The T-Cozy

Hot Off the Press . . . Studios Magazine!

Now on newsstands, the spring/summer issue of Studios has arrived. And my sweet little studio is featured on pages 58 and 59!

Editor Cate Coulacos Prato has done it again. This magazine is brimming with ideas for creating artful work spaces. Featuring eight studios and eighteen studio vignettes, there is inspiration on every page. With so many spaces to present, coordinating the publication must be quite a task for Cate. But she seems super organized and professional and I found her a pleasure to work with. (Have you ever visited her blog called A Charmed Life?) From a designer's point of view, I can't imagine anything more fun than sorting through photos and laying out an issue filled with inspiring artists' spaces. Can you? So head on out and pick up your copy of Studios magazine. Or you can order it online here.

Of all the rooms in our house, my studio is my most favorite, so it's extra special that Cate chose to include it in this magazine. As I mention on my website's studio tour page, my studio is the one place in our home that is mine, all mine. It's a colorful, happy oasis brimming with inspiration and all my favorite things. Spending time here makes me happy each and every day. 

Susan

My Favorite New York City Landmark

I wanted to share a little story and some photos I took last week while in New York City. They are of Grand Central Terminal (GCT), a Manhattan landmark that I happen to know intimately. You see, before I was a shop/tea room owner, I was a graphic designer for over two decades. Back in 1983, I became the first design director for Metro-North Commuter Railroad, the train company in my area that takes passengers to NYC from all of the towns north of the city.

While designing for the railroad, I worked on projects for commuter and corporate purposes -- things like newsletters, brochures, logos and posters. So I got to know GCT very well. From walking the catwalk behind the enormous windows below, to gingerly stepping over the third rail during a photo shoot, I've seen a side of GCT that most never get to see. And the most interesting project I designed there was a poster celebrating this well known terminal.

I decided I wanted to include historic images of this famous train station in my poster's design. And luckily, the powers that be at Metro-North allowed me to root through ancient filing cabinets to search for artifacts. I found beautiful old photos and amazing architectural plans of the terminal. I also had our staff photographer, Frank English, shoot some pictures for me. I put all of these elements together collage style and was quite happy with the result.

In 1984, these 24 x 36 inch printed posters were given as gifts to dignitaries visiting the railroad and each Metro-North employee received one as well. (Plus, I offered one as a giveaway gift celebrating my 200th post back in February 2008. Susan of Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen was the lucky winner.)

I designed hundreds of pieces in my 24-year career as a graphic designer, but this poster remains my favorite project of all time. And Grand Central Terminal will always be my favorite New York City landmark.

Susan

Pink from the Past

Did you know that every Saturday, lots of pink-loving bloggers get together to post photos of all things pink? I fancy myself a pink fan, so I decided to join in today. For my first "Pink Saturday" contribution, I searched through old picture files and found some pink goodies from the past. These blushing items are vintage treasures that have been passed on to others over my two years of blogging. Aren't they the sweetest?

The host of Pink Saturday is Beverly of the blog How Sweet the Sound. Hundreds of bloggers participate and Beverly manages to handle organizing this weekly task with grace. It must be a lot of work for her. Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see all the pink that this Saturday has to offer. There you'll find links to everyone getting in on the pink fun this week.

Beverly brings people together with this common thread: show off what you've found that's pretty in pink. I like the simplicity of that.

Susan

Finding a Home for a Family of Penny Wooden Dolls

I had no idea there would be so much interest in these folk art dolls!

Here's another photo of them. Aren't they sweet? I love their demure expressions and rosy pink cheeks.

Several of you emailed me or left comments expressing your interest in these Penny Wooden dolls. Some of you suggested selling them off in pairs. I decided to consult with Nancy, as I plan to split whatever these dolls sell for with her. We decided to try and sell them on eBay as one lot because it's so unusual to have a chance to buy eight of an item like this. But of course, they may not sell for the reserve. So you have my word that if they don't, I'll offer them for sale as "best friend" pairs on my sister blog, Kitsch Encounter.

For those of you who want to follow this eBay auction, click here to be redirected to the listing which runs until Tuesday, March 31.

Penny Wooden Doll Update . . .
Much to my surprise, these wonderful dolls sold for well above their reserve price on eBay. They went for $355.21 and are now on their way to Bristol in the United Kingdom!

Susan

Auctions and Otherwise

Like the rest of the country, I haven't been doing a lot of shopping these days. Even so, several interesting items have managed to find their way to me.

While visiting with my friend Nancy at the antiques gallery where she has her fabulous booth, I decided to take a peek at what was to be offered in an auction scheduled for the next morning. I'll be honest, auctions make me nervous. There's too much pressure and competition for my taste. But the small box lots up for bid at the start of the auction (before the big expensive scary stuff) are more my style. Much more low-key, the prices are very reasonable and often they combine lots for one price. So I was brave and went to the auction. And that's how I acquired this nice array of aqua and blue art pottery.

The box of pottery was combined with another lot of Murano Glass perfume bottles. They screamed "Nancy," so I decided to give them to her. In return, she gave me these wonderfully primitive folk art dolls. Known as Penny Dolls, they were probably made around 1930. With cute smiling faces and rosy cheeks, each one is a little bit different and has its own personality. I don't collect dolls however, so I'm trying to decide where and how it would be best to sell them. I think they should be sold together, don't you? (I hate to break up a family.) In my mind, I picture them hanging on a wall en masse. And though I'm not fond of eBay, that may be the right place for them to find a new home. There must be a collector of primitive dolls out there who would appreciate them.

Here are some other items I have found in my travels lately. . .

I love this vintage lady planter. With her wide brimmed hat, dress and basket, she looks like she's about to take a stroll in the garden.

Yesterday, I listed these Pansy flower buttons and the scroll braid trim on Etsy. I'm not sure what I'll do with the cheerful apple cookie jar. Maybe it will find its way to Kitsch Encounter eventually.

Nancy was kind enough to also offer me these vintage bark cloth curtain panels. Actually, she bought them from me several years ago. But she has since moved and wasn't planning to use them in her new house. I love bark cloth and I'm so happy to have the panels again. I have lots of ideas for them.

So . . . there's another auction scheduled for Monday morning. I can't decide if I should go. (Do you think auctions can be addictive?!)

Susan

Our Master Suite, Good As New

As you know, during my blogging break a couple of weeks ago, I spent several days getting our master bedroom and bath back together after it's new paint job. Here's the little tour I promised you. The photo, left, shows the room's "before" paint color. Now the walls sport a shade of fresh green called Limesickle by Benjamin Moore.

At 20 by 21 feet, our master bedroom is the largest room in the house. Even though it's a big space with a vaulted ceiling, it still feels cozy, don't you think?

I enjoyed rearranging the furniture, though I'm not sure John would agree after I asked him to move the dressers for the third time. (He's such a good sport.) The only pieces that are in the same spot as before are the bed, trunk and night tables.

In the new arrangement, I decided to feature my antique writing desk along a prominent wall.

Called a spinet desk, the top surface hinges opens to reveal cubbies and a slide-out writing area. This wood surface has several ink stains that I find endearing since they're from when people still wrote letters using pen and ink.

Now that it's placed next to a window, my new favorite place to read in this cozy chair. On the wall nearby, you'll find a few of my vintage teapot-shaped soap powder dispensers from the 1940s and 50s. These kept the soap by the kitchen sink in a pretty container back when dishes were washed by hand with soap flakes or powder.

The built-in shelves, below, are a good place to display a few of my vintage picnic tins. They're great for storage. (I have gobs more in my studio and family room.) This room also has its own set of back stairs which lead to our family room and kitchen in case one is in need of a late night snack.

We also painted the adjoining master bathroom. After removing the last of the wallpaper in our house (yay!), the walls now wear a coat of Manchester Tan, also by Benjamin Moore.

Aside from paint, the only new item we purchased for this bed/bath redo was the sweet little chandelier above. We got it for a song at a local lighting store and it was just the thing to dress up our old vanity and add a little sparkle.

We've lived here for a long time (over 18 years) so most of the rooms in our house were well overdo for some freshening up. It's taken us a year-and-a-half to paint just about every room. By simply changing the wall colors and rearranging furniture, now these rooms feel good as new.

Susan

Tea Tips for All Ages

Rowayton Library Director Cynthia Johnson (standing below left) kindly asked me to sponsor two teas at my neighborhood library in Rowayton. I was happy to oblige. The first event was a cream tea for adults last Tuesday. Cynthia and her staff did a wonderful job of setting the library tables with linens, flowers, china tea cups and shortbread cookies. Everything looked so pretty. I supplied scones, clotted cream, jam, and a knowledge of all things tea.

My talk covered the history of tea, types of tea (black, green, red, white), how to brew a great pot of tea, tea bags versus loose leaf tea, tea time foods, and more.

I brought along a few props to aid the discussion: a Bee House teapot, a couple of infusers and six samples of my most beautiful and fragrant tea blends to view and smell --- Susan's Blend, Lavender Lace, Vintage Rose, Orange Cranberry, Precious Eyebrows, and T-Party Blend.

What a nice, friendly and attentive group! They were truly interested in the fine art of taking tea.

The children's tea was held this morning in the Community Center located adjacent to the library. Kids arrived and were ceremoniously greeted at the door, shown to their seats and served by two very helpful library volunteers. We kept the food simple serving cupcakes, pink lemonade or iced tea.

Tea time etiquette was the topic of my talk today. We discussed things like pinkie placement, sipping versus slurping, napkin basics and spoon usage! Click here to read more about tea time manners.

Once the children were done with their food, we passed out a T-Party word search I had put together for them to take home. If you have young ones, here's a copy of it for you. Simply click on the image below to enlarge it, copy it to your desktop and print it out for your little tea fans to enjoy.

A few of the children went straight back into the library and intently began working on their word searches.

If you'd like to read more about this children's tea, click here for an article by Connecticut Post staff writer Amanda Cuda.

What a great group of kids, all very respectful and well behaved. It really was a pleasure and such fun sharing some tea time tips with the children today and also with the adults last Tuesday.

Susan

Looking Up on the First Day of Spring

Today, at precisely 7:44 A.M. EDT (11:44 Universal Time), the sun will cross directly over the earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.

People have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. Early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising sun on the day of the vernal equinox. From the Latin, the word equinox means “equal night.” So today, and again in the fall, day and night are of nearly equal length everywhere in the world. Right now, the earth’s axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the earth and the sun. Pretty cool! Plus, the minutes of daylight will continue to increase (yay!) up until the first day of summer. With our country's economy in such a mess, perhaps what we all need is a little more sunlight. It may help to improve our mood, and hopefully, things will be looking up soon.

And speaking of looking up . . . a few lazy snowflakes have just started to fall outside my window! Don't they know it's spring?

Susan

Signs of Spring

What a winter it has been. Aren't we all extra anxious for spring this year? Some children who live in our neighborhood have been publicly keeping track of just when that welcomed season will finally arrive. They've been changing the number and updating their hand made sign for a few weeks now. (I took the photo, below, on my walk a couple of days ago.) So cute!

I can't wait for the weather to turn so we can open the windows wide for some warm breezes. I'm one of those people who loves spring cleaning. It's my final push to organize and freshen up the inside of my home before my attention turns to the outdoor pursuits of gardening, bike riding, beach combing and picnicking.

I've already done some spring cleaning on my web site. The prices on the vintage treasures shown below have all been reduced. I hope to make room for some wonderful finds that I acquired at an auction I attended on Monday.

I promise to share some photos of those auction items with you in another post. Plus, I'll have photos from the two teas I'm hosting at my library. Yesterday's adult event was a success and I'm sure the children's tea on Saturday will be equally as fun. And my scones were a hit!

Susan

Baking Scones the T-Party Way

I just finished baking scones for the Rowayton Library tea I am hosting at 2 p.m. today. I used the T-Party tried and true recipe which always seems to produce scones with a wonderfully delicate, flaky texture. I decided to make wild blueberry scones as they were always a favorite at my former tea room.

Although I don’t ever share that scone recipe (sorry!), I am happy to offer some advice on how to achieve the perfect scone.

The key is to be sure to use very cold butter and very cold Half & Half. And most important --- DON’T OVERWORK THE DOUGH! Remember, a light hand is needed.

Use dried fruit, if possible, as fresh fruit may make your scones soggy. And it's also a good idea to line your baking sheets with easy release non-stick aluminum foil.

These yummy scones will be served with strawberry preserves and authentic clotted cream imported from England. Now I better take some time to review my notes for the little tea talk I'll be giving that will accompany these delectable treats.

Susan

Tea for the Town

I feel fortunate to live in a town with one of the nicest little libraries around. This week, I'm looking forward to sponsoring one of Rowayton Library's Tuesday afternoon teas. I'll also host a children's tea on Saturday morning complete with a tea time etiquette lesson.

To bring attention to these events, I offered to display some of my tea collectibles in the library's two display cases. Last week, I set up some of my items paired with books about tea. Have a look . . .

At the adult tea, I'll bring freshly baked scones and do a little tea talk. I plan to discuss the history of the tea room in America along with tea basics: how to brew loose leaf tea, types of tea (black, green, red), loose leaf tea versus tea bags, tea time foods and history, and the rituals of taking tea. If you're in the area, the event is free and open to the public on Tuesday, March 17 at 2 p.m. For those of you who can't stop by, I'll be sure to share some photos of the teas along with baking scones in posts to come. I wish you could all be there!

Susan

Did You Miss Me?

My no-blogging week was productive indeed. I got around to most of the things I was hoping to accomplish.

Did you miss me? I certainly missed stopping by several of my favorite blogs. And I was blown away by the lovely comments on my giveaway post. Thank you all for your kind words. You warmed my heart!

Here's a visual of just some of the things that went on over the past seven days . . .

From getting my hair cut to finally getting started on Twitter, I really packed it in. My master bedroom and bath are finally complete. (Moving everything back in and getting it set up just right took three days.) And in preparation for my community teas next week, I visited the Rowayton Library again to take down the display of Jacob's wind-up toys and put in some of my fun tea related collectibles. I'll share more of this display and my master bedroom redo in posts to come.

I've been hard at work photographing new items for my Etsy shop. (I hope to have some of the listings up later today.) Also, I've done a little website spring cleaning and reduced the prices on ALL of the vintage treasures listed there.

I spruced up Hannah's room so it's all ready for her arrival home for spring break tomorrow. (I hope she likes the bouquet of Gerber daisies I left on her dresser. They are her favorite.)

And lastly, yesterday was Jacob's 16th birthday. He's a fan of barbecue, so we headed to Bobby Q's in Westport for his birthday dinner. His girlfriend joined us and she baked the most adorable cupcakes for him. Embellished with candy spelling out Happy Birthday Jacob 16!, there is even one with a heart and another cupcake that looks like Jacob, complete with green Skittle eyes and yellow TicTac hair. Too cute!

And, of course, I can't forget The T-Cozy's two year anniversary giveaway. I used an online random number generator this morning to pick the lucky winner. Congratulations goes to Nicole of the blog Blue Jeans Hostess!!! (Nicole, please email your address to me at info@tpartyantiques.com so I can send you your giveaway goodies.)

I want to thank all of you, once again, for your participation in my giveaway. It's so nice to know that you enjoy what you've found here over the last two years.

Susan

Time for a T-Cozy Giveaway

Today marks a major milestone for my blog. The T-Cozy is two years old today. And you know how I like to celebrate an important occasion such as this; with a little giveaway, of course.

Here's what you can win . . .

. . . a vintage cake plate made by Knowles China, one-half yard of cotton fabric in a mini floral print, a four ounce tin of T-Party's delicious Orange Cranberry herbal tea, and a wooden teapot-shaped plaque with hooks to hold your pot holders or keys. (Wouldn't the plate looks sweet hanging on the wall next to the teapot plaque? Sew up a little ditty bag out of the fabric to hang on the plaque, brew yourself a cup of Orange Cranberry and you're all set!)

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post. For those of you who feel ambitious, do some digging in the T-Cozy's archives from the past two years and let me know which post was your favorite and why. Then you'll be rewarded, as I'll enter your name a second time to improve your chances of winning.

This is my 408th post, so I hope you don't mind that, while you're busy entering my giveaway, I'll be taking a breather over the next week. I'll recharge my blogging batteries and catch up on some things of which I've been remiss. I also hope to peruse my interior design books and then, with some new found inspiration, put my master bedroom and bath back together after their new paint job.

Please note that you have until Thursday, March 12 to enter. The "lucky" winner will be selected at random and their name revealed in a post on Friday, the 13th. Many thanks for your loyal readership, and for entering my T-Cozy giveaway.

Susan

Tea and Company

I mentioned a few posts back how excited I am to be included in the spring issue of Studios magazine. It's been a while since I've been in a national publication. The last time was back in January 2007 when my brick-and-mortar store was featured in Romantic Homes. Here's a look back at that article . . .


It was so nice of Romantic Homes editor Jacqueline deMontravel to feature my little shop and tea room. Nice article, don't you think?

Susan

I Haven't a Notion . . . Can You Help?

You've probably noticed that I have quite a big vintage button collection. Often, when I've purchased large button lots, other items are along for the ride. And most times, I haven't a notion as to what these things are. I figure that some of these "mystery" notions might be useful to a clever crafter out there, so I was thinking about listing the five shown below on Etsy. But first, I have to figure out their purpose. Can you help?

1. Large wooden discs with a hole in the middle. What are these used for?

2. Small glass discs with an embossed design. Do you know what these are?

3. Oval plastic belt buckle type item, but they're small. Got a clue?

4. Plastic discs with two holes at the top. They're pretty, but what are they for?

5. Clear plastic flower discs with a hole in the center. Any ideas?

With so many knowledgeable folks out there, I hope someone can help me figure out what these items are and if they'd be useful to anyone. Thank you, in advance, for your help!

Susan

Trash to Treasure: Sea Glass

So much snow! How ironic that I'm organizing our sea glass collection this morning.

Just five houses down the street is our neighborhood's private beach where my family and I have collected beach glass for well over a decade. Here's what the beach looks like this morning . . .

And here's what it's like on a serene summer day . . .

We have a large collection of authentic sea glass, mostly found at this beach. Each piece, patiently searched for and brought home piece by piece in someone's pocket over the years, has a frosted surface and smooth edges perfected by the waves of the sea. It looks best showcased in glass jars or vases to allow light to pass through. The tall apothecary jar (shown top right) which holds our collection is overflowing, so yesterday I stopped at Michaels and picked up some simple glass vases that were on sale for $1.98 each.

I love finding beach glass that lets you distinguish the origins of the specimen, like the neck or bottom of a bottle, or when there are remnants of embossed letters. As you can see, we collect mainly white, green and aqua glass; it's easy to find brown pieces but they don't display as well. (I also don't like the store-bought glass which is produced artificially by using a rock tumbler.) 

Sea glass truly is trash made beautiful, transformed by the ocean from litter to lovely.

Susan