Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 147

May Giveaway: Susan Branch Guided Journal with Teacups!

I suppose Barnes and Noble had these out the other day in preparation for Mother's Day, but it also struck me that this would be a great giveaway item for May. Many (perhaps most) of you are mothers and/or grandmothers, and I think it would be lovely for one of you to have this beautiful teacup-embellished journal to fill in as a keepsake for a) your grandchildren or b) your future grandchildren!

The journal includes some fun prompts to get you started.

And there are also blank pages featuring artwork that I suspect will be a hit with some of you. If you'd like to win the journal, just leave an "Enter Me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST Friday, May 19. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Earl Grey Moonlight from Adagio Teas

When Adagio Teas offered me the opportunity to sample some of their products a few months ago, I was surprised to see on their website an Earl Grey blend I hadn't tried before, the Earl Grey Moonlight. (And may I just say that I continue to be impressed by this infuser mug I received from Adagio at the same time. It quickly became my go-to mug at my desk each day, and that infuser basket looks as good as new every time I rinse it out. If you've been less than thrilled with your infuser mug, you may want to put this one on your wish list!)
Now isn't this a *pretty* blend? I think loose tea is as attractive as some potpourri I've seen, and this tea also smelled absolutely divine, like a nice fresh Earl Grey yet somehow not quite as potent as the typical Earl Grey. The ingredients are black tea, orange peels, blue coneflowers, natural vanilla flavor, natural bergamot flavor, and natural creme flavor.
The bag notes, "By popular request, our Earl Grey 'cream.' Sweet, creamy notes soften the bergamot citrus, paired with Ceylon tea." And "creamy" and "soft" are the perfect adjectives to describe this tea. I like most Earl Greys I've tried, but I can tell I will be enjoying this one for a long time to come. Most Earl Greys make me want to reach for a cucumber sandwich to balance the briskness of the tea, but this one simply tasted like a terrific dessert tea, something I'd be happy to drink at teatime or anytime. Go here if you'd like to learn more.

My introduction to Chicken Salad Chick

Yesterday I finally made it to Chicken Salad Chick, and I'm now a fan! I first heard of this new Southern chain restaurant a couple of years ago, but there wasn't one nearby. The few times I passed one in the Atlanta area, I was busy shopping and not in the mood to stop by. But one of the restaurants opened in Peachtree City, and I met my friend Ruth for lunch there yesterday. I was eager to go because I've rarely met a chicken salad I didn't like. I think if the cucumber sandwich is the number one choice for teatime, then the chicken salad tea sandwich must surely own second place!
I knew this place was famous for offering 15 different types of chicken salad, and I wanted to be able to try them all! I looked online and saw that one of the specials included a plate with three different scoops, and I knew that was what I wanted. I had a sandwich for supper the night before, skipped breakfast, and was ravenous by the time lunch rolled around. Even so, I was absolutely stuffed after eating those three scoops, but boy, were they good! I got Carol's Classic (at right, the one that started it all), Fancy Nancy (a fruity one with apples, grapes, and pecans, at left), and the lemon and basil variety in the foreground. I enjoyed them all, and I probably shouldn't be surprised that Fancy Nancy was my favorite since it is most like the chicken salad I make. Also, something about the sweet apples and pecans reminded me of some of the better chicken salad I've enjoyed in tea rooms. And that beige round item at upper right? It was a super soft, cakelike iced lemon sugar cookie. Wonderful.
My friend Ruth had a green salad and fresh fruit, which she said was good, but I'm all about the chicken salads. And earlier this year, I learned that Chicken Salad Chick is coming to Newnan soon, so I can look forward to eventually trying the other twelve flavors. (But only two scoops next time. I'm not sure one big meal a day is the healthiest way to eat.) Have any of you visited Chicken Salad Chick? If so, what are your favorite flavors? Go here if you'd like to learn more.

Hats and Hooves Derby Affair 2017

Saturday was the annual Hats and Hooves Derby Affair fundraiser for Communities In Schools of Coweta County, the local dropout prevention program that Alex and I help with their marketing. This is our third year to attend Hats and Hooves, and it’s so much fun to show up and see all the pretty hats everyone is wearing. 
I had a hard time even *finding* a hat to match the coral pink color in my dress this year. I waited too late (early April) to buy one online, and all the ones I really liked seemed to be in China and wouldn’t arrive until the end of May. I  finally found this one at a shop in Carrollton, and it was fine but not spectacular. So I got home Saturday night and started looking for next year’s hat! Obviously many of the women in attendance had no problem finding a great hat, and I didn’t want to be rude and say, “Where did you get that?” So if you know where to buy a stellar hat for next year, I’m open to recommendations!
This is our sweet CIS exective director, Gina, who once again chose a fascinator. She is one of those women who looks great in whatever she wears!
So what were some of the hats I liked this year? My friend (and fellow church member) Carrie, at left, was one of the hat contest winners for her beautiful hat. As much as I’m into aqua and turquoise these days, I absolutely loved her ensemble. Here are Carrie and her husband, Phil, with Lynn Smith, who happens to be our State Representative. (And if you'll permit me a brief commercial for local readers: Lynn is a well-known hat collector who generously donated her collection of 500+ plus hats and hat boxes to the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. She'll be speaking on her hats at "Tea With Lynn" on Thursday, May 18, from 3-5 p.m. at the historical society. Call 770-251-0207 for reservations.)
Lynn’s Derby Day hat cleverly had a racing form (is that the right term?) worked into its design. Fun!
I've become friends with the talented (and beautiful) Bri from my work at the Newnan-Coweta Chamber, and she is such a good sport. I asked her to strike a pose, and she said, "How's this?" Perfect!
Another of my favorite hats belonged to my friend Sandee Crain, shown here with her husband, Joe. When I was a newspaper reporter many moons ago, we started an annual bridal section, and Sandee and Joe were my first bridal couple to star in an entire section of the newspaper. I have always taken great pride in the fact that they’re such nice people and terrific leaders in our community.
Here’s a detail from Sandee’s pretty pink hat.
And now, let's talk a little food. Isn’t this buffet table at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum lovely?
The mint juleps were being concocted outside, and inside, I made my own mixed drink, an Arnold Palmer, at the tea bar!

By the way, don't you love how often we're seeing fruit-infused water these days? I really liked this presentation.
I was happy to see the tea sandwiches. I ate one of the cucumber sandwiches, and it was delicious. The heavy hors d'oeuvres all looked wonderful, but I was saving room for the sweets, which are always outstanding.
This year, I saw what I thought were cake pop-style bourbon balls, but someone said they were rum balls.

My stomach wasn’t as hungry as my eyes, alas, but I did try these two goodies, some sort of sweet cake with iced topping (dates and nuts, maybe?) and a chocolate tart with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. These were my favorites.

Pink cupcakes made for a pretty display. But the sweet that made the biggest impression?

It was this. Any idea what that little bubble on top is for? No? Then I’ll tell you. It was brandy that you squirted over the individual little servings of bread pudding. Everybody was oohing and aahing over these. (I tried one and it was indeed quite good, but mostly I was impressed at the clever presentation.)

At the end of the night I was absolutely pooped when the dress and hat and high heels came off, happy but tired. And ready to start thinking about next year's hat!

Frances Benjamin Johnston having tea

After realizing I'd let a few weeks go by without checking the Library of Congress website for new tea images, I was intrigued to see that a new collection has been added, the work of Frances Benjamin Johnston, who was described as one of the first American women to gain prominence as a photographer. According to the Library of Congress website, "Trained at the Académie Julian in Paris, she studied photography upon her return to Washington, D.C., in the mid-1880s and opened a professional studio circa 1890. Her family's social position gave Johnston access to the First Family and leading Washington political figures and launched her career as a photojournalist and portrait photographer. Johnston turned to garden and estate photography in 1910s."

And lo and behold, I came across this photo titled:

[Frances Benjamin Johnston, full lgth., seated, having tea with 2 other people]
So ... is Frances the woman in the middle or the woman on the right? There's no date or other information recorded, so I was left to puzzle over this.
Then I came across another photo in which it was much easier to identify Frances. The title is:

[Frances Benjamin Johnston having tea with Elbert Hubbard (far right) and and lecture manager James Burton Pond (center) at her studio in Washington, D.C.]
So now I'm thinking Frances was the woman at right in the first photo. Do you agree? At any rate, I greatly enjoyed flipping through her collection of photos on the Library of Congress website, and you can find it here.

New ginger-flavored teas from Republic of Tea

Are you a fan of ginger teas? I sure am, and for that reason, I was quite happy when I received a Republic of Tea package a few weeks ago that had some samples of their ginger teas.
First, I tried the Organic Turmeric Ginger Green Tea. I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this tea. I'm not a huge fan of turmeric (even though I know it has many wonderful properties), but I am a fan of ginger tea and green tea. This tea had a pleasant enough flavor but was a bit weak. I felt it was *trying* to be a spice tea and hadn't quite made it there yet.
On the other hand, I was more than satisfied with the Ginger Peach Chocolate Black Tea, which was yummy! This had the sweet chocolatey taste I was expecting, with a little hint of peach, and I do love me some peach. Especially in a dessert tea. Especially when it's chocolate. I also think Republic of Tea has some of the prettiest tea sample packaging around. If you'd like to know more, you can read about these teas here and here.

A new book from 1968: "The Legend of the Willow Plate"

So May is my birthday month, and I have already received in the mail a delightful package of goodies from my tea-loving pen pal in New York, Sandy. All the gifts were lovely and most welcome (and will no doubt show up in other blog posts), but I had to tell you about the item I will treasure most: a 1968 book that belonged to Sandy's mother, The Legend of the Willow Plate by Alvin Tresselt and Nancy Cleaver with pictures by Joseph Low. Knowing that this book once belonged to Sandy's mother makes me treasure it even more!
Aren't the illustrations charming? The style is different from the other "Legend of the Blue Willow Plate" stories I have seen, and the story is different as well. In this one, a mandarin's daughter, Koong-se, falls in love with a handsome but poor young clerk named Chang. Her father finds out of their involvement and orders Chang to flee, then he imprisons his daughter in a nearby pavilion so he can keep watch over her. The mandarin, seeking a suitable husband for his daughter, chooses a powerful mandarin named Ta-jin, and the marriage is arranged. As luck would have it for the love-stricken young lady, a coconut-shell boat (think "message in a bottle") arrives from Chang, who still loves Koong-se. She writes back and explains about the arranged marriage, and Chang shows up in disguise just before the wedding and runs off with Koong-se. They set up housekeeping on a small island, but alas, the spurned suitor finds out about all this and sends soldiers to kill Chang. Poor Koong-se sets fire to the house she'd holed up in and goes up in flames. Chang and Koong-se are then turned into doves by a goddess and finally get their happily-ever-after ending.
Now this version of the story is a bit meatier than others I have heard. In my paperback book, the lovers are hiding in an underground maze and die together. Have you heard a different ending to the story? Whatever the case, I am delighted with my new book, and maybe I'll write a grown-up version of this story one day!

Honeybush Chocolate Tea from Adagio Teas

When I recently got to choose some sample teas from Adagio Teas, one of the ones I selected was this Honeybush Chocolate Herbal Tea. I'm trying to eat fewer sweets but still crave a sweet treat occasionally, so dessert-flavored teas are nice to have on hand!
And this will sound bizarre to everyone except the gardeners, but wouldn't this make pretty mulch? I estimated the cost for my front flower beds, and the math just didn't make this feasible. (Joking!)
Honeybush is said to be a "sibling" of rooibos, and that smooth, sweet, and in this case, chocolatey taste was exactly what I'd hoped for. And because it's an herbal tea and completely caffeine tree, I feel good about drinking this tasty brew any time of the day or night! Go here if you'd like to learn more about this tea.

Republic of Tea's Raspberry Leaf Tea For Women's Health

Republic of Tea recently got in touch with an offer for me to sample one of their new SuperHerb Teas, and I requested the Raspberry Leaf blend. According to the description, "Red raspberry leaf has a wide range of health benefits for women, and can help at virtually every stage of life – fertility, pregnancy, nursing and menopause. This tea is reminiscent of a fruity parfait with a juicy blend of rosehips, vanilla and berry notes." (I hope this isn't TMI, but since fertility, pregnancy, and nursing are pretty much off the menu for this almost 53-year-old, I don't suppose I have to tell you which "stage of life" in that list most appealed to me!)

Raspberry teas can often be overly tart, but this one with raspberry leaf had a deliciously sweet taste that was a pleasant surprise. I imagine the sweetness is from the vanilla flavor, but whatever the case, this herbal tea is one I greatly enjoyed—even more than I had hoped!
And I have to show you the packaging it came in. Recognize those tissue-like papers with holes in them?
It's pretty clear that Republic of Tea is smart with their recycling, which is yet another thing to admire about this company! Learn more about their new SuperHerb teas by clicking here.

A beautiful gift … and a fabric that even Veruca Salt couldn't find!

Recently I mentioned that I had received a lovely gift bag as a thank-you gift for being a judge for the hat contest at the Senoia Area Historical Society's spring tea. I got to select from three fabric gift bags, all with lovely tea-themed prints, and I immediately chose this one with the teacups, handwriting, and aqua blue fabric. It was calling my name!
Here's a close-up of the fabric. Isn't this yummy? As soon as I got home, I was typing in all the key words I could think of and soon determined that this was a line of fabrics by Susan Winget for Jo-Ann craft stores. Yay! We had a Jo-Ann! I would go there and nab a few yards! Only … it appears this fabric must have been out a while, as there's no longer any at my Jo-Ann store, it's sold out at Jo-Ann online, and although I've found some companion prints, I haven't even been able to find this print on eBay. And this would be so perfect in a wall hanging or something simple in my dining room. I felt a bit like the original Miss I-Want-It-Now, Veruca Salt, whom middle-aged gals like me will remember. (Click here if you need a refresher.) Ah, well…
I was so excited about my beautiful fabric bag that I almost forgot to mention the terrific treats inside, including a huge bottle of this delicious-smelling Oriox Green Tea Lotion made with camellia sinensis leaf extract…
And a cute Christmas mini tea tote, teas and mug mat. I love these designs!
But oh, this fabric! Here's the other side of the bag, and you'll note the vintage drawings of teacups at bottom right, one used as a pincushion and one with a little bird visiting. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that some overeager seamstress purchased an extra yard or two and will have it on eBay soon!