Teacup Tuesday, Grandmother's or Chelsea Cup and Saucer, Shelley Teapot

I had thought of sharing something green today for Teacup Tuesday, but decided to wait until next week because I am loving my blue and white antique cup and saucer. This pattern is called a lot of different things because it has been around a lot of years and variations were made by a lot of potters.

The pattern is called variously Grandmothers, Chelsea, Chelsea Sprig and Blue Sprig. The applied blue pattern on the soft paste or ironstone cup and saucer can be clear blue, periwinkle, lavender or have an applied metallic copper luster finish. And sometimes the design is floral, baskets or grapes. But I love them all! The design was first made in the late 1790s and became very popular in the Regency and early Victorian era and was made into the late 1940s and early 1950s. Many of the items are not marked, but this one happens to be by Adderleys, England and was made in the 1920s. I love the pattern!
For more info about the Chelsea Sprigged teacup at Antiques and Teacups, click the photo.


Another favorite thing is this Shelley teapot in the Eglantine pattern in the New Cambridge, Henley or Perth shape made from 1940 until the pottery closed in 1966. I love the pale blue handle and knob and the flower blossoms. It always makes me think of spring.

I have posted a photo of my son and his wife on the left side, top of the blog. We love our sweetheart of a DIL...she has made our son so happy...what more could parents want! But she has just been diagnosed at 35 with a hereditary birth defect of a hole in her heart bigger than a dime and will be having heart surgery on March 28th. She has been ill since November and off work since then. She is a supervisor with the TrueBlue program for JetBlue Airlines. It has been a long road for them to finally get a definitive diagnosis...one emergency doctor said young women don't have heart problems, refused to send her to a cardiologist and instead sent her a psychologist for her "emotional problems". So we are relieved at least it's confirmed and steps will be taken to fix it. We would appreciate your prayers.


Thanks to all of you who visit and share my love of teacups, teapots and all things tea!
Thanks to:

 Wanda Lee & Pam from Tea Pot & Tea Things Tuesday, 

A Breath Of Fresh Air

Rose Chintz Cottage

The Plumed Pen
Martha & Terri's Teacup Tuesday

and so many other wonderful friends.

Take time to visit the links and make new friends!

Tea Time Magazine Raspberry Almond Tea Cakes, Red Rose Tea Houses

I just got an online newsletter for subscribers of Tea Time Magazine which included some recipes. I thought I would share one because I thought it was scrumptious! 

RASPBERRY-ALMOND TEA CAKES
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
sifted cake flour
1 cup finely ground toasted almonds
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown butter*, melted
1 recipe Raspberry Puree (recipe follows)
Garnish: confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Spray 24 assorted (2- or 3-inch) tartlet pans with baking spray. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, almonds, sugar, and salt, whisking well. Add egg whites, vanilla, and butter, whisking well.
4. Divide mixture among prepared pans. Bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven. Drop approximately 1/2 teaspoon puree into center of each tartlet (Step 1). Pull a toothpick through the center of each drop to create a heart (Step 2).
5. Bake until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
6. Carefully remove cakes from pans. Sift confectioners’ sugar over cakes (Step 3). Use a slightly moistened finger to dissolve sugar over raspberry hearts.

*To make brown butter, in a small saucepan, melt 2/3 cup butter over medium heat. Continue to cook until butter begins to brown and has a nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain, discarding solids. Let sit at room temperature until set, approximately 1 hour.

RASPBERRY PUREE
Yield: approximately 1/2 cup
Preparation: 5 minutes

1/3 cup fresh raspberries
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1. In a blender, puree raspberries, sugar, and corn syrup. Strain, and use immediately.


From the website I also found a great article about the correct way to make tea by Bruce Richardson of Elmwood Inn Teas which is very interesting:
Making Tea with the following photo by Mac Jamieson which is apparently tea at the Ritz Carlton.

I thought I'd add a photo of my own of something I just re-discovered from a wharehouse box. The boxes go back to 2003 when we closed and packed up our actual bricks and mortar antiques and tea items store and moved after we went online in 2002. The stock was packed and has been in the warehouse since then. Our goal was to make a serious dent in that part of the warehouse last year. We got about half of the boxes unpacked and online, so hopefully we will finish this year. ANYWAY I re-found my Red Rose tea mini tea houses. I have always thought how cute they were. The tea houses came in boxes of Red Rose tea. I look forward to researching them and adding them to Antiques And Teacups. I think they are so cute!


Because this is Sunday and I just had a great lunch after a wonderful service at our church, I thought I'd post this little cutie. Click on the photo for more info.

Have a great day and I'll see you for Teacup  and Tea Pot And Tea Things Tuesday!

Pink Saturday Pink Cat Tea Cozy and English chintz tea tins

I am posting this for Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound because the linky it is up already!!!


I am sitting here at the computer, tea mug in hand...an Emma Bridgewater Swallow mug...my favorite because it is not only a bird but a pun...swallow...get it???...sorry, sophomoric humor. The say puns are the lowest form of humor. But I was raised with a county school superintendent -my father - who was a horrible punster. We used to say he was shot with puniccillin at birth and needed to go to the punitentiary! You get it.....


So, where was I? Oh yes, Emma Bridgewater's Swallow mug...drinking tea and listening to the snow/ice crunch as the cars go by. We have had 9 inches of snow in the last 2 days, and today it is cloudless and 25 degrees...hence the crunch!

I wanted to share this so cute padded and hand made cat tea cozy a lady made in town. I think it is so cute! I added antique high button shoe eyes. I have tons of them because my English grandmother collected them and I have tons! Isn't he cute?


You can see more about the pink cat tea cozy at Antiques and Teacups by clicking the photo.


I also want to share 2 English chintz tea tins I acquired recently. I absolutely LOVE tea tins, and have them all over the kitchen as well as stocking them in our antique shop. They bring such a spot of color to any space, and they are definitely more fun than boring glass, in my opinion. These are really nice!

We haven't gone outside today...preferring to stay inside and warm. The cat has been going nuts because of the extra business of the birds at the bird feeders because so much of their usual forage is hidden under the snow which is now covered by a layer of ice. Tinker climbs onto the window sills, mumbles, comments and wops his tail in a military tattoo. I don't think the birds see him, which is good. Ahhh...frustration to be an inside cat...but much healthier!


Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Today really is a day the Lord has made and I have certainly been rejoicing in the beauty of our white and frozen world.  And to think we thought, when moving out of the mountains a few years ago, that we wouldn't have to deal with snow again at sea level. HA!

Teacup Thursday Adderley Violets, Why Guards are inside gates at Buckingham Palace

Welcome to Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Teatime Blog.  I love these opportunities to share some of the lovely teacups that from my personal teacup collection and from my business Antiques And Teacups. Teacups have been a lifelong love of mine.

This is a beautiful and unusual English bone china teacup from Adderley, England. I like it because not only is the shape lovely and elegant but I really liked the yellow tinting of the cup and saucer contrasting with the purple of the violets. Usually, violet designs are on white alone but this adds a different dimension of color interest. Violets are such a symbol of spring...mine are just beginning to peek out below the fir trees they hide under. Or maybe not anymore, we had 4 inches of snow today...at sea level...and are supposed to have several more tonight. And we moved out of the mountains thinking we'd never have to deal with snow again!  Sigh...but it's beautiful


Adderley's began in 1906 in Longton and was manufactured until the 1970s. This particular cup and saucer was made in the 1950s at the peak of their production. To see more about the Adderley Violets Teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photo.

I have another blog for my other main website Time Was Antiques, that focuses on English antiques, collectibles and British Royal Commemoratives. I did a posting on it today that you might be interested in.  It features:

a Kate & William song just released on BBC

info about when my husband was a Coldstream Guard guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace

and why the guards are now inside the gate instead of outside

and

some Charles & Diana Royal Wedding china we just located in our warehouse

You can view that blog at: Time Was Antiques Family Blog

Have a wonderful day visitng other marvelous teacups and blogs, and don't forget to have a cup of tea with a friend. Hope we aren't snowed in tomorrow....or maybe it would be a good excuse to spend a bit more time over tea tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I'll make some scones and try that new Creme de la Earl Grey my teacup swap partner Susan gave me....

Teacup Tuesday, Tea Pot And Teacup Tuesday and Earlene Grey Tea Poetry

It's Tuesday...my favorite day, because it's time to join some lovely blogger tea parties! 

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

The Plumed Pen's  Tea for Two

Rose Chintz Tea Time Tuesday

Martha's Favorite  Teacup Tuesday

Wanda Lee & Pams Tea Pot & Tea Things Tuesday

Artful Affirmations Tea Cup Tuesday

and many more! Visit as many as you can and enjoy the beauty and love!

I am sharing a Crown Staffordshire all hand painted cup and saucer in a coffee can shape or mocha shape made in England in 1908-1930s. The hand painted floral bouquets are lovely and the all hand gilded netting, accents and trim are delicious!

I fell in love when I found these cups and saucers at an antique market in England. They were hand carried home...all 8 of them...in my hand luggage. Can you tell that was before hand luggage weight limits???? Truly a work of art in a teacup!

For more info on the Crown Staffordshire cup and saucer at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

I'd like to share some tea poetry from a friend and tea poet Earlene Grey. We have both advertised in the Tea House Times tea magazine and we have met at the Victoria Tea Festival. I missed her this year, her usual corner was occupied by someone else. I'll have to email & find out if all is well....

The Truth About Extravagances

If a

Lady

Had only sufficient wealth

For a lovely string of 

Pearls

And an excellent pound of

Tea,

That would be

Enough.

~Earlene Grey~

Earlene has written several books of tea poetry that are a joy! To learn more about Earlene and her poetry visit her website:

www.earlenegrey.com

And for a total change of pace...from the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, B.C......John Lennon's Rolls Royce better known as the Yellow Submarine on display in the lobby where we went to watch 2 National Geographic IMAX movies the evening of the Victoria Tea Festival. How cool is that?

Tea Sandwich Saturday Panda Bread, Noritake teacup

I usually don't do Tea Sandwich Saturday with Tea With Friends but just got a recipe that was so cute that I wanted to share it. I belong to a chat group called Afternoon Tea Across America (or ATAA) and Rochelle in SoCal shared this with us

I thought it would be appropriate with Angela's Japanese Potato Salad Sandwiches that she shared today. That is so cute! Amazing how folks can think out these creative ideas. I am amazed. I am not much of a bread maker aside from a bread machine. Our family joke is that all my home made non machine loaves come out looking like chickens! More power to you bread makers!!!

To visit The Bread Experience blog where the recipe and directions are posted click on the photo.

On an oriental theme...this is an antique egg shell porcelain cup and saucer by Noritake, Japan we have at Antiques And Teacups. I love the hand painted elegant netting and restrained design.

Noritake had several reincarnations with hundreds of different marks that you need a book to decipher with very small changes needed to date a piece. This is mark #27 which date the teacup to 1918 through the 1920s. Then the mark changes again. The M is for Morimura. For more info at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photo.

It's mostly sunny today but cold...in the high 30s. But LOVE the sun! The primroses and crocus are up...so spring has begun! My Honey is watching English football (soccer) on the tube, so he's happy. A cup semi so he's a happy camper!

Have a cup of tea with a friend and had a wonderful weekend. Remember our presidents and how they have influenced our country...for good or bad. Thought provoking!

Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress Victoria BC

This last weekend we were in Victoria, BC and here are some photos of the afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. The Empress Afternoon tea blend is lovely...a nice and full bodied black, Assam and Darjeeling blend that I am very fond of, and I also love the Mango & Curried Chicken sandwiches...my fav...


Here is the menu:

Fresh Seasonal Fruit 

Freshly Baked Raisin Scone, Strawberry Jam and Empress Cream 

SANDWICHES 

Smoked Salmon Pinwheel 

Mango and Curried Chicken 

Carrot and Ginger and Cream Cheese 

Free Range Egg Salad Croissant 

Mushroom Pate Crostini

PASTRIES 

Battenberg Cake  (contains nuts) 

Lemon Curd and Berry Tart 

Rose Petal Shortbread 

Green Tea Cheesecake 

Chocolate Tulip with Wild Cherry

I absolutely love Battenburg cake! if you don't know, Battenburg cake has a marzipan icing over a checkerboard cake. I LOVE marzipan.

I actually found a blog with a step-by-step recipe that is pretty terrific:

Battenburg cake by Chef Jeena 

You can see it on the tiered server from my photo of the tea table below, but it is side ways...the pink icing slices. Should have taken it full on...didn't remember until it was GONE!.

I just wish it had been a bit warmer. I didn't take a whole lot of photos of the hotel this time. 

At the Victoria Tea Festival I found a great source of figural tea pots.

The Teapottery is a couple from Derby, England who have moved to Canada and import figural teapots from Yorkshire. There were some SUPER ones. I especially liked the Bobby Helmet teapot. Too fun!

We had a great natter about the UK, teapots and life in general and plan to swap links with Antiques And Teacups. To visit their website and see their selection of UK made figural teapots click on the photo.

Have a great day...drink a cuppa with a friend and enjoy your long weekend if you are in the US. We are going to a fundraising Murder Mystery dinner tonight called Murder Most Fowl. Should be fun...hope we don't chicken out....get it? Get it!!!  :)

Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Tea Time Blog

My teacup choice for Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Teatime is a bit different. This is not the usual pretty, girly girl ladylike teacup...it's a retro mid century modern design of hand painted blotches like graniteware enamelware by the American maker Stangl. The pattern is called Town and Country and came in other colors as well. I really do like it...although it is certainly different from my usual style of teacups at Antiques And Teacups. But I guess that's why it's fun.

Stangl began in the early 1800s as Hill Pottery in New Jersey, was taken over by Fulper in the 1860s and went through several phases and lines until Stangl became a main product in the 1920s. Their hand painted dinnerware items like this pattern were very popular in the 1940s. The pottery closed in 1978. America has a great heritage of potteries and designs we can be proud of.


To see more of the Stangl Town & Country teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.


We wanted to pass on the news that the first official visit Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton will pay after their wedding in April will be to Canada in June. They hope to be in Ottawa for Canada Day July. 1st. Queen Elizabeth II was there for that last year, so it's a great coup for Canada to have their visit on the schedule. Now if we can get them all the way over to Vancouver or Victoria....


Official Statement about visit of Will & Kate from Canadian Govt.


Also, here is a link to the Daily Telegraph for a map of the route of the route Kate Middleton will take to Westminster Abbey:
Wedding Route for Kate


I also want to share a link to Vintage And Cake's blog about an afternoon tea wedding they did last year in England. The photos are lovely and it's a great idea! 
This photo is from their post.

Have a great day...I am trying not to overdo the chocolate after Valentine's Day and our anniversary. I LOVE it, but I'm allergic to it as well so have to try to be careful how much I can tolerate before I have to race to the inhaler! 

Our 37th anniversary, Victoria Tea Festival

Well, today is our 37th wedding anniversary. We were married in Redwood City, California and honeymooned in Carmel. Lovely! And the day we were to return coincided with an off day in gas rationing (anyone old enough to remember that?) so we couldn't get gas until the next day and had to call the bank where I did commercial loans and tell them I'd be off another day.. What a shame!!!! :)


Our favorite place was the Tuck Box (tuck is brit speak for treats or snacks packed with kids to school), a tea room in downtown Carmel. that is a quintessential English tudor building and equally cute inside. Thomas Kinkade painted it once, I remember. I guess that says it all.

I tried to find a wedding photo to post, but when we moved I packed most of our photos/albums in boxes and they are still unpacked 3 1/2 years later in our walk in closet. Guess I've gotta get to that!

This was taken when out with friends in January.


We went to Victoria last weekend to celebrate plus attend the annual Victoria Tea Festival. We stayed across the street from the ferry dock (we walked on the ferry rather than taking a car) at the Hotel Grand Pacific where we got a killer deal! 

And my friend let them know it was our anniversary, so...

The hotel is famous for a flock of about 50 mallards that think the gardener is their father. They follow him all around the hotel and live all year round by the front fountain. So cute! 

We had a wonderful time. The weather was only a downpour on Saturday evening, and the rest only partly cloudy as you can see from the photos.


And then we went to the Victoria tea festival. Here are photos of the Crystal Gardens from the mezzanine level over the main exhibition floor.

The Crystal Gardens was built in the early 1900s as a swimming bath and palm court tea room. At one end is a mannequin on a diving board in a 1920s bathing costume as a remembrance of the original purpose. The photo against the glass roof didn't turn out well, but you get the idea!

Crystal Gardens antique postcard from Card Cow

Here is the front of the program:

Some of the exhibitors:

Ooli Beverages www.ooli.com

Silk Road Teas www.silkroadteas.com

Murchie's Tea and Coffee www.murchies.com

Vatsu Chai  www.vatsuchai.com

Special Teas   www.specialtea.com

Teafarm   www.teafarm.ca

Margit Nellemann Ceramics www.margitnellemann.com

I took photos of some of  Margit Nelleman's teapots:

Which I found quite fun and different. There are more on her website.

Well. I figure that's enough for today...a goon start sharing with you about the Vicotia Tea Festival. I will post more soon. But for today, back to work at Antiques And Teacups as I have so many great items to list. See you tomorrow for Teacup Thursday!

Tea Sommelier Tea Room to be added to cruise ship

This is an unusual post...but it relates to tea, so...I just found this article about the refurbishment of the Grand Princess which will include the addition of a tea room onboard with a tea sommelier for mixing custom blends from The Mighty Leaf. Who said tea isn't going mainstream? (pun intended) They wouldn't be doing it if they didn't see a whole source of untapped income demographic. 


I am thrilled, as I don't drink coffee. I say...Woo Hoo...go for it! Yea TEA!  Let's do the wave! (yep, pun intended again!)..Please groan quietly.


cruise ship makeover with tea room

My Teacup Swap gift from Susan in Rhode Island

Well...my teacup swap gift from Susan in Rhode Island arrived yesterday...right in time for Valentine's Day!  I was so excited to unwrap it! I found the neatest treasures and goodies!

In the package was:

a lovely Grosvenor blue harebell cup and saucer

a package of cinnamon crumpets

home made (and yummy) lemon shortbread cookies made with a cookie press pattern of teacups and teapots.

honey sticks

Dove chocolate hearts!!!

Hersheys Chocolate Caramel kisses!

2 chocolate truffles

and 3 packets of tea:

Victorian Rose

Brattle Street English Breakfast

Creme de Earl Grey (apparently Princess Di's fav)

a lovely hand made Valentine card

Thank you so much Susan. A lovely gift...and being enjoyed already....a teapot pressed lemon shortbread a few minutes ago with our afternoon tea.

To see the other Teacup Trade gifts that have been exchanged,

visit this link to Faith, Hope and Cherry Tea's blog. Faith Hope and Cherry Tea sponsored and organized it. Thanks so much for all your hard work, Sharon. A WONDERFUL idea!

Teacup Trade at Faith Hope and Cherry Tea's blog

Tomorrow I plan to share more about our visit to Victoria B.C. Canada for the Victoria Tea Festival!