Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Moorland Heart Mug, Heart Necklaces, Heart Cookies

Happy Tuesday! Time to join Tuesday Cuppa Tea and the other wonderful tea related blogs. Because Valentinr's Day is fast approaching I have a heart theme.

This is a neat ironstone mug from Moorland Potteries in Staffordshire, England, a contemporary English potter. The mug was made in 1988 and I love the stenciled heart design. So simple but cute!

And what about heart necklaces?

 Perhaps a 14kt gold one with 8 diamonds?

Or perhaps a vintage Wedgwood jasperware and sterling silver necklace featuring the cherub Eros? Lots to think of....You can see more of these items and more at Time Was Antiques by clicking on the photos.

Or maybe just a heart cookie...Cardamom Spritz with pistachios from Stylish Cuisine?

Cardamom Spritz Cookies
Recipe by Mary Ellen Rae, printed in the Los Angeles Times

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup sparkling decorative sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for one minute. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and beat an additional minute.

Sift together the flour and salt. Spoon the flour mixture into the butter mixture and add the cardamom. Beat on low speed, then increase to medium and mix until the batter is combined.

Spoon the dough into a cookie press and press out onto ungreased baking sheets. In a small bowl, combine the sparkling sugar and the pistachio nuts, then sprinkle some on each cookie.

Bake just until the edges of the cookies start to turn a pale golden color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. When they are completely cool, store in an airtight container. They may be kept frozen up to two months.

Yield:  ~ 5 dozen cookies

Hearts are definitely the thing! Enjoy visiting the tea related blogs I am joining below3 and have a great day!

 

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

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

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Miss Kathy http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com

http://www.attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/p/afternoon-tea.html   Afternoon Tea

Pink Saturday, Pink Teapot, Cath Kidston Book

Hello! It's Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound again. What a fun blog party!

Today I have a pink teapot in a pattern called Summerfield from Royal Patrician who closed in 2009. It was a great quality English made pottery, and is definitely missed! And the teapot is...pink!

The teapot is quite large and I like it's traditional shape, like the brown betty teapots that speak of home and hearth and everything homey...or if you're a Brit...homely!

To see the teapot at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

They other day at a local flea market I chanced on a hardback book by noted designed Cath Kidston called Vintage Style - Creating A Complete Look For Your Home from 1999.
 

I have shopped at Cath's stores in the UK and have a Cath Kidston designed Google Chrome homepage. Even her end papers in the book are so Cath Kidston!
 

The book has both text and lots of gorgeous color photos of her own house.
 

I loved this closet with different comforters, blankets and covers. I tried to choose pages with pink!

Have a great Pink Saturday and enjoy your weekend!

Teacup Thursday, Scottish Themes For Burns Night

January 25th, or around that date, is celebrated in many parts of the United Kingdom as the birthday of Robert Burns, the famous poet, and all things Scottish.

This Shelley China, England teacup has a thistle theme...perfect for drinking a cup of tea in honor of the Scottish post. The cup and saucer is in the Cambrodge shape and was made between 1955 and when the pottery closed in 1966. I love the thistle pattern! 

And here is a hand made vintage plaid tea cozy to go with it...albeit in a clashing red...with a white heather and purple thistles scottish motif:

Burns Night is celebrated with Scottish themed dinners, recitations, toasts. A wee dram is expected to be raised in his honor! Neeps and tatties for sure...who knows...haggis, anyone? And why not a Burns theme tea party?

A famous Robert Burns quote can also apply to the tea table:

 We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
-Robert Burns

To see more of the Shelley teacup or tea cozy at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Wedgwood Austen Family China

Today is Tuesday Cuppa Tea which I am joining hosted by Antiques And Teacups.

I am also joining the blog parties below and especially Sandi for her Tea Time Tuesday 2nd birthday blog party! Happy birthday Sandi!

 I want to share a Wedgwood Moss Rose Queen's Ware teacup today which I chose because of the roses and a Wedgwood/Jane Austen connection.

The set dates to the 1940s, but Moss Rose is one of the oldest recorded china patterns...dating back to the 17th century. I love the ribbed Edme shape of this version...so tactile!  You can see more of the teacup at Time Was Antiques by clicking on the photos.

Sandi's blog is Rose Chintz Cottage so that is my reason for choosing this teacup for today. 

But there was a Jane Austen link as well. As I was looking for a tea quote, I came across an account in the book Tea With Jane Austen by Kim Wilson of Jane Austen accompanying her brother Edward Austen Knight (Edward was adopted by a wealthy relative and so added Knight to the Austen family name) and niece to Wedgwood to choose china. The pattern was a small lozenge in purple between gold lines and the Knight family crest was to be added.

photo from Sotheby's

With a little research, I found out the the dinner set had been on display for years at the Chawton, England Jane Austen's House Museum.
The sad part from my researches is that the china was sold at auction by Sotheby's in Dec. 2010 because of financial reasons by a member of the Knight family. I was unable to find what it sold for but the pre sale estimate was for 50,000 to 70,000 pounds. I hope someone bought the set and gave it back to a museum!

I am joining the following tea related blog parties whom I hope you will visit:

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

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

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Miss Kathy http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com

http://www.attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/p/afternoon-tea.html   Afternoon Tea

 

Secrets Of The Manor House on PBS tonight

For you fans of Downton Abbey who like a more documentary, scholarly approach to what living in an English Edwardian stately home was like, PBS airs Secrets Of The Manor House tonight on PBS. On our PBS it is at 7pm just prior to last week's episode which is aired just before tonight's episode. It looks very interesting. 

The Edwardian era, named for the time Edward VII was king after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and stretching to the crowning of George V in 1910 is an era that is fascinating for it being so transitional on so many levels in English society, affecting the home, economy, government and individual right. I love the insights.
Here is a preview video from the PBS site:

Watch Secrets of the Manor House - Preview on PBS. See more from Secrets of the Manor House.

Pink Saturday, Pink Rose Ceramic Horse Brass

I am joining the Pink Saturday blog party hosted by Beverly of How sweet the Sound. I have a pink rose patter, ceramic center English horse brass to share.

 I thought I would share this, because it's something we sell a lot of, but not many people know what they are. Horse brasses are brass ornaments that were...and still are...used to decorate the harnesses of draft horses as well as identify the owner. Horse brasses were developed sometime in the 15th century as good luck charms or amulets of protection and developed over the years into decorative items for harnessing. They were made for all manner of occasions from royalty to clubs, organizations, guilds or trade unions, travel souvenirs and you name it! 

They were morphrd into decorative items in the early part of the 20th century and became popular to hang in pubs and in homes around the fireplace as a look back to the Victorian era when they were wildly popular as there were so many horses in harness.  They were reproduced in several areas of England until the 1970s and now you can find tourist brasses that are made in China. But they are easy to spot when you know what to look for.

This is a more traditional horse brass from 1898 commemorating the famous English jockey Fred Archer. Fred Archer was the greatest jockey of the 19th century by winning the Derby 5 times but killed himself in 1886 and became a bit of a legend.

The rose design ceramic center horse brass was made in the 1960s as a decorative item and is very pretty. I have actually seen some used on horses in the UK, but they are usually only hung on the wall.

A fun Englsh collectible. To see more horse brasses at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

Monarchy On YouTube Diamond Jubilee Videos of Reign Queen Elizabeth II

No surprise I'm a royalist....

Queen Elizabeth II has released a compilation of YouTube videos showing various events and visits during her soon to be 60 year reaig, I thought you might like to visit and see some of them. There are some fabulous ones...I just spent about an hour going through them....Here is the link:

Royal Channel on YouTube Jubilee video playlist

Cheers!

Happy Tuesday Cuppa Tea and the other great tea related blog parties below.! I am joining...a bit late today. Life happens!

I chose this pretty Shelley China, England turquoise cup because of the snowflake theme in the center. January always speaks to me of snow and cold. This year has been a very dry one for us in the Pacific Northwest so far. It was supposed to be another La Nina which means wet and cold but hasn't been anything like the long, cold, wet winter we had last year to date.

Back to the teacup...which is in the Lincoln shape and was made between 1963 and 1966 when the pottery closed. I love the elegance and the pretty gold decoration!
To see more on the teacup and other Shelley China items at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

Ever wonder what the British Royal Family receives when they visit other countries? The goft lists for 2011 were released by the press office today and I thought you might like to see them. They are quite fun.

Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall :

 1) PORTUGAL, SPAIN & MOROCCO (28th March - 6th April 2011)
Gifts Received by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
2) KUWAIT, QATAR, SOUTH AFRICA & TANZANIA (31st October - 10th
November 2011) 
Gifts Received by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

Gifts

I see the received a camel saddle...don't think they will have much use in London for that...Highgrove either, for that matter!

 Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge:

1) New Zealand and Australia (17th - 21st March 2011)                                                           
Gifts received by HRH The Duke of Cambridge
2) Canada and the USA (30th June - 10th July 2011)
Gifts received by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Gifts

Lots of hats!!!!

Have a wonderful day and enjoy visiting the other Tuesday tea realted blogs!
 

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Lady Katherine~  http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/ 
Teatime Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

Ruth  ~ http://timewasantiquesfamily.blogspot.com

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

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

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Tuesday Afternoon Tea  http://attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/

Miss Kathy http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com