To new beginnings!

I always love the first week of a new year, full of possibility, good intentions, and perhaps a little more reflecting on the year past. One thing I am grateful for and have been for almost 15 years now is those of you I've befriended through Tea With Friends, and I marvel at how well some of you know me even though we've never met face to face. Before I move on to all the fun 2022 things, I wanted to show you three lovely gifts I received from tea friends this Christmas. Susan B. sent something I'd never seen before, some Sweet Tea soap! It smells absolutely scrummy (yes, I've been watching lots of British TV), and I love that it was made there in her state of North Carolina.

And this tiny little teacup with the basket (or compote, maybe) of flowers? Michele in Ohio sent that for my desktop tree with the mini ornaments. Isn't it darling? I have always loved artwork depicting floral arrangements—in paintings, on dishes, and anywhere, really. Since I am slowly building my collection of mini ornaments, each of these is quite meaningful to me, and so far, I can remember how I acquired all of them.

And last but by no means least, Cara in Iowa surprised me with this darling ornament that immediately went on my full-sized tea-themed tree (which, alas, I failed to photograph this year). I had never seen this particular design, dated 2007, which she assures me she found at a thrift store for a good price.  How clever that the designer used forks, spoons, and sugar cubes for the limbs and feet. I *love* thrifted ornaments, and I greatly value thrift store gifts because of the thoughtfulness that goes into finding them.

Along with the ornament, which arrived on Christmas Eve, she included some fun stickers with the timely message to "make time for tea." These went straight into the pocket of my new bullet journal for the year. The plan? I'm going to try to create more tea "occasions" this year, even if (thank you, pandemic) they don't include a full-fledged tea party for a while. Maybe I can use them to mark giving someone a special delivery of scones? Or maybe I'll mark the day I come across a longed-for teacup? Or maybe I'll write a tea-themed short story and submit it for publication somewhere? Whatever the case, these charming stickers will be used to mark tea milestones in the year ahead, and I am delighted to have them.

One milestone I'm looking forward to: Tea With Friends will be 15 years old in March. I'm planning to mark the anniversary in some unique ways that I hope you will appreciate, so stay tuned!