Sunday, December 29, 2013

The gentle ebb and flow of domesticity...is elevated by tea!

Quiet days are such a respite from the busy work that we all do.
Sometimes I like to just sit in the peace and stillness listening to the ticking of the clocks.
I do my best thinking when I am alone.

On a day like this I like to brew a pot of my favourite tea and serve it in a cup and saucer.


One needn't dress up to use a cup and saucer.
I frequently wear my jeans a white tee and a cashmere cardigan when sipping from a bone china cup.

I have collected quite a few pretty cups and saucers over the years.
Sadly they seem to have fallen out of favour.
On a positive note one can find these in thrift and charity shops for under $10.


Mr. HB gave me my favourite blend for Christmas.


I think this might be my favourite cup and saucer.
I love the gold and turquoise blue together.
The bowl of the cup is shallow and wide and feels very comfortable in ones hand.
Royal Chelsea is the maker.


This dainty pattern by Aynsley is cheerful and when the tea is finished you can see the pretty flowers in the bottom of the cup!


As you can see I am drawn to gold and turquoise patterns.
Royal Chelsea 

Now to decide which cup to use...


Royal Chelsea wins again.


Why don't you join me for a cup of tea?

Do you have a favourite cup and saucer?
What pattern makes your heart swoon?

"Architecture is basically a container of something. 
I hope they will enjoy not so much the teacup, but the tea."

~Yoshio Taniguchi ~

16 comments:

Coulda shoulda woulda said...

Yes I do have several favourites in fact and some may be pretty but I dont like drinking out of. But I am starting to like big mugs at the moment. I have had to store all my tea sets as most people now seem to prefer mugs over teacups even over here lately. But I love the turqouise and gold.

Patricia said...

Leslie, I also love the turquoise and gold set, it's so beautiful. I have to agree with Naomi - I do drink my tea out of a cup, but it's very large and may as well be a mug. I even bring it with me when we travel!

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Faux Fuchsia said...

gorgeous tea sets there x

Madame Là-bas said...

I have the same Aynsley cup and saucer which I really like but my favourite s a Paragon cup n saucer that dates back to King George and Queen Mary.

Susan B said...

I love those beautiful tea cups and saucers! If I drank tea more often I'd probably give in to the urge to start collecting them.

Susan said...

You are going to laugh, but I always drink my tea iced--even in the wintertime! However, I do have some dainty cups and saucers on hand for my mother as she prefers her tea and her coffee from a proper teacup and not from a mug. My wedding china is Wedgwood's Columbia Enameled. It's a lovely pattern with flower and griffins on it. I also have teacups and saucers in an Austrian pattern called Scattered Blooms (Gmunder Keramik). I bought this pattern when I was 20 years old and studying in Austria--so many years ago now.

Your teacups are so lovely. I enjoyed seeing them.

Adrienne Shubin said...

I love Murchies...my husband and I went there last time we were in Victoria.
I have several tea cups with saucers that I adore but interestingly, I rarely drink from them. I usually choose a big mug that I can reheat in the micro if I need to.

Jenifer said...

I was just in Germany and they used a cup and saucer for morning breakfast and afternoon coffee. Now I do that in my house using the Mikasa china cups and saucers I have with my everyday set. It is joy to use china every day. I am also using a teapot for my loose tea instead of tea bags. Somehow it tastes better with a little ceremony along with it!

Anonymous said...

Your cups and saucers are really beautiful, I don't even own a teapot.
Must say I am a fan of the huge American mug, I remember when they first came over here and how incredible they looked to us, now mine is the size of my head!

Anonymous said...

Ha, that's just what I said Naomi!

Shelley said...

Bill has found his heart can't cope with too much caffeine, so we've stopped the 'real' coffee at two cups (mugs) and switched to de-caff thereafter. I do sometimes enjoy some herbal tea instead of coffee and always prefer my bone china mug to drink it in. Your tea cups and saucers are lovely things and whenever I have tea and teacakes with friends out we always admire the china. Bet I have several sets in the loft that belonged to Bill's mom, not to mention a pink ceramic set that was my Mom's. I think my Dad brought it back from the war... I've known about your blog for ages, but can't believe I'm only just now reading regularly. I've been missing out!

La Vie Quotidienne said...

I drink tea every morning and always out of a china cup...for some reason it tastes better that way. You have some beautiful cups and saucers. Happy New Year!

Judith said...

Another lover of the big mug!!

materfamilias said...

It's got to be a big mug for me, as well, but it must be a Fine Bone China mug with just the right curve on the lip-rim. I'm always on the look-out for one that fits my picky demands. . . .Yours are beautiful and would make me quite happy for their heat-holding properties and the way the rim is shaped, but I'd need to refill 2, probably 3 times . . . I do have a little collection, though -- the patterns are hard to resist and, as you say, so many are turning up in thrift shops as they seem to have fallen out of favour.

Deborah Montgomery said...

Love your tea cups. I have a little collection which I love to use for tea. Coffee has to go in a big mug.

Anonymous said...

I love your collection of tea cups, the better for being sourced in vintage corners. For everyday mornings, I usually have tea in a mug. But for afternoons and especially when I invite guests over for tea, I use my Russian tea set or a set from England I received as a wedding present. Your collection makes me want to haunt the dark corners of thrifts shops to see what unique treasures I can find.