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!