Disney Hilton Head

I've been enjoying the deck here at our unit at Disney Hilton Head Resort.  It has a wonderful view of the marsh and is unbelievably quiet and peaceful.  The tide is out in the above picture and you can see the path that we walked along on our "Secrets of the Marsh" tour.  It was very interesting, although a little unnerving when your heavy knee high rubber boots would sink six inches down into the mud without warning.  

 

The 1940's Lowcountry vacation lodge decor is perfect, with interesting light fixtures, photos, tile, carpet, etc.

The base of the floor lamp above is made with three canoe paddles and the photos are what you would expect to see at a fish camp.

We've rented bicycles for the week and when we feel like a change of scenery, it is a pleasant ride to Disney Beach House with it's twelve mile stretch of beautiful sand beach.

Well, I think I'll go sit in one of the rockers on the deck, breath in the fresh salty air and read my Kindle. 

Tovolo Tea Infuser

Stopped in to TJ Maxx yesterday to see if anything new had arrived in tea ware.  I found a couple of boxes of Yorkshire Gold tea bags on the clearance rack and snapped those up.  I also saw this interesting tea infuser.

This looks like it would work very well in a teapot or for brewing a cup of loose tea in a mug.  I like the three prong green top with the matching stand.  Handy to hold the used tea leaves upright (maybe for another infusion) and to catch drips.

A quick search showed me that the Tovolo tea infuser is available at Stash tea online at a slightly higher price.

I’m not sure that I need another tea infuser, but I was tempted to buy this one.  Has anyone tried it?

Teaopia Tea For One

As I mentioned in a previous post, I purchased several tea items on my recent trip to Canada.  One day my brother had some work to do, so he said he would drop me off at the huge Vaughan Mills Mall.  Of course, my first stop was the store directory to see if there were any tea shops and I was happy to find that there was a Teaopia store.

I learned that their shops were soon merging with Teavana and their logo merchandise was being sold off at a 70% discount. 

One of the several items I purchased from Teaopia was a pretty tea for one set.  I’ve never seen one as delicate as this and with a combination of glass and china. 

   

The china filter basket matches the teacup and the tiny holes are perfect for containing smaller tea leaves.

This set is perfect for brewing myself a special cup of green tea, like this Bouteaque Jade Sword.

You can go to the Teavana website and find a 20% off discount.

A Different Teacup

On a recent shopping trip to TJ Maxx, I came across a set of these popular silicone baking cups.

I knew that it would be fun to bake some teacup cupcakes as a surprise for my little granddaughter.

She seemed delighted with her cupcake and dug right in. 

I know that we’ll be enjoying these little cakes often for our special tea parties.

 

You can find these cute silicone teacups online, or maybe at your local TJ Maxx store.

"What Makes Life so Sweet? Cupcakes to eat and Someone to Love."
~ Marie Williams Johnstone

Canada From Sea to Sea

This pretty Royal Albert “Canada From Sea To Sea” pattern teacup was purchased on my recent trip to Canada.

I found it at the Care & Share Thrift Shop near my brothers home in Stouffville, ON.  They had an abundance of beautiful cups and it was difficult to choose just one, but I was running out of space in my carry on bag.

The pattern includes maple leaves in green and raspberry with a Canadian flag on the cup.

The cup is in the pretty Montrose shape, with a lovely feathery scroll handle.  Both pieces have 22k gold trim.

This is the second cup in my collection with a Canadian theme.  I also have a Windsor teacup in the Royal Canadian Tartan pattern.

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in Teacup Tuesday and I’m happy to have some new cups to show you.  Be sure to see all the gorgeous cups at both Terri and Martha's beautiful blogs.

Animal House and a Teapot Handbag

In my last post I gave you a little glimpse of my brothers splendid lake house.  Part of my trip was spent there and the rest of the time I stayed at his home.  He jokingly says that coming home is like “being on safari”, hence Animal House.

  You’re greeted in the foyer by a life sized bronze gorilla sculpture.

This elephant carving hangs above one of the fireplaces.  There is lots of art, including Robert Bateman wildlife.

A giant wooden fish sits near the hot tub.  You can get a glimpse of its mermaid companion behind it.  There is something interesting everywhere you look.

 

Even some of the furniture has an animal theme.  There are giraffe, zebra, elephants, lions, monkeys and more throughout their home.  My sister-in-law realized her lifetime dream of visiting Africa in January and now they say they can’t wait to return.

Seems harder than I thought to get caught up with my blog and blog friends.  I still haven’t taken photos of all the tea goodies I bought in Canada.

 

We were looking in a little shop in Haliburton (or maybe Parry Sound) when my brother saw this handbag and decided that he wanted to buy it for me.

 

It is from the Amliya Leather Collection and came with a handy shoulder strap.  This purse is large enough to be practical, as well as cute.

Most of my tea purchases came from Teaopia.  I learned that they are soon merging with Teavana and so are selling off their logo stock (75% off).  I bought two pretty teapots, double walled tea glasses, a Teaopia tea tin and some hibiscus wellness tea for a friend.

My dear, if you could give me a cup of tea to clear my muddle of a head

I should better understand your affairs.

- Charles Dickens

Up North

Just returned from a trip to Northern Ontario to visit family.  Part of the time was spent at my brothers lake house.  What a gorgeous spot.  Swimming in this beautiful spring fed lake was such a treat.

Their two Samoyed dogs were my constant companions – they thought I was their personal masseuse. 

There is nothing quite like paddling on a quiet lake and catching a gorgeous rainbow trout for dinner.  My brother was terrified that I was going to tip the canoe, but we made it back to shore – dry and with our prize. 

The weather and the bugs cooperated and my time there was pure bliss. 

While in Ontario I visited a few small towns and found some great tea bargains.  I’ll post more on that later and also show you some pics of “animal house”.