I Won the Regency Marketplace Giveaway

So if you have been following me for a while, you know how I feel about free things.

So I just cannot resist a giveaway-anytime I see one I have to enter it.

They are calling to me…

I have been following  Regency Marketplace on Instagram and love their stuff. When I saw the giveaway I had to enter.

I don’t remember if I was tagged first and then tagged others or if I saw it and then tagged friends, but however it happened, I entered and won.

I won two teas and a tea infuser. Of the teas, I had the option of:

• English Breakfast Tea Bags
• Jasmine Green Tea Bags
• Irish Breakfast Loose Leaf Tea
• West Indies Citrus

I can have a hard time making choices…(you should see me in restaurants)

Which way should I choose?

So I asked the proprietress to send me any of them and then settled in to wait.

I was a little anxious about when it would come as it has been soooooooo hot here. Like EXTREME heat, 98 to 100s, and I didn’t want it sitting in the mailbox all day.

It took about a week to get to me from Colorado to California, which is really great for a giveaway (others I have won have taken much, much longer.)

The  package was wrapped in a beautiful flowered envelope:

And when I opened it (video on facebook, twitter, and instagram) I saw I had won two Oliver Pluff & Company teas: Jasmine Green and English Breakfast.

So I decided to try them out with my mom and get her opinion as well. I even pulled out my teacups for the special occasion. First came English Breakfast Tea. 

My mom loved it and thought it was good, even though black teas aren’t her favorite. I LOVED it!

I don’t really drink a lot of English Breakfast Tea as a lot of the ones I have tried in the past have had a strange, acidic aftertaste.

Meh.

But this one was fantastic. I drank two cups, and ended up taking the tea canister to work so I could have it on my break.

The second one was Jasmine Green Tea.

My mom tried this one and really loved it as green tea is something she drinks often. I poured the tea for myself and put some sugar in and drank it, and wowee, boy was that sweet.

The tea was very good and didn’t need any added sugar as it was plenty sweet on its own. I am currently using it to cold brew some iced tea.

The tea infuser was beautiful and so easy to clean! (Those of you who brew loose leaf tea know what I am talking about.) I scooped out the leaves, rinsed it, and it was good to go for another brew. I also love how it has a little cup to set the infuser in and capture extra water/tea and keep it from staining your plates or counter.

So I love what I won in my giveaway, and I know for a fact I will be entering any future ones and will be checking out the store.

For more tea posts, go to Clean Cup! Clean Cup! Move Down, Move Down, Move DOOOWWWNN!!!!!

A few years back I was given a collection of five teas, A World of Teas. As I was about to try them out, I started thinking, which books would best suit the teas? After all nothing goes together better than a good book and a delicious tea. I decided to repeat it with these two teas. After all:

Tea #1: English Breakfast Tea

So like I said, I’m a bit wary/particular with my English Breakfast Tea as in the past I haven’t had the best ones. But I was WOWED by this one. Hmm…so a book that I didn’t think I would like, but just absolutely loved?

I saw this book and was grabbed by the eccentricity of the title. Potato peel pie society? When I saw that it was an epistolary book, I was also a little hesitant as sometime they can be amazing, but they can also be very boring or make you feel like a voyeur. When I read this book, I was WOWED by it. I couldn’t stop reading and enjoyed it so much I made my book club read it. (I promise that I will do a full review soon!)

Juliet is an author in post-WWII London trying to figure out her next book, but having terrible writer’s block. She receives a letter one day from a Dawsey Adams on Guernsey Island who is writing to her as he purchased a used book and it had her name and address in it. The two exchange letters and Juliet learns about life on Guernsey Island during WWII and how reading and their literary society saved them during the German occupation. Soon she is receiving letters from all the literary members and their stories have such an impact on her, she heads to the island to meet them and write about them.

Like the English Breakfast Tea, this book happily surprised me!

Tea #2 Jasmine Green Tea

So this was harder…this tea was sweeter than I thought it would be, and extremely tasty…after thinking on it I went with

Rachel Snow has never had a good relationship with her father, and when he kicked her out as a teenager-her relationship with her sister suffered as well. Now her mother has dementia and Rachel is declared the power of attorney; not only does she finds herself at odds with her father again, but happily closer to her sister as they try to solve a mystery about a book her mother had. In between the sisters of Snow, the book tells the story of the legendary female samurai, Tomoe Gozen who lead the army in Yoshinaka’s military, along with being his concubine. When Yoshinaka marries a girl from court, Yamabuki, Tomoe resents everything about her. But as the two spend more time together, they grow to become sisters of the Heart; and discover that both hold traits that help each be stronger.

Just like the tea, I didn’t expect the book to be as sweet as it was and enjoyed both.

For more on Sisters of Heart and Snow, check out my sister blog From Print to Screen

I Tried Tea & Me’s Tea Infused Facial Cubes

So last month Tea & Me did a post on freezing tea, and then placing these cubes on your face. (You can read about her experiences here.) When I read that I was like:

But hey, I’m down for trying it out, at least once.

My skin and I do not get along. As I have said before it is dry and oily-making it so hard to try to figure out what skin care/products to use.

Besides that I have very sensitive skin. It is so sensitive I don’t even know half the things I am allergic to. Sometimes I am just going about my life and my skin gets irritated, hives break out, and next thing you know I’m scratching and breaking the skin.

It burns

Like my post on a Tea Hair Rinse, I waited so long to do this review, because I wanted to try out at least three different teas.

1. Boil water.
2. Make a cup of tea.
3. Steep until tea has cooled
4. Once tea has cooled pour in clean ice trays.
5. Freeze for two hours or until completely frozen.
6. Try and open pores by putting a warm clean washcloth on or using steam from shower.
7. Wash face.
8. Using a washcloth, grab an ice cube and rub all over face.
9. Rinse face with warm water.

So first I tried the Kukicha Green Tea.

“Green Tea [contains] antioxidant and disinfects.”

The second time I did the lavender tea.

“Lavender Tea soothes irritated skin and disinfects.”

The last one I did was Earl Grey, my favorite to drink.

“Black Tea disinfects.”

So I’m not sure I did it right, but I just used the cube around my face until I couldn’t stand the cold, after rinsing my face with warm water. I loved doing it in the morning as I have to get up 5-5:30 and that really woke me up as it was freezing cold!

The first one I did, Green Tea, I felt was the best. Like I said in a previous post, Green Tea is great for soothing irritated or dry skin, which I had been struggling with-more than usual. You know this weather.

Ugh!

The lavender and black tea I didn’t see an immediate response like the green tea, however, the other day my period came and was awful.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

And I got this giant zit on my chin, that ended up popping. It hurt so bad and when I bleed, I bleed a lot. I put the Earl Grey iced cube on it, which not only numbed, but disinfected and helped stop the bleeding.

For more on Tea & Me, go to I Tried Tea & Me’s Tea Hair Rinse

For more tea posts, go to Use Tea to Soothe Dry or Irritated Skin

Aunt Neal’s Old-Fashioned Tea Cakes

Thoughts Before Cooking:

This recipe comes from my sister blog, MysteriousEats.wordpress.com. I like to include ay recipes that go well with tea and books.

Even though Christmas is eight months away, I don’t care. I’m making them anyway.

Truth be told I don’t

Background on the Cookie:

“These delicious tea cakes were made by an Aunt Cornelia (“Neal) on special occasions and holidays, using hand-churned butter and eggs she gathered from the hen-house. This southern Georgia version dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. “

**Dough has to be chilled**

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Butter, Softened
• 1 Cup of Granulated (White) Sugar
• 1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Milk
• White Sparkling Sugar

Directions:

1. Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add one cup of sugar, beating well.
3. Add the egg and vanilla; beat well.
4. In a separate bowl: combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the flour mixture and the milk to butter mixture, alternating between the two. Begin with adding half the flour mixture, then add the milk, and finish with adding the flour mixture.
6. Mix at a low speed after each addition, until just blended.
7. Shape dough into two discs.
8. Wrap the discs in wax paper and chill for at least one hour.
9. After having chilled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
10. Roll each disc to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.
11. Cut with a 3.5 inch round cookie cutter; and place one inch apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
12. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
13. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned.
14. Cool for one minute and then remove to wore racks to cool.
15. Makes about two dozen.

Thoughts After Baking:

When I took it out of the fridge it was super hard and I was unsure if it would come out okay.

Not good

But after being in my hands it quickly became super sticky, so make sure you flour the rolling pin and the cutting board.

But after all that this cookies were super good. Not too sweet and perfect for tea time.

For more recipes, go to Cherry-Pistachio Tea Cakes

For more on cookies, go to A Baker’s Four Dozen

Perfectea, A Perfect Cup of Tea or Tea for Two

So you know how much I love tea:

And then I got into loose leaf tea. That can take a lot of time and work. You heat the water, fill the little infuser, steep-thats the easy part. The hard part is trying to clean your infuser, it takes forever!

So much time

But then I went to Teavana and I saw the coolest thing ever!

An infuser that makes two perfect cups of tea and is so easy to clean-Perfectea.

And it really is perfect! I just love it so much! It is so easy to use, to clean, etc. Just watch it, you will want one too.

It makes two cups of tea- the perfect amount for tea time with a friend:

Or if you are like me- the perfect cup of tea. Yep, I love tea and a lot of it.

All you do is:

1. Scoop two teaspoons of whatever tea you love and place in the infuser.
2. Add hot water and steep according to tea instructions.
3. Place infuser over a mug and push it down, allowing the tea to come out and fill it.
4. Add sugar, milk, cream, or creamer.

Fantastic! I love it so much I can’t stop using it.

For more tea posts, go to How to Make a London Fog

For more Jane Austen Quotes, go to What Would Jane Do?: Quips and Wisdom from Jane Austen

For more on C.S. Lewis, go to When A Willing Victim Who Had Committed No Treachery Was Killed in A Traitor’s Stead, the Table Would Crack and Death Itself Would Start Working Backwards: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

How to Make a London Fog

As you can tell, this post isn’t about this:

But this:

So during the week I go to a coffee shop in the morning to kill an hour before work and while there buy a cup of Earl Grey tea.

I drank so many that I had enough to get any drink free! I asked the barista what she recommended and they said a London Fog- Earl Grey tea with Vanilla and heated, foamy milk. I tried it and LOVED it!

I had to have more of it. So I decided to make it myself.

Ingredients:

• Tea Kettle/Teapot
• Earl Grey Tea (I use loose leaf but you can do bagged)
• Milk
• Vanilla Creamer
• Milk Frothier
• Sugar (optional)
• Tall Glass
• Tea Mug or Teacup

Directions:

1. Put your kettle or teapot on and heat the water.
2. Prepare your loose leaf tea (one teaspoon per cup of water). [I typically drink out of a two cup tea mug.]
3. When water is ready pour in mug over tea infuser or tea bag. (Tea should steep no more than three minutes.)
4. When tea is steeping prepare the milk. This is something that might take a few trials until you find your perfect taste. I typically take 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of Vanilla creamer and pour both into the tall glass.
5. Using the frothier, whisk the milk mixture until it is nice and airy. If you don’t have a frothier you can use a tall glass jar and shake it up.
6. Heat the milk mixture in the microwave for a minute.
7. When the tea has steeped, remove it from the mug and add sugar (if needed) and foamy milk mixture.
8. Drink & enjoy!

It was delicious, and cheaper than forking over four dollars every time you wished to have it. Delicious!

For more recipes, go to Harlem Tea Room Cheddar-Thyme Scones

For more Tea posts, go to I Made My Own Teabags

For more on Pride and Prejudice, go to Whether Presentable or Not, I Love Spending Time With You: Episode Four, Pride and Prejudice (1995)