Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 28 November 2011

Tea Time Tuesday


"Peace on earth will come to stay,
when we live Christmas every day." ~ Helen Steiner Rice

Welcome friends ~ I am delighted you have stopped by today and I invite you to the last Tea Time Tuesday for the month of November!


I hope all my American friends enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.
Everyone is thinking about the Holidays now and it tends to get very hectic. One can get weary from all the preparations and festivities, so it's nice to just stop and take a tea break....Won't you join me?



I love all the colours of Christmas, not just the red and green.


A cup of tea can rejuvenate you.

I am enjoying Stash Holiday Chai tea today in my Gracie China Rose Chintz teacup. This is a summery looking teacup but it goes well with my Christmas centerpiece which is why I chose it today.


I am enjoying an Icebox cookie with my tea. These cookies are buttery and filled with cherries and nuts; yum!


I find this cookie very appealing this time of year as the colourful cherries make them look very festive.


I painted this little paper mache cottage last week and decided to include it in my presentation today.
It's just another wee touch of Christmas.



Can't you just imagine wee fairies sipping their tea in it?



I hope you are all getting ready for my Christmas Tea! I would like to extend an invitation to each and every one of you!


Next week, December 5I will be hosting my Embrace The Season Christmas Tea. I can't wait to see all your lovely holiday tea things as well as a 1. Holiday Craft  2. Recipe   or  3. Christmas memory. You are welcome to share any of the above or all three if you wish. The more the merrier as they say!
I might add that you are also welcome to share coffee, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, eggnog, or punch if you wish.

Next week, December 6, I will also be joining Kathy for her Christmas With Victoria.


And the following week, December 12, I will be joining Wanda Lee and Pam for their GingerbreaTea.


There are lots of festive teas and parties coming up. Joy!


Many of you may not be aware but I also have a Christmas blog called Christmas Pudding. Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday the 29th of November, I will be sharing the A-Z of Christmas. It will be a wonderful potpourri of Christmas crafts, memories, traditions, etc.. and I invite you take a few moments and visit me there as well.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!" ~ Isaiah 26:3

Thank you for stopping by today. I would love to have you join me for TTT today. Please use the inlinkz below to sign up. As a courtesy, please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

I am happy to be joining the following parties as well this week ~

Sherry~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home
Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup Thursday

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Table Top Tuesday

Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Teacup Tuesday

Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday

Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

Trisha~ http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Tuesday

Ruth~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Trish~ http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
L.A.C.E.

Patti and Paula~ http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/
What's It Wednesday

Bernideen~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Friends Sharing Tea



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Friday 25 November 2011

Pink Saturday

Hello everyone~ I hope all my American friends had a lovely Thanksgiving!

If you want to see lots of pink, then you should make your way over to see Beverly. She hosts a fabulous pink party every weekend. Thank you Beverly!

 I have been busy decorating as I'm sure many of you have been too. I had this little brown cardboard house {cottage} which I got at Michaels ages ago and I've been meaning to paint it up for Christmas.

It finally got a coat of white paint and then the roof got a coat of pink. Why I did that, I don't know because I ended up putting SNOW on it anyway which covered up most of the pink roof. There is a pink door however. I sprinkled glitter on the roof, the window sills, and the door. Then I glued on a mini topiary.

I sprinkled 'snow' in the bottom of the cloche and set my little cottage in the center of it.


This is the front of the little cottage. You can still see some pink on the roof peeking out.


One side...


The other side....



I put my big Christmas tree up in the family room this year so my little Christmas tree stands on a table in a corner of our front room. I decorated it with pink and gold sheer ribbon, silver and pink balls and glittery birdies.


Mr. Bunny sits under the branches in the snow. He is waiting for a friend to come along.

Ah, there she is! A demure little bunny I got from sweet Celestina Marie.





Certain times of the day and the tree looks pink.


The sweetest little Christmas fairy adorns the top.


Thank you so much for coming by to see my pinks today. I wish you all a lovely pink and joyful weekend.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 21 November 2011

A Little Blue For Tea Time Tuesday


For the gracious gift of family and friends, Father, we thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Welcome friends for tea and another Tea Time Tuesday....

We had snow on the weekend. Thankfully, it has melted. The only kind of snow I want to see right now is this kind; the kind that you apply yourself to ornaments and birdhouses!


This birdhouse had been part of a centerpiece I made years ago.


It's too early for snow, but settling in with a hot cup of tea and some goodies is just lovely! Don't you agree? While all my American friends are preparing for Thanksgiving, I'm preparing for Christmas. You see, we Canadians celebrated our Thanksgiving in October.


It's time to nestle in and stoke the fires of home. Are you seeing blue?


Yes, I am sharing blue and white for a change! This is another one of my thrift store finds from New Brunswick. I paid $6.00 for it. I finally have something blue and white to go with my Churchill Blue Willow plates. I have had these plates for years and never had a teacup to go with them.


The patterns are different but no matter, they still go well together.


Royal Homes of Britain is the pattern of the teacup made by Enoch Wedgwood of England.


This centerpiece was a birthday gift from a friend a few years ago. I bring it out every Christmas season. It is so pretty with its blue and white flowers, little deer, and pinecones!


Try adding a little maple syrup to your cup for a sweet touch of Autumn in your tea.



The Blue Willow plates as well as the red plates are made by Churchill of England. The two red plates were also a gift from a friend.


Are you hungry? I have a nice plate of crackers and cheese to accompany our tea today. This is one of the favourites on Bible Study night. So simple, yet so good!


Cream Cheese with Hot Pepper Jelly
Place 4 oz. of cream cheese in a dish
Microwave 3-4 tablespoons of hot pepper jelly for a few seconds and pour over the cream cheese.
Sometimes I sprinkle a few bits of red and yellow peppers on the top.
Serve with an assortment of crackers. Yummy!

I also made a Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese icing to go with our tea today. I substituted the walnuts with dried cranberries and I like it better as does my hubby.


He isn't overly fond of carrot cake but he did enjoy a piece of this. I like to heat it up just a bit so the icing dribbles down the sides.




A cup of tea and Victoria magazine is a wonderful way to spend some quiet time. The new issue is simply brimming with all kinds of lovely photos and stories; lots of  ideas for the upcoming season to incorporate into your own home. Isn't this cake on the cover of Holiday Bliss, pretty?



NOTE: Just a reminder about my upcoming Christmas Tea ....
On December 5, I will be hosting my Embrace The Season ~ Christmas Tea. It will be the highlight of the year. I hope you will join me and share your Christmas china and a Christmas craft, memory, or recipe with us. The button below is for your Christmas Tea post or to place on your sidebar if you wish.



"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these in charity." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

I am delighted you have stopped by today and I would love for you to join me for Tea Time Tuesday! All you have to do is share a favourite tea cup or teapot, a coffee mug, or something tea related. If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: apple cider, iced tea or iced coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, or punch. The TTT button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome! Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

I am pleased to join the following parties as well~
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Table Top Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Wednesday Tea For You and Me  

Tea Party Tuesday
L.A.C.E.

Teacup Thursday

Bernideen~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Friends Sharing Tea


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Friday 18 November 2011

Pink Hoodies and Teacups for Pink Saturday

Hello sweet bloggerettes and Welcome to Pink Saturday with our hostess Beverly.

I have a couple of pinks to share with you today. Those of you who had stopped by earlier in the week will recognize this teacup from my tea party...

This is a Royal Albert teacup which I found on one of my thrifting travels to New Brunswick a few weeks ago. It is called Old English Rose and the pattern has been out of production for many years, so I am happy to have found this vintage teacup! I love the shape and the fuchsia and pink roses adorning it.




You have all heard the adage, "Like mother; like daughter."

Well, here is my granddaughter Jenna-Lynn. She is having fun on the swing and wearing her pink jacket.


I had planned on donning my jeans and my pink jacket and going to the park. I was going to get my hubby to take a picture of me on a swing. However, I got up to snow today, so you will just have to take my word for it that I like to swing too.


My granddaughter and I both have the same hooded pink jackets. "Like grandmother; like granddaughter." :)

Wishing you all a lovely weekend filled with pink and joy!

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi