Happy New Year!!!

Welcome to 2009 from the Ivy Leaf Tea Parlor! As I sit here sipping my Coconut Dream tea-(delish!!) I was reminiscing about my year with regards to tea. This was my first year blogging for the Ivy Leaf. I started in May, and it has been such a fun, rewarding pleasure for me. I absolutely adore tea and all the aspects of it. I have learned soo much and I hope to learn a lot more. Secondly, I love the ladies at the Ivy Leaf-Elaine and Robin. They are the best! My Teasday excursions there are the highlights of my week. We have such sweet fellowship together in the kitchen sipping tea and tasting Robin's baked goods. We have had times of sadness, like when I was so worried about my sister who was sick. Elaine and Robin held my hands and we prayed for her together. She is now on the road to recovery and I know times like those helped her. There are happy times too where we laugh and just enjoy the day. The Ivy Leaf is the special place I take my girlfriends, mom and sisters for any occasion, or just to show them a wonderful time and have "girl-time". It holds a special place in my heart because it's the place both my sisters and I went to have one last tea before they moved away. The Ivy Leaf is a unique place that once you discover it's charm, it never leaves you. You look for reasons to visit again.

Another highlight in my year was getting to go the the Jane Austen Regency Tearoom in Bath, England. My husband ordered us a pot of the Jane Austen blend. He thought it only fitting. It was perfect and I loved every minute there.

It was a special year and I look forward to posting all about tea and the Ivy Leaf. The Teasday trivia has been a lot of fun. So, here's the very last Teasday trivia question of 2008!

What vitamin in tea actually is known to make people less sensitive to noise and clamor?

The Chinese say: "He who drinks tea forgets the noise and unrest of daily life."

It's always with a little sadness but a sense of renewed purpose that I watch one year slip into a new one. I think about the things I didn't accomplish that I wanted to and I always without fail write out my resolutions for the new year. Maybe the time for the things we wanted to do, but didn't, will come exactly when they were supposed to.

I wish for you all a happy, joyful and most of all, blessed New Year!

Warm hugs~

Lori

III John 2

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ivy Leaf

Cagle Creations~ new at the Ivy Leaf

Tea strainer~19.99

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful Thanksgiving week. I am so looking forward to a few days with family and just being thankful for all our blessings. We, as a country, are so blessed. We have so many things that we complain about, but if we stop and think a moment, we will realize it could be so much worse. For every complaint, we could think of five praises. So, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

New at the Ivy Leaf is my absolute favorite candles! She has 41 scents and they are all wonderful. They are all soy, dye-free and last for hours upon hours. They are all hand-poured by Deanna of Cagle Creations. She has many Christmas and holiday scents. One that I love is, Wassail. It smells exactly like the Wassail my sister used to make every year.

Last week, we did not have a winner, so I am keeping this trivia question up until somebody takes a stab at it.

I want to thank each and every one of you that takes the time to stop by the blog and answer the trivia question each week. I know it's a busy time for everyone with the holidays right now, so stop by when you have a minute to relax and take a little breather from the hurried season. We'll be here waiting for you with a cup of tea and soothing music.

I'm leaving you with some beautiful Christmas scenery and gift ideas from the Ivy Leaf to enjoy....

With warm thanks,

Lori

I feel it in the air-Christmas is coming...

Christmas is already here at the Ivy Leaf Tea Parlor! It is so beautiful. I love this time of year. It absolutely brings out the child in all of us, doesn't it? What could be better than a plate of cookies by the fire, looking at a beautifully decorated home sipping your favorite spice tea. Just thinking about it makes me excited and looking forward to doing just that. I am so excited to decorate this year that I may break with our family tradition of putting the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving and do it earlier. Every year I try to think up something sentimental to do for gifts. I have a lot of books so I could browse those for ideas. Anybody do something special like that they'd like to share? My sister blew us all away one year by having quilt tops our grandmother never finished made into quilts for all of us. She did them herself and included a photo of our grandmother on a beautiful tag included with it. I love things like that.

Our Teasday question last week was about a Zhong. The answer is: It is used to denote a covered cup, this word has now come to mean a mug, with or without saucer, with a lid.

For next week's trivia question: Besides caffeine, there are two other principal chemical ingredients in tea. What are they?

The winner of last week's trivia by random drawing is Hanri from Laundry basket case! Thanks so much for playing!

I can't wait to try all the Christmas teas and spice teas for the holidays. I will give you my top picks in the next couple of weeks.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs~

Lori

Teasday Morning

I was so wrapped up with the election last night that I forgot Teasday! I apologize.

I wanted to let you know that my jewelry will be at the St.Simon's Episcopal Church craft show in Ft.Walton Beach, Fl. this Friday and Sat. from 9-5 on Fri. and 9-3 on Sat. We will have on display a beautiful article about the Ivy Leaf Tea Parlour as well as my custom tea themed jewelry that you will be able to purchase at the Ivy Leaf also. If you do come to the show, and you mention this blog or the Ivy Leaf, you will get 10% off your entire purchase! You can also pre-order custom tea themed jewelry. If you missed the last post, my tea themed bracelet was featured in this month's Romantic Homes magazine! (It's on page 27.)

I was at the Ivy Leaf yesterday and was so amazed at all the beautiful Christmas decorations! It's gorgeous!! You have to stop by and take a look if you get the chance. I will be blogging about it next week since I forgot my camera yesterday. I will show it all to you then. Especially for those of you who are too far to visit in person, I know you will be inspired. It put me in the Christmas spirit already!

We have a little announcement about our etsy shop. We do not technically fit the requirements of etsy because it is for handmade items. Unfortunately, we will have to remove it. We will however, be finding out how we can best offer our delicious teas and tea themed products to you from this blog. I know several of you have wanted to purchase teas from here, and we can still do that. Just know that within a week or so, we will have to remove most items the way they are now from the etsy shop.

Our Teasday trivia was answered so well by Becky!! Thank you! You are our Teasday winner! You are a lucky girl to have a Vixing teapot! Please email me your address and I will get your free sample tea to you. On that note, some of you that have won in the past have not gotten your addresses to me. If you know you were a winner and never received your tea, please email me at: ivyleaf@cox.net. I will get it right out to you! Thanks!

For next week's trivia question: What is a Zhong?

I wish for you all a wonderfully blessed week.

Lori

Exciting Teasday News!

Blue willow song bracelet

I bought a new teacup today at the Green Apple antique store in Crestview. I love it! I thought I'd share it with you as my show-n-tell item for today.

Flavor I had today-so delicious!


This is a very exciting week for me because I am officially in my first magazine! As many of you know, I am actually a jewelry designer who is obsessed with tea. My jewelry blog is listed on the left, Ellenay Designs. I made some tea themed jewelry for an online shop friend awhile ago and it was chosen for the December Romantic Homes magazine hitting stands this week! I'm thrilled! For those of you who subscribe, it's on page 27. It's called "Blue willow song." They showed only the reverse side and not the blue willow teapots and cups on the other side. Either way, it's there! You can go to my blog here to see the picture that will be in the article.

If you live locally (Crestview, Florida) you can purchase these pieces in the tearoom at The Ivy Leaf very soon! Ask Elaine or Robin if you would like to pre-order them now.

On to Teasday! We have a winner.. it is Karen! Thanks so much for playing. We've missed you. So sorry you haven't been feeling well. A brown betty is the traditional brown teapot from clay native to England which has particularly good warming capabilities, usually glazed on the outside and unglazed inside, although modern ones are glazed on the inside as well. Look for the A mark on the bottom of the pot.

For next week's trivia question: What is a Yixing Teapot and why is it special?


Have a wonderful week!
Lori

Teasday Traditions~

Vintage Victoria
Jane Austen inspired jewelry


Mote Spoon~ Taken from the Dutch word mot, meaning "dust." It is a pierced spoon with a pointed end on its handle used to stick into the spout of a teapot to scoop out wayward leaves.


Thanks to Jillian for trying to answer! That was funny! You are the winner, Jillian.





For the teasday trivia question for next week: What is a Brown Betty?

When I was about 16 years old, I became obsessed with Victoria magazine and the entire Victorian idea. I took pages out of the magazine and stuck them to my ceiling in a checkerboard pattern. My Mom and I would lay on my waterbed and talk while looking at all the gorgeous pictures. It was so relaxing to look at, I just couldn't look at them in the magazine only once. It seemed like a waste to me. My Mom and I still talk about those times and how nice and relaxing it was. We always had classical music playing and if it was winter, we had the thermostat on the waterbed turned up so it was nice and cozy. I love those memories with my Mom. A good tradition to start is having daily tea together. Even though we do not live in England, there's no reason we can't enjoy that tradition. Now that the weather is cooling off, it's even more convenient. You just seem to crave something hot and delicious in the afternoon. I promise it will be a memory your family and friends will cherish and will be glad they have in the future. While vacationing a year ago in the mountains of North Ga., my Mom and I found vintage Victoria magazines in a 5 and 10 shop. They were from the very years we had enjoyed them soo much. I bought every single one. Flipping through the pages brought back soo many memories. It was a very special find for me and I will cherish them forever.

If you have a special memory or tradition, with the holidays coming, please tell us about it. We'd love to share your story. With so much bad news in the world, it's nice to hear about the beautiful things in life that happen around us everyday.



Until next time,


Lori

Quiet Thoughts....

For he shall give his angels charge of thee to keep thee in all thy ways....
I am the vine, ye are the branches....

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof...
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Friday Tea Sale!

Today we are doing something a little different with our flea market sale. Instead of offering a particular item, we are giving a discount off of our tea club. Click on the etsy store to the left to look at all the different tea clubs we have if you are not familiar with them. With the holidays around the corner, you couldn't find a better gift than a membership to the tea club. You or your gift recipient would receive a different best selling tin of tea for each month of your membership. This is fabulous for the tea lover since they are able to have top quality, loose teas delivered to their door each month. They will remember your thoughtfulness as each package arrives.

Today's flea market item is $5.00 off the 12 month membership. Buy it for yourself or for a friend! You can even have it begin whenever you like. It would make a great Christmas present. Here is the description and what all is included:

Here at the Ivy Leaf Tea Parlor, we would love for you to sample some of our delicious loose teas. The best way for you to do that is to buy a 3,6 or 12 month subscription. We will send you one of our newest teas or classic favorites randomly each month. The brewing directions are on the bottom of each tin to make the perfect cup of tea. Each sample tin will make between 5-7 cups of tea based on your preferred strength.This tea club is perfect for the tea lover who wants to try new teas or as a unique gift idea. We can ship your tea of the month membership to a gift recipient at no extra charge.This is a 12 month subscription. This membership comes with your choice of a full-sized 2oz. tin of loose tea, or a gift certificate for morning tea in our tea room located in Crestview, Florida. Both are valued at $8.99. Gift certificates are good for one year from date of purchase.

Please email me if you'd like to purchase a $5.00 off 12 month membership-today only.

Have a great weekend!

Lori

Stop in for a cup of tea

Since we had no comments for our Teasday drawing, I'm extending it to next week. If you have no idea what a mote spoon is, you can just guess or look it up. Any comment will enter you though.

I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful cooler weather of fall. It is so nice to see the leaves changing and feel that nip in the air (mornings only around here.) I plan on baking an apple pie this week and serving it with french creme brulee' tea. Delicious! I make Paula Deen's lattice apple pie and it's my favorite. I actually love it with cheddar cheese melted on top for breakfast. Does anyone else do that? I've only done it like that for a few years. Somewhere we were, it was served like that and I fell in love with it. You should try it if you never have. It's the perfect breakfast!

Pretty soon we will be offering Teago for sale in the shop. We have never played it, but it seems to be a hit at tea parties from what we have heard. We also are planning Teago parties once a month at the tearoom. What a great girls' night out that will make! If you live in the area, make your plans to go to at least one and see what you think.

Enjoy fall ya'll! Get busy looking up what a mote spoon is and I'll see you Friday at the Flea market with some goodies on sale.

Hugs~

Lori

English Teasday

Me at the Regency Tearoom (Jane Austen Centre)

My new English Teacup

One of the dresses worn on "Miss Austen Regrets" BBC.
Her silhouette in the window.
View from the Jane Austen Regency Tearoom.

Our hotel's dining room.
Jane wrote on these tiny papers, her "pieces of ivory" she called them.
Outside the centre
Looking out the window from a flower shop on Pulteney Bridge.
Teacups from Jane Austen's day.

Our trip to England was so wonderful, I almost feel like it was a dream. For those of you who do not know, my husband works for Delta and we enjoy taking advantage of our flight benefits on occasion. These trips are sometimes planned in just a few days based on our schedules. That was the case with this trip. We got to go to Bath by train and visit everything Jane Austen (my dream!). We went to the Jane Austen Centre and took the tour which was very interesting and then went upstairs to the Regency Tearoom for tea. We had the Jane Austen blend and chocolate cake. We also went on a bus tour that takes you all over Bath and points out her home, her favorite park, and her favorite places to go in Bath. We both really enjoyed it and highly recommend Bath if you ever get the chance. We stayed at the Kennard Hotel which is a Georgian townhouse on the same block Jane lived on in a very similar type house. We toured Sydney Gardens which was her favorite place across the street from her house. Jane had a lot of hard times in Bath and never really liked living there. She much preferred the country. She lived in Bath for 5 years.

I enjoyed my first cup of real English tea at the Sally Lunn restaurant which is the oldest house in Bath dating all the way back to the 1400's! The tea was delicious. It was the house blend. I did buy a teacup in England that has a quote from Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest" on the inside. I will always have a nice memory of England when I use that cup.


For Teasday, since we had to move it back a little, the winner is....Michelle! Thanks for your comment. The answer was: Celadon Porcelain. .


This Teasday will be on schedule for Tuesday. The trivia question is: What is a Mote Spoon?


I hope you enjoy my pictures of Jane Austen's England.


Cheers!
Lori

Teasday Update

Hi Everyone!  Due to the fact that I'm out of town, I'm having my sister leave a message for all of you.  The Teasday drawing will be held on Thursday of this week.  You'll have two extra days to enter for the drawing!  More details about my trip later, but for now, have a wonderful week!

Friday Sale Item of the Week!

Here we go, it's Friday Flea Market again! This silverplate Tea strainer is as beautiful as it gets! It's heavy and heirloom quality coming to you ready for gift-giving in a beautiful box. It normally retails for $24.99, but is on sale today only for 19.99. Shipping is 3.00. If you would like a paypal invoice, please email me at: ivyleaf@cox.net. We can ship to a gift recipient at no extra charge.

Enjoy your weekend!