(afternoon tea, circa 1800s)

Tea is my favorite drink beside Coffee. I drink tea ever since I was a child, I remember my grandmother (who lives in the same house with me and my family) drink tea everyday. She had this green and white patterned Tea Pot which is a typical classic tea pot for commoners in my country at that time. I'm used to seeing her drink her tea in daily basis and so I found myself drinking tea from her tea pot too and I remember how good the tea tasted in my mouth. And then I drank Tea ever since.

The other day I was digging through my dad's old magazines when I found in one of them an article about the history of Tea. It's a very informative article and so I'd like to share it here (which I edited here and there without changing the main info) :

Well, it all began, legend has it, in 1840, with Anna Russell (see pic), wife of Francis Russell, the seventh duke of Bedford.
History has it that people in that era consumed large breakfasts and did not eat again until 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. The duchess often has a sinking feeling in the afternoon which she remedied by serving tea and cakes around 4 o'clock. Thus began a British institution of Afternoon Tea that continues to this day (mostly well known as "High Tea") -- Well actually traditional High Tea is not the same thing as Afternoon Tea. In recent years, high tea has become a term for elaborate afternoon tea, though this is American usage and mainly unrecognized in Britain.

Who first brought the tea to England, the place where it all started? Well, there's no precise record about that but it was believed that Tea was boosted by the marriage of Catherine of Braganza (see pic), a Portuguese princess, to Charles II in 1662. Included in her dowry was a chest of tea.
At first, afternoon tea was limited to the aristocracy, though eventually the habit spread to the general population as it is today. The tea is served with various cakes and finger food such as scones or dainty biscuits and other pastries.

The finishing touch to the tea table is the Tea Set that usually comes complete with a pitcher of milk, a bowl of sugar, and perhaps a tray of lemon slices. Most important of all, the tea must be hot!


Now talking about Tea-Set, I have always dreamed of collecting pretty or unique Tea Sets someday (maybe if I have moved to my own house) because I always love seeing one especially the pretty antiques ones in pastel colors and flowery details like my mom has , she never use it, only for decorative use, sitting prettily in her glass cupboard. I'm sure that my fond of Tea Sets came from seeing those pretty sets that my mom has. And I hope someday I would have many collections of Tea-Sets that I would proudly show in my own glass cupboard too.

Classic Tea-Sets :

(in clockwise: westernsilver.com, rus-sell.com, antiqueszone.com, limogesboxcollector.com)

Modern & Unique Tea Sets :

(all via googlepages.funnyswf.com)

Cute Kiddy Tea Sets to play "princess" :

(Left to right: everafterstore.com, princesstimetoys.com)


And if you want to hold an Afternoon Tea Party and couldn't quite figure it out how to exactly serve tea and host the party then you might want to look into this books, otherwise you could just put these good looking books in your tea table for conversation breaker.



aren't they lovely ?

Other Sources:
Country Home Magazine, June 1986 - "Tea: warming, cooling, cheering, calming" by Diane Yanney.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_(meal)
http://prettysmartgirlart.blogspot.com/2008/08/cup-of-tea.html
http://www.smittenbybritain.com/2009/04/britons-in-history-anna-russell.html

My First Ever Giveaway !

Hi everyone,
Incase you haven't already know, I have my first ever Giveaway Contest at my Fashion Blog TwoThousandThings, the prize is the pretty Chiffon Skirt on the left, courtesy of albie.

It's a very pretty skirt and it's my first ever Giveaway post, in collaboration with a talented designer from New Zealand, albie.


Please do check out my Fashion Blog for your chance to win this skirt.
It's open for worldwide.
The last entry date will be on August 5 so hurry up, it's just a few days from now !
Click here to go to the entry page !

What Your Name Says About You

Ever wonder what your name says about you? Well, sometimes I do. I'm always interested in this kind of thing, I think of it as another way to understanding myself. And sometimes it's amazing to know that a name could actually relate to the person's personality.

I've been browsing here and there and finally stumbled upon this name generator at blogthings. I love the website itself, blogthings really offers us many options of fun self-entertainment such as fun quizzes, astrology reading and other fun and absurd things such as "what's your name in Hawaiian", etc..

I tried the name generator and it came out quite true, after reading the result I could actually relate it to my own personality ^o^

Here is what my name means :

You Are Wild and Outrageous

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

And now it's your turn to try the name generator and find out what your name says about you ^o^ Click here and Have Fun!

And here's another FUN site to kill your time.
And another one for Indonesian users, since this post is in bahasa.

^_~

SLR Camera

Last week my brother went home with a newly bought Canon SLR Camera!!

Hubby and I have been wanting an SLR Camera for these past few months but couldn't bear to spend the money on purchasing it because we still have lots of more important monthly expenses to pay.
But now we don't have to feel "i-wish-i-could-took-pictures-with-that-SLRcamera" anymore because now that my brother owns it we could just borrow it from him ^o^
He also bought a tripod and planned to buy the macro lens next week so it's like a complete ready-to-borrow camera package ^o^
I'm so happy I started taking pictures of everything. Although I'm far from professional but with the available tools I'm sure I could learn a lot.

My first attempts of the camera :

and some more...

and the camera :

^_~

VICTORIAN-THEMED DECORS

The Victorian era is generally agreed to stretch through the reign of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 to January 1901. It was a tremendously exciting period when many artistic styles, literary schools, as well as, social, political and religious movements flourished. It was a time of prosperity, broad imperial expansion, and great political reform. It was also a time, which today we associate with "prudishness" and "repression". Without a doubt, it was an extraordinarily complex age, that has sometimes been called the Second English Renaissance. It is, however, also the beginning of Modern Times.

Interior decoration and interior design of the Victorian era are noted for orderliness and ornamentation. A house from this period was idealistically neatly divided in rooms, with public and private space carefully separated.
The Parlor was the most important room in a home and was the showcase for the homeowners; where guests were entertained. A bare room was considered to be in poor taste, so every surface was filled with objects that reflected the owner's interests and aspirations.
The dining room was the second-most important room in the house. An atmospheric light, which Victorians considered most appropriate for dining, was provided by chandeliers, wall sconces, and candles. The sideboard was most often the focal point of the dining room and very ornately decorated. The decorative arts were characterized by an eclectic revival and influences from Asia and the mid-east.
The choice of paint color on the walls in Victorian homes was said to be based on the use of the room. Hallways that were in the entry hall and the stair halls were painted a somber gray so as not to compete with the surrounding rooms. Most people marbleized the walls or the woodwork. Drapes were heavy velvets, often looped back with gold tassels.
No particular style dominated the creation of Victorian furniture. Rather, the designers drew inspiration from Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and other periods.


Below are some of the examples of a Victorian Era rooms / chambers.
Note : These are an unframed art print on paper created using the typical offset lithograph method by John P. OBrien (could be bought here, prices : $1.95 - $7.95).

Aren't they such pretty rooms or what?! I always love these past eras. My favorite movies are ones such as Marie Antoinette, The Duchess, Elizabeth, and the likes...
I love watching all the ladies, the queens and the courtiers with their beautiful gowns and extravagant hairs, not to mention their beautiful large manor with big gardens and rich decorations inside every rooms in their house. I wish I could go back to that era, where everything seems so much simpler.

In intention of collecting some Victorian-themed decorative items I browse one of my fave store (which I always love everything in their catalog they sent me) Past-Times where I found all these amazing things that would straightly fall into my wish list catalogue ^o^
enjoy..

The Victorians loved to turn everyday objects into highly decorative novelty items. This Victorian Purse Compact Mirror is fashioned into the shape of a purse and typically features elaborate all-over decoration.


This Forget-Me-Not photograph album is decorated with forget-me-nots flower design, one of the favourite flowers of the Victorians, meaning true love or remember me forever in their special language of flowers.


The Victorians were passionate about flowers, giving them their own special language and using them to decorate all manner of items like in this Victorian Rose Pewter Necklace Hook with rose design, a symbol of love and beauty that was a particular Victorian favourite, and this Victorian Floral Dressing Table Mirror that recalls Victorian originals.


Everything in the Victorian home, from soft furnishings and wallpaper to pottery and ornaments, was decorated in floral and naturalistic motifs. The decoration on these Victorian Pink Floral Heart Frame Bookmark and Victorian Pink Floral Perfume Bottle recalls Victorian love affair with the natural world.

In the Victorian language of flowers the rose was an everlasting symbol of love. It was used to adorn all manner of decorative items from soft furnishings to jewelry. Our Victorian Mirrored Rose Jewellery Box is printed with a distinctive rose design.


And that's not all, ladies! I couldn't satisfied myself with these adorable romantic things! And so I browse some more...

Perfect for gifts :
Victorian Handbag Magnets
Set of 3 Lavender Embroidered Handkerchiefs

Forget-me-Not Notelet Box

Anyone wants to buy me one of these decorative items? I surely won't say no to these ^o^

P.S
I also have a post about Fashion of The Past Era on my Fashion Blog : http://twothousandthings.blogspot.com (click)

and click here and here to see my other wish lists !

Other sources:
http://www.victoriaspast.com/FrontPorch/victorianera.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_decorative_arts
http://www.antiquevictorianfurnitureblog.com/

^_~

THE DAY MICHAEL JACKSON DIED

In loving memory of MICHAEL JACKSON, The King Of Pop.



Maybe it's true,
in order to be a Legend, you have to die young.

The 50-year-old musical superstar died Thursday, June 25 (USA time) with a possibility of cardiac arrest / heart attack (however autopsy result will take several days to be completed).


Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills.

Michael Jackson had been planning to start a series of comeback concerts in London and had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. Too bad, now that concert will never happen.

Although I'm not really a die-hard fan of him but his songs and music videos has been a part of my life while growing up. I had a cousin who love Michael very much, you see Michael has been an influence to many people.

Despite many of those weird things that he does, his achievement is worth to be mentioned as legendary.
He is, afterall, The King Of Pop.

No one else would be like him. There would be only one, Michael Jackson.

and here's my funny little hubby (who happens to be MJ's great fan - he actually shocked when i told him the news and then he mourn for MJ until 3 days after his death) in his attempt of doing the "hiie..hiiiy" moment of MJ :

Source:
allmichaeljackson, msnbc.msn.com/id/31552029/

^_~