Halloween Tea

Hello Everyone,

It's Halloween, the festive time of the year where old traditions of celebrating the dead come alive.  The last day of October is where we attend costume parties, decorate our houses with spooky jack-o-lanterns, light bonfires, and tell scary ghost stories that send shivers down anyone's spine. But most notable and prevalant attribute about Halloween its the treats! Its the one holiday a year where candy is King and the sugar level in every household raises by an infinate amount. So what does that mean for any tea lover? It means its another opportunity to set up a festive and inviting place to celebrate with a Halloween tablescape and some hot tea with treats.

I started off with a perfect black tea pot that could be found in any witch's kitchen for a brew of some sort, and a matching black mug that could hold a delightful potion of tea.  Next, I placed an apothacary full of candy corn topped with oreo Halloween themed cookies.  A plate full of orange and green cookies with a couple of cake pops make the sweet menu official.  A couple added items for extra ambiance and I am ready to begin my Halloween treat. 

Here is to hoping to inspire you on this spooky day to stop and take some time to enjoy your sugary treats with a spot of tea.

 

 

 

God Bless,

Trina Belle    

Pumpkin Roll Cupcakes | How To

Hello Friends,

Hope everyone is enjoying the autumnal weather we are having! As you know I love to bake cupcakes, and seeing as how it is the fall time, I have been baking these Pumpkin Roll Cupcakes like crazy! They taste JUST LIKE a pumpkin roll and were a instant hit in my house (I'm already on my second batch!).

 

 

Recipe:

           Ingredients

          - 1 box of Pumpkin Cake mix

          - 4 egg whites

          - 1 and 1/4 cup water

          - 1/2 cup vegetable oil

          - 3 cups of powdered sugar 

          - 1 package of cream cheese (room temperature)

          - 1 stick of butter (room temperature)

          - 1 teaspoon of vanilla 

          - 1 teaspoon of imitation butter

          - 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

          - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

          - extra cinnamon for garnish (optional)

          - 1/4 cup of sour cream

 

         Directions

          - Mix the cake mix, egg whites, sour cream, vegetable oil, and water together. Add in nutmeg and cinnamon and mix well. Place batter into a cupcake tin and bake for 20-22 minutes.

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

          - Start mixing in the powdered sugar about a 1/2 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 cinnamon on top to garnish the cupcakes.

 

          Additional Comments

          - This recipe makes about 16 cupcakes depending on how much batter you use per cupcake (I filled the cupcake pan almost to the top).

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

          - If you would like to create a cinnamon cream cheese icing, add in a teaspoon of cinnamon to the icing mixture before adding in the powdered sugar.

 

I made a video tutorial on these cupcakes as well. My brother made a cameo in it, check it out:

 

 



Happy Baking,

Tilly

Halloween Costumes for Tea Pots

Hello Friends,

In honor of Trick-Or-Treat night, todays posts talks about costumes! Have you ever wondered what tea pots dress up as for Halloween? Well here are four tea pots that have their costume on and are ready for tonight!

Here is an unmarked tea pot dressed as a kitchen sink. It is complete with cabinets and drawers under the sink. The tea pot also has a few dishes in the sink, with a dish towel hanging over. The tea pot, cup, and tray on the left make up the lid. This is a super cute tea pot that blends right in with the holiday décor.

This Bordeaux tea pot was hand painted by Mann. I think it looks like a basket filled with grapes, leaves, and vines from a vineyard. What do you think?

This hand painted Tulip Time by Mann, makes for a wonderful garden costume. The handle is a blade of grass, and the lid has a tulip sprouting from the top as a handle. Side note: it is sitting by a childhood favorite, Pumpkin Moonshine!

Finally we have another unmarked tea pot, this time as a cute little cottage. What is more homier than a thatched roofed home complete with a chimney? I think this costume does a great job at impersonating a cottage. This is also my favorite costume of the four!

Happy Trick-or-Treating,

Tilly

Pumpkin Spice Tea | Review

Hello friends,

When they say pumpkin spiced everything, they MEAN pumpkin spiced everything. In more recent years pumpkin spice as a flavor has taken over during the fall months. I am not a strong connoisseur of the pumpkin spice flavor, but with the growing hype surrounding it, I decided to give it a whirl. A picked up Bigelow's Pumpkin Spice Black Tea (from my local Walmart), which claims to be a Hearty Spiced Tea. After letting it brew, I added in some sugar. Here is the result!

 

 

One of my first thoughts was that it was much better than I had originally expected. It quickly began to smell and taste of nutmeg and pumpkin pie. The ingredients for the tea are black tea, natural pumpkin flavors, cinnamon, licorice root, clove, ginger, and pumpkin flake. After reading the ingredients I realized one of the flavors I was tasting was the licorice root. The tea is gluten free and includes an average of 30-60 mg of caffeine. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this tea and happy with my purchase. I hope this encourages you to try something new as well!

Happy Steeping,

Tilly

Autumnal Picnic | Easy How To

Hello friends,

With the arrival of crisp, cool air, comes the arrival of the leaves changing colors. I love to be outside this time of year to take in all of the beautiful colors. One way I enjoy fall weather is through putting together, and delighting in, an outdoor picnic. Picnics are pretty easy to put together, therefore I thought I would let you know what I include in mine.

The first thing one should do when picnicking, is to find the perfect spot! Since it is fall, it is always good to pick a spot with plenty views of the changing of leaves.

The first item I obtain is a basket. This one is a Longaberger basket, but you may use any type of container to place your things in. I next grab a blanket to sit on. I love using plaid or flannel blankets as they truly embody the fall atmosphere. The next, and perhaps the most important item, is something to drink. Here I have water and Pumpkin Spice Black Tea to steep. However, any other tea, coffee, hot chocolate, etc. would work just fine! Going along with something to drink, is something to drink with. I simply grabbed an autumnal mug and placed in the basket. After deciding which drink will keep me warm, I decide on snacks. Because I have such a sweet tooth, I opted for a bag of dark chocolate with pomegranate flavor. I also threw in some apples to complement the fall season. Finally, I grabbed a book to read! For this day, I took along The 5th Wave (so far its good).

The last step in enjoying a picnic, is to relax and relish in the fall foliage! I hope this inspires you to go outdoors and do the same! Since the leaves change and fall so fast, one should take advantage of the beautiful colors while they can.

As always, thank you for stopping by,

Tilly

Decorating | Tea Pots and Tea Cups

Hello friends,

My mother and I have accrued multiple tea pots and tea cups through vintage shopping. I have been asked more than once what we do with it all. The answer is simple: we decorate with them!

A recently purchased of mine has been this tea cup (Rose Bouquet made in England by the Johnson Bros.) antique shopping for a mere $8. I decided to place in on top a couple books stacked on my nightstand. The other items on my nightstand are quite taller than the tea cup, so providing it with some elevation, helps to balance out the arrangement.

On a little round table in my room, I have placed a gold and white tea pot (made in Japan, no company stamp) with some other items in the same color scheme. There are two candles, one if front of the teapot and one top of a couple books. There are also two plants, one real in the glass case and one artificial flower in a glass jar. Keeping a color theme on a table is a great way to bring the pieces together and really make them look like they belong on the table.

Since I use my vanity daily I don't want a lot placed on it because it would get in my way. Here I simply have a pitcher I picked up for $12 antique shopping. In the pitcher I have my Maid of Honor bouquet I carried on my best friend's wedding day. This just helps to bring some extra color into my room in a unique way.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I incorporate my antique tea finds into my bedroom décor. Please send me pictures of how you decorate with tea things! Also comment below which of the three decorating looks was your favorite.

Hope you have a great day!

Tilly 

The Teacup | A History

Hello Everyone,

“The mere chink of cups and saucers tune the mind to happy repose”  - George Gissing

    

There is nothing like the enjoyment someone can receive from owning and using the perfect tea cup.  Perhaps it’s the fond reminiscences of conversations during tea time with friends, or the memories invoked by a perfect day antiquing, that makes a tea cup hold a special place in your heart.  Each tea cup in my home not only holds a special story and pleasurable memory, but is considered a beloved collectible.

Like anything else, the tea cup has quite a history. Their history began in China as a simple and handle free vessel.  When tea became popular among the Europeans in the 17th century, they found it quite intolerable to hold a steaming hot cup. So the addition of a tea handle was born and became an integral part of teatime. They first used silver as the handles, but they seemed to also hold heat. This became a problem with the holding of the tea cup. Next came a wonderful solution through changing the silver to porcelain in the 1600’s. However, porcelain did had some draw backs as well. This is why an influential lady started adding milk in the teacup before the hot tea was served. Tempering the tea in this manner made the tea cup better to handle and kept it from cracking.

Now that teacups could be handled easily, they became integrated into society for not only a pleasurable experience for relationships, but status also.  In the 19th century, the tea cup took on another role as a collectible. They found their way upon display shelves and used as gifts and keepsakes. They became little pieces of art that could intrigue anyone’s interest. They have become a vital part of culture and deeply rooted in family tradition. Whether the expanse of your tea cup collection is large or small, expensive or modestly found at an antique store, the repose found in them is the same. I hope, like me, you find some comfort and enjoyment out of using a variety of your own teacup collection to ensure the legacy of the teacup endures to the future generation.

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Etiquette 101

Hello friends,

Ever watched the movie Blast from the Past? Well, in that movie, Brenden Fraser's character sums up why we should follow an etiquette code when dining. He says, "Manners are a way of showing other people we care about them." This is something that has stuck in my mind ever since I first watched Blast from the Past. Having proper etiquette is a way of showing respect to those around you and can convey how much you appreciate them. Below are some codes of etiquette that are a great rule of thumb to follow when dining with others.

1.) Pretty basic, don't talk with food in your mouth or chew with your mouth open.
2.) Wait until you have swallowed your food to take a drink.
3.) When taking a drink, don't worry about maintaining eye contact, look into your cup not over it.
4.) Not going to lie, I hate this one...sit up straight...ugh., moving on.
5.) Keep your elbows close to your sides when cutting food. And under no circumstance place your elbows on the table.
6.) Refrain from touching your face and from pulling out any food you dislike from your mouth.
7.) Don't blow on your food if it is too hot.
8.) If you need something out of reach, ask for someone to pass it to you. Do not reach across the table to get what you need.

Those are some pretty basic etiquette rules that will get you through any dinner without looking like a schmuck. Let me know if you have any other useful tips!

Talk soon,

Tilly