Morning Tea | English Breakfast Tea

Hello Everyone,

After a rushed morning of getting my son up and ready for school, I can finally sit down and have my breakfast and tea.  My favorite teapot to use in the morning is my petite Blue Willow teapot.  This blue and white porcelain design has been gracing tea partakers as long as people of the west have been drinking tea.  British China companies began to offer the Blue Willow pattern that portrayed a romantic design of the Chinese countryside around the year 1780.  During the 19^th century this pattern became extremely popular in the United States.  This inviting and petite teapot brings a bit of tea history every morning to my table.

My morning tea of choice is usually English Breakfast Tea.  The British have always liked a strong robust tea in the morning to wake them up and so do I.  This tea has rich flavor and a dark coppery tint which is perfect for the addition of milk, which I love.  The richest flavor can be achieved by loose tea bags but I use Lipton tea bags for convenience.  English Breakfast tea is cheaply priced and be found just about anywhere.  I place my tea bag directly in my tea pot and pour hot water over it.  After letting it brew for a few minutes it is ready to enjoy, and relax!

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Memorial Day

Hello Everyone,

Nothing symbolizes the cost of freedom more than remembering fallen soldiers who died while serving our country. This holiday has been observed every year on the last Monday in May since the American Civil War. Many choose to celebrate Memorial Day by decorating the graves of fallen heroes. This tradition is also marked by leaving flags at each grave and by placing flags outside their homes. After paying tribute to sacrifices made by our soldiers, a family cookout is a must. In addition to remembering our country's heroes, Memorial Day symbolizes the unofficial start of summer. Family cookouts have been used to celebrate this start, and in memorializing the lives lost for our country. We have found a couple ways to bring the spirit of Memorial Day to our cook out and home. Using the American flag and red, white and blue colors to decorate is a good way to remember and celebrate while spending time with your family. To include these elements we placed American flags in drink jars at each place setting. We also used table runners that looks like the American flag. In addition, we incorporated red, white, and blue cupcake toppers, plates, napkins, and trays.

After the days activities and cooking out it can be quite relaxing to make some tea and just sit a bit outside and relax. This can be a good time to discuss with your family and guest what this country and all the people who have served us means to you. It is a good tradition to start in any family and teaches the future generations the quality of talking and reflection about others.

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes

Hello friends,

Today I thought I'd share with you a new recipe I tried out. I'll admit, it was not one of my favorites, however, dad and mom really liked it. I had seen several coffee and cappuccino cupcake pictures on Pinterest and became inspired to make my own coffee cupcake. I thought I added way too much coffee into the cake batter, but mom said she could barely taste it. I am not a coffee drinker and they are, so I am assuming it is a taste that requires becoming accustomed too. This probably accounts for why the coffee taste was strong for me and faint to them. So coffee drinkers, you may want to add more coffee to the recipe, and other fellow non-coffee drinkers, be warned!!

Here is what the finished product looked like:

Recipe: 

          Ingredients

          - 1 box chocolate cake mix

          - 1 and 1/3 cups of powdered sugar 

          - 1 package of cream cheese (room temperature)

          - 1 stick of butter (room temperature)

          - 2 teaspoons of coffee extract

          - 1/8 a cup of coffee

          - Cocoa powder for topping (optional)

         Directions

          - Mix cake as directed on the box AND add the coffee into the mix before baking. Then bake the cake as directed on the box.

          - While cupcakes are in the oven, mix cream cheese, butter, and coffee extract until blended.

          - Mix in the powdered sugar about 1/3 a cup at a time.

          - When the cupcakes are done, let them cool for about 20 minutes. Then put your icing on them.

          - To finish, sprinkle cocoa powder over the cupcakes.

          Additional Comments

          - This recipe made 26 cupcakes and I had enough icing for 24 of them.

          - I added an extra egg to the cake mix. This made the cake more dense, which I thought was fitting for a coffee cupcake.

          - Like my Mint Chocolate Cupcakes, these cupcakes should be stored in a refrigerated area because they have cream cheese icing. 

Happy baking!

Tilly

Greenbreir Tea

Hello everyone,

 One of my most favorite places to visit is the Greenbrier in West Virginia.  It is never a disappointing sight because of its rich history, landscape, and sheer beauty.  Greenbrier’s colorful history is filled with years of tea time.  The taking of tea is woven into the tapestry of the past and by anyone visiting there.  Tea arrived by rail in the early days and was offered at every meal.  Evening tea would be offered  with breads, fruits, sweet meats, and sometimes egg-based savories.  If you rolled back the pages of time you would see visitors wearing formal dress, crystal bone china displayed, and tea always followed by dancing in the ballroom.  Afternoon tea came into tradition at the Greenbrier during the roaring 20’s. Their Golf Club House was frequented with many tea settings and society soirées.  Today you can still enjoy tea-time in this great resort as an amenity daily.  If you have never had the opportunity to visit the Greenbrier, I would definitely put it on your to do list for the future.  However, if you cannot visit, I would suggest my favorite Greenbrier tea blend, Cinnamon Spiced Tea.  You can order this tea online or find it at the Tamarack in West Virginia.  Below is an image of the tea in our home, a picture of the Greenbrier, and a picture of the ballroom.

 

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Flashback Friday | Grandmother's 60th Birthday Tea

Hello friends,

It has now been two years since my grandmother has turned 60, so I decided to feature her birthday tea party for this week's flashback! My grandmother had never had a birthday party before. Like, ever. Seeing as how she had never had a party, has a love for tea, and was turning the BIG 6-0, we decided to have her an extreme tea party!

The party took place in our home, which allowed us to begin decorating several days in advance. The planning itself took several weeks and the decorating took multiple days. To accommodate everyone, we moved our furniture out and brought in extra tables and chairs. We used pink table cloths, crepe paper, balloons, and hanging puff balls to make the area feel special. My grandmother's favorite color is yellow, so we had my father create the giant 60 out of plywood and decorate it for her. Each table was decorated with tea pots, tea cups, and floral arrangements.

 Each place setting had a placemat, dinner plate, desert plate, tea cup and saucer, crystal glass for water, a folded napkin, a fork, and spoon. The teas we presented were Cinnamon Spice Tea, Wildberry Tea, and English Breakfast Tea. Each tea had a place card to identify the tea. All the food and deserts also had place cards to make selecting food easy for our guests.

We ordered cupcakes and the cake, every thing else was made by us or friends and family members. We asked the baker to leave the top of the cake blank so that we may put a tea cup as the topper. This ended up being a big hit at the party even though we accidentally put it on crooked - oops!!

The final task in preparing for the party was decide what outfit and hat to wear. While a hat was not mandatory, what's a tea party without a fabulous hat!? Mother (on the left) went for a classic black look, while myself (middle) and my cousin (on the right) went for more of a spring look.

Overall, the party was great and full of fun. Looking at these photos and reminiscing over the day has me ready to plan another tea party! How do you think we did? Comment below :)

Talk soon,

Tilly

American Folk Art

Hello Everyone,

A wonderful way to both decorate and bring a piece of American history into your home, is to use American Folk Art. Long before technology and the "selfie age" we now have become accustomed to, there was a country with newfound independence.  Like us, these new Americans wanted to catch their images for future generations.  Although these paintings were not known for the quality of fine art, they were used to depict social status and power among the new colonists.  Mostly created by self trained artists who were artistically innocent, these paintings give us a glimpse into the old ways of life in simplicity and imagination.

 

These are a few American Folk Art prints I have hanging throughout my house.  I have become very fond of them and have even gave each picture their own nickname. You can usually find these already framed prints in local Antique stores fairly inexpensive.  In fact, it is hard for me to go through an antique store and NOT find a couple pieces of folk art.  I have also noticed them being used quite frequently in many Colonial decorating magazines. Therefore, I suggest keeping your eye out for some classic American Folk Art if you are looking for a way to bring old world Colonial charm into your home. It will definitely do the trick!

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Mother's Day Tea 2015

Hello everyone,

Today is the 101st Mother's Day in the U.S.! With the First Lady celebrating Mother's Day with their annual afternoon tea, we decided to follow suit. It is a wonderful way to show how grateful you are and much you care about your mother.  Having the privilege and honor to sit and sip on good tea and enjoy your mothers company is a definite pleasure to put on any daughters to do list. Together my daughter and I were able to put this together with not much effort at all.  Anyone can put together a simple tea party by using resources you already have. It can be as simple as using left over Birthday party items and throw pillows to accent the area. However, it can be as elaborate as a full scale tea party. What is great about holidays such as Mother's Day, is that there is no set standard. Whatever you decide to put together for your mother she will undoubtedly love and cherish. We planned to sit around the table using pillows to sit on, making it a laid back occasion. Here is how everything turned out. Let us know how you celebrated your Mother's Day this year!

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Trina Belle

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello friends,

I decided to bake my mother something this year for Mother's Day. Her favorite flavor is mint chocolate, so I decided to try Mint Chocolate Cupcakes. They ended up being a huge success and I will definitely be repeating this recipe in the future. In fact, mom has already requested I make them again next week! The recipe is below, enjoy :)

 

 

 

 

Recipe:

 

          Ingredients

          - 1 box of German chocolate cake mix

          - 2 cups of powdered sugar 

          - 1 package of cream cheese (room temperature)

          - 1 stick of butter (room temperature)

          - 1 teaspoon of vanilla 

          - 1/2 a cup of mint chocolate 

          - Extra mint chocolate for topping

 

         Directions

          - Bake cake as directed on the box (I ended up baking mine for 20 minutes and they were perfect!).

          - While cupcakes are in the oven, mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until blended.

          - Melt the mint chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted (I used the Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips brand and microwaved a total of 90 seconds).

          - Mix in the melted chocolate to the cream cheese-butter mix.

          - Start mixing in the powdered sugar about a 1/2 a cup at a time. I wanted my icing to be thick so I stopped adding powdered sugar after 2 cups, however you can add as much powdered sugar as you like.

          - When the cupcakes are done, let them cool for about 20 minutes. Then put your icing on them. To finish, add more mint chocolate baking chips to garnish the tops.

 

          Additional Comments

          - This recipe makes about 30 cupcakes depending on how much batter you use per cupcake (I filled the cupcake pan about 2/3 of the way).

          - Since they have cream cheese icing, they should be stored in a refrigerated area. This will cause the icing to become firm and cool.

 

Thanks for reading! Tune in Sunday for a Mother's Day post!

Talk soon,

Tilly



New Bike!

Hello friends,

The bicycle I have rode for the past six years has been getting old and embarrassing to ride. It was sort of rusty from sitting outside and squealed something awful whenever I rode it. I have been mortified our past two camping trips because I was followed around by its high pitched churning sound everywhere on the campground. It was super noticeable and all the campers would look at me as I passed them by. Like, sorry fellow campers, no need to be alarmed. There's nothing dying over here!....well, except maybe my bike. *cringes* So anyhow, by the end of our camping trip last year, I had resorted to walking and told myself I would invest in a new bike the following summer. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of bike I wanted to buy this time around, especially since I evidently keep them until they die a screeching death. I knew it HAD to be a light blue/turquoise color because its my favorite. I also knew that I didn't want a bicycle that could change gears. So when I seen this one-speed beauty, I instantly wheeled it up to the cashier. The only critique I have of it is that it is a 26" bicycle. I would have much rather preferred a 24" bicycle, but they did not have any in this style. The fact that it came with a basket, thick tires, and a cup holder made me go ahead with the purchase anyhow. Look out campground, here I come! And in style ;)

Huffy 26" Bicycle: Walmart
Book: Golden by Jessi Kirby
Water bottle: Walmart
Sunglasses: Bijujus (Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach, SC location)
Flowers: Earth
Hope you enjoyed!

Talk soon,

Tilly

Flashback Friday | Easter Tea

Hello friends,

Here is a flashback of one of our more recent tea events. We decided to have an Easter Tea this year instead of the traditional Easter Dinner. We decided on peach tea and regular black tea as our main teas. Our meal featured egg salad sandwiches, ham salad sandwiches, a vegetable platter, a fruit platter with homemade dip, chips, and CUPCAKES!!!! Add in a couple floral arrangements and colored boiled eggs for decoration, and voila! Tea time perfection!

How do you think we did? Comment below!

Talk soon,

Tilly