Teacups and Music

Last Sunday evening we went to 'The Circle' in Old Towne Orange which is at the cross streets of Chapman Avenue and Glassell. In the intersection is a fountain, surrounded by small circular park, around which cars drive.

It is picturesque here and this area has been used by the film and television industry. On Sunday the city held a tree lighting and concert in The Circle. All traffic was blocked from driving through the area. There was a choir and small orchestra in the intersection as well as a stage. The Circle is now decorated with a creche and Nativity scene, a lighted Santa and a lighted toy soldier. 

 
 Vendors had booths from which they were selling hot chocolate, tamales, s'mores, cider, popcorn and even burritos!

 
 Santa and Mrs. Claus were available for photos. We had such a nice time listening to poems and stories, interspersed with beautiful music and singing. Everyone stood for the finale, which was a stirring performance of Handel's Messiah. We all sang along and I got goose bumps.

Can you guess who is in this spiffy red car? You can just glimpse Santa's white fur collar through the window as he and Mrs. Claus drive off at the end of the evening - the reindeer are at home resting up for the Big Night!

For Teacup Tuesday I thought I'd share a Christmas themed find I spotted at TJMaxx last week.

I love using teacups and saucers but there are times when I want a big 'cuppa' and I reach for a lovely china beaker like this one! I like the raised image of the holly leaves, don't you? It has a roomy handle, which would make it comfortable to hold.

Used my cell phone camera so this shot is a bit blurry, but you can see that the maker is Lenox and the pattern is 'Holiday' (It would hold a good six ounces of PGTips, Ruth!). There were some other fun tea service pieces there that day, like these owl cups.

...and this charming teapot and sugar bowl. I love the birds and bright red berries~

 This would make a lovely place to store tea sachets~

With all this talk of tea, I think I'll make a cup of Kusmi Troika tea  and play Handel's Messiah while I wrap gifts. Happy Advent!

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart... filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.
Bess Streeter Aldrich, Song of Years




sharing this post with:
Mosaic Monday 
Make It Pretty 
Antiques and Teacups 
You're Going To Love It 
Martha's Favorites 
Artful Affirmations 
Rose Chintz Cottage 
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
Time Travel Thursday, The Brambleberry Cottage 

Let It Snow!

Boy, the first few days of December are flying by at breakneck speed! Time to finish up those cards and start gift wrapping. The printable tickets above can be found at misscutiepieinspiration.blogspot.com.  I can think of half a dozen ways to use them, can't you? -  labels, tags, cards and gift bags. I am going to print some of these festive tickets out this weekend. 

We are in the middle of decorating for Christmas but are in a holding pattern until College Girl takes her semester finals next week. When she is finished, we will get the tree and she can help 'deck the halls!' Meanwhile, we attended two Christmas Tree Lighting Parties: one at the university where College Girl attends and one in Old Towne Orange at The Circle. 

   
For the university event, we arrived at 5 p.m. and browsed through the vendor tables set up around the Piazza. There was jewelry, candy, purses, coffee scented lotion, olive oil and gingerbread houses for sale. People were milling about waiting for the festivities to begin and I had a warm cup of apple cider. The university offered hot chocolate and cookies for visitors, too. There was a strolling choir dressed in Victorian clothing (above) that entertained everyone. Soon a small brass band began to play in front of the library.

Doctor Who fans will understand when I say I am glad they were not dressed in Santa suits! haha! There was a recitation of The Night Before Christmas and a visit from Santa Claus. The tall evergreen on the grass, as well as all the trees around the Piazza, were suddenly ablaze with lights. Everyone was enjoying themselves when, unexpectently, fireworks went off above our heads!

The crowd cheered! Then our host prompted us to sing Let It Snow  as it began to 'snow' - well, the snow was actually tiny bubbles but it looked magical! We had so much fun that evening. What a festive treat.

In my next post I will share photos of the other tree lighting we went to as well as some cards I made this week. Plus I have an easy and inexpensive idea for serving holiday treats with Christmas pizzaz!