German Cobalt Teacup Trio

Just before leaving on our annual fall vacation, I went to an estate sale in McDonough and was thrilled to find my first teacup trio, along with a couple of Royal Vale cups and saucers.

This set is from Bavaria, Germany.  It has such a deep blue color that it turned my photo background pale blue and the mirror like finish made it difficult to photograph.

The cup has a pretty gilded pedestal base and a simple loop handle.

 The lovely roses pattern and trim is 22 carat gold.

The embossed scroll look design around the edge is interesting. 

For some reason the owner labeled it New Hope PA 1975 – perhaps as a reminder of when and where the set was purchased.  My price was $18, which I’m hoping was a good buy.  I’d love to know more about the company history and when this set was manufactured.

Please join Terri and Martha for Teacup Tuesday and Wanda Lee for Teatime in Blogland.

Orlando Anniversary Trip

We had a lovely week in Orlando, FL at the Summer Bay Resort.  I’d recommend this resort as having very nice accommodations, with lots of activities, a lake and several pools.

Four days were spent at Universal, visiting both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter was quite an attraction.  The castle was huge and contained the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride.  I’ve never experienced anything quite like it.

Just making your way through the line inside the castle was an adventure.  There were lots of statues, artifacts, dragon skeletons and portraits that spoke to each other and the guests.  There was one outdoor section that had some very interesting plants (carnivorous).

Sadly, this tea room was just a facade.  The best meal we enjoyed at the park was at Mythos in Islands of Adventure.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was unique.

Don’s risotto with beef tips was scrumptious.  I had Thai style spicy chicken wraps with peanut dipping sauce – yum.  The kids enjoyed rice krispie treat sushi for dessert – chopsticks included.

On Friday, I enjoyed afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian.  I made my only souvenir purchase of the week at the gift shop next to the Garden View Lounge.  It’s a rather different teapot that I’ll post about later.

I’m looking forward to seeing what all my blogging friends have been up to while I was away.

 

Anniversary Getaway

It’s time once again for our September anniversary getaway.  We take our grandsons and head to Florida for the fall break.  I’m really hoping to have afternoon tea again at Garden View Lounge at the Grand Floridian Resort.  It is always such a lovely tea experience.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll read my latest posts on the English Tea Store blog.  I’ll miss visiting all of you on your lovely sites while I’m away.  When I return I’ll have some new items to show on Teacup Tuesday that I found at an estate sale yesterday.  I’m so excited that one of them is a Bavarian Cobalt tea trio (the first in my collection).

In case you are wondering about the photos.  The first photo is of a pretty tray containing a variety of sugars to sample with tea, during a presentation by Jade, the owner of Jades Tea (now closed).

Above shows a tray of snacks to munch on while the different teas were being brewed. 

Late For Tea

It’s hard to believe that the week is slipping away so quickly and that I’m late for Tea Cup Tuesday.  Today I’m showing you a tea set that my sister-in-law gave me.  It has it’s own metal holder, which makes it easy to carry it to the table or back to storage.

I don’t know how long she owned this set, or when it was made.

It is very dark and dull here this morning, hence the photos are not great.

There is quite a lot of color in this set.

It is from the Czech Republic.  It says Thun - Karlovarsk Porcelan – Original Kobalt.

Please join Terri and Martha for Tea Cup Tuesday and Wanda Lee for Teatime in Blogland.

Tea Room Cross-stitch

My hubby just completed another lovely cross-stitch piece just for me.

I love all the pretty teacups and the teapot, most with metallic trim.  The names of many teas are listed, including some of my favorites – Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey and Oolong. 

Now he’s working on some cross-stitch Christmas cards.

Summertime Rose and Moss Rose Teacups

There are so many pretty teacups that feature roses.  Here are a couple of mine.  The first one is in the Summertime Rose pattern by Allyn Nelson.

You can see the pretty ridged texture on this set. 

 I love the color of the roses, from pale pink to velvety red.

It is fine bone china and made in England.

This next cup is one that many of you have also.  It is a Royal Albert teacup in the Moss Rose pattern.

The floral pattern is lovely with the dainty blue flowers mixed in among the roses.  It has a footed puffy cup with broken loop handle.

 The inside of the cup is pretty too.

It is a Royal Albert bone china cup from England.

Please see Terri and Martha's beautiful blogs and visit with all the other participants of Teacup Tuesday.   There are also Tuesday & Wednesday Teatime in Blogland posts at The Plumed Pen with Wanda Lee.

Harney & Sons Birthday Tea

I’m sure that all you tea enthusiasts out there have heard of Harney & Sons Tea.  You may have purchased a cup at Barnes & Noble or treated yourself to a tin while shopping at Crate & Barrel.  The company is a respected tea purveyor throughout the United States, the UK and elsewhere.  The company sells over 200 varieties of tea.  To see their website click here.

My recent order included a new favorite, Bangkok flavored loose green tea and something I have yet to try, Citron Green tea bags.

My order also included a signed tin of this Birthday Tea.  It was created to celebrate the 80th birthday of founder John Harney (Master Tea Blender).  It contains fruit and berry flavors (raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate) and flowers (marigold, cornflower) as well as other ingredients and brews a crimson cup of decaffeinated tea.

This is a special signed tin.  I love Mr. Harney’s teatime drawing under his signature.  Well, I know what will be steeping in my teapot the next time I feel in a celebratory mood.