Tea pot, Tea Cosy, Tea cup!

Ally posted recently about her new tea cosy that was a birthday request.

As a huge tea-drinker, a teapot has been part of my vernacular and my needs in life since I was a child. We always had a pot of tea when there were 3-4 of us so it made sense to use a pot. When I began to liv on my own as an adult, after Mum moved out, I used to continue to make an entire pot of tea for myself to drink. Even when I used a teabag, it was lovely to have the option of a second,third or fourth cup of tea so it made sense to make more.

To this day, especially since using loose leaves instead of tea bags, for environmental reasons, I make a pot of tea whether CBC wants any or not.  Therefore, it is critical to keep the subsequent cups of tea warm so we have this owl tea-cosy to keep the heat in. It is padded  to provide insulation. 

Here he is, guarding the tea pot.

Underneath, you can see my Ikea glass tea pot. My original one of these was secondhand from a bookshop with cafe that was closing down. I was gutted when I clonked it down too hard on the worktop and it cracked a hole in the side of the teapot.  My friend Lara was going to Ikea and found me an identical teapot to my broken one so got it for me but, because of Lockdown, it wasn't till months later that I was able to collected it for her.

Last week, I bought this Fairtrade Nepalese made wool trivet especially to keep the teapot on to ensure I don't make the same mistake.  And, I've discovered, it has the added bonus of keeping the tea even warmer! 

Hurrah.

The mug was an end of year present from a child. How cute!

Do you drink tea? Bags or loose leaves?  Pot or mug? Cosy or no cosy? 1 cup or plenty?

Style Imitating Art- Royal Worcester Tea pot

Hello there,

I'm posting my outfit for Style Imitating Art today.

Daenel chose this beautiful Royal Worcester tea pot as the inspiration today.

Isn't it gorgeous! 

Teapot {Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access}

When I first saw this, I knew instantly, which items in my wardrobe and jewellery box I would be utilizing for this outfit.

Here's a collage of all the elements of my outfit

Let me talk you through my choices:

I began with the Saffron-coloured patterned shirt.  This came from Whitestuff via charity shop and the pattern and colour put me in mind of the golden-bird section of the teapot.

Next, I added this white and pale blue patterned skirt from Kew via Charity shop.  The pale blue elements and the pretty seed pattern made me think of the far-left pale blue section. No I couldn't be bothered to iron it.

I decided to wear my black stretchy belt with the textured gem buckle to separate the two garments and to make a nod to the black and gold-patterned sector. I think this belt came from Primark but it's so old, I am not sure.

Next, I decided to make a nod to the bronze/gold textured handle and wore a metal headband (that's my handle, not my spout).  The metal bracelet which was a present from one of my lovely pupils was also a nod to that.  

Since gold featured so prominently, I also added my Rose-gold Tom shoes.

At this point, I wondered if the black was feeling a bit outnumbered so I added the imiation jet-bead vintage necklace from my friend Ellie.

I suddenly realised as well, that my leather and wood patterned necklace and earrings from Esoteric London actually made rather a brilliant match to the black patterned section too.

And that's how thee outfit came together.  Perhaps two necklaces are overkill but I liked each one for what they added and you know, the teapot IS very fancy so I decided to go fancy too!

What do you think?

If you think this is something you could join in with (I am looking pointedly at SHEILA  and Bev, your cloud dress makes me think of this!) , do send your outfit to Daenel  livingoutsidethestacks@gmail.comby Tuesday night at the latest and visit her blog on Wednesday to see everyone's interpretations at www.Livingoutsidethestacks.com

If I wish to write a blog post about my new teapot, I shall...

Welcome to a self-indulgent blog post!

I went to town on Saturday as CBC had a physio appointment.  I planned to go to the Refill room and have a look about the shops.  What I didn't know was that the lovely independent bookshop (with cafe) was closing down. I felt really sad about this but apparently, the owners are retiring (such a loss to that town though!). I'd obviously missed the boat as nearly all the stock had gone but I did actually strike gold!

I've been drinking a lot of loose leaf tea, trying to avoid unnecessary packaging and plastic and also have been bought outrageous amounts of loose-leaf tea as presents.  Plus, it is getting to Mint tea season.  Oh, and did I mention that I've managed to smash the lids on both my long-term teapots?

Well, I was pleased to see on a shelf, that they were selling off the cafe crockery and suchlike and I found the perfect (now used secondhand) glass teapot with easily removable tea-strainer to buy.  It's the perfect size- I can fill it, easily take the tea leaves out (I struggled to get my hand inside both of my other teapots) and see how much tea I've made or if I've forgotten to empty it and mouldering tea detritus is inside (yes, this happens).

I'm happy to report, after several days of usage, sampling Earl Grey, Peach Green tea and mint leaves, that it works very well!

You can see from the picture, I also bought 3 books as well. The books were pretty slim-pickings but I was utterly incredulous because I'd been reading someone's Instagram post where they were talking about The Royal Book of Oz which is one of the spin-off Oz books by other lady, not L Frank Baum, the author of the original 14 books. I've always wanted to try one of these spin-offs so I was amazed to see it a week after someone mentioned it. In another curious coincidence, the night before purchasing these, I received a lovely message from the lovely @shamrockpups on Instagram (hello there my lovely!) who has been, unbeknownst to me, a secret long-term reader of my blog through the time I met my blog friend Lauren from America. She sent me a lovely message and mentioned that she though I might like a book series about Nicholas Flamel. And what did I find in the bookshop out of the 20 children's books that were there?  One of the books in that series!! How funny!

The third book just looked interesting and the books were £3 or 3 for £5 so it was a no-brainer!

Having just finished a book called, "The diary of a bookseller" by Shaun Bythell, the fate of independent book shops is very much on my mind so it seemed again, a strange coincidence that I should happen upon a closing bookshop!

And that is the tale of my tea pot!

xx

The 10 teas I like and the anti-teas!

TEA!

I love TEA!  Genuine distress is the order of the day when I discover undrunken tea lying around the house!  You should be on a high state of alert when you have a cup of tea to ensure it has not been wasted! To that end, I am sharing my favourite types of tea with you. I'd love to hear which ones you like best too!

Earl Grey
This is my number 1 choice. I adore it! Gladly, I will choose this over any other available concoction.  That said, I do like the variants of Lady Grey and a Tropical Grey which is a blend made by a lovely cafe called Hall and co in a place called Ramsden Heath. I am particularly fond of the Twinings and M&S varieties.

English Breakfast
Can't beat it for sheer simplicity and a good honest tea. Again, Twinings is great.

PepperMint
Can't beat this for a post-dinner, pre-bed drink.  Ideally, I love to use fresh mint leaves.  The flavour is so much nicer.  Failing that, the Pukka teas 3 mint variety is tasty.

Jasmine Green tea
Every time we frequent the Thai restaurant that we enjoy, I always drink their Jasmine Green tea, made with leaves, not a bag. I am happy to drink this.  Normal green tea is not nice, this is!

Rose tea
Black rose tea is really tasty.  I remember Whittards doing a delicious variety and a lovely tearooms in Chelmsford called Small Talk tea rooms, does a great rose tea.

Vanilla black tea
This one brings me back memories of my childhood and early teens. My dad used to buy Vanilla Tea leaves from a nice tea man and I always loved this slight sweet taste.  I bought some from a super tea merchant in France a few years ago and I can recommend it.  In the meantime, Vanilla Roiisbos is not a bad alternative.

Darjeeling
It's an oldie but goodie. Fairly tame and a little bland but comforting.

Lemon Verbena - I tried a wonderful Cordon Bleu one once from TK Maxx. SOOOOo tasty.  Neal's yard does a mean Lemon verbena loose-leaf too.

Lemon Balm- fresh leaves from the garden.
Lemon balm used to grow like a weed in my childhood home and I am very fond of popping a few leaves in a cup and drinking.

Camomile
I'll drink this if there is no other herbal alternative. It is mildly inoffensive and quite calming.

Now, you knew the converse was coming so here are ....

More tea vicar?

Teas I do not like:

Nettle tea:
Horrid, makes me gag in the sort of way that mushrooms do! I did persevere with it and drank the whole box full but it was still vile.

Chai tea- nasty spicy, bonfire!!!  Also makes me gag! Smiles horrid! I do not like Christmas spices which this reminds me of!

Lapsang Soochong
Again, like drinking a bonfire! One of my most hated smells in the world is Smoky Bonfire.  Therefore, WHY would I want to drink it?

Flavoured fruit teas:
Smell gorgeous, taste of bath water!

Licorice tea:
URGH, wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhyyyyyyy??????

Matcha:
The proper Green tea that is used for Wabicha, the tea ceremony. Not nice, not nice at all.

Ginger:
I honestly think I must have some mild allergic reaction to Ginger (or I am just a wuss) as it gives me a weird pins and needles in my tongue whenever I eat with it in food or drink it. Thus, in tea?  No thanks!

What about you?  Please do share your teas or choice or your tea nemeses???

xx

5 brooches #51

It feels extraordinarily long since I did one of these on here! Brooches feature on my apparel daily but for some reason, I've not shared.  

You may have noticed I'm not posting quite so regularly on here. Sometimes that has to with busyness, other times guilt at too much to do and Instagram has to answer for something too!

Hope you enjoy!

 Here's one from a December outfit I never shared! Sparkly teapot from Gloriously Glittery on Etsy on a sparkly turtle neck and one of my favourite charity shop purchases last year (should probably do an update!)

The fox collar gets more foxy in its companions with this adorable fox from Bad Design Studio.

 Bookworm pin from Kate Gabrielle!  I really like the vintage but contemporary combination of this one!

Musical Polarbears:  Tatty Devine polarbears on a musical dress.

And lastly, how about a TARDIS Tuesday appearance. I decided to do a Peter Davidson Doctor Who day and combined my Cricket jumper with my ? shirt customised by the lovely Ang Almond and my homemade Celery masquerading as Pakchoi brooch!!

And that's all for today!

Any favourites?

xx

On being the chief of the tea police

It's a hard job but someone's got to do it.

Over the past two years of living together as husband and wife, CBC has jokingly referred to me as 'The Tea Police' as I harry and shoo him to finish any cup of tea. If he leaves a cup of tea unattended or doesn't touch a cup, I get edgy and keep pestering him to drink it. If a certain amount of time has elapsed and the tea is undrunk, then it becomes fair game and ownership is forfeited to the tea police who will consume it forthwith.

• If I use a teabag, then it must be used for multiple cups or an entire pot for one person.  5 cups will do. Large.
• If the tea has gone cold, you must still drink it.
• Put it in the microwave OR add hot water to it.
• DO not, I repeat, DO NOT pour it away!

There is a world somewhere, where all the undrunk cups of tea go, and slowly, but slowly, they are creating an ocean of melancholy Earl Grey- DO not flood that world!

Do I need help? I really do get antsy as time goes on and the cup of tea sits there, getting colder and colder....
and not being drunk!

I'm in Oxford, and my Mother-in-law left her tea untouched for several minutes. I reminded her about it. As we went into dinner, she apologised for not finishing it.
Ahrgh!!!!

Over to you- please tell me I am not the only tea-police officer!

xx

BEDM 8: A day in my life: Jam Jam

Epic fail on the Day in my life post for today. I cannot fathom the taking of photos and tracking of my day on a school day. Last BEDN I did a post of a typical day at school sans l'image so this time I'm going off piste.  Sufficed to say my day involved:
a) rushing for the train due to watering of plants.
b) Doctor Who themed outfit
c) Year 2 Maths investigation based on Symmetry.
d) Year 2 composing bird song compositions.
e) Year 5 learning to play the Blue Danube
f) Music Makers club doing an election-linked drumming composing activity (bet you're wondering about that one!)
g) Dash to town to buy a late birthday present for my Step-dad!


Anyway, so last Sunday, when I was frolicking by Oil Seed Rape fields (horrid name!) there was SO much more to my day than that.  After church, avec headache, CBC and I climbed into the car and drove towards Tiptree in Essex, not so far Chelmsford to visit the famous Wilkins and Sons, makers of the Tiptree jams to visit their tea-room.

It was obviously a popular choice as we had to queue for a little while to get served.

The place is really light and clean and there are some interesting exhibits suspended from the ceiling from their early days of trading- bicycles and lawnmowers with the Wilkins and Sons logo on.  The ceilings are high-beamed.

The menu had traditional afternoon tea for £14 per person or you can get two scones, jam, cream and tea for £6.50. There are various cake options too. On the savoury side, which is more my cup of tea (ho, ho ho), there are homemade quiches, sandwiches, salads and more.  Ice-creams and a variety of drinks are also available.
I chose a sliced turkey salad which comes with hot gooseberry chutney, potatoes and obviously salad.
CBC went for the cheese and onion quiche, also with salad and coleslaw.


When they arrived, CBC berated me for taking my camera out to take a picture and so I had to take this hasty one, so not so good.  More on this later.

It was delicious and very filling. I really liked the gooseberry chutney. Turkey can be a little bland and so this perked it up a treat. I had a chocolate milkshake which was adequate, but as a chocolate milkshake coinesseur, I was not impressed- it was fairly thin and artificial tasting.  CBC enjoyed his quiche too.

I knew my limits so didn't opt for anything sweet although we ordered some Earl Grey tea.



When CBC's scone arrived, he instantly got out his phone.  Took aim carefully. Carefully rearranged the items on his plate.  Zoomed in. Faffed for a good few minutes.  In which time I'd taken  6 pictures of his scone.

One word that starts with Hy and ends in Pocrite!

You pay at the counter which I really do think is a better system than awkwardly trying to get the attention of a busy waitress.

As we paid, I commented that CBC hadn't got his 'Little Scarlet' special strawberry jam and the lady at the counter gave us a jar to take home! As we left, we suddenly realised that they had charged us for the Double scone and tea AND a single scone- a miscommunication between waitresses, so they refunded us the tea without any hassle.


We had a quick glance into the museum which gives some history of the company and life in Essex but we decided we would go onto Mersea island for a walk on the beach, the next part of the adventure, rather than explore it too closely.

After that, we went into the shop which has an excellent selection of Wilkins and Sons products- they have a good selection of chutneys and jams and other treats including cordials, juices, ice-creams and others made with Essex fruits.

I recommend the tea-room as a nice place to visit and eat.  Prices for a salad or main are about £6-6.50 and drinks just under £2.  It was a very pleasant experience despite headaches.  Read for a little info about the Tiptree Wilkins and Sons tearooms


xxx

Faith Hope and Charity swap... (and a peek at my Chap outfit!)

Hello there!  Hurrah, it's Sunday evening, that time of doom and gloom!  But I will not be downcast, because I have lots of fine thoughts and happy memories to think about! 
Yesterday, I went to my local town to pick up my Faith Hope and Charity swap parcel from the lovely Helen of I accidently spent my wages in Topshop, who excitingly for me, is soon to be a teacher too! She's lovely so you MUST go and check out her blog!
 Inside, I found all manner of Union flag covered parcels!



 First up was this beautiful card (which made me think wistfully of hot summers!) in which Helen had sent me a lovely message and explained each of her presents (I hurriedly put it down  at that moment to resume reading after opening them!)

 I adore bunting and I adore Cath Kidston- therefore, what could be more perfect than beautiful bunting made from Cath Kidston in two of my favourites- stars and flowers! Such a thoughful gift! (One shouldn't have favourites, but this is my favourite gift!)

 Helen very sweetly worriedly (and unnecessarily I might add!) mentioned in the card that she hoped this homemade heart was more shabby-chic than shabby which it certainly was.  She sewed it herself and it looks brilliant and it smells gorgeous!!!! It's scented with rose.  Such a great handmade gift- I am too scared to try to make one of these- my sewing is hopeless, so I am very impressed that Helen did!

 She made me laugh in the card with this present of Cath Kidston tissues as she said, 'Imagine my despair when I saw you'd received the same ones in your other swap!'.  I am always in need of a tissue and these ones are so so pretty, you can never have enough! No despair necessary, they are a perfect gift, even if I'd received them in 10 swaps!

 The next present was really useful as I lost my coin-token from my keyring some months ago and it was really irking me to have an empty keyring plus this one is so so much cuter than my lost frog one!

 The next present is absolutely adorable, a tea cup and spoon necklace that Helen found in a charity shop!  How could she bear to part with it?  It's so dainty and cute and totally me- I love this type of quirky necklace and I especially love tea-cups and pots!

 Here's the whole collection, looking lovely despite being on my messy table!

 Ahrgh, I forgot to take a picture of the notebook- look underneath that lot to see the fab Union-jack notebook!  This is a brilliant gift for me as I always want to write  notes, music, lyrics, lesson ideas, and anything that suddenly inspires me

Thank you so much to Helen (if you want to see what I sent Helen, click on this link.  I will do a post later though.)  for such a lovely parcel and being  a great swap partner and a big thanks to Lakota for her superwoman organisation skills with dishing out the partners!

Today, I spent much of my day at the Chap Olympiad in Bedford Square!  It was raining much of the time but we had a rather spiffing time.  I will post photos once I've had a chance to sort through them!

Here is a brief sneak peak at what I wore (Post Olympiad hence why hair and other accessories are missing.  When CBC sends me photos, I'll show you the proper thing!

So what have you been up to on this rather chilly but grand day?