Fit for a Queen!

 Diamond Jubilee Tea Party

It's countdown time...

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebration 

is just a little over two weeks away now.  

I wish I could be in England 

attending some fabulous village street parties 

but since I can't

I'll be celebrating here in the States all Jubilee weekend long

with parties of my own. 

My Diamond Jubilee celebrations will be mostly tea parties 

since I am a huge fan of British afternoon tea. 

 British Tea Mugs

To set the stage for my tea parties

I've been collecting British Union Jack and British "themed" china. 

Thanks to my "very kind and thoughtful" British knitting friends,

(Thank you Jo and Teresa!) 

I've even had wonderful tea mugs sent to me all the way from England

for my Jubilee celebrations!

Union Jack pottery

No Jubilee celebration would be complete without 

Emma Bridgewater's Union Jack pottery!

I've began collecting Emma's Union Jack pattern

ever since I visited the Emma Bridgewater factory last year. 

I knew it would be perfect for my Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Emma also has a limited-edition Diamond Jubilee range 

which has been a smashing success!

I love this range and special-ordered a few mugs and plates.

Many of the pieces can be personalized and hand painted by artists 

at Emma Bridgewater.  I had my tea mugs personalized with 

"cuppa" on them since that is so "British" to me!

 Queen of Cakes

Besides china, 

I've also purchased some new British cook books

 to make authentic British tea party treats. 

I recently discovered Britain's Mary Berry who is known as the 

"Queen of Cakes"

so I had to buy her book called, 

100 Cakes and Bakes. 

I also adore the book Vintage Tea Party which is filled with tea party recipes 

and encourages us to bring out our treasured vintage tea things for our tea table.  

The author Carolyn Caldicott owned the World Food Cafe in London's Convent Garden.  

She has been collecting tea recipes ever since she was a child.  

I'm so glad she is sharing them in her darling book! 

So now, I'm off to finalize my Diamond Jubilee Tea Party plans.

On the menu already are:

Scones with Devonshire Cream and Strawberry Jam

Coronation Chicken Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches

Egg and Cress Sandwiches 

Victoria Mini Sponge Cakes

and 

Lemon Tarts

I think her Royal Highness,

would approve!

(In the photos:  Emma Bridgewater Union Jack & Diamond Jubilee pottery, Mason Cash Knitannia Mug, Waitrose Tea Mugs, Vintage Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Mug

and Union Jack Bunting by Betty and Barclay.)

Mince Pies

 Mince Pies

More mince pies, please!

One of the best days of my England trip this year

was spending the day at the Emma Bridgewater factory

 in Stoke-on-Trent. 

Thanks to my shopping trip at the factory,

I became an Emma Bridgewater Collectors Club member this year. 

The Collectors Club has special privileges including special pieces

made exclusively for club members. 

This holiday season,

the Collectors Club Mince Pie plates from the Joy range were a smash!

The factory had a tough time keeping up with demand for these adorable plates

and I managed to snag two of them.  

 Mincemeat Tarts

I was hoping to make mini mincemeat pies for Christmas

 to serve on my cute mince pie plates
but it seems that I have run out of time. 

Thankfully, there are Walkers Scottish mincemeat tarts available in America.

  I picked some up last night at my local Cost Plus World Market. 

Dusted with powdered sugar,

 they are a perfect holiday treat on Emma's Mince Pies plates.

For my tea break today,

I'll be enjoying them with a "cuppa"

of my Whittard's Christmas tea!

Emma's Mince Pies Plates

If you ever get to the potteries (Stoke-on-Trent),

I highly recommend taking the Emma Bridgewater factory tour. 

The nicest people work at Emma Bridgewater. 

I loved seeing that each employee

had their own personalized Emma Bridewater mug

in their work station where they can drink tea all day long. 

 How neat is that?!

I hope you get to take a break during the busy holiday season

and enjoy a tea break
with some mincemeat tarts or home-made treats!

(In the photos:  Emma Bridgewater Mince Pies plates from the Joy range.)

Wills & KaTea

 Royal-tea

Let's hear it for a big "Royal Welcome" to

Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge
to the golden state of California!

 The royal couple are set to arrive in America at the Los Angeles airport at 3:40 PM today.  They will be greeted by California Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife. 

Since I can't be there to greet them...
I do hope someone realizes that 4:00 PM is tea time
and offers them a good "cuppa" or better yet, some California iced tea!

Wills & KaTea Blend

I'm celebrating Prince William and Catherine's visit with a special tea blend named after them,  Wills & KaTea.  Don't you just love that name?  This blend commemorates the Royal Wedding and is black tea,  flavored with passion fruit, grapefruit and orange.  It's wonderful with milk and sugar. 

I purchased my tea at the adorable tea boutique and cafe Eteaket on my recent trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. 

I found out about Eteaket in last years Cath Kidston catalog in a shopping feature on Edinburgh.  I had hoped to have tea and cake there but couldn't fit it into a one day trip to Edinburgh.  I did manage to walk by Eteaket in the Princes Street area but they were already closed.  The door was still open so I "popped" in and they let me buy some tea.  "Thank you" to the nice girls working that day at Eteaket!

Hurrah for Wills & Kate!

I'm also drinking my Wills & KaTea tea in true British style...

in my Emma Bridgewater William and Kate Wedding Mug
that I purchased at the Emma Bridgewater factory
 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. 

Hurrah for William and Kate coming to California!

 (In the photos: Emma Bridgewater William and Kate 1/2 pint Wedding Mug.)

Hail Britannia!

Time for Tea

If you love tea...

you can never have too many teapots!

Emma Bridgewater's Union Jack teapot has been on my "wish list"
for a very long time. 

During the Royal Wedding weekend, a US stockist, Joann Hudson ran a "Royal Sale" on all Emma Bridgewater pottery.  I treated myself to a new teapot and even though it's not commemorative china, I think it's a wonderful souvenir for me to remember the Royal Wedding.

I love that it's hand-decorated and made in Stoke-on-Trent, England...
also known as The Potteries!

It arrived yesterday and I love it! 


(In the photo:  Emma Bridgewater Union Jack Teapot and Spode Blue Italian Round Platter)

Royal-Tea Memorabilia

King George VI Coronation Mug

Thanks to the upcoming Royal Wedding...

there's a lot of buzz over British Royal Commemorative china again.

I might even snag a William & Kate Royal Wedding mug when I visit The Potteries

(Stoke-on-Trent, England ) next month. 

Commemorative china and Royal souvenirs honoring coronations and royal events have been collectible for years. 

Check out this neat article The Queen of Royal Memorabila from the UK newspaper, The Times.  I loved it!

Princess Elizabeth

I spotted a fantastic 1937 King George VI Coronation Mug (top photo) today at

Folsom's Antique Peddlers Fair. 

The British antique dealer was quite lovely allowing me to photograph it.  She couldn't wait to come over and turn it around to point out the mug's backside with the adorable HRH Princess Elizabeth on it. 

I loved the movie The King's Speech and it was so neat to see an actual 

commemorative mug from his reign today!

Teapot Trivets

 Royal Winton Teapot & Trivet

I think every tea table should have a teapot trivet.  This is not just the tea lover in me speaking but the interior designer in me.  Did you know that heat and moisture can be most damaging to your beautiful wood dining table?  If you set a hot pot of tea directly on your wood table you could end up with white cloudy stains in your wood's finish.

So do yourself a favor and use a teapot trivet when serving a hot pot of tea!

I have a fondness for vintage china for my tea parties so I love sleuthing around antique shops for vintage teapot trivets.  Here are a few from my personal collection:

 Antique German Trivet

This pretty trivet is perfect for mixing & matching with all my floral patterns.

 Antique Spode Camilla-Blue Trivet

I'm a huge collector of Blue & White Spode.  This rare trivet is perfectly suited for any blue & white Spode teapot with a round base.

 Antique German Trivet

I love roses so this trivet is lovely with all my pretty rose teapots.

Do you use a teapot trivet? 

I would love to hear about your favorite ones!

(In the photos:  Royal Winton (new 1995) Old Cottage Teapot & Trivet, vintage German trivet, vintage Spode (older blue mark) Camilla Blue trivet, and vintage German trivet, unmarked.)