Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Teacup love


I must admit that the Tea in Coffee Tea Books and Me has been sorely neglected.  Now that the temperatures are cooler, tea time has returned in earnest although not at the proper afternoon time.  My tea time is most often after finishing the dinner dishes each evening.

I usually brew either Earl Grey Green, Candy Cane Lane, or one of my other favorite teas.  However, if tea is taken earlier in the day, I have been loving Twining's Chai French Vanilla.  Christopher brought it home earlier in the year and it is truly delicious... most like coffee house chai that I've ever tried at home.

Of course, you know my obsession affinity for teacups and teapots.  All pictures shown today were taken in the recent past since I still do not have camera batteries (the budget is being tweaked to add them as a priority).

This picture is showing the bottom shelf of my corner china cabinet.  I always place favorite teacups there which have an inside print just as beautiful as the outside (since one is looking down on the teacups).


This is a view of the top shelf.  It contains many hodge podge teacups and I often place those which were pretty but did not have a saucer.


Both of these tea cozies came from the same thrift shop.  I use the cute blue tea cozy a lot, I love the whimsical cozies and was thrilled to find this one (I think it was a quarter).  The tapestry tea cozy was much pricier, it was an entire dollar.


This picture shows off my favorite teapot (which is often displayed on the buffet, too.  It was my first "English" teapot, a gift from Stephanie while still in high school I think.


While I love teacups and teapots (and what I've shown is just a small part of my collection).  I also look for other pieces of china and crystal at garage sales, thrift shops, etc.

These gorgeous dessert goblets were 49 cents each ($3.00 for all six available at the thrift shop).  I later found similar water goblets for the same price, I use them a lot for special dinners and Holidays.  Similar water goblets were on a blog pic of an antique show for nearly $70.00.


I know there are many who share my fondness for china and half the fun is finding such beautiful items so cheap!  :)


Oh, I can't remember who it was but someone asked awhile back what Johnson Bros. patterns I am always on the lookout for... here is one of them but I love to mix and match similar patterns.

The silverware shown is also thrifted, found at a garage sale... service for at least eight with serving pieces.  I think it was around $30.00, which included the beautiful storage box.  These were once collected a piece at a time from grocery stores!  My mother's everyday china was purchased in the same way.  :)


Last but not least... here is a picture I took a couple years ago of my teacup collection I keep in the drawer of the breakfront (hutch).

Sometimes they get switched out with those in the china cabinet.  Those I always have "washed and ready" for visitors are kept in this drawer, too.

15 comments:

Sherri said...

Oh they are all so pretty!! However, I love the one with the purple or lavender flowers! I have been looking for some with purple colors for so long. I am even looking for some with pick flowers. Most of the ones I have found (all at thrift and donation centers) have been blue flowers. I am ready to bring in some more colors!!

Anyway, so enjoyed seeing your tea cups!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I really share your love of tea and all the china that goes along with this! I have two hutch cupboards, but no corner cabinet like yours. My mother had two in her dining room and I remember them with affection.
For years we had relatives for Sunday afternoon tea, but now some are dead and one has moved back to Hungary. I miss this. I should try to figure out a way to bring it back. Well, when Advent begins we will have something like this on Sunday afternoons.

Anita said...

I love tea pots and tea cups. Yours are all so beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with me.

allisamazing said...

What a lovely collection. A true delight to see. Thank you for sharing your pictures. ~Alana~

Scrappy quilter said...

Brings back so many memories of tea cups I use to collect. When we moved I gave most of them to my oldest daughter. I see some very similar ones in your china cabinet. Hugs

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Hi Brenda!

I've always loved how you store those cups in a drawer!

I love all your pretty cups. Especially the ones with the designs on the inside! Everything is displayed so beautifully!

Manuela

Trish said...

Oh they are simply beautiful photos!! I love pretty feminine china and using it for tea parties with my friends. You have a wonderful collection. I think it's great to have family pieces and memories to share. Yours are ust delightful to see and must be a joy to use, I'm sure! blessings..Trish

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

I love your collection! I am addicted to tea things as well!

I like to find unusual cups and saucers, but I also collect the Royal Dalton "Old Country Roses" variation tea cups! We used to have an outlet store very near me and could find them so inexpensively...sigh. The outlet is no longer there.

My best "thrifting" tea purchase was a set of 4 cups and saucers of Spodes "Blue Room" collection at a yard sale. Total? $2.00 for all of it!

Vee said...

Now that I have a dresser in the dining room, I'm thinking about using a drawer as you have here for tea cups. I remembered it when I put the dresser in, but forgot again. I need the room in the china cupboard and I think they'd be safe there and easily accessible.

Anonymous said...

Brenda, I was looking at the "15 authors" posts and was warmed by the idea that so many of us think alike, some of the authors being mentioned over and over. Also, I noticed how many of them are British.

Friend Debra

Sharon said...

This post is definite eye-candy for me - anything tea is close to my heart. You have so many "pretties". I love that so many of them are found treasures. I love imagining what stories they could tell....

Debra said...

Oh, what a lovely collection of tea cups! Thank-you for giving us a glimpse of your treasures.

And thank-you for your encouraging comments at my blog. It has been wonderful hearing from you again over there... and I do appreciate your words. Blessings, Debra

Anonymous said...

Your teacups are so pretty and fanciful!

Beloved's Redheaded Bride said...

That is an amazing "tea" collection. I adore it!

Unknown said...

I love your collection. I just started collecting tea cups, teapots a little of two years ago. It's such a beautiful and interesting hobby.