A gourd life

As soon as the calendar flipped to September, I was all about the cute pumpkins and autumn decor!

 

My stack of vintage Johnson Brothers brown transferware teacups. My brown betty teapot is covered by a handmade owl tea cozy (a gift from a co-worker).

I'm really into the plaid and velvet pumpkins this year.

 

 

My small glass teapot filled with miniature white velvet pumpkins.

 

My pumpkin teapot (Kaldun & Bogle) paired beautifully with my new pumpkin mug (Chapters Indigo has the cutest seasonal mugs!).

 

I rescued this "Keep Calm and Drink Tea" two-cup teapot from my office.

 

Autumn gold: a vintage yellow tea set and teacup

 

My orange lusterwares

 

 

Other autumn staples: apple cider teas...

 

....and chais galore!

 (The autumn teas will get their own posts over the next few months.)

 

Have you started decorating for autumn?

Fall has arrived in my corner of the valley

It's September so my orangy-yellow and brown teawares are now on display!

This adorable Kaldun & Bogle pumpkin teapot was gifted to me years ago.

My brown betty with vintage Johnson Brothers brown transferwares and a Windsor China teacup.

My lusterwares: The peach teacups are Fire King, while the teapot and and sugar were Made in Japan.

Updated August sipdown

After last week's post was published, I realized that I forgot to include the Mango & Lychee Souffle green tea in my August sipdown.

On Day 70, I broke my tea buying ban. So I now have 6 fall teas (from 2 different companies) heading my way!

Paragon Teacup: Yellow Roses

The teacup that I'm showcasing this week was a gift from a woman that I met at work.

I love yellow so I've always been partial to yellow roses.

This gorgeous teacup was made by Paragon--one of my favourite china companies.

With the autumn season just 1 week away, my teawares in the fall colours are now out on display!

Have you started decorating for the fall?

January Blues

On National Hot Tea Day (Jan 12), we had the first office tea social of 2018.

People brought their own cups. I brewed the Madeleine Cookie black tea by Monarch Tea which was a hit! Our tea was accompanied by a box of Girl Guide chocolate mint cookies and good conversation. It was a simple, but fun tea.

When my relatives came over to my place last weekend, I used my Blue Willow tea sets for our tea. Over the years, I've managed to collect 12 tea sets (one cup is missing a saucer) by different makers (e.g., Churchill England, Crown Clarence, Johnson Brothers).

I've also acquired a few mugs by Sadler.

The tea set on the right is a modern reproduction by Johnson Brothers.

I used my new "Drink Me" teapot to serve green tea.

My "Celebrate Life" teapot served the black tea.

Enjoy the last few days of Hot Tea Month!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Friends Sharing Tea

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Last summer's White Linen Tea House visit was followed by some shopping at the Shawnee Country Barns Antique Co-op.

The Antiques Co-Op (barn on the bottom right) was "full of antiques and country charm".

I was so engrossed with all the tea pretties on display that I neglected to capture photos of the inside!

I exercised GREAT restraint and only purchased these 3 trio sets.

The pretty brown transferware design is perfect for a fall tea!

But what really sold me was the pattern name of this Johnson Bros Windsor Ware: 

Margaret Rose!

Now I'm keeping an eye out for another Margaret Rose trio so that I'd have an even set of 4!

Do you own tea sets that are your namesake?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

    No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Lover's Leap

Happy Leap Day!

I'm celebrating the extra day of the year by sipping Lover's Leap black tea by the Metropolitan Tea Company.

Lover's Leap is classified as an "Estate Tea" because it originated from the region of Nuware Eliya in Sri Lanka. The name of the Lover's Leap Estate was derived from a Sri Lankan tale of forbidden love.  Differences in social status prohibited a couple in love from marrying each other so the star-crossed lovers jumped off the garden's waterfall to be together in eternity.

Lover's Leap is designated as an Orange Pekoe tea because it is comprised of whole tea leaves.

I drank the first cup without milk and sugar and found that Lover's Leap had a "lively astringency".

The subsequent cups of Lover's Leap were enjoyed with milk and sweetened with an apple cinnamon candy spoon which gave the tea a slight pinkish hue.

The Lover's Leap tea was sipped from the "Old Chelsea" Johnson Brothers teacup that I received in my  first teacup exchange back in March 2014. I was honoured to have my fun swap experience included in Stephanie's Testimonials From Past Tea Cup and Mug Exchanges. Click here to read about how I received pretty teacups and made friends that I never knew I wanted!

The Enchanting Rose's next tea cup and mug exchange is just around the corner. 

Come out and play!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

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

  No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

In Search of a Rose

I've always admired Sandi's beautiful rose chintz tea set. This pretty pattern has eluded me for years so I was thrilled when my treasure hunting finally paid off at a church yard sale last May.

The four sets of dinner plates, salad plates, teacups and saucers, 3 bowls and sugar bowl cost me a grand total of $15!

The set had sat in a china cabinet so all the pieces were in mint condition.

The Rose Chintz backstamp with green markings.

The Pan Am Torch travelling through Hamilton where the football (soccer) games were hosted.

Our office tea social was held on July 24th and celebrated the end of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games and International Self-Care Day. 

These cute Ikea mugs were a Christmas gift from a friend.

The herbal infusions and green teas were perfect for the summer weather.

Our tea time treats covered the essential food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains and chocolate.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Time Tuesday

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

  Tea in the Garden
Tea Cup Tuesday

Teacup Exchange: Out of Africa

I've had the privilege of participating in the last 3 teacup exchanges hosted by Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose. It's always fun to meet other teacup lovers from around the world!

For this exchange, I sent a teacup across the border to Lynn who lives in Illinois. I may have gone a little tape happy with her package (who wouldn't with super cute tape?)!

Lynn does not have a blog so I am sharing photos of what I included in her package: a teacup, a teabag holder, rubber duck tea infuser, tea samples, a tea towel, note cards, and Canadian chocolates.

I gave Lynn this Royal Vale teacup which came from my own collection. After much consideration (it's always hard to part with one of my tea pretties!) I selected this teacup because of its cheery yellow flowers.

Lynn sent me this cute card and a lovely letter to express her heartfelt thanks for the package.

I was excited to find out that Nancy sent me a teacup all the way from South Africa! The estimated delivery time for international surface mail was 3 months...

...but it actually arrived on Monday! The philatelist in me is geeking out over the cool South African postage stamps!

Charlotte Brontë would have approved of the teacup's pretty (and careful) packaging!

Nancy sent me these adorable goodies in my favourite colour.

I love the teacup's simple but elegant fleur de lys design. 

Many thanks for the fun parcel, Nancy!

As a throwback to past exchanges, I'm also sharing what I received from last year's teacup swaps.

For my first teacup exchange in March 2014, I received this pretty rose-themed package from Sandra from Ravenhill Cottage who also resides in southern Ontario.

This vintage teacup decorated with beautiful roses came from Sandra's own collection and is called "Old Chelsea" by Johnson Bros. Thank you for the lovely gifts, Sandra!

In October 2014, I participated in my second teacup exchange and received this crafty package from Nicole, a fellow Canuck from Alberta.

I've always admired other bloggers' lustrewares so I was delighted to receive this gorgeous teacup by Castle China--my first "Made in Japan" teacup. Thank you for the wonderful package, Nicole!

Last, but certainly not the least, I am extremely grateful to Stephanie, organizer extraordinaire, for all the time and efforts she put into running such well-organized and fun teacup exchanges. You can learn more about the past teacup swaps here.

I look forward to the next exchange in the fall!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

The Enchanting Rose's Teacup Exchange #6 Reveal  

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Tea Cup Tuesday