Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday May 28th 2010 as we present "Tea Time and Roses"
Two of my favorite things have always been making time for tea and just about anything roses. When I enjoy them together, it feels like it just doesn’t get any better. Tea is used to celebrate so many special occasions – a chat with my daughter, to honor of a new bride, a visit with good friends, or just enjoying some quiet time by myself. It's always the right time for a cup of tea. And roses are always the perfect accessory.
Tea time and roses evoke so many memories for me. I don't know why, but the picture of a pink rose that I have hung in the entryway always reminds me of my grandmother pouring me tea from her favorite rose tea pot when I was a child. When I fill a vintage tea pot with the first roses of spring and sit in the middle of my dining table, the gentle fragrance always reminds me of the fresh cut roses my mother would bring in from her garden. I remember sharing a cup of tea with her as the scent of those roses filled the room.
It seems almost impossible to separate tea time and roses. But who would want to? The tea cups, saucers and pots that I have displayed on a shelf, ready to bring down at a moment's notice, are decorated with hand painted roses and rosebuds. They give an aura of elegance and romance to any occasion. The mismatched set of tea cups that I found at the flea market is sprinkled with roses in red, orange, pink, and blue. They remind me that you don't have to look like everyone else to be beautiful. In fact, they're all the more interesting to me because each one is so unique.
Tea time and roses have captured my heart and my home as far back as I can remember. I've discovered that, together, they make everything more beautiful.
You'll find so many ideas for filling your own days with tea time and roses at Make Mine Pink.
Make Mine Pink
Photo Contribution 1: Cottage Flair| Photo Contribution 2: Olivia Paige|
Every year I look forward to the first flowers of spring. A garden filled with spring flowers always makes my heart beat a little faster with delight. Those first flowers inspire me to fill every corner of my home and yard with signs of rebirth and new life.
When the weather is warm enough, I love to host a tea party outdoors for my granddaughters. On cooler days, I sip my tea indoors by a window overlooking the garden. I love to breathe spring into my home by adding floral touches throughout. I cover my table with a cloth sprinkled with dainty spring flowers and leaves. A floral Victorian cake stand makes a perfect centerpiece for the grand occasion – the arrival of spring. I set the table with vintage teacups and saucers encircled with tiny rosebuds for drop in guests.
In my sitting room, a beautiful handmade pillow rests on the sofa, which I have slip-covered in spring colors. Another pillow covered in bright pink blossoms sits proudly on my bed, now made afresh with spring linens. On the hall console I fill a crystal bowl with spring-scented potpourri and enjoy the fragrance of the season as it fills the house. At my desk, I write notes to friends I haven’t heard from in a while on notepaper filled with butterflies and spring spring flowers.
I love to surround myself with treasures from the past. They often remind me of my favorite people and some of my favorite moments in time. I hope to pass these memories down to my own children and grandchildren one day.
Even the heirlooms and antiques I find at the flea market have special meaning for me. The old French perfume bottles that line my bedroom shelf were perhaps a gift to an elegant lady from a doting admirer or loving husband. A collection of antique silver spoons that I use on special occasions, were perhaps a gift to a young bride. A cozy quilt stitched from well-loved clothing inspires me to imagine the garments the squares of fabric came from, and the people who once wore them.
When my daughters and children come to dinner, I set the table with my mother's favorite tablecloth and china, and aways have something to tell them my favorite childhood anecdotes and stories that were once told to me. It seems fitting to share my cherished memories while creating new ones of our own. Memories that will mingle together, both old and new, and continue to be passed down for generations to come
I’ve been a huge fan of pink for a very long time now. But all of a sudden, it seems that everywhere I look, I see more and more pink. I remember when pink was a color that was pretty much reserved for little girls' dresses and women's boudoirs. But now, one of my very favorite colors is being used in home décor and accessories of all kinds. I have to say, I am really enjoying the fact that pink is a color that will no longer be ignored.
Mixing the various shades of pink can create a feminine and warm feeling in any room. But a single pink piece in an all white room can capture just as much attention. Even when it's used subtly, like pink tatting on white towels, a pink cushion on a favorite chair, pink always catches the eye.
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