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.

Friday 29 June 2012

Cranberry Glass for Pink Saturday

Hello everyone and welcome to Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Today I thought I would share my Cranberry glass collection with you.


Cranberry glass is also known as Gold Ruby glass in Europe and it is made with red glass and real gold. The pieces are hand blown or molded. 

All of these pieces were gifts and I have set them out on the coffee table for you to see.

This gorgeous pitcher was the first piece that I ever received and it was a wedding gift from my aunt.




This is a very large vase which was a gift from my hubby.


Sometimes I use the little jug to hold milk on the tea table.



Beneath all my pretties is a beautiful tablecloth with pink roses. I hope you enjoy.




This is our Canada Day weekend and it's going to be a busy one, so I will not be near the computer as much but I will visit you when I can.

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends! Have a safe and happy weekend!

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 25 June 2012

Tea On the Deck for Tea Time Tuesday



"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer...
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape, Lay as if created in all the freshness of childhood." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Welcome friends to my last Tea Time Tuesday in the month of June! Where did the month go? It's as though it hopped on fairies wings and flitted away....

Speaking of flying away, my youngest son flew to Paris on Saturday night. What a life that boy leads! He was in Paris this time last year too, and he is at this very minute, in Provence, France, at a Math conference.... 

Can you imagine gazing at fields of lavender like these, Judith?



One can dream!

My tea today is a rather simple one out on the back deck. It is a beautiful sunny day and I am happy to have gotten a few shots outside for a change.



The rose bushes are just loaded with blooms right now and one must have flowers to grace the tea table. These roses were freshly cut from my bushes this morning. They are old-fashioned roses called Theresa Bugnet. They look like peonies, they are so full and lush, and their scent is heavenly!





"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


A cookie and a wee bit of fruit, a cup of tea in a pretty teacup, and another Laura Childs Tea Shop Mystery, Chamomile Mourning....



Some fresh fruit - Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries sitting on a pretty vintage saucer....



Tea Tip ~ When serving tea, why not serve food which will enhance the flavour of the tea. Example: Spicy scones or a nut bread generously spread with cream cheese and chutney would be splendid with Darjeeling tea.  


My teacup....


This is a Royal Chelsea teacup that I found last Summer at an antique shop. It is made in England, and I love the warm peachy colour with the array of lovely flowers decorating the inside of the cup.



It sits on a pedestal which is trimmed in a gold band.



Isn't it pretty? I find the split gold trim quite unique.




I am sipping Ginger Peach tea with a very thankful heart today. Thankful for so many things.... Family, friends, summertime, and something I have been praying for for months was answered today. God is good!

Would you care to join me for a quiet and relaxing tea with the sound of birdsong in the background? I do love bird-chirping weather, don't you?

I wonder what kind of sounds my son is listening to right now. Most likely a professor giving a lecture on Math!



"Simply sitting barefoot on an old back porch, while having a round of tea, is one of the purest pleasures of life." ~ Unknown


And dreaming of Provence....



I am planning yet another special tea party for July 9th ~ An Anne of Green Gables Tea. You are welcome to take the tea button for your post or sidebar if you wish.




Do you love Anne of Green Gables? I don't know too many who don't love the red headed orphan from Prince Edward Island.

Living on the Island affords me easy access to anything pertaining to our darling heroine. Perhaps you have some Anne inspired tea things, or maybe just some green and white. Perhaps you found a new teacup or pot at a yard sale which you would like to share with us. I would love to see them if you do. So please mark your calendars for July 9th and join me for an Anne of Green Gables Tea.

This tea party is going to be a little different from my usual party. It will be a type of Progressive Tea Party as there will be a special menu and a special link to your tea post on my own tea post if you choose a goodie from the menu to share on your Anne of Green Gables Tea postI will share more about that next week, so stay tuned!

Have a delightful day everyone and I look forward to visiting you.



I am happy to see all your tea things, whether you have shared them before or not. This tea party is all about sharing your joy of tea time and any thoughts you might have on the subject. And for the summer months, I would love to see your teacups and teapots indoors as well as out in the garden, at the beach, on a park bench, etc... Also I would enjoy seeing your teacup and teapot crafts as well as recipes and any stories you might have to share about tea time. So, let's have fun this summer with our teas. Get out there and be as creative, fancy, or as laid back as you wish!

"Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." ~ Lamentations 3:23


I am delighted you have stopped by for a visit today. Your presence always make my tea party that much more special! Do you have a favourite teacup/teapot or mug that you would like to share with us today? I would love to see it and I'm sure others would too!

If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too:
Hot Apple Cider
Hot Chocolate
Lemonade
Iced Tea or Iced Coffee
Punch in a lovely bowl.
No alcoholic beverages please.

The Tea Time Tuesday 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! To be sure everyone has a visit, it would be nice if you visited the participant before and after your name.

Inlinkz is available below for you to sign up for my tea party.

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 joining the following parties as well~

Heart and Home ~ http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
A Return to Loveliness ~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tea in the Garden~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Thursday~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Friday 22 June 2012

Roses and China for Pink Saturday

Happy Summer bloggy friends and welcome to Pink Saturday~
I hope you are all enjoying this first official week of the new season! Are you ready for some pink?

It's no secret that I love flowers; especially roses! These are the very first blooms from my bushes.


Aren't they pretty?



Roses under lace with a bit of Bridal Wreath tucked in here and there....Can you smell them? They have the most luscious, heavenly scent!




I love every fluffy, frilly petal and I look forward to having them outside my window as well as in bowls and vases around my home for the Summer months. Ah, Summer, you gotta love it!

I also have a couple of pretty teacups which I found while out thrifting. I featured both of these teacups at my Summer Tea Party this past week which you can see in my previous post....

This cup is called Summer made by Royal Albert. Isn't the English cottage simply charming?



And this is a vintage Bavaria-Schumann cup sitting on some pretty plates. The teacup is called Bridal Rose.



Thank you for stopping by for a visit and I hope you will visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for lots more swoon-worthy pink. Have a delightful weekend everyone!

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 18 June 2012

"Savour the Summer" Tea Party


"Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living." ~ Amanda Bradley

Welcome dear friends to my Summer Tea Party! What better way to celebrate Summer together than with a tea party? So come, let's Savour the Summer with some tea and lemonade! My beautiful bouquet sets the scene, roses, carnations, lilies, etc....




I hope all the dads out there enjoyed their special day yesterday!

I have two "new to me" teacups to share with you. These were a such good buy to begin with and I got 30% off the ticketed price so I was happy.

{Last Fall I had found a Bavaria-Schumann saucer but the teacup was not a match so I am happy to have found this new set!}

This lovely teacup is an original Bridal Rose by Bavaria- Schumann.




It is a beautiful white china with gorgeous rose garlands and gold lacework on the scalloped edges. The cup itself is so comfortable to hold as it fits nicely in my hand and its handle is comfortable as well.


Love the saucer! Bridal Rose remains a  pattern which has endeared itself to thousands, including me. 





"The daintiness and yet elegance of a china teacup focuses one to be gentle, to think warmly and to feel close." ~ Carol and Malcolm Cohen  


My second teacup was a real find and I am so excited to share this one with you!

In 1984, Royal Albert produced a "Garden Cottage" series featuring the four seasons. I found the Summer teacup, and I am thrilled to have found it!




It is such a pretty china teacup depicting an old English rural cottage garden scene with a pastel pink scroll edge. The thatched roof cottage is home to a young girl and a gaggle of geese, making this teacup so very charming. I don't know whether the flowers are roses or peonies. In any case, I love them!



The other side of the cup also has a cottage scene....



Just inside the cup is a sweet little spray of flowers to look at while sipping your tea and the cup has a beautiful handle.




The back stamp.


"Nowhere is the English genius of domesticity more notably evident than in the festival of afternoon tea. The chink of cups and the saucers tunes the mind to happy repose." ~ G. Gissing



The back stamp on the Summer plate bears this charming poem~ 


"Summer haze and sunshine days,
England's tranquil hour
Petals carpet dusty roads
This festival of flowers."



These are some of the pretties I'm using today for my Summer Tea Party....beautiful flowers, china, and a lacy parasol...



The tea set ...



The pretty Myott Brides Bouquet plates were made in Staffordshire England. I found two bread and butter and four salad plates at a new shop in town called Time Worn Treasures and Antiques. You can find Lori's site here.


Tea is ready ....




Which cup would you like? 






My Tea is mainly a dessert tea but I am also serving some Cream cheese and cucumber, as well as egg salad tea sandwiches...





Now for the dessert... I have Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars and Cherry Squares with pink icing...




Warm Rhubarb Pudding with whipped cream...




Strawberry Shortcake in a jar. I discovered this sweet treat at Yvonne's Stone Gable. It's as good as it looks. Thank you Yvonne for sharing. Don't you just love other bloggers who share their recipes and ideas? I sure do!


Hubby just loved these!


Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar
Cut rounds out of pound cake to fit the jar. Layer one round in the bottom of the jar.
Layer in some berries, that have been mixed with a bit of sugar, on top of the cake.
Layer of fresh whipped cream.
Repeat layers until you get to the top. Use a cake decorating tip for last layer of whipped cream and decorate with a strawberry. I don't have a cake decorator at the moment so I improvised using a plastic baggie filled with whipped cream, snipped off the corner, and squeezed the whipped cream on to the top of the shortcake, swirling it as I went. Tie a pretty bow on to the jar to match your plate and, Voila!

In future, I might try using blueberries or raspberries. The canning jar makes a very cute presentation, don't you think?


There are goblets of pink lemonade too if you would like something cool to drink. Please help yourself!



I am so happy you have joined me today! I hope you all have a lovely Summer and make some wonderful memories with your family and friends.



"Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have." ~ The Book of 1 Samuel


I am happy to see all your tea things, whether you have shared them before or not. This tea party is all about sharing your joy of tea time and any thoughts you might have on the subject. And for the summer months, I would love to see your teacups and teapots indoors as well as out in the garden, at the beach, on a park bench, etc... Also I would enjoy seeing your teacup and teapot crafts as well as recipes and any stories you might have to share about tea time. So, let's have fun this summer with our teas. Get out there and be as creative, fancy, or as laid back as you wish!

I am delighted you have stopped by for a visit today. Your presence always make my tea party that much more special! Do you have a favourite teacup/teapot or mug that you would like to share with us today?

I would love to see it and I'm sure others would too! If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too:
Hot apple cider
Hot chocolate
Lemonade
Iced tea or iced coffee
Punch in a lovely bowl
No alcoholic beverages please.

The Tea Time Tuesday 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!

To be sure everyone has a visit, it would be nice if you visited the participant before and after your name.

Inlinkz is available below for you to sign up for my tea party. 

As a courtesy, please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here and visit with all my lovely participants. 

I am joining the following parties as well~

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


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi