The other week, my sweet neighbor had some lovely mulch left over from his family's landscaping project and offered to clear a path and spread it in my overgrown "tea garden," which had pretty much become a jungle over the past few years. The transformation was amazing, and I was thrilled. The first thing I did was put my little pink patio set inside the tea garden, and when the neighbor children—who are seven, five, and two—asked if we could have a tea party there, well, you won't be surprised that I whipped out a teapot, cut up some fruit, and we had tea! If I get permission from their par ..read more

My great-nephew, Ezra, turned one last week, and on Saturday, the family gathered at my sister's house in Tallapoosa for a big Mickey Mouse-themed birthday party with lots of family and friends! The birthday boy handled all the hoopla quite well and enjoyed opening presents and digging into his "smash cake." He loves his Mickey Mouse cartoons, so Mickey was prominently featured in the food and decor, including the cake made by one of his grandmothers. My niece Madison (who is expecting a little boy of her own this fall) ordered these cute and tasty sugar cookies from a local bakery. Sh ..read more

For the past few days, I have had the pleasure of joining my friend Gina and some lovely ladies at a local Lutheran church for a daytime craft retreat, and boy, has that helped me get caught up on my card making! Here are some of the cards I've made, and I still have one more day of crafting ahead. Some of the ladies knit and sew, some of them are scrapbookers, and Gina and I have been making cards. I am so behind on making sympathy cards, the ones I send the most, alas, so I took a favorite stamp set and started making cards. It's always amazing that different colors of ink and paper can ..read more

My love language is tea, and my sweet friend Nancy in Senoia surely knew that when she mailed me this surprise package that arrived last week. Inside was a cute new tea mug, some tea, a beautiful teacup card, a bookmark, and the book she wanted to pass along, Widow to Widow by Genevieve Davis Ginsburg. Nancy has been a widow for quite a few years now and is one of the most energetic, encouraging women I know, so if this book helped her, I know it will help me. I've been slowly reading through all "the widow literature" that people have kindly shared, but I flipped open this book and found a ..read more

On Saturday, my tea-loving friend Beth joined me for a trip to the Emerald Chandelier tearoom in Griffin, where I enjoyed tea last month. I was delighted that Beth enjoyed the tearoom as much as I did! It was a beautiful day, and the blue sky matched the blue cottage itself. We were in a different room than last month's tea, so it was nice to be able to explore even more of the lovely decor. The place setting was different as well, and I must say I loved seeing all the pretty tea wares, especially the fancy chargers. The afternoon tea menu was the same as last month's (described&n ..read more

  You just never know what's going to pop up on the Library of Congress web site. This image is described as "Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of presidential candidate Senator John F. Kennedy, seated at a table with a tea service, during a tea for women journalists." That woman in the background at left is just thrilled to be there, isn't she? Fashionistas, what do you call this neckline? Is it a variation of a rounded Peter Pan collar? Whatever the case, I agree with those who say she was our most stylish First Lady ever, and I've always admired the classic, feminine style of her clothing ..read more

First things first, I've gotten in touch with my friend Deberah and hope to be able to share her tea- and mint-processing techniques with you soon! Meanwhile, I wanted to tell you about some interesting tea news I came across last week. I think I'm still on some mailing list for former magazine editors, and I get some good freebies that way, like a free year of First for Women. Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips, daughter of Beach Boy Brian Wilson (and who doesn't love the Beach Boys?), was on the cover of the new issue. I always enjoy reading about women who've been successful in losing wei ..read more

Recently, I had just finished enjoying a nice lunch with my friend Deberah when she handed me a lovely surprise of some tea she'd made from her Camellia sinensis plant, along with a bag of mint leaves to enjoy in my teas as well. As soon as I opened the jar of "Deb's Tea," I knew I was in for a treat. Honestly, the scent reminded me of a fresh bag of Darjeeling tea, and I'm happy to report that the taste reminded me of it too. What an accomplishment for a tea grown in a backyard in Newnan, Georgia! And the icing on the cake, literally and figuratively, was that I got to enjoy it with a s ..read more

I'm a day early, but I wanted to go ahead and wish you all a Happy Fourth of July! And may God Bless America ..read more

It was time to do something new with the tea trolley décor, so for July (and maybe the rest of summer), I've pulled out Old Glory and some blue-and-white tea wares! The Bicentennial plate was a thrift store find during a trip to Wisconsin to see family a few years ago. This tea came from my friend Nancy's shop, the Carriage House in Senoia, and I told you about the Tetley tea tin last week. I have just a few blue-and-white tea wares, but they all seem to play well together. And it seemed appropriate to include a plate commemorating the Boston Tea Party. A few more things ..read more