Don't you love receiving gift cards from your favorite stores? My girlfriend gave me a Home Goods gift card, so I had fun roaming around the store recently looking at items to get with my card. From the looks of the merchandise I selected [pictured below], I must have been feeling very British! ;-) You probably recognize the mug, because it appeared in a post earlier this week. The tin of tea contains 40 bags of premium English Breakfast tea. I love the large copper teapot cookie cutter, which is different from my other ones, and I'm anxious to make a batch of sugar cookies using it.
I received two Barnes & Noble gift cards and knew exactly what I wanted. I mentioned Pippa Middleton's book, Celebrate, in a previous post before I actually had it.
What fun I've had reading through it, and in spite of some uncomplimentary reviews on Amazon, I like the book a lot. It's not surprising that there's a chapter on Afternoon Tea, which includes a section of Afternoon Tea Crafts using brown card stock tags and homemade vintage-looking bunting. I will definitely be making the bunting for one of my tea parties. It's festive and so quaint.
Pippa talks about mixing English Breakfast tea with Lapsang Souchong for a more subtle flavor, and I'm anxious to try her suggestion. The book is full of color photographs, illustrations and recipes - including Nutella Madeleines, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Toad-in-the-Hole with Onion Gravy, and Shepherd's Pie Baked Potatoes. Don't those sound yummy?
All four seasons are covered in the book: Autumn [Halloween, Sunday Lunches, Cozy Supper Parties]; Winter [Christmas, New Year's Eve, Robert Burns Night]; Spring [Valentine's Day, Special Breakfasts, Easter, Afternoon Tea]; and Summer [Children's Parties, Barbecues, Picnics, Camping].
If you like celebrations, you will like this book.
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I'm joining Antiques and Teacups today for "Thursday Tea Things and Talk"
and
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for "Open House"
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