Tea Time Tuesday

Welcome to another Tea Time Tuesday, dear friends! Today is my 43rd tea party and the closer we get to Christmas, the more you will see a little bit of Christmas in each post.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. We had an incredible weekend with wonderful warm temperatures and everyone on our street was decorating the outside of their homes. The stores are getting busy with Christmas shoppers and everyone is talking Christmas... I love it!

Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage. ~ Catherine Douzel

I want to thank you all for joining me for tea today. It's always a pleasure to have you!

For today's tea party, I am sharing with you my newest tea pot. I found this a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist it! The price was too good to pass up plus I really liked the shape of it. I will go back for the sugar and creamer too. They aren't made of china but I thought it was very pretty. One side has flowers on it.

The other side looks like this. I think it's an elegant tea pot for not being made of china. This pot has a very comfortable handle.
I am using my Gracie china Rose Chintz teacup today.

A lovely lemon tart is being served with tea today. The Christmas wreath which I made makes for a nice background, don't you think?

A little Christmas cardinal dropped by to join us for tea.
A dollop of whipped cream on the side makes this slice of lemon tart extra nice. Have you started your Christmas baking yet? I hope to get at my fruit cakes in the next week or so as I will be sending one to my son and his family out west.

I usually make two fruit cakes; one sultana and one dark. I really prefer the dark cake because it also makes a lovely pudding when it is heated up and a sauce is poured over it. It is my grandmother's recipe and it is the best!

This year however I am just going to make two sultana cakes. My middle son and I prefer the dark but he won't be home for Christmas this year so I will just make two sultanas. Fruit cake makes a wonderful gift presented in a festive tin. It is also a lovely accompaniment to tea during the Christmas holidays.

What wonderful goodies do you plan to make for the holidays this year? I would love to hear all about it!

The perfect temperature for tea is two degrees hotter than just right. ~ The Quote Garden

I happened to find an August 2001 Victoria magazine in my stash and thought I would share a photo of a lovely lemon curd tart topped with fresh blueberries. Kathy @ A Delightsome Life hosts Victoria - A Return to Loveliness. She is a also hosting a Christmas with Victoria Party on December 6. I hope you will stop by her lovely blog and sign up for the party. http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

It is sure to be a pleasant way to spend some leisurely time during the upcoming busy Christmas season.

Also coming up on December 5-15, is my friend Beth's Christmas Poinsettia Party. Her party will be all about celebrating the loveliness of Christmas flowers used in decorating. I believe there may be recipes shared too. You may wish to sign up for her party as well. You can visit her at her blog - Food As Art - http://foodasart-beth.blogspot.com/

NOTE: After this week's tea party, I will not be making any more announcements concerning upcoming Christmas parties because there will be many more coming up, I'm sure, and I don't want to offend anyone by accidentally leaving them out. Hope you understand.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit. If you would like to participate in Tea Time Tuesday please let me know in your comment. Just share a teacup, tea pot, or china used in a tea. You may do coffee, iced tea, or chocolate if you prefer. The Tea Time Tuesday button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post if you wish. A tea quote, poem, or scripture verse would be most appreciated as well. Please link back to me so your visitors may find their way here to visit all my lovely participants.

" Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold....True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life." ~ Proverbs 22: 1,4

The participants below are listed in the order in which they first started to participate.

PARTICIPANTS

Carolyn~ http://warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com/

Judith~ http://lavendercottagegardening.blogspot.com/

Beth~ http://foodasart-beth.blogspot.com/

Carrie~ http://oakrisecottage.blogspot.com/

Lorena~ http://rosechicfriends.blogspot.com/

Bernideen~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/

Fitty~ http://fittyspinkyrosecottage.blogspot.com/

Suzy~ http://atthefarmhouse-suzyq.blogspot.com/

Patti~ http://pattiannsblog.blogspot.com/

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Brenda~ http://shabbycatsandroses.blogspot.com/

Heather~ http://heathersblog-o-rama.blogspot.com/

Concetta~ http://concettascafe.blogspot.com/

Johanna~ http://silber-rosen.blogspot.com/

Sue~ http://stressedbutblessed-sue.blogspot.com/

Kelsie~ http://kelsie74.blogspot.com/

KathyB~ http://cedarpond.blogspot.com/

Jocelyne~ http://jocelynesteaparties.blogspot.com/

Jocelyn~ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Martha~ http://www.linesfromlinderhof.com/

Jennie~ http://awelcomingheart.blogspot.com/

Bea~ http://moderncountrylady.blogspot.com/2010/10/time-for-tea-and-scones.html

I am also joining the following hostesses for their parties~

Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ - Tea Cup Tuesday
Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ - Tea Cup Tuesday
Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/ - Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday
Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/ - Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday
Lady Katherine~ http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/ - Lady Katherine Teatime Tuesday
Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/ - Tea For Me and Thee
Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/ - Tea Cup Thursday
Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ - Table Top Tuesday



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Some Pinks for a Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday sweet bloggerettes! I have been busy getting ready for the season ahead. Planning menus, doing crafts, shopping, etc.

So now, the prettiest day of the week has arrived and what do I have to show you today?

These are some of the pink Christmas balls which I have been using in decorating this year. Aren't they purty?

I finally finished the wreath I have been working on. It's got lots of baubles, flowers, and sparklies.

Here is the little tree that I used as my inspiration. Rather than display it in the red pot it was in, I have decided I like it better in the toile hat box. You can see what it looked like before by visiting Christmas Pudding ~ http://christmaspudding09.blogspot.com/ which is my Christmas blog.

Here is the finished wreath. I realize you can't see all of the decorations but there are silver, white, pink, and gold balls. Some silvery branches tucked in here and there. Red berries and sparkly pinecones and of the course, the pink bow.

And here it is hanging on the door.

It really does look better in person! It was hard to get a good shot with the light coming in the window. Here it is at nighttime. Now I'm working on a centerpiece to match the wreath.

I love mercury glass, don't you? Especially when it's pink! I couldn't resist this one which I found at Michaels. I really like the adornment of the jewel on it which is the inspiration for the little silver grape embossed tray underneath.

Lastly, care for a cookie? This cookie with sprinkles is served up on a stack of pink plates and is really a candle melt. It smells like the real deal!

If you like to see more pink then please proceed to Beverly's blog and see her pink lineup. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Wishing each one of you a pretty pink weekend.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi