Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 21 April 2014

Easter Monday Tea Time


"Spring had come once more to Green Gables....the capricious, reluctant Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth." ~ LM Montgomery - "Anne of Green Gables"


Hello my dear friends and welcome to Tea Time! Today is Easter Monday, a holiday for many of us here in Canada, and I've had my hubby home for a nice long break.

The weather has been just wonderful with lots of sunshine and so we have been out enjoying it.
Hubby was supposed to get started at painting the living room over the long weekend but it will wait till next weekend.

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend too.

Spring as you know is my favourite season of the year. I love how everything is changing and every day you can see those changes taking place.... The grass is turning green, trees are budding, and flowers are growing in the garden. The birds are singing and busy building their nests and the spring peepers are getting ready to start up their chorus behind our home. It really is a magical time of year!

Johnson Bros. Rose Chintz is a pattern that has always reminded me of springtime and it lends a young-at-heart feeling.


This pretty pattern tugs at my heart strings every time I look at it. It is a glorious bouquet of pink roses and soft blue forget-me-nots on a creamy white background, captured under a glaze, to be preserved forever. 

This romantic pattern has charmed me ever since I was a little girl when my auntie set her dinner table with it. When I grew up, and we would visit Auntie, she would always serve coffee in the evening on a big tray with her Rose Chintz coffee pot and mugs.


A lot of these pieces now belong to me as she has so graciously passed them on to me. Thank you, Auntie! It is such a girly pattern and brings such lovely memories to mind. It just makes me happy to look at it!

So, today, I have a little vignette set up on a table in a corner of the living room.



I love pink tulips in my Rose Chintz  jug. Two demi-tasses are stacked beneath a small cloche....

 ...and two bunnies have hopped up on the table.


Tea is a beverage one can enjoy any time of day but in the mid-afternoon when one's strength wanes a bit, a cup of tea is a real pick-me-upper.

 Cup of tea anyone?


"Our friendship is like a pot of tea...a special blend of you and me." ~ Author unknown





"For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass so fresh and sweet;
For song of bird and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear and see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


I am delighted when you stop by and if you have a teacup, a coffee mug, or teapot to share, please link up below and I will be happy to visit you.
I welcome all your tea wares. Perhaps you have a small collection of creamers or vintage tea spoons. Tablescapes and teascapes, a visit to a tea shop, or a new tea you may have discovered is always welcome too.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope your day is filled with loveliness.

Note: I will be taking a blogging break for a few days so there will not be any Tea Time Tuesday next week. 

I am joining the following parties as well~

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/
Friends Sharing Tea~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Sunday 20 April 2014

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, dear friends!
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
One day He's coming - O glorious day! ~ Chapman
Christ's resurrection is cause for our celebration. Hallelujah ~ Jesus lives!
Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Friday 18 April 2014

Good Friday Blessings!


But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed. ~ Isaiah 53:5


Today is Good Friday; a Holiday in many nations. May we all take time to thank Him for His great love and sacrifice for us....

This is Friday, but Sunday's Coming!


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 14 April 2014

An Easter Tea for Tea Time


And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast 

Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
The snowdrop and then the violet,
Arose from the ground with warm rain wet;
And their breath was mixed with sweet odour sent
From the turf like the voice and the instrument. ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
 
 

Hello dear friends and welcome to my Easter Tea! We lost our internet on Friday and most of Saturday and I was a little afraid this wouldn't get posted but the internet guy arrived and got us up and running again just in time. Whew!


There are so many reasons to celebrate this special time of year. Spring has arrived and with it the songbirds and hopefully some green grass and flowers in your garden have appeared.


Spring would not be spring without bird songs. ~
Francis M. Chapman


I have set my table with some favourite tea things as well as a few of my little furry friends.


Three of my most elegant teacups in lovely candy coloured hues are ready for sipping tea.
The photo above is the truer shade of this teacup.


A corset-shaped Aynsley in a vibrant turquoise is adorned with a profusion of lush golden leaves inside the cup. This is one of my most favourite teacups in my collection.


Another Aynsley teacup, this one in a scrumptious rose pink with a wreath of gorgeous golden leaves inside the cup.




And this Queen Anne teacup in a perfect shade of peachy pink and accented with white and garlands of golden leaves. 






I chose these teacups for their beauty and their lovely gold adornment. The leaves remind me of the lovely green budding trees we will be seeing shortly all around us.


My Skye McGhie Cream Lace teapot is filled with a fragrant Darjeeling tea. 

The wreath of hydrangeas circling the stand is one I made a couple of years ago. It has a little butterfly with a bit of bling.


For our tea today, I made a white layer cake with lemon filling. It is sprinkled with coconut.


Easter eggs surround the cake. Nothing too fancy, just a sweet treat. 

I was tempted to sprinkle Easter eggs on the tea  table but I worried they might stain the topper so I opted for hydrangea petals.


 Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea. Unknown



"Tea" to the English is really a picnic indoors. ~Alice Walker



We know of course, that Easter is so much more than bunnies, chicks, and Easter eggs.
The most important reason for celebrating Easter is the incredible gift of life which was given to us by our heavenly Father through His Son, our Lord Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16



My life, my love, I give to Thee,
Thou Lamb of God who died for me;
Oh, may I ever faithful be,
My Savior and my God! ~ Hudson

I pray your Easter will be a blessed time to reflect upon the true meaning of this Holiday. Thank you for joining me for tea today and Happy Easter to you all!  



I am joining the following parties as well~

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/
Friends Sharing Tea~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
 Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 7 April 2014

Tea Time Tuesday


Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of the doves is heard in our land.~ Song of Solomon 2:12

Welcome friends to my first Tea Time Tuesday  in April!

The ground is still covered with a blanket of snow but the songbirds are back. Yay! What joy to hear them singing in the trees behind our home! The robins are hopping about and the cooing of the mourning doves out on our deck is such a soothing sound. I've waited all winter for these sounds and I'm so thankful to hear them!

I'm so thankful for friendship. It beautifies life so much. ~ LM Montgomery,  "Anne of Avonlea"


Today, sweet friends, I am also thankful for you and your visits to my blog. You all mean so much to me and I truly wish we could all get together in one place and enjoy tea and conversation.

I have a new teacup to share with you. I found this at my favourite antique shop. It is Royal Albert and I could not resist this lovely set.


It is really hard for me to pass up teacups with landscapes on them, especially if they are RA. How about you? This teacup cost me eleven dollars which is pretty good considering it is a vintage RA and part of a series. Prices are also a little higher here usually.


I think it just speaks to the little girl in us who remembers days gone by at grandma's house.

Loving the posies on the back of this teacup.


The teacup is decorated with what I believe is heather swagged on each side of the mountain scene as well as inside the cup and on the back side of the cup. There are swags of heather around the edge of the saucer as well.

A curvy handle with a thumb rest and a bit of a pedestal base make for a lovely teacup.


This is one of a series of six, Traditional British Songs, "Road To The Isles" and it is in the Countess shape.


It is vintage but I couldn't find any information on it. Perhaps Ruth would know.


 There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life. Lin Yutang
 
I'm sipping Earl Grey and enjoying some Walkers shortbread today.



Soon we will be celebrating Easter and all the bunnies and chicks are making their way into our home decor.


Next week, April 14th, is the Monday before Easter so I will be hosting an Easter Tea and I would love it if you could join me. Here's my button if you wish to use it for your post.



NOTE: Please link up only tea themed posts. This is a tea party meme and lately I have had some folks linking up other subjects. If your post does not pertain to tea time, I will have to delete it. Sorry!

You are welcome to link up coffee instead of tea or any of the following~ Iced tea or iced coffee, lemonade, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, or punch in a lovely bowl. I am always happy to see your visits to a Tea Shop as well as your teacups, teapots, coffee cups and tablescapes.

I am joining the following parties as well~

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/
Friends Sharing Tea~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Thrifty Things Friday~ http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Thursday 3 April 2014

Banana Mallow Pie for HOME

"Having a place to go - is a home.
Having someone love you - is a family.
Having both is a blessing." ~ Donna Hedges



Hello friends and welcome to my HOME! What a week we've had since last week!
I'm sorry, I didn't get anything posted for HOME last week. We had a horrible blizzard and then another snow storm/ice storm this week which left many without power. I had a flu bug yesterday but feeling better today. We're still waiting for Spring to arrive.

Today I am sharing a pie recipe which I have shared before. This is easy and oh, so good!


Banana Mallow Pie

First you will need a pie crust. You can use your own or a store bought one. I prefer to make my own.


1 - 4 serving size package vanilla pudding & pie filling. {You may use instant or cooked pudding. I  have used both and they both turn out well.}
1-1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 bananas, sliced
Lemon juice


Method:
Prepare pie filling as directed on the box only using 1-3/4 cups milk. Cover with wax paper, chill.
Whip the cream until it forms peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream and marshmallows into the pudding.
Set aside while you dip the bananas in lemon juice and place them on the bottom of the pie crust.
Spread the filling over the bananas and chill.
Just before serving, whip up some sweetened cream and spread over the top of the filling. Garnish with sliced bananas and peanuts.
Peanuts are optional. Serve and enjoy!


Yum!



Thank you for visiting today. Take care and have a wonderful rest of the week.

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 beauty and Thy grace

Shine upon our dwelling place. ~ Edgar A. Guest



Joining these parties this week:

Home and Garden Thursday ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi