A rescuing I will go...

I went to three thrift stores on Monday during my free hour, and I was so excited to get this Adderly Shamrock tea cup from Sally Anne (The Salvation Army Thrift Store) for $6.99. This now much loved teacup, with it's green and purple shamrocks is right at home on my table and on my shelves. It was a lovely indulgence to  sip from this vessel yesterday morning.

Along with the lovely teacup I could not leave the bristol mug in my Petit Point Pattern, I actually don't have any and for $3.99 this was a really good find.

All in all this felt like a very successful rescue and one of my recent favorites for sure.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and this weeks Teacup rescue!
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Laura Childs Plum Tea Crazy

I was delighted to be selected to read Laura Childs new cozy, Plum Tea Crazy. This is the newest book in the series and is book #19. This one comes out on March 6th. I love the idea of this series, the cover and Drayton. The dog Earl Grey is also a particular favorite. In this mystery like so many in this series there is a lot going on, so much so that it is easy to miss motives and reasoning. This book is a heavily layered who-dun-it with a wonderful tea menu and recipes as well.

Theodosia Browning investigates a Charleston steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.While viewing the harbor's Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow's walk of Timothy Neville's Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it's discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow. At the request of the mansion owner, Theodosia investigates the tragedy and is soon neck deep in suspects. An almost ex-wife, a coworker, a real estate partner--all had motives for killing the luckless banker, but one resorted to murder to settle accounts.

You can find Plum Tea Crazy on Amazon by clicking here. 
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Monday...Luck O' The Cozies coming up quickly!

It is Monday morning and I had hoped to have finished my book last night to review today but I did not get it finished. Truth be told I wish I could put the world on pause sometimes. I have many things going on and one of them I will share this morning is the upcoming event on my Beyond The Bookmarks Facebook Event Page called Luck O' the Cozies. 

This will be a shorter event than normal but still filled with great reads, wonderful authors dropping by, crafts, recipes and more. I hope to see you there! Click here to join in the fun and see the things I have already been posting daily! 

I look forward to seeing you there!
I shall go back to reading and working now, thank you for taking time to join me today. I would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Caroline Fardig's Southern Discomfort...

My Snow Day reward was getting time to sit and read Southern Discomfort this weekend. I quickly devoured the first half of the book and fought my eyes and had to call it a night on Friday night after 4 times of shoveling snow for 45 mins at a time, like with the snow I was losing the battle!  In the morning after spending another 2.5 hours clearing snow with my family, and a quick nap on the couch a took my time to enjoy and finish Southern Discomfort. This was a good first in series with characters I have not seen before in many cozies. I love a great sister team and I think that Quinn and Delilah have a great relationship. There is also a great connection with her grandfather and peculiar mother daughter relationship that keep you wanting to read on. I knew going in that this story had a touch of paranormal magic, with the whispers of the ghost of an uncle and I really liked that it added and did not take away from the story. The hints are there for more which I would love to see develop in future mysteries but for this one it was just enough. The recipes included are all ones I will add to my own repertoire. The characters, mystery and story was great, I was only truly missing a furry companion, but the ghost of an uncle did make up for that. This one is out March 6th from Random House and is a cozy mystery lovers cozy.

Quinn Bellandini loves her life in Savannah, Georgia, where she runs her grandfather’s B&B with her sister, Delilah. From baking fresh scones and serving up grits every morning to ensuring the guests see the best of their historic city, Quinn can’t imagine doing anything else—even if it means dealing with nuisances like the occasional malfunctioning commode. But when Quinn drops by the local restaurant owned by her friend Drew Green, and stumbles upon a murder, her whole world comes crashing down.Drew’s brother was always a little surly, but Quinn can’t imagine that someone disliked the prickly chef enough to kill him. The police, on the other hand, don’t believe that Quinn was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before her guests can even digest the next morning’s gourmet breakfast, Quinn learns that she and Drew are suspects.Drew thinks they should do some investigating of their own. Quinn is pretty sure she’s better suited to playing hostess than amateur sleuth. But with Delilah as her cynical sidekick, Quinn starts looking for the real killer—before she gets put away faster than you can say “sugar.”
You can find it on Amazon by clicking here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On my table, in my cup and all over my yard February 17th-24th

Good morning. My post is very late today, we have had epic amounts of snowfall where I live which started more than 24 hours ago and fell until the middle of the night. This may be nothing for many of you but here on the west coast our cities are not equipped for, nor our drivers experienced enough to make this type of snow storm passabel. Round trip to my sons schools is 11 minutes, it took us close to three hours yesterday. The roads almost impassable by busses and cars which could not handle the volume in which the white stuff fell.

 I look after my niece on Fridays and well this Friday became a sleepover as the roads were not worth risking and we had a very lovely time, though I forgot how much work snow shoveling is and how much a three year old needs attention LOL. Thankfully my husband and boys and I took turns with the shovels and my niece PB.

We have hours of snow shoveling ahead of us so I will enjoy the last of the tea pot here before donning my snow pants and taking up the shovel.  I was thrilled that through the snow a book I have wanted for so long finally made it to my table. I have always been fascinated by Lighthouses and those who have kept the light, this book is one I had seen and wished I had bought while I was at teh Cape Meares Lighthouse a few years ago. It is a delight to know that a book that celebrates the lives of amazing women who were tasked with keeping the light exists. I am so excited to have this to read and refer too, with a lotto win I could myself buy a lighthouse and comfortably keep the lights for years to come.'

I am halfway through Southern Discomfort and hope to get it read to review for tomorrow.

I read and enjoyed Playing with Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James this week.

I was so excited to get Who Moved My Goat Cheese to read and review this week, love a good farm and food themed mystery! 

I very much enjoyed I know what you bid last summer by Sherry Harris!

I am a large Nascar fan and I am so excited that the season has just begun. This was my tea last Sunday for the 60th running of the Daytona 500, 

These are my three boys for the 50th, 55th and 60th running of the Daytona 500, I think seeing how much they have changed over the years is fun in this way.

Earlier in this week my sister (PB's Mom) and her Husband and three girls welcomed this little girl into their family Miss Callie is quite something!

PB and I last Sunday as we played in the fresh fallen snow, there is now far more than last Sunday and well I guess I best get the snow pants on and start finding the walkway! Thank you for joining us here today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Fancy Friday Finds- Tea Carts...

This weeks fancy friday finds has me thinking back to the good old days when I had my own tea trolley. I was two and I have a few memories about this little tea trolley and my tea set and little cake. 41 years later I still wish I had this, or at least space for a wonderful tea cart. So I am looking back at some Etsy fun finds I have on my wish list.

While my tea cart was very mid century modern and plastic, my taste has refined slightly with age and this wicker cart from RetropolitanLtd caught my eye. First for its unique shape, age and for the color! You can see this beautiful cart by clicking here. 

This lovely teak tea trolley is actually modern and a danish design you can order from Heath Side Home Etsy shop by clicking here this one looks much more like my original!

While I would love any of these, this one is by far my favorite, and more my style. 

This cart would be treasured and it looks as though it might hold upto 6 cups and saucers. I love the drop leaf side, the drawer and well almost everything about this one listed in the Old Mill Vintage Etsy shop, (if I win the lotto this one is coming home with me!) In my head I am already wheeling this out and setting it up for tea!

Enough daydreaming for me off to read and watch the snow fall now. Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and this weeks Fancy Friday Finds. I would love to hear from you, see your tea carts and chat with you soon so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James...

I finished reading Playing with Bonbon Fire last night. I enjoyed this second in series mystery. This one is being published by Crooked Lane Books March 13th and it has a good mystery, even better is the ongoing mystery of who Charity's birth mother is. You can not help but feel for Charity who rightfully so goes by the name of Penn, her Paternal Grandmother made her feel unwelcome and unwanted her entire life and made sure everyone knew it, giving her the name Charity just to spite her existence.  This theme of being unwanted and not having a place to feel connected or part of is a very good theme in this series, it may seem impossible in many ways that anyone would be so cruel, but Penn has many qualities readers can relate too. I like that nothing is easy or perfect in this characters life,  that she is woefully pragmatic and yet hopeful and disillusioned at the same time. This book was a good read and I am pleased to have gotten the ARC to read and review. 

Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

This Weeks Teacup Rescues...

Monday I found myself with a bit of time on my hands, and I popped into a thrift store while I was running around and was pleased to find three sets to bring home for under $20.

The first set shown is a mismatch and I payed $2 for it. It is an Aynsley and the corset shape is lovely. The cup was in need of cleaning up but other than that perfect and while the saucer is not a perfect match I feel like it matches perfectly. Not bad for $2.

Actually I am thrilled with it.
I have not yet used the other two Royal Albert ones and I do love them they are in perfect shape and feel like a steal at $8 each.

Today is my brother in laws birthday and this little lovely arrived yesterday at their house, Little Callie is adorable and will make a lovely addition to their family. I shall go back to reading now and hope to have a review to share with you tomorrow. Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and this weeks teacup rescues. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Who Moved My Goat Cheese? By Lynn Cahoon

I just finished Who Moved My Goat Cheese by Lynn Cahoon. This is a new first in the Farm to Fork Mystery Series and it is off to a great start! I love the wonderful cozy animal characters in this one and the cover is absolutely fun and very fitting. Cozy lovers and fans of Lynn will enjoy the twists and turns of main character Angie's past, present and future.  This one is out March 6th from Lyrical Underground and is one you are going to want to read! I love the title of this one and I am a huge fan of goat cheese, now if I could only get a few goats of my own...

Angie Turner hopes her new farm-to-table restaurant can be a fresh start in her old hometown in rural Idaho. But when a goat dairy farmer is murdered, Angie must turn the tables on a bleating black sheep . . . With three weeks until opening night for their restaurant, the County Seat, Angie and her best friend and business partner Felicia are scrambling to line up local vendors—from the farmer's market to the goat dairy farm of Old Man Moss. Fortunately, the cantankerous Moss takes a shine to Angie, as does his kid goat Precious. So when Angie hears the bloodcurdling news of foul play at the dairy farm, she jumps in to mind the man's livestock and help solve the murder. One thing's for sure, there's no whey Angie's going to let some killer get her goat . . .

Click here to learn more about this book on Amazon.com ( I am not an amazon affiliate)
Thank you for joining me here today for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review.
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Snow Day...

I don't often pack so much into one day but with our Snow Storm yesterday I found myself with many different activities.

Not only had it snowed and snow needed to be removed, it also needed to be played in. We also had a birthday party to attend and it was also the 60th running of the Daytona 500 which is one of my most favorite races of the year. I commemorated it with a photo showing the first race my boys got to watch all together with me, then 5 years later, and again this year 10 years in total in a blink of an eye...

By the time I got home I was so tired, I found that instead of reading I was in need of a Masterpiece Binge Watching evening. So I caught up on Victoria. So that means I have no book to share a review of today. 

I hope you will forgive me and allow me this snow day.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a snow day (so no cozy mystery review). I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

I Know What You Bid Last Summer by Sherry Harris...

I finished Sherry Harris' I know what you bid last Summer, and I loved it. This was a fun cozy mystery. It has lots of suspense but also a fun side to it. Easy to picture the events throughout the book and it has a truly cozy feel to it. I never thought of a garage sale planners job as if it was a party planner but I guess it really is. It is fun and genius!  For me this is the second in the series I have read and I loved reading it, it was a great weekend read and it is coming out February 27th from Kensington!

FOUL PLAY IN THE GYM
When it comes to running a successful garage sale, Sarah Winston believes in doing her homework. She also believes in giving back. But when she agrees to manage an athletic equipment swap, she doesn't bargain on an uncharitable killer. The day of the event, the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium. 
 
HAS SARAH PLAYING DEFENSE
Suddenly the murder suspects are the school board members—including the husband of a very difficult client who's hired Sarah to run a high-end sale and demands she do her bidding. In between tagging and haggling, Sarah studies the clues to see who wanted to teach the superintendent a lesson. But as she closes in on the truth, the killer intends to give her a crash course on minding her own business . . .

You can find I know what you bid last summer on Amazon.com by clicking here. 
Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

On My Table and In My Cup February 10th-17th

Saturday morning greetings from my table to yours. What a week this has been. I have had quite a few interesting things happening and many great reads to share. Yesterday was Lunar New Year and while our family is not one to celebrate this particular holiday it is truly fun to participate in some of the activities in our community.

Currently I am reading I know what you Bid Last Summer and very much enjoying this book by Sherry Harris, this is a great series.

In additions to great reads this week I had the good fortune to stumble upon a lovely teacup at a charity shop and bring it hope to enjoy. The black cup with the stunning and bright color flowers really spoke to me. This one is a tresure for sure and a joy to drink out of!

Monday morning a long awaited teapot joined my cabinet family and took a place of pride on my table. A friend tracked down this Royal Albert Teapot in my Petit Point Pattern and I got a great deal after years of searching and being out bid. I am so excited to have this here and to use it with one of my favorite patterns.

This week I read Bound by Kirsten Weiss, a great paranormal fantasy cozy that took my mind off of a few things.

Amanda Flower's Lethal Licorice was another great read and a joy to have an ARC of.

A new first in series Hummus and Homicide also on my table earlier this week.

And the deeply moving and wonderful The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen still stays with me more than a week later.

So much sadness and grief, struggles and pain in the world highlighted by the entirely preventable tragic mass school shooting in Florida. Thoughts and Prayers are not enough and have not been for a long while now.   Time is precious but truth is more precious than time. It matters very little to me where people stand on gun control, politics and freedom. It does matter to me that children are dying at an alarming rate at the hands of others. Changes are needed in the way we all look at privilege, entitlement and community. As well as at how we look at mental health, at well being, at punishment and support.Thank you for allowing me to share.
I appreciate you taking time out of your life to spend some of it with me. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com