Afternoon Tea

Once in a while , I like to take a
little time and relax a bit.
Often, this means just a simple cup of tea
and perhaps a good book.
I believe in using pretty things all the time, not just setting them in a cabinet to look at,
waiting for a special occasion to use them.
After all, what good are they if you only get to use them once in a while?
Why do we have to wait for special occasions for things to be special?

I think special moments are any time we want to make one!
And we should make them more often.

So this week I had a day off, and decided I wanted a special afternoon tea. And of course, what goes better with tea, than scones?

And I just had to have Lemon curd with them. (Good thing, I was thinking ahead, and picked some up in the supermarket this past week.)

So I Googled a recipe for scones.
(what did we do before Google?)
Since I had dried cranberries, and walnuts, I decided the recipe had to include them, and they seem like a winter treat, since it is still winter.
So I began...(Notice my Vera Bradley Yellow Bird plate)

Even though scones are a very favorite of mine, I've never actually made them from scratch, I have no idea why, but they seemed to come together easier than I thought they would....

This was turning out be be fun!

One of my favorite baking items is parchment paper, a little tip I picked up from Martha, yep, that Martha...

Now that they were in the oven there was another decision to be made, what tea would I pair it up with? Well, this turned out not to be a hard decision at all. There up on the tea cabinet I spotted that beautiful lime green canister.

I found this at Barnes & Noble and It has been my favorite tea since...


It's from Harney & Sons. Now when I bought this I will admit it was one of those times I decided to spoil myself a bit.

But listen to this...
it's, Green Tea, with coconut, ginger and vanilla. And the little tea sachets, are in a pyramid shape. Oooh, all the more special!


Even before even brewing a cup,
every time I pop the lid off that canister, the fragrant aroma released convinces me, I made the right choice!

Out of the oven they come... after after a bit of cooling time,it's time to enjoy!

And of course, I have to have the right tea cup and saucer, it all depends on my mood, and sure it's the middle of winter, but I need a little spring, so I've chosen a set that seems right.

Lemon Curd is like a splash of sunshine and on a cold, dreary winter day, which since I was able to spend the day at home, was a rather cozy day!

The sun was shining brightly, and my afternoon tea was worth the
little extra effort of baking on my day off

I even saved some for the rest of my family!

I'm already thinking ahead...
Hmmmm... I haven't made homemade biscotti in a while.
Maybe it's time to grind some fresh coffee beans,
get the french press out and make some delicious coffee to have with those biscotti!

Please leave a comment below and let us know
how you turn an ordinary moment
into a special occasion...