It is hard for me to remember to do special Mother’s Day editions because my mom passed away in 2002.  I think it was 2002…sigh…anyway, since I don’t buy Mother’s Day gifts anymore I don’t think about it much.

Etsy has some too cute stuff, as usual.  Some of it would be great for Mother’s Day and some is just great.  Ready?

Kyrie would love this felt tea set.  I think it is adorable, and would make a great home decor item as well.

White tea and ginger soap sounds refreshing and romantic to me.  You?

This is one of the cutest whimsical tea prints ever!

No more Chapstick for me.  One up Bonne Bell with this Indian Spiced Chai Lip Conditioner.

I love my tea cup collection.  I may have to consider adding this vintage tea cup to it!

I like this retro looking tea cozy.

This vintage tea dress is beautiful  I wish that they still made clothing like this!

Pink Tea Party Earrrings are an awesome nod to a girly girl!

I love hand made items, don’t you?

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Happy Mother’s Day! I hope it is wonderful and relaxing and full of love.  I wrote some random thoughts on Baking Delights if you are interested, but I wanted just wish everyone that stops by here a wonderful day.

Image:MaryeAudet 

Post from: Kettle and Cup

There are going to be a ton of posts about what to get your mom for Mother’s Day and I could sure add to them, but I thought I would take this in a slightly different direction.

I mean…You probably all ready know what she likes, and have plans to get her that thing, to show your love and appreciation for all she has done.  And that is awesome, I could not hope to improve on your own ideas.

Except….

My mom passed away nearly 6 years ago. She was the last of Marc and my parents left, so her passing was significant to us..we were orphans.  If you haven’t experienced that odd feeling, sadly you will, everyone does.  It is weird to not be someone’s kid.  Even at 40-something.  And even though her and my relationship had alot of rocky moments I adored her.  She lived with us that last, very hard, six months. Wouldn’t want to ever go through that again. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Time.  Time is the one gift that noone else can give her.  It is the one thing that you can’t buy on eBay, or get back once it is gone.

So.  Take her for coffee.  Create a tea just for her. In fact..check back with me  because I have the making for the coolest Mother’s Day tea ever.

But it can really be as simple as having a standing coffee date regularly, if she lives close.  Head over to her house with your coffee maker, a grinder, and a bag of your favorite.  Take special mugs to use ONLY with her, ONLY on your coffee day. Take some cookies like Maple Shortbread or Faux Berger Cookies 

Sure.  She is gonna harass you about you nose piercing, and that new tattoo.  She may even ask if you have changed your underwear lately. Mom’s do that.   They are the most irritating, critical creatures on the planet.

But when they are gone there is this big hole that never quite heals up.  It never quite gets filled with other things.  And you find that, once in awhile, you would endure that criticism for just one more hug from her.. if only you could.

If you have the opportunity to spend time with your mom, do so.  It is the best gift of all.

Oh..the image? Me and Kyrie..bad hair day, no make up.  She loves me anyway.

Image: Marye Audet 

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HA! You say, what does that have to do with flowering teas?

I admit that while I like tea alot I am not a tea snob. I dislike words like bouquet unless they are talking about flowers, and you guys know that I have had it with hearing that a coffee is chocolaty and nutty. Grr. You should be able to say, hey this tea tasted good…it smelled great and it reminded me of mint juleps..or whatever.

Now, if you are a tea snob please don’t get offended. I am a snob in other areas, like architecture and antiques. I personally know the difference between a Roycroft and a Greene and Greene. But tea? I want it to taste good.

The flowering teas always seem like a great idea for Mother’s Day but really they are not, in my ever so humble opinion, that great. They are very grassy tasting for the most part, and often they do not open properly so you have an odd lump of plant cells in the center of your clear glass teapot. I once waited for several hours for one to open up. It was Numi, too.

So, if your Mum likes flowers, by all means, get her flowers. If she likes tea then get her tea. If you have money get her both but don’t try to do it all in one juxtaposed mess. Because then the cheap figurine that your sister buys her at Wal-mart is going to rack up brownie points as everyone waits for the tea to turn into a flower.

This is the formal parlor. It is always clean, and it is the room that I take company to. You know the people who come to the front door rather than the kitchen door. People who MIGHT want to drink flowering tea. I love this room. I sent Marc to visit his brother in Mass, for 3 days so I could stencil the walls. Yep..that is not paper, it is hand stenciled. The woodgrain is faux grained, too. I worked round the clock (lots of coffee) until he got back. But he liked it.

If YOU came to tea we would probably only pass through here. As I said, it is for company.

Image:Morguefile

Image:Marye Audet

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