Karen's Cottage and Castle: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en!

The Trick or Treaters will be out and about tonight. I hope that I have enough candy for the dear kiddies.

My darling grand daughter wasn't impressed with her bunny costume this year.

We aren't sure if she will wear it.... or cry if she's made to.

I have some Chinese Lantern Plants growing in the front garden at the cottage. Many of them have not survived the colder fall weather but I thought they may add some colour to the seasonal tablescape.

I read that they are poisonous so I really shouldn't have put one Chinese Lantern on the peanut butter cookie plate. Oops!

I saw this pastel Staffordshire teacup at Aurora Antique Pavillion yesterday for $88.

Luckily I paid only:$4.60 a few months ago.

The light blue and white Burton and Burton teapot was found at my favourite thrift shop - Good Will for $12.99. Such a pretty pedestal base.

I hope that you are ready for Hallowe'en!

Have a Happy and Safe Hallowe'en!

See you next time!

Karen

This week I will be joining these beautiful blogspots:

Bernideen's ~http://blog.bernideens.com/

Friends Sharing Tea

Beverly ~http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Pink Saturday

Martha ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com

Tea on Tuesday

Ruth~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Hope to see you there!

Monday, October 24, 2016

Embracing Fall

Hello Special Tea Time Friends!

The sun is shining at the cottage and it is exactly what my body was craving.

I have had the cold and sore throat for a couple of days now and it is amazing how a sunny day can make you feel so much better.

Another thing that of course will soothe my throat and make me feel better is a hot cup of orange pekoe tea. My favourite. I believe Red Rose Tea is not available in the United States, at least I have never seen it. It really is a lovely tea but isn't any hot tea such a comfort when you are feeling under the weather?

I'm also enjoying a Walker's Highland Oatcake from Scotland with a bit of butter. My grandmother made her own but I find this brand delicious.

As you know Summer is my favourite season and I do love pink decor so I find it challenging to decorate with the fall colours; however I am trying my best to embrace fall and bring a bit of this autumn season into the cottage.

Do you believe it? Mr. Cottage is out golfing on this October day and so I can putter around and play with my pretties and sip my tea in solitude.

Hubby loves to have the T.V. loud now since he has become a bit deaf and of course he enjoys the sports shows and noisy car races. So the cottage is very quiet at the moment.

The pale pink flowery teacup is Sutherland Made in England.

The crazed teapot is an Arthur Wood.

Thank you for your visit today.

I hope that you are staying healthy and also embracing fall too!

See you next time!

Karen

This week I will be joining these beautiful blogspots:

Bernideen's ~http://blog.bernideens.com/

Friends Sharing Tea

Beverly ~http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Pink Saturday

Martha ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com

Tea on Tuesday

Ruth~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Hope to see you there!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Tranferware for Tea Time

Welcome Dear Tea Friends,

Doesn't this fall weather make you want to stay indoors and be Suzy Homemaker?

Well, yesterday was that kind of day for me. I was busy making homemade hamburger soup, spinach and bacon bites and strawberry yogurt muffins for the family. (My son and daughter-in-law, my gorgeous grand daughter, my daughter and her boyfriend and my eldest son, hubby and I were having dinner together).
Image result for pumpkin border clip art

Image result for pumpkin border clip art

Guess what? Three strawberry muffins are all that's left of my hard work. Lol. The baby loved my homemade soup so it was all worth it.

I decided to use this transferware china for the family dinner because it could go in the dishwasher...
instead of my Royal Albert patterns that have gold trim and that I always wash by hand.

The brown and white transferware is Wood and Sons Burslem "Dorset."

It was in the showcase at our local Salvation Army a few months ago and I was the lucky bidder.

Do you like the teapot's shape?

There are seven place settings, platter, gravy boat, large bowl, teapot and sugar bowl; but it was missing the creamer and I was pleased to find it on etsy this week and it's in the mail.

We also had pecan tarts for dessert and there were a couple of those left for us to enjoy with our tea today.

So, lastnight I cheerfully and carefully placed the dishes in the dishwasher and

I was so relieved that I didn't have to wash my dishes by hand.....

But at the last minute I took all of them out of the dishwasher and did just that. Washed every piece by hand.

You never can be too careful with pretty vintage china, right?

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit today.

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins Recipe
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c butter
1/2 white sugar
l large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen/thawed strawberries
1 cup strawberry yogurt.

Measure first 3 ingredients into a large bowl. Stir.
Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well.
Add strawberries and yogurt. Stir well. Add to flour mixture. Stir till moistened. Batter will be thick. Fill 12 greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake in 400 degree F oven for about 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins. Enjoy with a cup of tea.