Tea and Cannoli

How has your week been going so far? It's been busy here, with lots of errands in addition to the usual laundry, cleaning and clearing the garden.

None of which I've finished so far. lol

But you know me -- anytime is a good time for a cup of tea and a snack. Mmmm, chocolate cannoli.

(Do you think that has anything to do with my utter lack of ability to lose weight?)

Our lilies of the valley have just opened this week, and their dainty blooms and perfume are perfect for my tea tray. I have set the tray on the sofa in our library; the needlepoint pillow you see in the background of the photo (above) was a Mother's Day present a few years ago.

The cup and saucer belonged to my mother. It is hand-painted Fan Crest fine china, made in Japan. My mother collected tea cups.

The dessert dish is actually the saucer for another tea cup -- Royal Sealy China, also made in Japan. The tray itself is an antique tole tray, which I won on ebay a few years ago.

(Don't you love the phrase "won" -- it sounds so much better than "paid entirely too much in a last-minute bidding war.")

The delicate embroidered linen placemat is vintage, another heirloom from my mother.

So what do you do when you sit down to eat by yourself? Read, of course. The book here is Shakespeare's Art, published by L.C. Page & Co, Boston, in 1901. Don't you love old books? They are so beautiful, with gilded cover art and deckled edge pages. I've added a hand-made bookmark, created together with my friend Toni Anne. We used one of my photos, some ribbon and beads.

If I ever get my act together, I'll list a few of them in my etsy shop.

I'm linking this post to Susan's Tablescape Thursday. You must visit Susan's beautiful blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for more tablescapes.

I'm also linking to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thanks, Cindy, for hosting this fun meme. :)