by Helen Kain | Jan 31, 2022 | Afternoon Tea, Books, Vintage china, Winter Tablescapes
Best known in her own time as an illustrator of children’s books, Edith Holden was a keen observer of nature in all its beauty. The publication Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady is Edith Holden’s journal for 1905. Throughout the year, she jotted down her...
by Helen Kain | Jun 26, 2021 | Afternoon Tea, Pink and Red, Spring Tablescapes, Summer Tablescapes
You’ve heard of cottage teapots? They usually feature a cosily thatched cottage, complete with a cottage flower garden. Fitz and Floyd upped the elegance a notch with the Chateau Teaset from the mid-1980s. Which I received as a gift when it first came out. Gulp....
by Helen Kain | Jun 26, 2021 | Afternoon Tea, Cakes, Desserts, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes
I’ve been intrigued with the idea of decorating a cake with thin strips of rhubarb since I saw Heather Baird’s Rhubarb-Wrapped Pineapple Mousse Cake on the SprinkleBakes website. I’m not a huge fan of pineapple and wanted more of a rhubarb-forward confection. A recipe...
by Helen Kain | Feb 9, 2021 | Afternoon Tea, Cakes, Desserts, Valentine's Day, Winter Recipes
Chocolate and roses are traditional Valentine’s Day fare. Combining them in a cake is the best of all possible worlds – served with tea, and augmented with pink champagne, of course! Add in pretty pink china and we have a lovely (albeit chilly) setting for...
by Helen Kain | Jan 30, 2021 | Afternoon Tea, Appetizers, Fall Recipes, Mains, Poultry, Savoury Pies, Sides, Winter Recipes
Spanakopita was a mainstay at neighbourhood get-togethers back in the day, and the offerings ran the gamut from soggy mess to succulently, crisply delicious. Elena’s were the gold standard to which we all aspired. One year, just before Christmas, Elena got a...
by Helen Kain | Nov 23, 2020 | Afternoon Tea, Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Green, Grey and Pewter, Vintage china
Have a cuppa? It’s the British cure for whatever ails you and seems particularly apropos in this hustle-bustle week. Whether navigating Thanksgiving preparations, Christmas arrangements, Zooming or Google meeting, it seems everyone is a bit … ahem, testy....
