Tuesday Cuppa Tea - Happy 4th Of July! Antique Postacrds, Red, White and Blue!

Welcome to my 4th of July edition of Tuesday Cuppa Tea!

An antique postcard to set the theme...

I looked around...in between guests and chores...to see what I could pull together for a 4th of July tea, because we have a day or so breathing space...ahhh...the quiet....and a cup of tea in the sunroom sounds perfect! 

I found a blue teapot, red, white and blue teacups....some star necklaces left over from another patriotic party and some patriotic cookies!!!  The tablecloth is a family item and there are some tea making things too...

The teapot was made by Wedgwood, England in the 1940-1950s and is made out of what is called Embossed Queens Ware. It is very simiar to jasperware but is a different composition and features a high gloss glaze.

I love the applies grapes, and the ruffled top. The mark indicates that it was manufactured at Etruria and Barlaston...to areas were lots of potteries were in Stoke-on-Trent. Barlaston is where the Wedgwood Museum is...which is well worth a visit.

The first of my 2 teacups is a 1940s Royal Albert, England blue rose design...as you may know...I love any color as long as it's blue, soooo a no brainer here...

The color is so pretty! And the shape is lovely too. The mark was used during the 1940s and 1950s. A lovely teacup...

The other teacup is a Aynsley, England in red, white and gold...

with gold overlay from the 1950s....it has an elegant shape too....the pattern number is 11058....

Definitely a perfect red, white and blue teacup choice! For more info on the china at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

I also added a heart shaped tea infuser for loose leaf tea brewing cup by cup...

and an over the cup tea strainer with teapot shaped handles, both of which we also carry at Antiques And Teacups....I needed a bit more bling in the photos! After all, the 4th of July means sparklers and bling!!!

Lastly...goodies!!! I love...but don't dare buy often...Lofthouse soft sugar cookies. A 4th of July tea was a great excuse, as I have been so busy I couldn't shoehorn in a baking session...they are divine! 

So, store bought, but patriotic colors...and then I found a blog post of someone who has duplicated them, so I thought I'd pass it along....from The NoviceChef...

You can find the recipe HERE

So that's it for my 4th of July tea! I am...

Wishing you a glorious 4th! 

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 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Strawberry Time!

Hello and welcome to another Tuesday Cuppa Tea for June! And a glorious June it has been so far!

It is definitely early summer here in the Pacific Northwest...proven by the opening of the strawberry fields in town. That was the inspiration of my teacup post today. 

This is one of my favorite teacups in a pattern called Strawberry Time that was made by Royal Grafton, England between 1957 and 1961. I love the shape...and I love strawberries! For more info on the teacup at Antiques And Teacups...click on the photos...

The pattern number is 2121. It is such a breath of summer sweetness!

Strawberries are an early summer essential around here. We drove the 2 miles to the coast last week to a U-Pick organic farm called Graymarsh Farm here in Sequim...

You can see the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park, still with some snow field. The other photo looks to the water of the Strait of Juan De Fuca.  It was mid week, and early in the day, but we weren't the only pickers....

A little later...next moth in fact, the Graymarsh U-Pick lavender opens up, the week before our annual Sequim Lavender Farm Faire, but the crop is turning purple nicely...

Then it was time to slice, sugar just a bit and serve with a homemade non dairy angel food cake...

Sometimes we serve it with the non dairy coconut ice cream I get at our organic market. Yummm! Or...sift a bit of powdered sugar over them. Sugar shakers, sugar casters or muffineers have been used for several hundreds of years for that. Here is a tin one from England in the 1970s...

or maybe you would prefer a ceramic sugar shaker by S. Radford's, England from the 1930s? All are little bits of culinary history. 

This is one of my favorites because it is so funny...a Wales souvenir muffinneer...the eyes are "googly" eyes and move around as the shaker is used....

For more info on the sugar shakers at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
I hope you can get fresh strawberries where you are...they are truly red gems of early summer!  Thanks for joining me!  We are still out and about, so I may be delayed getting back to your comments, but...I'm coming!

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 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday Cuppa Tea - Blossom Time, Royal Tara Ireland, Royal Things

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! This week's post is another mix of things...can't help it...this is a busy month!

My tea post today was prompted by the find of some lovely things from an estate....a wonderful teapot and some fabulous teacups...actually teacup trios...that I fell in love with! I am calling this my June Blossom tea!

 It's a simple tea as usual, in the sunroom...which this week we have been closing off because it has been really warm here...close to records ...I have pulled my Royal Doulton hand made Staffordshire posy out of the china cabinet that I bought one year at the pottery...made by the women who was demonstrating the hand made bone china flower making process that day...

I am also using on of mu favorite vintage cross stitched bridge cloths from my family, and my trusty african violet. I have had some emails and comments asking why I don't use real flowers, and the answer is...I'm allergic to them! I can't have any flowers or candles in the house or my asthma kicks up. I have an african violet and a hoya...that's it! Ah well...

The teapot is a large Royal Albert Blossom Time teapot from the 1950s, made in England. I LOVE landscape designs, and this is an orchard of blossoming cherry trees...you can almost here the buzzing bees....

Looks like a perfect place for a picnic for most folks...unless you're allergic like me! Lol!

This mark was used from 1947 until 1961, when the mark was changed, so it's easy to date. The teapot looks like it's never been used! Cool!

The teacup and saucer, is really a teacup trio...and was made by Royal Tara, Ireland. The company started in 1953 in Galway, closed for a bit at the end of 2003 and then reopened in the 1990s and is still in production. But you don't see a lot of regular tea wares....mostly gift items and souvenirs...their website with map is:
http://www.royal-tara.com/

This set has the early mark, so early in production. The thing that's nice about this set, is it's almost a big breakfast size, as it holds 9-10 ounces...that's a big cuppa tea! I love the pretty pattern, but then I love blue and pink. For more info at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos...

I don't know if you noticed, but the only treats this week are Princess Cruises "pillow" chocolates...they are left on your pillow when the bed is turned down each night. I was going to make something, but we had unexpected company, so....On to Royal news....April 21, 1926 is Queen Elizabeth's actual birthday...she will is 89...but as usual her official birthday is celebrated on June 20th, there will be the Trooping of the Colours on Saturday, June 20th in her honour...

The queen used to always attend on horseback...here she is in 1989 on her horse Burmese...

But now she attends in a carriage. The Queen's Guards, the 5 brigades of guards that take turns guarding the queen...including my husband's regiment the Coldstream Guards...will pass in review before her. Last year Prince William, Duke of Cambridge rode with other royal in the parade...below

This year Prince William was thought to not be attending, as he and Catherine have at the country home Anmer Hall by Sandgringham, where they are on break with their new baby Princess Charlotte and Prince George...

But both he and Catherine attended the birthday ceremonies, and Prince George was on the balcony in his father's arms...here is a video of some of the festivities...


And June 21, 1982 is William's birthday too...he will be 33....

So a celebratory week in the UK...we were in London one year for the official Queen's birthday...very festive!!!

My husband is fully recovered, and it's a good thing...as we have visitors coming again and then have a bit of a jaunt planned, but more about that later. So...I may be tardy in reply to your links and posts to Tuesday Cuppa Tea...life may be a bit hectic around here...but thanks for joining me for a cuppa and a natter....

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 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration

An InLinkz Link-up