Rose Chintz Cottage

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

HOME

"The home should be the treasure chest of living." ~ Le Corbusier

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to my HOME~
I hope you're all having a lovely week so far. It's very cold here on the Island right now. You could say, we're in the deep freeze!

It's a good time to curl up with a hot beverage and read or visit one another in Blogland.

One thing I wanted to do today was share the most viewed posts from last week. Blogger finally got the browser button working so I am able to upload pictures now. Yay!
So here are the top viewed posts from last week, beginning with the most viewed and the three runners-up. Congratulations everyone!

Bernideen shared with us the beautiful Lefton china she found while out antiquing. Isn't it gorgeous! Bernideen is a long time bloggy friend who has all sorts of party tips, recipes, and splendid table settings to share with all her bloggy friends. She also runs her own shop in Colorado. If you have never met Bernideen then please be sure to stop by her blog and say Hello. She is sure to have tea and treats waiting for you. Isn't her china just beautiful?

Diane is a fellow Canadian blogger who took an ordinary kitchen and turned it into a warm and cozy space. Just by applying her own special touches and accessories, it made a world of difference. I love her collection of Friendly Village china in the hutch!
Be sure you stop by and say Hello to Diane as well. She will most likely offer you a cup of tea or coffee while she takes you on one of her little adventures.

Jeanetteann shared some of her pretties with us. If you love soft and romantic, then be sure to check out her blog. Don't you just love the bit of bling on her pillow?
She is a beautiful seamstress and has a real gift for turning something ordinary into something extraordinary. Her baby clothes which she makes are unbelievably precious!

Debbie shared the many wonderful bargains she found while out thrifting for after Christmas sales. She came home with an amazing amount of loot for her home and decorating. She's all set now for her next Christmas, as well as Valentines Day, and St Patricks Day. Her hubby didn't do too badly himself! I love that little teapot lamp she found!

Thank you to everyone for your visits and lovely comments every week. My HOME party is the new kid on the block here in blogland and it is encouraging to me that you are taking the time to stop by and participate.

"Charity begins at home, but should not end there." ~ Thomas Fuller

Do you have a beverage center in your home? I know many of you do. This is mine and it sits in a little corner of the kitchen.
I don't have one of those new Keurig or Tassimo machines. I prefer to make my coffee in a simple coffee maker. I also have a little teapot sitting by as well as the cream and sugar.

Do you see the pretty tea cozy?

My bloggy friend, Lorena, made it and sent it to me a couple of years ago. There is a darling pin made out of real clay roses attached. She makes the roses too. I love it and Lorena is such a talented and thoughtful lady. Thank you, my friend!

As promised at this week's tea party, I will share my recipe for Baby Cheesecakes.

Baby Cheesecakes

2 pkg. - 8 oz. Philly Cream cheese softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 T. Lemon juice
1 T. Vanilla
24 vanilla wafers

Place 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins. Place one vanilla wafer in each liner. Mix the batter ingredients until well blended and spoon batter into liners until 3/4 full. Bake @ 350 for 20- 25 minutes.

Now comes the fun part! Top the cheesecakes with strawberry, blueberry, or cherry pie filling. You may also use fresh berries, lemon curd, or whipped cream. For a raspberry jam topping, microwave 2 T. raspberry jam for 25 seconds and spoon over the cheesecakes.

Cherry cheesecake...

Thank you for your visit today and please link up if you have something HOME related to share with us.

I am joining the following parties as well~

Homemaking Link Up Weekend~ http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/
Heart and Home ~ http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
Home and Garden Thursday ~ http://adelightsomelife.blogspot.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Cottage Style Linky Party~ http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com/
Tutorials Tips and Tidbits ~ http://www.stonegableblog.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Open House~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday, 21 January 2013

A Tea of Roses for Tea Time Tuesday

Happy Birthday Tea Time Tuesday!

"Another fresh new year is here...

Another year to live!

To banish worry, doubt and fear,

To love and laugh and give!"

~ William Arthur Ward - Victoria magazine

Welcome dear friends to Tea Time Tuesday's 3rd Birthday Party!
I am so happy you are here to help me celebrate! I have been blogging for a few years now and for three of those years, I have been hosting tea parties.

Some of you lovely ladies have been with me from the very beginning and I want to say a special Thank you to you for your dedication and support. Thank you to Bernideen, Beth, Carolyn, Debbie, Diann , Johanna, Judith, Kathy, and Sherry.

Since those early days, many more of you have joined me and I want to thank you too. We all have special people in our lives who encourage us and stand with us no matter what and you all bless me every week with your visits, comments, and friendship. I always feel like I'm getting a big hug. God bless you all!

Tea~ is a hug in a cup. ~ Patrick Jane- "The Mentalist"

"Make new friends and keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold." ~ Old Rhyme

I look forward to serving up tea every week and it is for me, one of the highlights of my blogging week.

This tea party today is not just a celebration of three years of tea parties; it is a celebration of you, my blogging friends. My tea party brings us together every week and it is wonderful getting to know friends from all around the world. I'm so glad you're all a part of my life here at Rose Chintz Cottage!

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." ~ Henry James

Today I have a special tea to share with you, a Tea of Roses, so please do come in and make yourselves at home. This is a long post, so pour yourselves a nice cuppa.

I hear that January is National Hot Tea Month in the States so I am happy to be sipping some nice hot tea today. I have Earl Grey is steeping in the teapot and I am enjoying a cup of Bigelow's Eggnogg'n Tea which Kitty sent me.

It is delicious and a real treat this time of year. Thank you Kitty!

"Come let us have tea and continue to talk about happy things." ~ Chaim Potok

For a tea of roses, one must have roses on the table and roses on the china.

Some of you may remember, my father had a favourite china pattern; Royal Albert Old Country Roses, which is one of the most famous china patterns in the world.
He however never indulged in it because I had started another pattern for my mother and he didn't want to infringe on the joy it brought me to do that for her.
He did however, purchase a couple little pieces and when he passed away, my mother gave them to me....

This little china basket is useful for holding spoons at tea time. Like the china pattern, it is adorned with red, pink, and yellow roses, as well as lots of gilding.

This adorable little boot comes in handy for many things. I have served jam in it as well as whipped cream and Devonshire cream. Today it is holding the sugar.

I have always yearned for a teacup in the OCR pattern to remember him by and last Summer, on my father's birthday, my sweet hubby gifted me with one in memory of my Daddy and I cherish it.

Then, while I was away in Vancouver visiting some of my family over the Christmas holidays, I celebrated a birthday. To my very great surprise and delight, my family chipped in on a teapot for me; Old Country Roses.

The nice thing about all this is that Hubby had forgotten it was this pattern which was my Daddy's favourite. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the box! I couldn't believe my eyes!
So this is how I came to have this beautiful set. My family is such a blessing to me! I was concerned about how I was going to get it back home in one piece, but I managed!

Old Country Roses and my father's violin.

"There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I chose two teacups for our tea, one for you and one for me.

This one is Royal Albert Tea Rose. It is a beautiful cup with luscious yellow roses and sponged on gold trim. Some of the roses are slightly kissed with pink.

"You're my cup of tea."

And of course, my Royal Albert Old Country Roses.

As you know both were made in England and they were both found in antique shops last Summer.

Now how about a tea treat?

I made Baby Cheesecakes for our party today. These are just little morsels of sweetness covered in your choice of toppings.

I topped them with cherries, lemon and blueberries, and whipped cream and strawberries. There are also little bars of Swiss chocolate. Which would you like?

I will share the recipe for the Baby Cheesescakes at my HOME party on Wednesday.

If you are a Follower, do not forget to enter my Giveaway which you can find on last week's tea post here. I will draw a winner tomorrow evening, January 22, and I will make the announcement on this post. So check back to see who the winner is.

UPDATE~
I have a winner for my Giveaway....... Jen @ A Garden of Threads. Congratulations, Jen! Please email me your address and I will get your package in the mail.
Thank you everyone for entering.