I love teapots. And really, you can’t have too many.

Seriously. Could you serve tea in a rooster teapot at a Valentines Day tea? See what I mean? It is important to be prepared for any tea party requirement.

So when I saw this  Tea Time Fairy Teapot on Amazon I was smitten.
How cute is this thing?

From the detail on her dress to the top of her little hat I was lovin’ it!

It isn’t tiny…it is a little over 6 inches tall.  It’s 32.00, but if you buy two of them, like if you were to get one for your very favorite blogger, then you save 5% on each one with this coupon code, LFFRRRHM .

Can you see this at a little girls’ tea? Or at a spring tea? Or ……

Yep…me too!

Image: Courtesy of Amazon

Post from: Kettle and Cup

More for the Gracious Hospital-i-tea Blogathon this week!

This is the Shawnee Pottery Embossed Rose Design, manufactured sometime in the 1940s I believe.  As far as I know my mother never drank tea from this teapot. She always heated up water, poured it in a mug and added a bag.

She said that she and my aunts had bought this pot for one off HER aunts and then it was left to Mom when the aunt passed away.  Mom always had in in her cupboard, never displayed, never used.

In fact, so many of the things she had were squirreled away in a  dark cupboard. I think that is so sad.  Beautiful things should exist to bring pleasure to the owner.  I display everything, and use many things.  With so many children in the house some things are not used very often..but they are used!

After I took this picture I thought it was significant, although I had not planned it that way.  The tea pot is in the image three times, one as a reflectin in the buffet top, one as a reflection in the mirror and one as itself.  I thought that was apropos, that it has belonged to three generations, one that is dark and almost unknown to me, one that I can remember clearly but not touch, and then me.  Reality now.

I think one of the most important things to teach my children, for me, is that things are meaningless, it is what they represent and symbolize that hold the value.  If  this teapot was broken I would smile and ask the breaker to help me sweep it up. I still have the memories is represents and nothing can take that away.

Maybe I am way to introspective today.  I find that women, especially women that enjoy the rituals of life and know how to feed their spirits, have one tendency that bothers me. Often graciousness becomes haughtiness and a concern over our beautiful things and our impeccable manners.  Rather than touching people’s lives with the beauty in us we alienate them with what is often percieved as snobbishness.
My spiritual mom, the woman that discipled me as a young woman, is the most gracious, genteel, southern woman that I have ever met.  She enjoys beauty in all things from the real flowers that surround her to the  artwork that she has in her home.  She reflects that quiet and gentle spirit that I am still working on.  And honestly..I will be working on for a long, long time.

Yet, she would be as comfortable and gracious in a mud hut, drinking tea from a chipped mason jar with a toothless peasant that burped the alphabet as she would at a high tea with the Queen of England.  She teaches not by what she says but by being so imbued with sweetness that everyone just wants to be like her.  Being around her changes people.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Image:Marye Audet 

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Let me direct your attention to the right of this post.  You will see alot of little boxes and one is entitled, “pages”.  There are some cool pages there but I have added one called Reader’s Gallery.

That will be an ongoing, hopefully growing, gallery of the pictures of your tea and coffee items that you send me.

If you have a cool teapot, coffee set, or cup..or whatever send a picture of  it to me in a 400px format at maryeaudetATgmailDOTcom  Just substitute the @ and . for the words.

Post from: Kettle and Cup

So, here we are, what, 9 days away from the big day? If you have given absolutely no thought to what you want to get for the love of your life you could end up getting something that is unimaginative, boring, and uninspired. Do you really want to do that?

Nope, you don’t. Why? Because you want to be known as the most romantic person ever. You want your Love to write about you on the walls of every public restroom in the state…you want them to gaze at you adoringly, you want them to …

Well, you know. So…you need a great idea.

Being somewhat of a romantic myself, I have lots of great ideas. These apply to tea drinkers. And mostly this post is written for men, because women usually have great ideas. If you are a woman and you don’t know what to get for the love of YOUR life then check out nearly anything on Love Fifi ..Disclaimer: That site has lingerie, so if you are thinking of getting your guy a necktie for Valentines Day, you won’t find what you are looking for there.

First of all, guys, presentation is everything. Handing her a Walmart bag with a box of Lipton in it will not be impressive. Use a Fair Trade Native Leaf gift bag, or a gift wrap made of sustainable materials or recycled paper. A cool idea is to use a vintage tea cloth, or table cloth to wrap in, or create a basket.

• Valentine’s Tea from Adagio-Chocolate, strawberries, and black Ceylon tea. Yum.
• Tea, Chocolate, Love, and Whimsy from Serendipitea comes with three teas and a heart tea infuser. Best of all the company is socially and environmentally responsible.
• Harney & Sons Silk Purse and Valentines Tea-The tea is chocolate and rose. Enough said.
• Silver Tips Tea StValentine is described as black tea flavored with red fruits, rose and vanilla.
• Numi Flowering tea- If you haven’t seent hese they are beautiful. You put the tea bud in a glass teapot, pour in the boiling water, and as the tea steeps a flower blooms.
• Teavana Rooibus Sweet Amore- rooibus tea is red. Great color for Valentine’s Day.. This one is also flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, almonds, apples, peach, and pear.

• The Teapot Shop is absolutely fantastic. I fell in love with this Summer Rose Tea for Two Set.

• Again, from the Teapot Shop, this Tea and Toast Set. I would feel like a character from a Jane Austin novel.

Vintage tea things are always awesome, to me. I love antiques, and I think that alot of women that are into tea (although not all, obviously) do love vintage tea items. eBay is a great place to find the vintage things. Check some of these out that I found today:

• This cup is incredible! It was just listed so you could actually bid on it.

• This early 20th century cup and saucer set is beautiful as well, in a soft green and rose floral.

Are you inspired? If coffee is your thing, tomorrow is coffee gift day… Check back.

And don’t forget, please Vote for me in the Death by Chocolate contest!

top image courtesy of morguefile.com, photographer: digiology99@gmail.com

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A few weeks ago I asked Ginger to send some pictures of her teapots and she did. Absolutely beautiful.

If you would like to be featured in our reader’s gallery send photos of your teapots (or cups, or tea plates or…) to me at maryeaudet AT gmail DOT com.

Thanks!

Post from: Kettle and Cup