Sweet Home Architecture: tea cups

Showing posts with label tea cups. Show all posts

Cookies, Coffee, Robert Burns, and Knock-off China

2:52 PM | Labels: autumn, blog giveaway, brownie cookies, coffee, Noritake Adagio, tea cups

Come Autumn, sae pensive in yellow and grey,
And soothe me wi' tidings o' Nature's decay!

Ah, that ol' Robert Burns could turn a phrase, couldn't he?

Even if he did talk funny. :-P

Outside here, it's all gray skies, dark gray tree limbs, with a few

brilliant leaves still soldiering on.

Yellow and gray and pensive.

November.

The perfect day for a cuppa and a something-else in the study at That Old House.

Sorry, it's not tea for me today; it's French press coffee.

I'm using pieces from a luncheon/dessert/tea service for 6 that I got two years ago at a hospital thrift shop.

It's an unknown manufacturer, but it's a dead-on ringer for Noritake's Adagio pattern.

This, below, is the real McCoy; it has silver trim, the imposter has gold.

Noritake Adagio,
picture filched from an eBay listing.

I discovered Adagio as a newlywed, and thought it so graceful and charming, but we couldn't afford it.

I was delighted to find this knock-off at the thrift shop. I like it as much now as I did 30 years ago!

Love the rust and blue and gray design. Such good colors for November.

This isn't fancy, delicate bone china. I don't hold my pinkie finger up when I drink from this cup.

But I think it's pretty and I know it's practical -- I put it in the dishwasher despite the gold trim.

How daring is that?

Now . . . about that something-else snack.

I usually have Duncan Hines brownie mix on hand; I think it's the best of the bunch.

And you can make cookies with it.

You need:

And you follow these instructions:

For "other stuff" think: white chocolate, nuts, raisins,
coconut, dried cranberries, peanut or butterscotch chips . . .
pretty much anything but olives.
Use a meatball scoop to form the cookies, or a coffee scoop.
Be generous.

After baking, you end up with these, and boy are they good:

Confession: I did not bake those cookies today (Sorry, Howard).

I baked them almost exactly two years ago, when I first used these pictures and recipe in a post.

Pictures of That Old House are from this afternoon.

Hey -- I'm busy with my TBDBT List! I'm not baking until the day before Thanksgiving! -- Cass

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Love dishes? Lust over all types of china?

Then you'll want to enter the Giveaway for the big new coffee table book

on dishes, called DISH! Just go to Monday's post and leave a comment.

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Link Parties:

Marty at A Stroll Through Life hosts Table Top Tuesday. Click here.

Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words hosts 2nd Time Around Tuesday. Click here.

At Linda's Coastal Charm blog, it's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays. Click here!
And now for the Tea Parties:

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Tea Time Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda Lee at The Plumed Pen, and Tea For Two Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda and Pam of A Breath of Fresh Air host Tea Pot and Tea Things. Click here!

And ... it's also Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations with Terri. Click here!

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Tuesday Teas

8:39 AM | Labels: antique booth, aynsley, Meissen, tea cups, tea pot, wedgwood

I am very good at making lists.

My To Be Done By Thanksgiving List is necessarily shorter than normal this year.

Because I've got another list in the works. It is my To Be Done For The Booth List.

(What booth? Click here.)

I need to get to work on that today, because if my booth is empty I probably won't sell much.

But I wanted to do a tribute to my old, fallen comrade -- my Canon Power Shot camera.
It took some good pictures in its time, and here are some of them, mostly '09 and '10.

In the Parlor, a quiet tea for one. That would be me.

I think these shots show that my old digital camera has been failing, as recent pictures are not as good.

A few of these pieces may end up in the booth. But not my Meissen tea pot! A gift from my in-laws.

This tea set is from Nepal, a gift from our daughter Alida to her sister Anne.

Felicity's cup. Who has a colonial American Girl doll? I do! I do!

In the parlor, again, this time with Wedgwood, and a big wild sunflower tea pot, a gift from my girls.

Patrican pattern, with Bognor decoration.

Still going with the Brits on the china ... this time, Aynsley's Tatton Hall. Tea pot from Windsor Castle gift shop.

I think this china, a thrift shop find of mine a few years back, will go to the booth.

I rarely use it.

And that's it for today, Tuesday, or Teas-day. -- Cass

Link Parties!

Marty at A Stroll Through Life hosts Table Top Tuesday. Click here.

Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words hosts 2nd Time Around Tuesday. Click here.

And those Tea Parties:

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Tea Time Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda Lee at The Plumed Pen, and Tea For Two Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda and Pam of A Breath of Fresh Air host Tea Pot and Tea Things. Click here!

And ... it's also Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations with Terri. Click here!

Lady Katherine is hosting her Tuesday Tea Time Party. Go! Click here.

And now it's time for me to get my kiester off The Yellow Chair and start

really getting ready to stock my booth. Tomorrow . . . a final acquisition adventure!

And now for something completely different -- a drunken perspective on a sober tea scene.

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Teacups and Roses and an Antiquing Adventure

7:37 AM | Labels: antiquing, tea cups, tea party

So today I am firing up the red minivan
and heading for the far-off distant land
of Somerville, New Jersey.

Which is about 32 minutes away.

And is home to something called Somerville Center Antiques

and a host of other dens of digging delight.

I've never been there, but my young friend Emily and I are putting on our hunting gear,

bringing a camera, and setting forth in pursuit of the interesting, the cheap, the quirky, and . . . lunch.

If we're not back by Thursday, it means the shopping was really good.

But before I go, I'm sharing some beautiful roses with you.

My daughter Anne gave them to me last Wednesday, and even arranged them in the rose bowl.

They are holding up awfully well, don't you think?

How sweet is it, to make your own humans, and then have them grow up and give you flowers?

Maybe I should have had more kids.

Of course, then I'd have to have more of these:

Birthday tea cups.

Starting with the yellow cup -- February is for Alida.

I think those are buttercups. Aconite? Any gardeners out there?

For Anne, it's July and what I think are pansies.

Which don't really thrive in July, except that the cups are English Staffordshire,

so perhaps in England pansies are still ripping along in that month.

As I recall, we got these for our girls -- when they were quite young -- at Disney World.

Or maybe it was Hershey Park. Or quite possibly Great Adventure in Virginia.

Girls? Do you remember?

The cups are lovely quality. I paired them with old silverplate teaspoons bearing my initial.

I am The Mom, after all.

Napkins and doily -- vintage linen and lace.

And now it's off treasure hunting in deepest darkest Somerville!

P.S. Our girls' birthdays are in February and July. Howard and I have birthdays in . . . February and July.

Just a bit of trivia in case it ever comes up on Jeopardy.

It's Tuesday -- Tea Party time in Bloggerville.

Join in -- check out the wonderful blogs below, and their tea time or tabletop link parties. -- Cass

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life hosts Tabletop Tuesday. Click here!

The Plumed Pen and A Breath Of Fresh Air host
Tuesday Tea For Two and Teapots And Tea Things. Click here!

It's Tea Time Tuesday with Katherine, at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor. Click here!

Martha of Martha's Favorites is our hostess for Tea Cup Tuesday.

Click here!

Martha and Terri of Artful Affirmations share the hosting duties for this fun meme. Click here!

At Rose Chintz Cottage, it's Tea Time Tuesday. Click here!

And before I forget -- a belated Happy Thanksgiving
to all the fine folks up north in Canada.
I could hear the belts loosening all the way in New York on Sunday!

Although it would be easier if you just changed your date to the last Thursday in November.

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Roses for Tea

8:35 AM | Labels: colclough china, miracle makeover, tea cups, teatime

Would you like a cup o'tea, dearie?

I've got enough cups for four.

So that's me, and three o'you dearies.

Like your tea sweet? The pink sugar roses are each two lumps.

I'm afraid it's a lot of old bits'n'bobs on the table today.

Old plated spoons, but at least they've got my initial on them.

Looks quite nice by candlelight, doesn't it?

But we need a bit of lamplight, dearies, so we don't

end up drinking from the dog's dish.

Now, what about these pretty tea cups, you ask?

They came all the way from England to have tea with us.

Colclough -- which I never heard of before finding this little set on eBay.

4 cups, 4 saucers, 4 breakfast or cake plates, and one little cream jug.

All for $6.00. Six dollars.

I looked 'em up on that handy Internet thing.

Turns out Colclough was its own company, then became part of Ridgway,

then Royal Doulton glommed onto it in the 1970s, and now?

No longer made.

This pattern is called Amaretto or sometimes, Amaretto Rose.

I liked it 'cause it's pretty.

No, actually -- truth time: I got it because it was so cheap, and I had planned on turning

the cups and saucers into Christmas ornaments for our dining room tree.

But now, I'm not so sure. They are in such lovely condition!

Did you notice the little tea cup candle?

They were given as part of the favors at

our daughter's bridal shower back in June.

Aren't they adorable?

13 pieces of pristine Colclough china for six bucks. And $9 shipping!

So, dearie, grab a cup and I'll pour some imaginary tea

from my imaginary pot, and we'll have a few imaginary biscuits

to go along with it.

Oh heck -- it's imaginary! Let's have lots and lots of biscuits.

Chocolate ones.

And let's put two pink sugar roses in our tea,

and sip our way into a sugar coma! -- Cass

P.S. Anyone know how to pronounce Colclough?

Does it end in an "AW" or an "OW" or an "UFF?"

Or none of the above?

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Before I list the Tuesday Linky Parties, I ask you to also visit Marydon at her Blushing Rose blog, where she is featuring the Miracle Makeover for little Charlie Grady, a soldier in the war against childhood cancer.
If you read her post, you will better understand why this campaign is especially close to Marydon's heart.

If you leave a comment on her blog, or on any of the other participating blogs (they are all listed on Blushing Rose's site), another dollar will be donated to this project. Please visit -- as I said yesterday, donating that dollar doesn't cost us a thing except the few seconds to write a comment, but the support is priceless to Charlie and his family. Anyone can comment, through this coming Thursday. Please, click here.

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Linky Parties!

Marty at A Stroll Through Life hosts Table Top Tuesday.
I hope she doesn't mind that I used a butcher block counter for my "table" this week! Click here.

Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words hosts 2nd Time Around Tuesday. Click here.
Visit Diane and read how Eddie Ross visited her antiques booth, and bought!

Linda at Coastal Charm is the charming sponsor of Nifty Thrifty Tuesday. Click here.

And for those of you looking to get your Tea Fix,

these fun parties:

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Tea Time Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda Lee at The Plumed Pen, and Tea For Two Tuesday. Click here!

Wanda and Pam of A Breath of Fresh Air host Tea Pot and Tea Things. Click here!

It's Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites. Click here!
And ... it's also Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations with Terri. Click here!
Lady Katherine is hosting her Tuesday Tea Time Party. Go! You must see her chickens! Click here.

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Cookies, Coffee, Robert Burns, and Knock-off China

Tuesday Teas

Teacups and Roses and an Antiquing Adventure

Roses for Tea