Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tea for Two, Two for Tea

This jelly cabinet was a housewarming gift from my Uncle Gene when we first moved into our new home. Last weekend, I finally finished painting it...and now I have a special place to keep my tea! Yay!

Here is the pine wood cabinet that I started with.

First I lightly sanded the cabinet, both on the inside and out. Next, I painted it with non-toxic milk paint by the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company in "Light Cream." Then I stained the top of the cabinet using Eco Procate Timber Soy natural wood stain in “Oak." After it dried, I used very fine sandpaper to gently distress all of the edges. And last, I found a little glass knob, which I attached to the door with a screw.

This is the inside of my newly finished tea cabinet! Can anyone spy my favorite ballet mug? I’ve owned this cup since I was ten years old, and I still sip tea from it every single morning.

On the top shelf are my teacups, on the second shelf are my teas, and on the third shelf from left to right, is a little box I made to hold our fireplace key, essential oils, and even more tea.

On the bottom two shelves are my Christmas mugs, a set of dessert plates, a tiny tea-cup I received as a baby shower favor, and my flower vases.

James and I vacationed in Northern Michigan last summer, where we visited the Great Lakes Tea and Spice Company. Here’s a picture of James relaxing outside.

The owners, Chris and Heather Sack, are very knowledgeable about all things tea. They even have a resident parrot, who as it turned out, was quite the character! If you ever find yourself in the Traverse City, Michigan area be sure to drop by the Great Lakes Tea and Spice Company in Glen Arbor.

Fruit Juice Tea

I’d like to thank my friend, Veronica, for her simple and delicious fruit juice tea recipe she shared with me today. It only has two ingredients...I'll bet you can guess what they are!

Just warm up some fruit juice on the stove top, let a tea bag steep for a couple of minutes, and you have fruit juice tea!

I’m partial to pear juice with an orange spice tea bag, myself. But you can try any kind of tea, in any combination of fruit juice that you like.

Has anyone else tried fruit juice tea before?

Happy organizing, saving & sipping tea,

Cathy

5 comments:

  1. Nice post, Cathy! I've never tried fruit juice tea before. It sounds intriguing!

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  2. Thank you : ) Apple juice with Chai tea is really, really good too!

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  3. Hi Cathy, I love your blog and your home looks really lovely too (great job on the cabinet!).

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  4. Thanks, Sue! I'm so glad you stopped by to see it : )

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  5. Cathy, your jelly cabinet is beautiful! I love the way you painted it!

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