HOME

"A house without love may be a castle, or a palace, but it is not a home; love is the life of a true home." ~ John Lubbock

FYI- The nest is one my son found for me and it is part of a little vignette in my dining room.

Hello dear friends and welcome to my HOME~ I hope you are having a lovely week.


This week I set my tea table with a bouquet of peach roses from the grocery store and some tulips from my garden. The tulips are just the right shade to compliment the roses.

A vintage peach teacup and home made tea biscuits with jam and Devonshire cream made for a relaxing tea time.

Home is where your story begins.

This is the recipe I use for my Mock Devonshire Cream. I forget where I found it. If it is yours, please let me know and I will credit you for it.

Mock Devonshire Cream

5 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1 TBSP heavy cream, reserved

1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted

Beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and one TBSP reserved cream with a hand mixer until smooth. With a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream. Do not over mix. Mixture should be a bit lumpy. 

There were so many wonderful posts last week that caught my eye and it was very hard to choose only a few. There were a couple that I wanted to feature but there was no link back so I had to eliminate those. Sorry!

Michele @ The Nest at Finch Rest shared her lovely lilacs in a vintage bottle and with a scrumptious chintz teapot. Three things I love!

Debbie @ Debbie-Dabble shared her stunning patriotic tree complete with bears!

Penny @ Penny's Vintage Home shared her gorgeous aqua tablescape. I adore aqua, and isn't this so pretty! Swoon....

Karen @ Karen's Cottage and Castle set a lovely teascape out on her balcony. Isn't it pretty? And look at that chandelier!

Kathy @ A Delightsome Life  shared this darling angel statue in her rose garden. I think the picture speaks for itself!

 

Thank you for all your visits. I read every comment you leave and I do my best to return your visit. I am letting this party run a little longer than usual for your convenience.

I have been very busy the past few months and I feel I need a blog break to recharge my batteries so I am taking one after this week. There won't be any HOME party or Tea Time Tuesday for a week or so. See you when I return. Wishing you all a lovely day and God bless you!

"Lord, this humble house we'd keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place."~ Edgar A. Guest from "Prayer for the Home"

 I am joining these parties this week~

Home Sweet Home ~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Open House ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/


"Lord, this humble house we'd keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place."~ Edgar A. Guest from "Prayer for the Home"

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

A Peachy Tea for Tea Time Tuesday

"Find ecstacy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough." ~ Emily Dickinson

Welcome, my lovely friends, to my last Tea Time for the month of May and Happy Memorial Day to all my American friends!

Did anyone watch Pearl Habour over the weekend? I did and it gets to me every time. The movie score is so moving and it's easy to be swept up into the lives of those portrayed in the story. One wants to keep the box of kleenex handy!

"There's simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

....Meanwhile, back at home.... When my children were growing up, I decorated our home mainly in blue with accents of peach. Having four men in the house called for colours that were not exactly pastel. I did however find that peach coordinated wonderfully well with blue.

There is no blue in my tea post today but there is some peach. Peach has long been a favourite colour of mine and when I saw these peachy-coral roses at the grocery store, I knew just which teacup to use. I tucked in a few tulips from my garden and they make for a pretty bouquet.

Of fairies and flowers and teacups....,

Peach roses express appreciation or gratitude and I hope these roses convey to you how much you all mean to me. 


A wee rose snuggles up to this pretty teacup.

"Little flower, but if I could understand what you are, root and all in all, I should know what God and man is." ~ Tennyson

I am using this vintage {Circa. 1950s} English Royal Chelsea teacup which I found in a thrift shop a couple of years ago. She bears no name so I call her Chelsea.

Chelsea is such a warm peach colour trimmed in gold and adorned with sprays of red, blue, pink, and yellow posies on the inside of the cup as well as in the center of the saucer.

It has a unique gold trim; little golden strokes.

For our tea, I made plain tea biscuits, no fancy scones. A little red transferware joins the party.

"Life is like a cup of tea....it's all in how you make it." ~ Unknown

 

 

I am using the sugar bowl for my jam jar. I like to put different pieces to work instead of always using what is expected. Do you ever do that? My mock Devonshire cream sits next to it. 

 

 

 

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.

 

Tea biscuits with home made strawberry jam and Devonshire cream go well with  a cup of ginger-peach tea.  

 

"Come and share a pot of tea. There's just enough for you and me. And if by chance we drink it up, we'll make ourselves another cup!" ~ Unknown

Thank you for the pleasure of your company. I hope you all have a peach of a day.

Please Note ~ After this week I will be taking a blog break so there will be no Tea Time Tuesday for the next couple of weeks. However, I am letting my tea party run a little longer for your convenience. Take care and be sure to relax with a good cup of tea and perhaps that book you've been meaning to read.  God bless!

"The joy of the Lord is your strength!" ~ Nehemiah 8:10

Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

I am sharing with the following parties ~

A Return to Loveliness ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/
Tea In The Garden ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Homemaking Link Up ~ http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Open House~ http://blog.bernideens.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Happy 5th Birthday Pink Saturday!

Happy Birthday Pink Saturday!

Pink Saturday is celebrating its 5th birthday today and I want to thank Beverly for her lovely party which she has hosted so faithfully for the past five years.

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." ~ Emily Dickinson

Please come in and make yourself at home. To help celebrate I have pink roses from my garden.

A teapot adorned with pink florals.  

We will sip tea from vintage pink rosebud teacups. 

And we'll have some cake, strawberries, and cream. That's real whipped cream, none of that artificial stuff! I have plenty for you so please help yourself.

Happy Birthday Beverly! May you have many more scrumptious pink birthdays!

Now head on over to visit Beverly and her party of Pinkies. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Happy Memorial Day to all my American friends!


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

HOME

"Home; the place where our stomachs get three square meals a day and our hearts a thousand." ~ Charles M Crowe

Hello lovely friends and welcome to my HOME! I'm so happy you have dropped by for a visit. My yellow door is always open and it's wonderful to have you.


This week, like so many of you, my thoughts and prayers are with all those in Oklahoma who have been devastated by the tornado. Life is so fragile and we never know from one minute to the next, what turn our lives will take. Please pray for our friends in Oklahoma and God bless them!


This week I shared a Victorian Tea for Victoria Day which we celebrate here in Canada. 

I served a short version of Victorian Sponge cake. When you're in a pinch, as I was at the time, you can always use pound cake or angel food cake.
I used pound cake and sandwiched it with whipped cream and my home made strawberry preserves. If you would like to see the entire post, please find the post below this one.

Some posts which caught my eye last week....

Stephanie @ The Enchanting Rose shared her tutorial on how to create this lovely picture frame earring holder. Would make a wonderful gift!




Debbie @ Debbie-Dabble showed off the fabulous show of phlox growing on the slope in front of her home.



Kitty @ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen shared her pretty welcome basket on the front door.

Pamela @ Playing With My Camera showed off her new cloche. I love the crimped tray and the birdie vignette.

Janet @ Rosemary-Thyme  shared a stunning tablescape for Mother's Day. Beautiful china and lilacs in silver centerpiece. Any mom or lady would be pleased to dine at this table.  

Jann @  Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson shared a jug of beautiful lilacs on her white iron garden bench.

And Jeanette Ann @ Heirloom Treasures shared the good news of her book being published. Congratulations!

Home is where your story begins.

NOTE~ I have been getting links which have nothing to do with the HOME. Please be sure to link only HOME related links or I will have to delete it. Thank you.

Thank you for your lovely visits, comments, and participation in my HOME party. I so enjoy having you and I look forward to all you have to share this week. Have a beautiful day everyone and the Lord bless you!


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

A Victorian Tea For Tea Time Tuesday

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." ~ Emily Dickinson

Happy Victoria Day to all my Canadian friends and welcome for tea everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Did the title of my tea get your attention? I'm sure for many of you it did. We Canadians are enjoying our Victoria Day weekend; our first long weekend of the Summer. Yay!

Source

Queen Victoria's birthday is a statutory holiday observed here in Canada which celebrates the sovereign's actual birthday on May 24 as well as that of our reigning Queen Elizabeth whose birthday is really on April 21.  

Many of us celebrate the holiday by firing up the barbecues and visiting the garden centres. 
Hubby is cleaning out the beds today. Our tulips are out and the Weeping Caragana is in bud at our side door. I can't wait till it's spilling over with  bright green leaves!

So how am I sharing tea today? With a wee bit of  Victorian, of course!

I shopped my house and put this little tea together for us to enjoy. So please make yourselves at home and join me for a cuppa tea won't you?

The Victorians loved their flowers.  My mercury glass rose bowl holds an arrangement of dried roses.

I brought out my lace parasol; another fashionable accessory during Victorian times.

Did you know that the term tussie-mussie or nosegay comes from the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901)? These little bouquets were first introduced to mask the unpleasant odours of the day and quickly became a popular fashion accessory. The term "nosegay" refers to the bouquet's ability to keep the nose happy. 

The Victorian ladies loved their lavender so I've included my lavender sachet which Kathy made. I won it in one of her giveaways. Its scent is as lovely today as it was when I received it about a year ago.

The teapot stands on a mercury glass cake stand. 

"May your life always be like a teapot...overflowing to warm the soul." ~ Irish Blessing

All my china today was made in England except for the teapot. The teacups and silver c/s were thrift finds. 

A nameless Royal Albert teacup sprinkled with tiny rosebuds. 

My Windsor teacup, beautiful in pink and gold. Sorry some of the pictures are dark. It was very dreary and rainy out when I took them.

"Serenity is a solitary cup of tea; pleasure is sharing it with another." ~ Victoria magazine

I am using my silver cream and sugar. They have a little patina on them and I rather liked it with my other pieces today.

My dessert plate is called Rose of England and it holds my short version of Victoria's favourite tea treat, sponge cake.

I used pound cake and sandwiched it with real whipped cream and my own strawberry preserves. My hubby said it was delicious! I thought it made a pretty presentation with the strawberry preserves pooling around the bottom.

A nice orange pekoe tea, some cake, and your company, what could be better on a cool Spring day?

I am delighted you have come for tea! Your presence always makes my tea party that much more special. I wish you all a beautiful day, my dear friends.

"This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24

Thank you for including a link back to my party when you link up.

I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Amaze Me Monday
Tea Cup Tuesday~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/
Tea In The Garden ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Homemaking Link Up ~ http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/
Pearls and Lace Thursday ~ http://faithgracecrafts.blogspot.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi