Tea Blog-a-thon #3

I must admit that I was a little frustrated on what to post for this week's blog-a-thon at http://gracioushospitality.blogspot.com/. Not that I don't decorate with tea items, which is the theme, but that I have posted my tea items in previous posts. So, this is what I came up with, however, if you are new to my blog and would like to see more of my tea items, just visit previous posts.
My coffee table in the living room almost always has something tea related displayed on it. I usually change this with the seasons and holidays. On the table right now is my new set from Cracker Barrell with the flowers showing. I put the tray on a dish stand for that "different heights look!"
I tried so hard to get this picture of my Sandy Lynam Clough print. But it is on a wall by a door and no matter how I tried, you can sorta see the door in the reflection. I used to do counted cross stitch so this was so wonderful with the combo of tea and stitching. The saying is We Are His Workmanship. This is hanging in what I call MY ROOM.
Above the previous picture is this smaller one. I found this years ago at some little country store. It is one of my favorites. It says Just Because You East Off Paper Plates, Doesn't Mean You Have to Give Up Your Grandmother's China. I do not know who made it. Behind the piece of china is a piece of lace...I think if you click on the picture, you can see the details better.
This is one of the pictures I previously posted. This is also in MY ROOM.

I was so excited this morning. My husband called me in from outside. He was watching our area news and he said you will want to see this. I, being the Positive person I am, said "what's wrong?" Well, the tea room that my friend and I love to go to was on the news. It was so fun to see it on TV and finally show my husband where his money has been going!

A Special Award!

I was so honored to receive this award from Charlotte @ At Home in Scottsdale. Blogging has been so much fun for me, and I have met such talented and fun people. I will be passing this award on soon.
I did finish the closet adventure! Glad that is over with. Now I can do more fun things...I don't know....like hmmmm....Blogging! Yep, that's what I'll do!

If you are looking for me.....

I am in my closet. Today I couldn't stand it anymore and decided I had to get some organization back in there....Sorry, I won't embarrass myself with before and after pictures. Let's just say....it isn't pretty!
Everyone - have a great weekend. And hopefully, closet and Lord willing, I will talk to you all on Monday.

The Hats!

To start, I recieved an award from Rachel at A Romantic Porch. Thank you so much! I would like to pass this award to 2 very dear friends of mine through blogging and through many years of friendship. They have been near and dear to me in good times and bad and they really do Make My Day! So to A Hint of Home and Mimi's Garden....this award is for you!

On to my Show and Tell, the Hats! So many of you wanted to see the hats from the hatboxes...so here they are, in ALL their splendor! And to A Hint of Home, who I KNOW is thinking this....I had the head from some dear lady at church that thought I may want to display my chemo wigs when I wasn't wearing it. Came in handy though!!! Added note: These are ALL the hats I have...they stay in the hatboxes. I am not a HAT girl and if I was...those would NOT be my choices.....and yes, I think the head is creepy too!

Bunnies are packed and ? hibernating?

I spent last evening wrapping up the bunnies, well most of them. I had to get a bigger container to put everything in. I must admit, it was a little sad. Now, everything is back to "normal".
I was quite happy with myself yesterday too because I went for walk. I haven't been able to do that in over a year. It was so exciting for me to go walking...I used to walk 2 miles a day....today was 3 blocks, but hey, it is a start!
In trying to think of something to post today after all the Easter items, I was a bit at a loss. But when I took down the tree, I realized that I could post my old hat boxes. I received these from an elderly lady at church many years ago. And yep, there are hats inside of them. That will be another time....but the boxes are original.

These are stacked in a corner in our guest room. That room is Victorian style. I previously posted pictures of that room.Each box has its own label or name.....

This one is especially interesting, because it is a man's hat form.... I really do not collect hat boxes...(I say chuckling to myself, as I really don't collect "anything", maybe "they" collect me!)...so I don't know anything about them, except they are old and I like em!

Easter is Leaving....but

Yesterday while putting away Easter decorations, my hubby wanted to go for lunch at Cracker Barrel. They had all their Easter "stuff" 50% off. Well, as my husband says; we did our part to stimulate the economy! I could not resist getting the tea set that matches my Easter dessert dishes.
But here is the neatest part. When I unpacked it at home, the teapot and creamer and sugar are reversable. There is a floral pattern on the other side. This makes it much more usable and wow, I think a bargain at $10.00 for the tray, pot, and sugar and creamer!
I am sure you all would have bought it too!

Tea Blog a Thon #2

This week in Gracious Hospitality's Blog-a-thon @ http://gracioushospitality.blogspot.com/ , we are to post about tea books, readings, cards.... I have 3 tea books that I enjoy reading over and over. I see that several of you have the Emilie Barnes books, but my absolute favorite is Tea with Patsy Clairmont. I bought this book at a Women of Faith conference and met Patsy and she signed my book. The pictures and writings are so refreshing...I never tire of it. I would love to add to my collection of tea books.

I think I will just add that to THE LIST!

Fun Day with the Grandkids

I normally would not post about my grandchildren, but this egg story is just too cute. I put out the plastic eggs for the kids to find. They had coins and a few dollars in them. They were so good about finding them and even making sure that each one found one. After they got their booty, we sat down and opened all the eggs.
My grandaughter who is 2 was very excited that there was "money" in each one.

After we bagged up their money in 2 separate bags, my grandson who is 5 asked if he could put the eggs back out. Sure I thought, it will keep him busy, while I get dinner finished. So he proceeds to lay out the eggs. Well, it didn't dawn on me right away, but here goes my little grandaughter picking up the eggs. What disappointment on her face when she opened them and they were empty. Apparently, they figured if they put them back out, they would miraculously be filled by the Easter bunny. It was so precious. One I will remember. It was a beautiful day here in Arizona and we stayed outside almost all of it. To say this grandma is tired today, well, that is putting it mildly!

Hallelujah!

Tea for One!

While I was ill last year my husband surprised me with a tea for one. He would make me tea every night. He got quite good at it too! Now that I am stronger, I am making my own tea. Usually, I just microwave a cup of water. The other day he said; "you can use your tea for one you know". So I got it out and I am using it.



Hallelujah! He is Risen!
My family and I will be worshipping and celebrating Easter Sunday together. I would like to wish all of you and your families a Blessed Easter.



He is not here, He is risen as He said. Matthew 28:6

More teacups!

After blogging I have now realized I am a Novice at teacup collecting. But I thought I might as well get pictures of all my cups while I was thinking about it. The little bear in the picture is a teacup bear. She is holding a small teacup in her hand. Thinking back I know my mom had teacups. But as she was cleaning one day decided she didn't need them and sold them in a garage sale for .50! I am cringing myself right now. Oh how I wish I had those teacups now. But, that was then and this is now and I am thankful for the few beautiful cups I do have. Hope you enjoy seeing them!

Bicycles

Have you ever collected anything and you don't know why? That is what my bicycle collection is. Aside from knowing how to ride a bike, I have no special memory attached to them. No marathons, no races! So why the bikes. I don't know. But when I see one, I am drawn to it, obviously!

Tea Blog-a-thon

I love blogging. I also like sleeping. But the two of them, don't like each other. I learned about this glorious blog-a-thon late Tuesday evening. I told myself, oh, you should do that TOMORROW. I went to bed. But visions of teacups were dancing in my head. Ok, it is now officially, TOMORROW.

Gracious Hospitality is hosting this Blog-a-thon. Cruise over there to get the complete rules and see other posts. We are to share a picture of our favorite teacup and saucer; describe it and tell it's history (or make up a story about it's past). Why is it meaningful to you?
Well, I couldn't make a decision. No surprise there! I simply could not decide which cup is more special. So I will show both. I cherish the 25th anniversary cup because I cherish our years married. This cup is almost 10 years old now, but it is filled with so many memories of that special day we had celebrating.
But....I really like this cup. This is my birthday month teacup. I love the violets on it and that it says February. I always was happy that I was born in February since it is the LOVE month.
So, now that I have made that indecision, maybe I can get some sleep! Post, and close. Say it again...post and close.

Some days just don't go as planned!

Well today was supposed to be my tea with a few friends. So one lady couldn't make it today and another hurt her back and wasn't moving today. I was going to use my new tea service...but when I realized it would be a close friend and myself, I decided to use my Easter dishes, etc...that was already out.
My luncheon turned out great and Amy and I had a wonderful time just talking about all the "world's issues and how WE could solve them! We had great chef salad's and various fruits. And I made berry muffins, but in the tiny muffin sheet. They turned out so good and soooo cute. We thoroughly enjoyed ourself. After about 3 cups of tea, we "mosied" into the living room to draw our visit to a close. I promise, the tea set will come out soon and I will post pictures.
The above nest was my JoAnn purchase. I had every intention of putting it in one of my cloches, but it is just too big. So I admittedly copied some posts I have seen and decopaged some eggs for my cloche. I used music sheet paper, but it is hard to see in the pic. Anyways.. I didn't have any moss to put them on, so I just used the berry candle ring. I like how it looks in person. Decopaging those eggs is a challenge though. It took me about 2 days to get all the glue off my nails.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Not an ounce of the Irish here, but for all who celebrate, Enjoy! Today is our "running around" day. Hubby is off on Mondays, and I usually have several stops to make. He becomes my chauffeur.
My order from HSN finally came. I ordered new crystals for my dining area chandalier. The original ones had a couple broke and we just made do with "things". This looks much better.
I have 3 tier shape and 3 pear shape. Of course, I still have my spring garland up there too. Tomorrow, I am having 2 ladies for tea to try out my new tea set. I will try to get some pics. Till then....

I've Been Tagged!!

I was tagged by Charlotte from At Home in Scottsdale for a meme. Here are the rules. In 8 facts about yourself, you share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you. Then at the end you tag at least 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going. So here it is:

1. I love Carriage rides. All our married life, whenever my husband and I go someplace to visit, if there is a carriage ride, we take it.

2. I am an only child. Not one bit spoiled! Hmmm, I did mention that I am Queen though....

3. I worked as a legal secretary for the government for many years until I became ill.

4. I took Hula lessons in Hawaii and performed on a ship program! This was a life's highlight!

5. I have NEVER met anyone famous. My choices would be, if any of you have connections....Oprah and Richard Gere.

6. My favorite color is orange. I have nothing decorated in orange in my home, nor do I wear orange. But I love that color.

7. I loved the Monkees. Peter Tork was my favorite. My husband just gave me at Christmas their complete albums on CD.

8. I love puppy breath. I love puppies. I just wish they came teethed and potty trained.

Well, I hope I haven't lost any of you from my strangeness! Anyways....I will tag

1. Mimi's Garden

2. A Hint of Home

3. Blue Bird and Roses

4. Life at Cedar Hill

I will leave the other 4 for anyone who would like to participate. Sorry, I also don't know yet how to put the Link in my post, but they are in my favorites list.

In My Arizona Garden

Did a little work outside in the yard Thursday and Friday. I have to do the yard work in little bits now, but at least I am able to do it. This little babies hopefully will bush out before the heat cooks them up!
I planted lavender this year for the first time. It is really doing quite nicely.
I LOVE petunias. I always get the mixed colors. I know that lots of people love a particular color scheme, but I just have to have as many different colors as possible.
I also planted poppies this year. They are different from my usual geraniums, but pretty too.
Didn't get everything planted...few more to go, but tomorrow is another day!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating Palm Sunday!

It's Show and Tell Time!

I have shown this shelf in my guest room before, but I didn't tell about the objects. So here's the scoop!
The two ruby vases on the end were my mom's. They must be from the 40's or 50's. I remember her using them when I was at home.
The hat is from the forty's. I wore it in a Christmas play at my church. The gloves were mine from Easter long, long ago. The little box a friend made for about 15 years ago. It is decopage with my birthdate highlighted. The aqua box standing on its side is a old glove box. Got at a garage sale and have no idea how old it might be.
The red dish I found at another garage sale. But I was drawn to it because it matched my mom's vases. The teapot for 1 is fairly new. I love the book because it describes me. I do love old things. The little camera and case were from my dad. I must have been about 7 when I received it. It takes itty bitty little rolls of film which I have never had. I am sure it probably works.
The sign is left from when my guests were here. My husband thought it was funny although he made breakfast every morning. The shawl was my grandma's. I remember her wearing it to church as we walked there! The purse I made for another play at Christmas. It was a victorian theme. And finally, the old hanger....had it for years. Honestly, don't know how I got it, but you don't see the all wood ones with print on it much anymore. Hope you enjoyed my show and tell. You can click on the Show and Tell box and see many more postings of beautiful and interesting things.