Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 16 March 2015

A St Patrick's Day and the Arrival of Spring Tea Time


May brooks and trees and singing hills
Join in the chorus too,
And every gentle wind that blows
Send happiness to you.~
an Irish Blessing

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

Hello friends and welcome to my Tea Party today; a combo party celebrating St Patrick's Day and the First Day of Spring which is supposed to be on Friday!

Spring, wherefore art thou, O Spring?



There is no sign of Spring here yet because we just had another blizzard. Actually, our Island is shut down again today because of it. Is there any sign of Spring where you live? 

This is once again the view out our front window. Can you see how far up the window the snow is?



And this is our neighbor's car across the street. They're going to have fun digging that out!



I thought about getting a shamrock plant but opted for tulips instead. They are fresh and pretty and always speak of springtime. 

Green is such a fresh and beautiful colour which signifies both St Patrick's Day and Spring so it will be my colour theme for this week. I am longing to see green outside my window too. 



I brought out my pretty Sadler teapot which I won from Wendy at Once Upon A Rose Haven several years ago. The pattern is called Spring Crocus and I just love its shape and the gorgeous spring flowers adorning it. It's the perfect teapot for today's tea, don't you think?



No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~ Hal Borland

My teacups are special each in their own way. The first one was a gift from my son last summer. He found it at Missouri's Botanical Gardens. 



It's an Irish cup and sports the perfect for St Paddy's Day, Claddagh. 



It is has Grasslands Road on the bottom. 

Coffee is my wake-me-up. Tea is my hug-me-up. ~ Sam Title

This one was a win a number of years ago from a blogger who specialised in hand painted porcelain and I was the fortunate recipient. Love the beautiful green colour with the tiny pink rose buds sprinkled all over it.



My final teacup is this gorgeous green Colclough teacup trimmed in gold. 



Colclough, made in England, a product of Ridgway Potteries Ltd.


I found this one at an antique shop a while ago. 

Tea time is me time, a time to savour and reflect. It's a time to share a cup with friends, a time of  comfort, camaraderie, and closeness.~ Sandi

Now let us sip our Irish Breakfast tea and enjoy the sweets of the day. I have miniature St Patrick's Day cupcakes which I bought at the bakery. They are sprinkled with wee shamrocks and are nestled together on a Garden Whispers saucer made by Skye McGhie.



Both the saucer and the cake plate are Garden Whispers.


No sign of this little fellow yet and it may be awhile.


I have made a dessert called Striped Delight which you are all probably familiar with. For St Patrick's Day I have used pistachio pudding instead of  the usual chocolate. 



It has a shortbread crust instead of the graham wafer crumb bottom which the recipe calls for.



 If you wish, I can share my recipe later this week.





Happy St Patrick's Day!



The wearing of the green....



May the friendships you make,
Be those which endure,

And all of your grey clouds
Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him
To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart,
Every step of the way.~ Irish Blessing



I am delighted you have stopped by for tea today! This tea party is all about sharing your joy of tea time and you may be as creative, fancy, or as laid back with your tea time as you wish! Do you have a favourite teacup/teapot, coffee cup/coffee pot, or chocolate pot that you would like to share with us today? I would love to see it and I'm sure others would too! A trip to a Tea Shop is always fun and if you have discovered a new tea we'd love to hear about that too. China collections, spoon collections as well as creamer collections are all welcome. And we all love tea time recipes if you would like to share one of those. 

If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: Hot apple cider, Hot chocolate, Lemonade, Iced tea or iced coffee, or Punch in a lovely bowl. 

I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi