The T-Cozy

A "Just Your Cup of Tea" Giveaway

It's that time of year again. We'll be embarking on our annual vacation to Martha's Vineyard. But before we go, it is my pleasure to announce a new T-Cozy giveaway in honor of . . . you!

It has been rather hectic around here these past two months and your nice comments and emails have really been encouraging during this crazy time. A heartfelt thank you to all of my readers. To show my appreciation, I'm giving away a little sneak preview of what I'll be offering for sale on my new T-Party web site this fall. Along with vintage treasures, I also plan to sell all 15 of T-Party's loose teas and various tea related items just like the array of goodies in this giveaway, below.

The lucky winner will receive these T-ish gifts; a new ceramic Bee House tea mug in a pretty shade of periwinkle blue and a stainless steel mesh tea ball for steeping loose tea by the cup. Included is a tiny glass jar filled with special rough cut cane Comptoir Du Sud sugar cubes. The winner will also get a four ounce tin of Lavender Lace, one of T-Party's most popular blends. Lavender Lace is a flowery, slightly sweet tisane (meaning herbal infusion) made with lemon verbena, spearmint, cinnamon, lavender and rosemary. Soothing, light and fragrant; tasty when iced, too.

I do hope these items are just your cup of tea and you'll participate in my giveaway. Here's what you'll need to do to be included in the random drawing on July 22. Just leave a comment on this post. Sounds easy, right? Well, I do have one request. I'd like to know what your favorite T-Cozy post has been to date and why. (So if you simply write "Enter me in your drawing," that just won't do! And if you reference a post older than the 30 shown as you scroll down, I'll really be impressed!)

If you're shy about leaving a comment, please don't be. I'm not looking for anything profound here, just a little feedback on what has interested you on my blog. New to leaving comments? Read the simple instructions shown on the right.

The deadline for leaving your comment is midnight Monday, July 21. The winner will be announced in a post on Tuesday, July 22.

And now we're off to our most beloved place on the planet. When we return from MV, I look forward to reading your comments and announcing the winner.

Thank you in advance and have a great week,

Susan

My Tribute to T-Party

I'll be taking a little blogging break for the remainder of this week to give my aching back a rest. All of the lifting and moving has made it difficult for me to even sit at my computer comfortably. But before I put my feet up and switch on the heating pad, here's a little tribute to T-Party. I took a stroll around the shop a few months ago taking photos to help me remember all of its nooks and crannies. So come on in and take a last T-Party tour . . .

 

After five successful years, the brick and mortar T-Party Antiques and Tea Room has now officially closed. And though it was five years of incredibly hard work, it was also a lot of fun. This isn't the first time I've left a job that I really enjoyed. But shutting down T-Party has been entirely different for me since I built it from the ground up.

So this has been a bittersweet week. Certainly I look forward to having more time to do those things I haven't been able to fit in over the last five years; like having time to read and comment on my favorite blogs, hosting more dinner parties, taking a yoga class, going to a museum in New York City on a weekday afternoon, and of course, spending more time with my family. But I also know how much I'll miss my little shop.

I feel so fortunate that my vision of "vintage treasures and afternoon tea" became a reality in T-Party. One of my most exciting moments was early on when we had a full tea room of happy patrons. I listened to their lively conversations and realized that I had done it; my little idea had became reality!

My hope is that T-Party Antiques and Tea Room provided our patrons with something unusual that they couldn't find anywhere else. Its goal was to be a place where it's not unusual to be greeted by name as you walk in the door; a place to unwind and be enveloped in the comfortable warmth of time spent with good friends and family; a place filled with nostalgic items from a simpler time. I'd like to think that our shop was a local gem, unique in today's monolithic, bigger is better world of retail chains.

 

 

So what is the future of T-Party? I'll still be around doing many of the things I love to do. You can keep in touch through this blog, The T-Cozy. My other blog, Kitsch Encounter, will continue to offer fun collectibles for sale. (I also plan to sell on the Etsy web site soon.) And I'll continue T-Party's web site, tpartyantiques.com where you'll find vintage wares along with teapots, loose tea and tea related items. The revamped T-Party site should be up and running by early September. In the meantime, if you are in need of loose tea, a Bee House teapot, or any other vintage or tea item, feel free to email me at info@tpartyantiques.com.

Remember when Seinfeld went off the air? They decided to end their run when they were on top. And though the closing of T-Party is entirely out of our hands since our building is being torn down (and we were unable to relocate due to high rents in our area), I feel a little like Jerry. According to TeaMap.com, T-Party was ranked #1 out of 21 tea rooms in Connecticut and was in the top 100 in the country. Those statistics make me very proud.

 

Rankings like that are nice, but it's really the people who made T-Party so special for me. I'd like to thank everyone who patronized T-Party Antiques and Tea Room over the past five years. I've been so fortunate to have had the very best customers and it was my pleasure to serve you. I'll miss you all.

Susan

All Lined Up

Shoppers were all lined up outside our door today for the start of T-Party's closing sale. And all of our tea room items were lined up as well, ready and waiting for purchase.

 

It was an exhausting first day and we have many more sale days ahead as we liquidate all that was needed to run our store and tea room. Cynthia and I manned the register and front desk for hours without a break. But it was nice to see and chat with many of our loyal patrons who were searching for that special item to help them remember our shop. From tea and toast sets, to tea trays and Bee House teapots; now many of these folks are well equipped to enjoy a little tea party at home. We hope they'll think of us when they do.

Susan

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Yesterday was the last tea day at our sweet little antiques shop and tea room. Cynthia and I served 46 people, most of which were our beloved "regulars" who reserved seats for our very last seating at 3 p.m. It was a wonderfully crazy, busy day; so busy in fact that I didn't even have time to get sad. It was simply a celebration of five successful years of T-Party. We tried our best to document the day, grabbing the camera whenever we had a free moment. Cynthia was really sneaky and snapped photos of me surreptitiously.

Shown below, left to right: Cynthia baked, and we sold, 216 scones in these flavors. Devoted tea patron Linda Rose. Devoted tea patrons Angie and Bob. Cynthia's completed tea trays. Sarah, Cynthia's daughter, takes a break after helping us through our last seating. Me making the rounds in the tea room for hot water refills. Devoted tea patron Lynne. Cynthia scoops loose tea into Bee House pots. Me resetting tables between seatings. Devoted tea patrons Katy and Sasha. John brings me and Cynthia flowers. Devoted tea patrons Dorothy and Joanne. Me at the register. Jacob and John help out in the kitchen. John sweeps the tea room. Me imputing sales at the computer after a very long, last tea day at T-Party.



But we're not done just yet. The month of June will be devoted to selling off all sorts of items from our tea room, kitchen and shop. So we still have a fair amount of work ahead of us.

As far as the future; Cynthia plans to keep baking and I will continue T-Party's web site selling vintage treasures, loose tea, Bee House teapots and tea related items. And of course I'll continue The T-Cozy and my Kitsch Encounter blogs. I also hope to start selling on Etsy at some point. Plus, I have a few more ideas up my sleeve that I'll let you in on in the fall.

For those of you who haven't read up on why we are closing; the 1890 farmhouse that we have rented for the past five years is going to be torn down to make way for a larger building. We have been unable to find an affordable new location as most everything we inquired about was triple our current rent.

So as they say; all good things must come to an end. And the "brick and mortar" T-Party Antiques and Tea Room was most definitely a good thing.

Susan

A Week of "Lasts"

At T-Party, sadly this is the week we'll be doing many things for the last time . . .

Saturday was the last children's birthday party at our shop. My daughter has been running our kids' parties for a couple of years and has done a super job. After this last group of ten year olds, below, had their tea sandwiches and birthday cupcakes, Hannah taught them how to make origami birds out of lace paper doilies. Then they moved on to a T-Party word search.



Monday was my last turn to wash and iron the napkins we use in our tea room. I've probably ironed several thousand in total over the years. Though tedious, Cynthia and I always reminded ourselves that each napkin washed and ironed represented a happy tea patron.

 

And finally, this is our last week of serving tea at T-Party. (But we'll remain open in June for retail sales so that we can liquidate our goods and kitchen equipment.) I've been trying to figure out how many tea seatings we've had over the past five years. Probably close to 2,000 and tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. will be our very last one. Many of our devoted regulars will be coming in for what we've dubbed our "Last Chance Tea." I can't think of a more fitting way to cap off these five years and I'm sure our last seating will be both memorable and moving. I better keep some tissues close at hand!

Susan

Our Last T-Party Mother's Day

Over the next few weeks, I'm sure to be writing more about T-Party than ever. Especially because we'll be doing so many things for the "last" time.

Yesterday we had a whopping 54 people in for tea to celebrate Mother's Day. Cynthia and I are so grateful to everyone who chose T-Party as the place to spend time with their cherished family members. I hope we helped to make this Mother’s Day weekend special for all of them.

Thank you to my sweet husband for helping us get through the hectic day by washing dishes and filling teapots for us. It's a good thing we’re not open on Sundays, as we all need a little time to recuperate. And I have a zillion T-Party napkins to wash and iron!

Now I'm off for a walk with John and then brunch with my family. Happy Mother’s Day to you!

Susan

Big Little Fans

T-Party's fans come in all sizes.

These two girls (along with their dolls) came in for tea on Saturday and brought a handmade sign expressing their feelings about our tea room. Too cute!

Susan

Parting Gifts

This week, Cynthia and I gave our valued patrons the sad news; T-Party will be closing at the end of June. The 1890 farmhouse we rent is being torn down as part of a downtown revitalization in Darien. Although we've had five successful years here, we have been unable to find an affordable new location. All of the properties we've seen have rents that are triple what we currently pay! That just won't do, so we have no choice but to close our doors.

We'll miss so many of our wonderful customers. And as I've said so many times in the past; we really do have the BEST customers. Linda Rose and Mary, a couple of our favorite patrons, brought us gifts this week after they heard the news of our closing.

Linda Rose is a devoted T-Party patron who is so nice. She comes in for tea often and stops by for our freshly baked scones almost every Saturday. Her gifts to us were charming tea cup note cards.

Linda Rose also sent us a heartfelt email that stated, "You and Cynthia have given so many wonderful memories to so many people that have passed through your doors. This alone is an accomplishment that not many could take away with them. As I said before, you have your hearts in the right place."

Mary has been coming to T-Party for several years. A great fan of tea rooms, she seeks them out wherever she finds herself. When Mary came for tea yesterday with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, she brought Cynthia and I the loveliest gifts; cute cloth butterfly napkins and a pretty tray for Cynthia and a beautiful floral teapot with a butterfly on its lid for me.

The kindness of our customers never ceases to amaze me. Thank you Linda Rose and Mary!

At least we still have a couple of months left in which to enjoy the company of our wonderful patrons. I plan to cherish these remaining moments.

Susan

Put the Kettle On

The soft pink walls of T-Party's tea room are covered with framed sepia-toned photographs of people enjoying tea through the ages. From Alice in Wonderland to FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, our patrons can look up and see that they are taking part in the long-standing tradition of afternoon tea.

In an old folder recently, I found more interesting historic tea shots that didn't make it to our tea room walls. Aren't they fun?

 

Makes you want to pour yourself a cup! I'm off to put the kettle on...

Susan

April Showers

Saturdays are our busiest days at T-Party. Often times, patrons reserve our tea room for baby or bridal showers. Yesterday we hosted a shower for bride-to-be Polly.

Check out Polly's fabulous tiara; it's a giant diamond ring crown with a veil attached! Always a highlight of each celebration is the opening of the presents.

Polly received practical items along with fun ones. Below left, she peers inside a vintage jewelry box filled with family heirlooms.

All of Polly's relatives and family friends looked on as she opened her gifts.

After the last present was opened, Polly was handed her "bouquet" made from of all of the bows and ribbons from each gift.

She will use this as her stand-in bouquet at the rehearsal dinner the night before her wedding in July. We wish Polly all the best.

As my 20th wedding anniversary approached next month, showers like these bring back fond memories. And at T-Party, we are honored to host these special, joyous events.

Susan