MORNING TEA IN THE ALCOVE

I have such fun PLAYING TEA...
FIRST...

I brew up a tasty pot of CHAI ...my favorite..

and make something delicious to serve with it

and look for a relaxing place to sit...

have tea and treat...

daydream a little..

and most likely, to read a new magazine.
*
May I say right here...
THERE'S A LOT OF PHOTOS today...
sorry..sometimes, I just can't leave any out...

A few years ago, MR. SWEET and myself doubled the size of our living room.

During the planning, I asked if we might have a tiny ALCOVE..

a nice feature to keep the large room from looking so...

boxy.

He said, "Absolutely"

and he built just exactly what I had in mind.

Thank you, Mr. Sweet !

We have so enjoyed the tiny space that made a world of difference.

There's the thrifted, wicker desk and chair I bought  back in the summer.

I am TOTALLY in love with it.

♥♥♥

...and THIS is where we will have our

early morning TEA.

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS.....

this is an amazing combo !!!

OMYGOSH...

aren't these JUST BEAUTIFUL...

This amazing recipe is from

JACKIE  and I sure thank her for it.

Now, HER muffins are much more healthy...

go here for the recipe..

I used more sugar, almond extract

and where she used WHOLE WHEAT, I used WHITE flour.

Next time, I will try her WHOLE WHEAT...

It doesn't say here but you can surely serve

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS..

;)

Using my thrifted WHITE teapot...

....the winter morning sunshine is so nice thru these large windows...

We are having such beautiful, January weather...

 

You know...I've always heard of tea and crumpets...

just WHAT IS crumpets ?

I just might want to make some and have a 

TEA AND CRUMPET PARTY...;) 

my beautiful silver candlestick from my beautiful daughter, STACY LEIGH...

Almost every single thing in this photo is THRIFTED...

YAY FOR THRIFTING !

...a tiny bit of blue to match the clear blue sky this morning...

one lump....or two

?

...a tiny bit of RED to keep the

RED CRANBERRIES

company....:)))

..that the little POTTERY BARN creamer...ANOTHER thrift....

AHHHHH.......

I feel like I can face ANYthing this day may bring.

...recharged with good food and a pretty setting..

Believe me when I say..

IT IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.

Please treat yourself soon...

your spirit will soar..!!

♥♥♥

I am linking today with:

BLUE MONDAY

SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY

TEA TIME WITH THE LADY

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY

TEA FOR TWO

TEAPOT AND TEA THINGS

3 OR MORE TUESDAY (i DO have more than 3 muffins...:))

2ND TIME AROUND

NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

TEACUP TUESDAY

RUBY TUESDAY

TEMPT MY TUMMY TUESDAY

TWICE OWNED TUESDAY

THANKS SO MUCH, ladies, for hosting such fun parties.

AND

Thanks to all of you for coming by my place today.

♥♥♥

MUCH LOVE,

bj

RANDOM and RE-SHARE

I needed

PINK...

FAVORITE...

CENTERPIECE...

and  so I reached back into the past

for this pretty table...

Once again I am using my vintage pitchers for a centerpiece...

this time holding beautiful pinks from my garden...

...a romantic but fun table for two...

I am on my way to watch a grandgirl play BASKETBALL...

when I come back home, I sure wish I would find this cake waiting for me...

but we ate it a LOOOONG time ago...

back when there were

PINK ROSES

in my garden.

♥♥♥

I am linking

PINK SATURDAY

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

MY FAVORITE THINGS

***************

Thanks so much for hosting these fun memes every week.

Thanks to YOU for coming by.

Come have coffee with me....West Texas Style

Almost ALL  meals here at

SWEET NOTHINGS

are very informal...

downright

laid-back, actually.

Come join me for a quick cup

and a little breakfast

before you head out for your busy day.

It's hard to beat, folks...

A little more pricey than some..

I buy  a package of IT

and can of

FOLGERS SMOOTH BLEND

and alternate...NOT MIX...

ALTERNATE ! :)

:)

I bought these

COFFEE

dessert plates a couple of years ago at STEIN MART..

and may I just say...

THEY  WEREN'T  EVEN  ON SALE...!

Goodness gracious...I really wanted these babies.

PICK YOUR PLATE...

They really go great with my

WALMART

dishes, napkins and napkin rings...

I only bought one box of these dishes...

a setting for 4.

I sure wish I had bought more....:((

OK, have a seat with a cup of coffee and

I'll make breakfast..

*

You know  the lady on SEMI HOMEMADE must be my sister..

she and I both LOVE starting things with a good mix sometimes.

These biscuit mixes....

GREAT.

I keep several pkgs. in my pantry at all times...

Just add a 1/2 cup of water and drop by teaspoon..

can't get any easier...

and they really are good.

Today, we are having

HONEY BUTTER BISCUITS...

...and I know sausage isn't good for us..

Yes...I KNOW that !

But we have it so seldom, surely it won't kill us....

We like the H.O.T. kind of sausage..

and this is the wonderful griddle I was able to purchase with my

gift code from CSN.

Biscuits are ready....

the hard boiled eggs are ready...

the sausage is ready...

The table is set in a most informal way...

the kind I love the best...:)

Remember....

candle light at breakfast is even better than at night.

We don't have fruit EVERY morning

but we do have it a lot.

Apples, oranges, pears, especially grapes...

A good country breakfast,

cast iron skillet and all......

there's apricot jelly this morning.

Oh, and Strawberry yogurt, if you want.

Mr. Sweet eats one almost every morning...he thinks it's good for you..:)

Mr. Sweet and I both like hard boiled eggs...

now HE likes them soft boiled, too, but

he has to take care of it himself...

I don't do ANY kind of runny eggs...

no sir ree !!

I am getting more blooms every day....

OH...don't go yet...

keep your seat and have another cup.

♥♥♥

I am linking with

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY

also linking with FULL PLATE THURSDAY

FOODIE FRIDAY

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY

FRIDAY FAVORITES at the WHISTLE STOP CAFE

(Sandi even has FRIED GREEN TOMATOES in her header...sooo cool )

THANKS, LADIES, for hosting

and thank YOU for coming by my place.

OH....The Whitness of it All....

 First off, I have to exercise my 

GRANDMOTHER RIGHTS

and brag on DEEDS..

STUDENT OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY.

:))))
Way to go, sweetheart girl.! 
♥

I sure was glad that I brought my flag
inside last night...
'cause... 

 ...our first REAL snow of the season..

 

pretty pitiful, hu....

and EVERYthing is supposed to be BIG in Texas. 

*

oh, and looking at my patio table reminds me that

I wanted to be sure and tell those of you that might remember the

young, drunk man that tore up our back yard..

and broke our kitchen window...

He took care of every single thing and in a very timely manner

and I was VERY proud of him.

Yes, he was in the wrong,

and, yes, he destroyed someone elses property...

but we have to remember that NONE of us are perfect and

KINDNESS and UNDERSTANDING

goes a long, long way in developing responsibility.

OK...let me climb down off my 

'SOAP BOX now...:)

I wouldn't wanna sit on it...

  ...looks like it will be awhile before we

even THINK about planting.....

..but, thanks to 2 big SOUTHERN windows...

 ...I DO have blooms....

 ...and my PINK geranium is just about to 

BLOOM  FORTH, too...

melting before my eyes...

 ...so we just put the coffee on...

Dunkin Donuts coffee....OF COURSE.!

♥

...altho I would have LIKED to add that COFFEE LIQUEUR

to MY coffee...(hey...it was 5:00 SOMEwhere)

I decided it might be better to add

THIS !

This is so good in coffee that if I were choosing my 

LAST MEAL,

this would be what I wanted in my last cup of coffee...

coffee/chocolate/mint

and just the word truffle

makes me go weak in the knees and yell UNCLE....!!

...even just a hint of snow makes me pull out every

warm throw I have....

 BREAKFAST....

one of the most delicious words in the English language..

ANY language, for that matter...
especially around 10...
on a snowy morning...

 Some of you might remember that back in the summer

when STRAWBERRIES were so juicy and sweet ,

I made my very first jars of

FREEZER JAM.

Well,

may I just say...

 

Oh Honey !

 I am not an EGG person...

I seldom...VERY seldom get hungry for one.

But the ones I made this morning were so good...

I ate TWO.

Two cheesy scrambled eggs!

♥

I learned from THE PIONEER WOMAN that when you

want to use grated cheese to grate your own.

The grated cheese we buy in the market has been coated

with a 'plastic-like' substance and it takes away

the fresh, delicious taste of the real CHEESE.

Now, I didn't know this...

See...you CAN teach an old dog new tricks...

but, I digress...

sooo,

I added FRESH grated Monterrey Jack and Cheddar,

just salt and pepper...

and.......

I ATE TWO !

 When I was a little girl...a long, looooong time ago,

I remember my mother making SOMEthing 

with her orange rinds that she cut in long strips.

Something sweet...sugary...really good.

Wonder what that was ??

Hope ya'll are dry and warm, wherever you might be.
♥♥♥
I am linking with
OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY
WHITE WEDNESDAY
REDNESDAY WEDNESDAY
...thanks to the hosts and
thanks to you for stopping by.
♥♥♥
bj