Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 30

The Valentine's tea trolley, 2024 edition

I'm not quite finished decorating for Valentine's Day just yet, but this weekend, I did manage to get the valentine's tea trolley decorated, and I plopped some valentine decor in other spots around the house, too, so I'm sure I'll share more as the days roll by.

But first, I can't believe it hadn't occurred to me before that I should put the tea trolley vintage valentine on the actual tea trolley!

I pulled out my pink faux feather tree as well and clipped some of my tea-themed vintage valentines to it.

At an antique store on Saturday, I found the vintage pink plastic heart box, which has a pink bottom and a clear lid. Some of you may remember when baby comb-and-brush sets came in heart-shaped boxes that were pink and blue. Well, this is the same sort of design, but the box is only four inches tall. Maybe it once held candy?

And I know these boxes once held candy! The local antique stores didn't turn up a single vintage heart-shaped candy box this year, but I did find the red one here for $10 on Facebook Marketplace last year.

There was a time I would have been horrified at the idea of decorating with plastic flowers, but now, I find them quite cute in a kitschy sort of way!

A cup of tea from Cupid!

Look at this loose tea! You can see the rose hips and the fruit pieces, but do you see the tiny little heart sprinkles? Oh. My. Goodness!
This delightful blend from Adagio Teas is called Cupid's Cup, and they were kind enough to send me a sample bag to try!
What's in this caffeine-free blend? All sorts of good, yummy stuff! 
The steeped tea is a dark-ruby color, and I expected it to be overly tart, but it wasn't. This was a very smooth blend with a sweet and fruity flavor, and it definitely had that "dessert tea" feel. Maybe it was those tiny heart sprinkles that added just the right finish. I absolutely love this tea (I've had multiple cups already, with multiple steepings), and it's available only through February 14, so click here if you'd like to order a bag for yourself. (Just $15 or free with a $59 purchase!)

The March/April 2024 issue of Victoria Magazine

I am so glad I subscribed to Victoria magazine last year, because recent issues have been so, so lovely! The soft color palette on the March/April issue's cover immediately caught my eye when it arrived Saturday, and I was just about to read it around 8:30 p.m. when the power went out! There was no storm, the rain had stopped, and the EMC said they had been notified of the outage. Our entire street was dark, so we knew it wasn't just us. An hour passed, so I read a book on my Kindle. Another hour passed, and I read some more. The third hour? I turned on the flashlight app on my iPhone and read this magazine! (The power finally came back on after midnight, and we never learned what the problem was.)

And the magazine is even prettier in the daylight, it turns out, and it's such a tea-ish issue! Look at this gorgeous cherry blossom-themed table with that pretty pink Mottahedeh china.

And oh, these soft blues! Is there any more soothing color than a pale blue?

And if you are thinking this is a dessert cake, you would be wrong! It's actually a savory treat, a Scandinavian Sandwich Cake—the fillings include egg salad and shrimp salad—and I think it is so clever that it's designed to look like a beautiful floral-bedecked cake. But if you'll note, the "flowers" are thinly sliced smoked salmon, and the foliage stems are peas! This was such an enjoyable issue to read, and some of you may wish to look for it, too, if you don't already subscribe.

An easy and delicious recipe for old-fashioned Molasses Bread

Local readers know that I write a monthly cooking column for a free publication called The Weekly, and the latest recipe was so simple and good that I wanted to share it here!
I found the recipe in one of my many vintage recipe booklets, and it struck me as a nice change from the overly sweet, rich desserts that many of us had over Christmas. It's an easy-to-prepare loaf of Molasses Bread that sounded perfect for wintertime, and I had some of this bread right out of the oven with a little jam. You can also serve it lightly toasted and buttered for a breakfast treat. It’s got just enough sugar and molasses to make it slightly sweet, and I can see why this vintage recipe has stood the test of time.

But perhaps the best compliment came from my friend Carolyn, who, after she saw the recipe on my Facebook page, said, "I cooked a loaf of this Friday morning, and it was a big hit!" By Saturday night, she said, "Almost gone and there are just two of us.” Now that's what I like to hear!

Molasses Bread


1 large egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup melted shortening

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup buttermilk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat egg until light and fluffy, then add sugar, molasses, and shortening and blend well. In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk and combine. Bake in a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan for about 1 hour and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

"The Friend in Adversity"

I hadn't stalked the Library of Congress for teatime images in a while, and this week, I found one that was a new discovery, "The Friend in Adversity," painted by E. Prentis (1797-1854) and with Henry S. Sadd listed as "engraver" and W. L. (Waterman Lilly) Ormsby (1809-1883) as printer. The Library of Congress Summary says this: "Print shows a man, possibly ill or otherwise in despair, seated in a chair before a fireplace in his bedroom, a woman sitting next to him, comforts him with kind words; a teapot steams in the fireplace and dark clouds pass beyond the window in the background."

The faint type may be hard to read, but it says this: "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me." Psalm L, v. 15

Now, unless mine eyes deceive me, I'm guessing this woman is his wife, because that appears to be a canopy bed at right, and surely a single gentleman wouldn't be having a lady "friend" in his bedroom back then. (Well, actually, I'm sure some of them did, but I'm also pretty sure they didn't have the escapade painted and engraved!)
And I have questions. The teakettle is before the fire, but do you suppose that's a bowl of hot porridge and a Bible on the small table/chest near the lady? Maybe she's pointing to heaven and telling him to seek the Lord's help in his illness. At right, that looks like a writing desk on the table. It's got what appears to be a scarf or hankie on it. And what are those two things on the floor beneath that table? At first, I thought maybe they were leaves off a plant, but I don't see a plant. What is the object directly behind the writing desk? It has a handle, but it doesn't appear to be an umbrella. I welcome any observations you may wish to make!
 

Sampling new teas from Taylors of Harrogate

I've been sipping loose teas from Taylors of Harrogate for years, usually purchased at tearooms or found in the wild (at T.J. Maxx). This week, I'm sampling some of their teas in tea bag form thanks to a much-appreciated Christmas gift from my niece Madison!

The packaging is lovely, and even the inside is elegant, which isn't unexpected since Taylors is a name I associate with quality. I'm delighted to have all of these new teas to try. Can you guess which two I sampled first?

I always start with the flavors I haven't had lately, and in this case, that meant the Assam (a brisk blend that was perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up) and the Lemon & Orange, a bright, citrusy flavor that I sure enjoyed sampling on a chilly winter evening.

Also, I'd not noticed before that they have a Royal Warrant as tea supplier to the Prince of Wales, noted by the little feather icon at the top of the tea bags, and now I'm wondering if that's the new Prince of Wales or the old one! 

Some special snack sets that arrived from Arkansas!

My friend Melissa and I have known each other for more than thirty years now, and back when we were single, I sometimes traveled home with her to Arkansas to see her parents. I immediately hit it off with her mother, Elizabeth, who took me to my first tearoom, the Crumpet Tea Room, and who loves antiques as much as I do. Elizabeth has long collected beautiful pink Depression glass and has always told me, “Now Angela, when I go, don’t let Melissa sell all this for a quarter apiece at a yard sale.” I have assured her I won’t. So when Elizabeth sent word that she was sending Melissa home from a recent trip to Arkansas with something for me, I knew it definitely wasn’t her prized pink glassware, but I did suspect it would be something lovely. And it was!


As longtime readers know, I have collected snack sets for many years, and frankly, there just don’t tend to be many of the vintages ones that I haven’t seen before. Yet I sure hadn’t seen any like these that Melissa presented me with this weekend!


Made by Lefton, these snack sets are unusual in that each set is a different color, and the inside of the cup and the inside of the indentation feature the same pastel color of the teacup's flowers! I am quite smitten with these beautiful pieces and immediately made room for them in my kitchen cupboard.

Each set is so pretty. The pink is my favorite, but I also think the blue set is dreamy.


Then again, the yellow one seems perfect for using at Easter.


And this one with both pink and yellow roses has highlights of mint green that bring out the color of the leaves.


Some of the pieces even have the original Lefton sticker on them. Can you imagine how excited I was to receive these snack sets? My friend Melissa, bless her, is not a fan of teatime and tea wares at all, so I think Elizabeth and I both were quite relieved when this china made it safely into my hot little hands here in Georgia. My favorite tea wares will always be those that came from dear friends, and I am so tickled to have received these from my vintage-loving friend in Arkansas!

New cookies and a new teacup!

If there's anything better than one surprise, it's two surprises! On Wednesday night, my friend Kathy was visiting from out of town, and she and our friend Karen and I got to enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant. Kathy had brought along crafting goodies for us both, and she also brought me this gorgeous box of Lemon Curd Biscuits she found at a shop in her town.

The package is so, so pretty, and the cookies are as good as they sound and definitely have a great citrusy flavor from the lemon curd. Have you ever heard of Lady Joseph's Biscuits? I hadn't but am happy to have made their acquaintance.

And this teacup? My friend Vickie brought it to me at Bible study yesterday! Isn't the pattern pretty?

It's from Royal Albert's Blossom Time series, and this is the Orange Blossom pattern. I just love it, and sipping from a new teacup while enjoying some new teatime cookies was certainly a most delightful way to end my week!

Twinings Peach Flavoured White Tea Superblend

 

Whenever I see a new Twinings blend at Ollie's, I have to try it. And at just $1.99 a box, it's not a very risky purchase.

The ingredients in this herbal tea include "Organic White Tea Leaf, Organic Honeybush Leaf, Organic Lemongrass (Aerial Parts), Organic Peach Flavour With Other Natural Flavours, Organic Peppermint Leaf, Organic Liquorice Root, Organic Stevia Leaf, Citric Acid, Organic Ginger Root, Organic Natural Flavour, Vitamin B7 (As Biotin)."

I'm always happy to add new Twinings tea bags to my stash, and I did enjoy this tea, but it didn't taste very peachy. The lemongrass and other citrusy notes are what I detected most, so it was still a nice departure from the spicy Christmas teas I've been busy drinking up, even if it wasn't exactly a peach of a tea!

A new kind of glass teapot!

My niece Madison turned 28 on Saturday, and yesterday after church, the family met up at her mom's house for her birthday party. My sister made some tasty Mexican casseroles and salad and chips, and Daddy made a strawberry cake at Madison's request. From left are my sister, Rhonda, and nieces Cari, Madison, and Amelia.

But the surprise for me was that my Christmas gift had arrived! Madison told me on Christmas Day that she'd ordered something for me and it would be late. She asked if I wanted to know what it was, and I told her that no, I'd like to be surprised. Well, the gift finally arrived, and it was this new teapot and some new teas, which I'll share later once I've tried them.

I had a small glass teapot years ago but think I must have broken it, so I was quite happy to receive a nice big new one, but what surprised me is that this teapot (minus the glass insert) can be used on the stovetop. The teapot is dishwasher, microwave, and stovetop safe, and that's definitely a new type of glass teapot to me!

Of course, the real beauty of a glass teapot is that you can see those pretty blooming teas as they steep. I haven't had one of these teas in years, so again, I was delighted to be sipping this tasty Rising Spring tea flower with its refreshing jasmine flavor. I do believe this is the first time I've ever gone to someone else's birthday party and left with a gift for me! (And I kinda liked it.)