gathering spriggs

What to do with Sunday?

Some ideas...

I started with a cup of tea and homemade (gluten free) waffles. Will see where I go from there.

What will you do with Sunday? (or what have you done?) .....

all images from Searching for Beauty Tumblr (please refer to them there for original sources)

A New Year, A New Teacup (for you)!

Happy 2011!! We made it friends! Here we are together starting anew. Fresh. Hopefully refreshed with great expectations for tomorrow.  

There is a tea party (of the traditional brewed type not the political variety) happening here at Gathering Spriggs and you have been invited. I've laid out my finest linens, polished the silver, baked an array of deliciously fragrant treats, plucked fresh roses for the table, brewed my finest blends and found a beautiful gilt trimmed vintage teacup... just for you. You are the guest of honor this year at my table. Won't you take a seat ?

What's on the menu, you ask? Oh, Im blushing. I thought you'd never...

- creative connections 

- crafty projects

- colorful quests

- candid dialogue 

- commitment to pursuing purpose

- copious images of modern romance

 

Although you may see some visual changes and a new web address soon, I am committed to maintaing my relationship with you. And look forward to a year of creative, engaging dialogue around this table. Thank you for being my guest this year. Your presence is my greatest present.

Cheers! 

image: sarahs party perfect

Keepin' It Real

Hello Lovelies. So here's the thing. I've been really struggling this week and even debating what or even how to share with you here, since my life has been pretty messy the last week month.  We are having some very serious family events happening that are kind of turning my world upside down, which have been consuming my thoughts, phone calls even my dreams. And it leads me to this dilemma. How do I share enough to be real with you (but not too much that I cross boundaries). But also not put on a completely false self either leaving you only with pretty pictures while my true heart is crying on the inside? 

This is a question I have struggled with for many years even back before I started my own blog and was a reader only. I became so frustrated with the picture of perfection that it seemed like so many blogs painted. I wanted to know their real stories. I wanted to see them a mess so that I didn't feel like I was all alone and that my heros were living golden lives only filled with beauty and success. Have you ever felt that way? 

However, it seems as though the tides in blogging are changing a bit and I find that there are more people sharing their messy day to day trials. I think its especially hard when you grow up in the Southern US where the standard " How are you?" Is met with the expected "Good, How are you?" I don't know of one time that I felt safe enough to actually answer that question honestly. Have you? And are you able to share your true self on your blog?

But the great thing about a new day is that we have an opportunity to change... a choice to let our true selves shine. So I ask you... How ARE you today (really)?

images: tiny white daisies, tearrific tumblr

Things I Love Thursdays: TeaTime

 

 

 

 

 

Everyday starts new with a cup of tea. The most consumed worldwide beverage (after water) is my daily dose of happy. Last week my friend Eve and her daughter Hannah joined me for a tea luncheon at our local tea house, Savannah Tea Company. Not only did we enjoy pots of Lavender Tea and Chicken Salad Sandwhiches but the joy of watching 4 year old Hannah try a multitude of hats on that hang on the walls for guests engage with. Soon, we all joined in and tried on vintage hats from floral straw to pillbox. Few other things bring me so much pleasure than taking tea with dear friends. In honor of the day I came home to start work on the above painting. It still a work in progress but I am working on courage to share more of my art with you instead of waiting on perfection. Thanks for being here to let me share with you. So if you are in the Nashville area someday... lets get together for tea! :) 

 images:1. jeeze vanilla tumblr 2. your granny was chic 3. heather spriggs thompson (me) 4.source unknown ..repinned from pinterest 5. heather spriggs thompson

Afternoon Tea

 

 

Would you like to come over for some Afternoon Tea?? I just returned from having tea at a dear, dear friend's home. And it warmed my heart and body to sit over a piping hot beverage and share my life with a woman who knows how to encourage and listen. Do you have friends that warm your heart? Many of my friends live in other states, but I am so grateful for the women in Nashville who invite me over for a cup of tea and a listening ear! 

So I would love to have tea with you too! I took the top photo one morning this week, but would love to have you sit down with me.  All other images are from my Flickr gallery, Afternoon Tea. 

Thank you Noelle!

 

Morning cup (of tea)

My morning routine always involves tea. Sometimes put in a travel mug ,or on special days (like today) I am able to relax, rejuvenate and drink my tea luxuriously slow while perusing magazines or books.  Here are some ways others have their morning cup. What is your morning routine? Do you have a favorite beverage to wake up to?

Images: Gathering Spriggs, Reya, Encore Petite, Tja'Sha

Blogging on the Road: Chicago, Day 1

Its been a full day and we still have dinner and a live jazz show on the schedule for tonight, so here is a a little sampling in photos of Day 1 , Chicago.

Brunch at a wonderful Austrian coffee shop, Julius Mienl

Inside Anthropologie on Southport.

Me and my Hellcat Vintage handbag waiting for my husband at Dusty Groove.

The Mexican Shop in Evanston

Secret Treasures Antique store in Evanston. Notice the Aqua coffee pot. Its no longer there and is residing in my suitcase. If I can part with it, it will be listed in Gathering Vintage.

All the Tea in Chicago

Thanksgiving vacation in Chicago, sublime!

Wintery weather cured by pots and pots of tea. My favorite city for tea drinking is by far Chicago. 

Here is my tea photojournal:

Persian Tea at Reza's Restaurant on Clarke St. in Andersonville.

Jasmine Pearls at Fronterra Grill

Darjeeling- Second Flush at Julius Mienl on Southport.

More Jasmine pearl at Coco Rouge (very hip chocolatier).It looks like a night club, and they make all their truffles, honey products, teas, cocoas, pastries, etc..

 

Mint Chocolate Rooibos at Kopi Cafe in Andersonville.

Some of my favorite tea websites:

Tea Gschwendner ( a tea store on State Street) from Germany

Adagio Tea

Tea Garden