Celebrate life's simple pleasures with Tea

Tea Time Tuesday!

     

      I love pouring over recipe books and magazines in the summer! This is when I have time to sit under the patio umbrella and dream about tea parties- what they look like and what the menu will be!

    

 Here's our Summer party menu  

*   Strawberry almond spinach salad

*   Shrimp salad cucumber cups

*   Key lime scones

*   Raspberry tartlets

*   Picnic Peach Iced Tea  (or hot tea in the rainy northeast!)

One of my favorite blogs to visit last year was Alice's. She is taking a break from blog land at the moment. She graciously gave me permission to share her Shrimp salad cucumber cups recipe. Enjoy!

Cucumber Cups

1 English (hothouse) cucumber

8 oz. crab meat

¼ finely chopped celery (or onion)

 mayonnaise

To make the cucumber cups, start with an English or Hothouse Cucumber. (They are longer and more uniform than the regular cucumbers) wash if they are waxed.

Slice the cucumber into pieces about 1 1/2 inches long. Use a melon baller to scoop out the inside, leaving a 1/4 inch rim around the side and a 1/2 inch base. The cucumber cups can be held in the fridge for up to 4 hours before filling. For the Shrimp salad filling, combine 8 ounces tiny shrimp/canned with just enough mayonnaise to moisten. Add a bit of very finely chopped celery (or onion) Use teaspoon to fill cucumber cups, makes about 6-8.

                                       

           If you'd like to receive one of our Tea Menu Postcards please feel free to email us at shopkeeper@settoatea.com  while supplies last!                                                 

Tea Time Tuesday!

     

      I love pouring over recipe books and magazines in the summer! This is when I have time to sit under the patio umbrella and dream about tea parties- what they look like and what the menu will be!

    

 Here's our Summer party menu  

*   Strawberry almond spinach salad

*   Shrimp salad cucumber cups

*   Key lime scones

*   Raspberry tartlets

*   Picnic Peach Iced Tea  (or hot tea in the rainy northeast!)

One of my favorite blogs to visit last year was Alice's. She is taking a break from blog land at the moment. She graciously gave me permission to share her Shrimp salad cucumber cups recipe. Enjoy!

Cucumber Cups

1 English (hothouse) cucumber

8 oz. crab meat

¼ finely chopped celery (or onion)

 mayonnaise

To make the cucumber cups, start with an English or Hothouse Cucumber. (They are longer and more uniform than the regular cucumbers) wash if they are waxed.

Slice the cucumber into pieces about 1 1/2 inches long. Use a melon baller to scoop out the inside, leaving a 1/4 inch rim around the side and a 1/2 inch base. The cucumber cups can be held in the fridge for up to 4 hours before filling. For the Shrimp salad filling, combine 8 ounces tiny shrimp/canned with just enough mayonnaise to moisten. Add a bit of very finely chopped celery (or onion) Use teaspoon to fill cucumber cups, makes about 6-8.

                                       

           If you'd like to receive one of our Tea Menu Postcards please feel free to email us at shopkeeper@settoatea.com  while supplies last!                                                 

Tea Party Dreamin' Friday-Dream Big!

With all the celebrating we've been doing this week I've been dreaming big! Big cakes, big balloons, big college bills-I'll wait on that one!

So today, I'm dreaming about BIG tea parties!

A girl can never have too many balloons!

 

And now that summer has officially arrived here, wouldn't a picnic style tea party on "the grounds" be lovely?

 

And when the children have retired for the evening-off to dreamland,

a few close friends and I could nestle under the twinkling lights and talk about our Big Dreams!

Jack Canfield has taught me many things, one of the best-

It takes the same amount of energy to dream a BIG DREAM as it does to dream a small dream!

 

These lovely images were found here Thanks to Melisabeth also!

New Tablescape Thursday! Pink and Green for the girls!

I'm excited to invite you to our first Tablescape Thursday! For the past month I have enjoyed many wonderful blogs and tablescapes while the rainy days kept me indoors! So I gave it a whirl and decided to share the tea table with you this week.

Pour yourself a cup and visit with some very talented ladies!    Click on the button to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and the other fabulous tablescapers!

Our Pink & Green Tea Table!

 

We have had so many rainy days that I gave up on the patio table and set my tablescape up to enjoy at the shop!

 

The pink and green scalloped chargers are plastic! I found them at Tar-get :) The white dinner plate is my everyday set from Johnson brothers, I've enjoyed these for 20 years! And I still have all 12, amazing considering I have kids!  The cup and saucer, tea napkin and table topper are from our newest collection, Merry Berry. I love the vintage hankie feel of this fabric! The cute teapot favors with pink and green ribbon are actually timers! The beautiful pitcher is by April Cornell, a great find at Homegoods. The Iced Tea tumblers are from Tar-get too, I couldn't resist the etched glass lacey look.  That fancy cake on the pedestal is also a timer from Mackenzie-Childs, used to add to the "charm factor" for the tablescape.  The fab umbrella, just perfect for tea time is something I HAD to carry at the shop after seeing it in Tea Time magazine!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my first tablescape thursday! I'll probably bump into you at one of the other lovely blogs later tonight! :)

Tea Party Dreamin' Friday

This summer we have a very big deck project to undertake. My DH and I were walking around the side of our home, around the "Boulder" that our house is built on. We are at the top of the cliff- the end of our street. We overlook the state park and reservoir, a breathtaking view of the water and the mountains.

Hubby actually mentioned that he would like to have a gazebo in this spot to enjoy the view! Well, that got me dreaming of course! Wouldn't it be wonderful to cuddle up with a good book and a cup of tea in this gem of a gazebo to enjoy our view?  I think I'll print it out and put it on my vision board before I show it to the hubster. :)

 There are quite a few details that I love: the lattice (that looks substantial not flimsy) The hip roof that has those cute little dormers, the arches and oh that heavenly bridge. Not crazy about the cactus, I'll probably try lavender or what would you suggest? Can't you just see us having tea here!?

Show & Tell Monday- playing in the rain with my teacup

Okay, We had exactly 2 hours of sunshine today! I had a list a mile long, things that just had to get done.

I crossed exactly 1 thing off the list and decided it was time to play. After all, it is supposed to be my day off!

Here's an adorable idea from http://prettylittlethings.typepad.com/lori_marie/2008/08/terrarium-madness.html

I just hade to have one of my own! (I'll have to post the pics later this week, the camera needs new batteries! Oh, And the tea cart is still waiting for its second coat of paint- if the sun would just dry things up a bit! )

I may even make one for my assistant, my sister, mom, nieces - see how enthralled I am with this!

And I want to have an event at our shop- Make your own teacup terrarium- would you come? Do you have an extra ballerina, please???????

Tea Party Dreamin' Friday- Rain, rain go away......

I've had tea party things and my camera ready for a week, waiting for a ray of sun, just a ray, to do a photo shoot at the NJ botanical gardens.

Alas, no sun-no photos-YET! I know it's out there, so I'll be patient and share this photo with you!

 

photo coutesy of Country Living

A girl can dream, can't she?

Those who know me, can tell you that I adore ANYTHING toile! This blue and white fabric feels wonderful outside. Who would have thought!  Is it too bold to bring such beautiful pieces outside? I will certainly give it a try!  I'll have to wait for the sun, again! Are you this bold? Have you tried this, please share!

I found a great blog, and wanted to share:

www.theinspiredroom.net

 

More lemon, Please! My favorite sweet tea recipe!

It's  Iced Tea weather, so I thought I'd dig out my favorite recipe! Since I love the taste of lemons, this is easy and perfect!

Steep 6 cups of boiling water with enough tea for 10 cups. (You know me, I prefer black tea and whole leaf at that. But if you must use tea from the grocery, yes, 10 little bags are necessary!)

Next, let the tea cool for 5 minutes. Then add 1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate to the tea. This adds great taste and the chill factor! Go ahead and add ice, but you won't need as much!

But because you used the 6 cups water/10 bags tea ratio, the melted ice won't give you weak tea!

The best tip for making fabulous iced tea, is use more tea than water and time yourself! Steeping time is just as important for iced tea as it is for hot tea. That bitter taste will lurk around if you don't time it! So no more than 5 minutes for black tea. I will admit that I prefer 4 minutes! 

Enjoy National Iced Tea Month!

Show & Tell Monday- a little tag sale find

The Law of Attraction was at work this weekend! :) I was driving to the grocery store and caught a glimpse of this cutie at a tag sale and Voila! In my trunk it went.

I've been dreaming of this little cart on a well know shabby chic website, instead I thought I might try my hand at "Shabby-ing it up" myself.

Here's the before. Wish me luck and I'll post the "after photo" at the end of the week.

June is National Iced Tea Month! How did iced tea come about anyway?

According to the well-known story, Richard Blechynden, an enterprising English merchant, was put in charge of the tea pavilion at the 1904 World's Fair. Unfortunately, in planning for the Fair, he never considered the potential impact of weather. When Mother Nature produced a blistering summer day, cups of hot tea were not a popular item with the fairgoers. Exhausted and desperate to showcase his product, Blechynden tried serving the tea cold in glasses filled with ice. The scheme was an instant success, and iced tea was popularized!

Look how much we love it!
Iced tea is the most common form of the beverage in the United States; over 80% of all tea consumed here is iced tea. While instant, bottled, and bagged teas account for a significant portion of this volume, iced loose leaf tea is a true epicurean delight.

*Thanks to Upton Tea for info on Richard Blechynden, especially the spelling of his name. :)