8

 

 

My "Drink What You Own" Tea Advent Calendar: Days 9-12

 

I can't believe that we're more than halfway through Advent!

 

2021 Tea-Themed Trees

I'm an early Christmas decorator so my halls are all decked out by the end of November.

 

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy teawares!

My ornaments are a delightful mix of whimsy and elegance!

 Some ornaments were thrifty finds.

Some ornaments were gifted to me.

 

It's fun hunting for tea-themed ornaments!

This year's additions to my tree: These adorable holiday ornaments from Dessert by Deb!

My tabletop teabag tree

My "Drink What You Own" Tea Advent Calendar: Days 1-4

 

Sweet dreams of teapots and teacups!

Apple Autumn Teas & Tea Advent Calendar

Apple cider tea is the perfect tea for transitioning from fall to holiday/winter teas!

 

 Stash Maple Apple Cider herbal tea

 

Dessert by Deb's delicious green tea blends (L-R): Hojicha Apple Turnover and Deep Dish Apple Pie 

Geek+Tea's Hearthside Cider

November tea empties

What I might repurchase:

1. DavidsTea's Pumpkin Chai 

2. Dessert by Deb's Ginger Creme Brulee

3. Stash Maple Apple Cider Herbal Tea

 

This year, I decorated my "Drink What I Own" Tea Advent Calendar with pins from a crafty friend and Dessert by Deb!  Can't wait for Dec 1st!

Tea-related bath and body products

This week, I'm sharing some recent finds: tea-related soap, body wash, and shampoo!

 

Bath and Body Works White Tea & Sage foaming hand soap

I didn't see actual tea leaves (camellia sinensis) in the ingredients, but it smelled nice!

 

Live Clean Moringa and Matcha Foaming Bath Wash contained camellia sinensis leaf powder.

 

 Herbal Essences Cucumber & Green Tea Shampoo also included camellia sinensis leaf extract.

What's your favourite bath and body product?

T Party: Red (TV)

It's red season!

Last Friday, I had a T party to celebrate the release of Taylor Swift's re-recording of her fourth album, Red (Taylor's Version)!

 

In my DYI "Begin Again" teacup: Dessert by Deb's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie herbal tea.

 "Begin Again" is one of my favourite songs on Red (TV). Can you see my red fringe scarf?

When I saw the $45 "Begin Again" teacup on the Taylor Swift store (which sold out quickly), I decided to try to DYI my own teacup. I found this cute white tea for one set at the thrift store for only $5.99.

I used a red Sharpie pen to write "Begin Again" on the mug. The red colour faded during the baking process, so I repeated this process several times until the red ink finally stayed.

On a Friday, in a café
I watched it begin again.

A Thrifty Teapot

Me: I'm going to stop buying teapots.

Narrator: She's not going to stop buying teapots.

 

My eagle eyes spotted this beauty sitting on the top shelf at a thrift store...

 

...and was shocked by the price tag: $5.99 CAD

 

Reason for the low price: the lid had a hairline fracture

But this didn't bother me since it didn't affect the function of the teapot.

 

I was delighted to give Royal Albert's "Lady Angela" a good home!

Autumn Teas: Chai

I enjoy chais throughout the year, but they always taste better during the cozy autumn days!

 

I'm a sucker for puns and bought Geek+Tea's Spice Odyssey black tea because of its name. The tea was delicious!

 

Pumpkin Chais

Left: Geek+Tea's Pumpkin Juice Chai is one of my favourite pumpkin blends.

Right: DavidsTea's Pumpkin Chai is a tasty blend of spices and caramel.

 

More DavidsTea chais

Top: S'Mores chai is a pu-erh (left); Maple chai is a black tea (right)

Bottom: Cinnamon Rooibos Chai (left); Butterscotch Chai Rooibos (right)

 

I was also excited to try these unique chais from DavidsTea (L-R): Banana Bread Chai oolong and Kashmiri Chai green tea.

I'm a huge coconut fan so I adore Dessert by Deb's Coconut Cream Pie Chai black tea!

 

 

October tea empties

What I already repurchased:

Dessert by Deb's Coconut Cream Pie Chai

 

What I might repurchase:

1) DavidsTea's Lavender Buttercream Rooibos

2) Tea Amo's Chocolate Perfection Pie Hojicha