Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Pink For Valentine's Day Tea, Mini Victoria Sponges

Hello and welcome to  my meme Tuesday Cuppa Tea looking toward upcoming Valentine's Day. So glad you could join me!

I had a bit of a Valentine tea in the sunroom between our chairs...we have downsized twice because of my husband's health issues, and so have few areas in our sun challenged Pacific Northwest where I can successfully photograph in the winter. But the sunroom is where we always are for morning tea, elevenses and afternoon tea, so....

I put together out tea table there with a pink and lavender theme...

The teacups, below, are all recent finds....

A Royal Albert Lavender Rose teacup from the 1980s...

I, of course, thought of Sandi from Rose Chintz Cottage who has this....I have a teapot in this pattern as well...which was made from 1982 until the early 1990s in England, production was moved to Indonesia, and then discontinued in 2008.

This next teacup is by Royal Grafton, from 1957-1961 with pretty pink and white and gold floral overlay. 

Royal Grafton is a trademark of A.B. Jones, Longton Staffordshire England. Royal Grafton and Grafton China were named for the Grafton works which was the name of the pottery.  The pottery closed during the wave of pottery closings in 1972. Their work is lovely. This teacup sold within 2 hours of listing it!

This is perhaps my favorite of the 3 teacups I have for today because it has a design mixing floral and landscape designs...See the roses? Okay, and then there is an English cottage alongside. Isn't that cute???

The cup and saucer is made by Elizabethan, England from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Elizabethan was a trade name of  Taylor & Kent, Longton which operated from 1867.  They were acquired by Churchill in the early 1990s during a potteries consolidation period but only survived a few years before being demolished....sigh...another fine pottery gone....

I love the shape and the brushed gold trim as well.

With so many potteries closing, a few newer, smaller potteries have opened making bone china again in England, and the teapot is by one of those...Springfield China. Hooray! May they last a long time!!!

The pattern is called Dot Rose Chintz and I thought it was perfect for our Valentine's Day tea!  

And this is an antique postcard dating to around 1910. The postcard says:

My Heart

Gold Is Nothing

Happiness Is All

How sweet a sentiment! This is called a Romance postcard and is a Real Photograph that has then been hand tinted. Cool!.

To see either the china shown or postcard at Antiques And Teacups, just click on the photos.

I posted this on my Facebook page yesterday and it was so popular I thought I'd add it to this post...lots of time to make these for Valentine's Day....

Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes

Mini Victorian Sponge Cakes By SUNIL VIJAYAKAR

INGREDIENTS

150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150g (5½oz) caster sugar
3 medium eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
150g (5½oz) self-raising flour
300ml (10fl oz) double cream
8-10tbsp strawberry jam
Icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 8 spring-form cake tins 9cm (3½in) in diameter. Put on a large baking tray.
2 Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract, then gradually beat in to the butter mixture, adding a little of the flour. Sift over the remaining flour and
gently fold in until just combined.Divide between the prepared cake tins, smoothing the surface.
3 Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and set aside to cool.
4 Lightly whip the cream to soft peaks then spread onto 4 of the sponge bases, top with a spoonful of jam and sandwich together with the remaining sponges. Dust each with icing sugar to serve.

Lastly, from Tea Time Magazine....their Valentine table set with Rose Chintz ironstone from Johnson Brothers...

And a last teacup stack from me!   ;)    

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day! We are having a combined Valentine's Day and 41st anniversary dinner on Feb. 14th. at our favorite organic fresh foods local restaurant The Alder Wood Bistro. Our anniversary is really Feb. 16th, but they aren't open, so we decided to combine occasions.

Below is the list of some of the blog parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to visit!

Mosaic Monday with Judith
 Tea Time Tuesday with Sandi 

A Return to Loveliness
 Tea Cup Tuesday
 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration
Pink Saturday

Simple And Sweet Fridays

An InLinkz Link-up