Tuesday's Tea Time

This tea set is part of my first set of china. It is called Blue Peony and it's made by Nikko. I fell in love with this pattern when I worked in JCPenney's Housewares Department during college. What really drew me to this particular pattern is the polka dots on the edges and around the floral arrangements. I LOVE polka dots!

Did you notice I said "first" set of china? I love pretty dishes and my sweet hubby has indulged my penchant with TWO complete sets of china! Pretty dishes remind me of my beautiful maternal great grandmother. It seems like she had alot of them. As a young girl, I loved to go visiting to her house. It was so neat and clean and pretty! My corner hutch is another reminder of her. It was made by one of our dear Amish friends, Andy,- my own personal favorite hutch builder. It's all about the details! Isn't that what makes anything extraordinary? Whether it's polka dots on china or extra details on furniture or a ready smile to brighten anyone's day.

Speaking of details . . . Did you notice the little blue bird on the bottom right of the picture? Some dear friends gave us that sweet little "Blue Bird of Happiness" for our wedding. I cherish that little bird as it reminds me it's often the little things that bring us the most happiness.

I made some of Tammy Campbell's Famous Sugar Cookies for our tea time today; but, my blue icing didn't come out very pretty so you'll just have to imagine the prettiest shade of blue icing on a sweet little teapot shaped sugar cookie for our tea today. The tea I'm serving is French Blend from Miss Annabelle's Tea Room in Loveland, Ohio. I chose that because I personally needed a BIG caffeine boost after an un-restful night and yet still needing to get a lot done! (Smile!) Hope you enjoyed our tea time today! Please join me again next week!

Tammy's Famous Sugar Cookies

(Adapted from the old Betty Crocker Cookbook)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup margarine, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, melted margarine, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are LIGHTLY browned. Cool. Frost. Enjoy!

May the Blue Bird of Happiness bring some little extraordinary details your way today!