Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 3

Flea Market Décor Holiday 2025 issue

 

If I could buy just one Christmas magazine every year, it would be this one, Flea Market Décor. It is always packed full of the vintage Christmas decorations I love, and I get so much inspiration from this issue each year that I was excited to find this one at Publix over the weekend!

This year, a trend I began noticing a few years ago appears to be returning: decorating the kitchen for Christmas. Have you ever decorated your kitchen for the holidays? Other than packing my cabinets full of Santa mugs, I haven't, but I hope to remedy that this year. This issue has ideas for decorating a pastel kitchen …

As well as a more colorful one like this one where the home's Santa mugs and Fiesta wares are prominently on display.

And for those who prefer an all-white décor, they show how a monochromatic curio cabinet can still look subtly festive!

Also: I started collecting these mini nativities a few years ago, and this magazine gave me a great idea for how to display them. So are you thinking about Christmas yet? Any decorating plans you can share?

Blueberry Scones made with sourdough discard

My niece Amelia, the newlywed, recently made blueberry scones with some of her sourdough starter discard, and after I saw the photo of them on her Instagram, I got her to share the recipe with me. I loved having something new to make with my excess sourdough starter, and these scones were easy as well as incredibly tasty! The insides were soft and fluffy, and the outsides had a little crunch from brushing them with heavy cream and sprinkling with a wee bit of sugar.

The screen grab of the recipe didn't include the name of the original source, and I tried to find it online but with no success, as I couldn't find this recipe with the exact same ingredients and instructions. So instead of a link, I'm including the recipe here in case any of you fellow sourdough bread bakers would like to try these scones too!

Sourdough Discard Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, chopped into small cubes

1/2 cup unfed sourdough discard

1/2 cup heavy cream + 2 tablespoons for brushing tops of scones

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk. Add the butter and combine with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a smaller bowl, combine sourdough discard, the 1/2 cup of cream, egg, and vanilla and blend. Add wet ingredients to dry ones and stir just till combined. Gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula. Turn out dough onto a floured surface, pat into a circle that's 1-inch thick, and score into 8 wedges. Brush tops with extra cream and sprinkle with a small bit of sugar if desired. Place scones on a nonstick cookie sheet (or one prepared with parchment or cooking spray) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are just turning golden. Yields 8 scones.

Some teatime jewels I will treasure

Last week, Margie M. in California wrote to say she was going through some things and was sending me a few items she thought I might like. I thanked her in advance. Margie has gifted me with some lovely treasures in the past, and whatever it was, if she thought I would like it, I would like it! But I was wrong, because I absolutely loved the two silver necklaces that arrived in my mailbox this week, including this one, a style I've never seen before!

It is by far the most elegant teatime necklace I've ever seen, and I loved it even more when Margie told me that it had belonged to her late mother, and she even shared a photo of her mother wearing it at tea. Can you believe she would share such a wonderful thing with me? I think this teakettle charm in particular is simply spectacular!

And there was a second necklace as well, another beautiful sterling piece with a crystal teapot that I will no doubt wear all the time, saving the other one for "fancier" occasions.

On the other hand … the day after I received these, I was the guest author speaking to the sixth grade at a local middle school (I go to church with one of their teachers, my friend Sheila), and you can see what I decided to wear with my solid-colored top! The rest of the week, the mailbox held junk mail, but on that one magical day, thanks to Margie's generosity, it delivered some gifts that I truly, truly treasure!

An Herbal Retreat from Tea Forté

When my friends came to tea on Sunday afternoon, eight-year-old Nora-Kate arrived at my door bearing a lovely gift basket for me, and I admired it so much that I didn't even get around to checking out all of the goodies in it until later that night! One of them was this lovely gift set from Tea Forté, a brand I've enjoyed for years.

Because these pyramid-shaped tea bags are fancy ones, I will enjoy them slowly, and I had to read all of the descriptions before I finally settled on the first one to try, the Apricot Amaretto. That sounded perfect as a tea to welcome fall.

And it was! I love a good dessert tea, one with that slightly sweet finish that requires no sugar, and this fit the bill perfectly. Are you familiar with Tea Forté teas?

A tea party for Nora-Kate and Grace!

Back in my single years, I enjoyed giving tea parties for the little girls in my life, including my nieces and the young daughters of my close friends. Two of those little girls, my friend Liz's daughters, Cydney and Alley, are now mothers with little girls of their own, so yesterday after church, I hosted a tea for their little girls, Nora-Kate, 8, and Grace, 3.

They were as delightful as I knew they would be! I was happy to learn that both girls actually like tea, so all of us around the table were sipping some of the last of my Brigadoon tea from Adagio, sold only on leap years. Here are Nora-Kate and her mom, Cydney.

And here's little Grace with her mom, Alley. Turns out that Alley is the biggest tea drinker of the bunch, a fellow introvert who drinks tea every day.

This is Alley having tea twenty-something years ago at my (then) house!

And here are Cydney and Alley and some of the other little girls we went to church with back in the day. Such a sweet memory! (Liz had these photos in a scrapbook.)

So for this tea, I made cucumber cream (recipe here) and used it on the teapot-shaped sandwiches.

And I used Queen Charlotte's brand pimiento cheese (from Publix) on the heart-shaped sandwiches. Very good!

We had homemade cranberry mini scones, served with apple jelly, whipped cream, and pumpkin spice whipped cream.

I cheated and let Walmart make my desserts, and they got great reviews! Their macarons weren't mushy at all and still had some crunch to the shells, so that was a win.

I also bought a tray of brownies, seven-layer bars, and lemon bars, and I would totally do this again.

To get three different varieties of treats for under $12? Yes, please!

Oh, and here I am with my friend Liz, the one who started this lovely chain of friendship.

It was such a fun afternoon, and now I'm pondering whether I might live long enough to host a tea for Nora-Kate and Grace's daughters. Wouldn't that be something?

Christmas sightings at Walmart

Yesterday, I had to run in Walmart, and while there, I couldn't help noticing that they're starting to put out their Christmas décor, and I spotted two things I wanted to tell you about. First, they had a two-foot-tall Blow Mold (those large plastic pieces that light up) of a cow in a teacup! Now, I have yet to be drawn in by the cow trend, but I have to tell you that I stood there for a few minutes pondering this particular decoration, but ultimately, I walked away. (And interestingly enough, it's $54.73 at the store but $43.83 online, so if you're tempted by this, do check prices!)

And they also had this giant gingerbread man cookie cutter. This is a "maybe" for me. I've always regretted not buying a giant silver one I saw at T. J. Maxx years ago. It was even larger than this (maybe four feet tall or so?), and I've thought how fun it would be to decorate the entire kitchen for Christmas, so a giant cookie cutter would sure help in that regard. I'm holding out on purchasing this red one in hopes that T. J. Maxx will again have a silver or copper one for sale this year. If you see one of these oversized cookie cutters somewhere, I would be most grateful if you would send me a shopping alert!

"Gracious Home" by Melissa Lester

 

I was in a T. J. Maxx over the weekend when I came across this copy of Gracious Home by Melissa Lester, editor of Victoria magazine. I flipped through it, and it quickly met my requirement of having at least three attractive pages that caught my eye!

Even the pretty end papers caught my eye!

Not surprisingly, I spotted quite a few photographs of tea wares in its pages.

I've got an oversized round table like this one but had not thought of using it as a bedside table. Great idea! And best of all are the author's thoughtful reminiscences about home and what makes for truly gracious living. She writes of how, early in her marriage, she and husband Joe rented before finally purchasing their first home: "This was a step we took prayerfully, approaching the milestone with great intention. Joe and I asked for God's blessing over our home and for Him to give us a heart for welcoming others to it." 

The book has lots of inspiring photos, too, as well as homemaking tips, recipes, and stories of other homeowners who share their own thoughts on gracious living. I'm savoring my copy of this lovely new book, and I think many of you would enjoy it too! (And it's only $19.99 at T. J., which is a better deal than you'll find on Amazon!)

Afternoon Tea at The Cake House

Yesterday, I was delighted to be the guest of my friend Louise (and her friend Pam) for tea at The Cake House in Newnan. This European-style bakery opened a while back, and I’d heard great things about it but hadn’t yet stopped by. But when Louise told me they’d started offering some teatime events and invited me to join her for one of them, I was eager to check it out!


Louise (at right) is a retired teacher, and I first met her at a Kiwanis Club meeting I spoke at years ago. She is a fellow tea lover who introduced me to one of her favorite teas (Ahmad's English Tea No. 1), and today, we go to the same church and are currently in the same Bible study class. Perhaps most interesting, though, is that Louise heads up a ministry to widows that I didn't even know existed until a year ago, and her thoughtful gifts and handwritten letters last year were a balm to my soul when I most needed it!

When we arrived for our 2 p.m. reservation and it was time to order tea, we all decided to share a pot of their Premium British Blend, and it was properly prepared and plenteous!

When our three-tiered server came out, I wondered (accurately) how we would possibly eat all of this food, but I was certainly ready to tuck in!

The tea sandwiches included a delicious cucumber sandwich (with super-thin slices of cucumber), a smoked salmon sandwich, and avocado egg salad on a mini croissant. I enjoyed them all, and as is so often the case, the cucumber was my favorite. 

But can we talk about this berry scone? Oh my goodness. This one was light and airy with wonderful fresh-tasting berries inside, served with jam and thick cream. Yum! I also ate the chocolate cookie with vanilla ganache (delightfully creamy), but alas, I simply did not have room for all the other treats. Fortunately, The Cake House is happy to send you home with the extras.

And a lovely rose too! For "supper" last night, I had the strawberry macaron and the pumpkin cheese muffin, and they were both delicious. (The cake will have to wait until I'm hungry again.) I'm told the next tea event they're hosting will be October 26, and I've already got plans that day, but if you're a local and looking for a new place to enjoy teatime, please check out The Cake House here in Newnan!

Call me Bag Lady

Earlier this week, a friend from church, Beth, surprised me with the most wonderful gift! She was on a trip to New York last week and saw this tote bag in a boutique there and thought I might like it. Isn't it charming?

The design looks like a page from an old catalog of china and tea wares, and I just love it!

I was delighted to realize this design is by Cavallini & Co. I used to see their wonderful stationery and aprons and tea towels in boutiques around Atlanta, but all of those stores seem to have disappeared over the years, and I haven't seen that Cavallini name in ages. I looked on Amazon to see if perhaps they have other items with these designs, and indeed they do—a calendar, an apron, and a tea towel. But as much as I enjoy using a cute tote bag, this is the piece I would have wanted most. (And isn't it lovely to know a friend was thinking of you on her travels?)

Publix's Peach Cranberry Chai Bottled Tea

Do you ever have this happen: You go into a grocery store, but it’s not your regular grocery store, so you have to wander around to find things? That happened to me at Publix recently, and it wasn’t my usual Publix, so I was on a search for their Tarragon Chicken Salad, which is one of my favorite of the store-bought chicken salads. As I searched, I spotted this bottled tea.


Has Publix been offering flavored teas for a while and I just didn’t know it? I’m usually a Kroger girl (Alex was a Publix shopper), but sometimes, my local Publix is a little more convenient. At any rate, I certainly was eager to try this Limited Edition Peach Cranberry Chai. To be honest, the combo sounded distinctly iffy to me.


But you know what? It was great! I wouldn’t have ever thought this blend would be this good as an iced tea, but it was delicious, especially with that extra bit of spice from the chai. And oh yes, it’s a sugary drink, to be sure (220 calories and a whopping 52 grams of sugar per $1.79 bottle), but boy, was it worth it. I will try to ignore it next time I go in Publix—but I do think I'll try to concoct an unsweetened version of this tea with my own peach, cranberry, and chai teas!