Over a Cup of Tea with Celia M.- HHL ~ Week 1

Welcome to tea my friends ...

Today I thought we go for a stroll in the gardens before settling in for a cup of tea.

On our stroll we can see how things are changing in the  gardens. The trees are loosing their leaves; in the butterfly garden most of the flowers are gone; and the rose garden is looking a little thin.

By the memory garden ... apples lay on the ground. 

Mr. G. can't seem to gather them fast enough ... just as he picks up 

(what he thinks is the last one), more seem to appear. 

Did you notice this little guy in the photo above?

 ... he was quite entertaining and certainly enjoying the apples.

But not all things are turning autumn colors....

It seems the warm temps have encouraged the roses to stay a little longer.

As the sun starts to make it's exit for the day .. 

you can start to feel the temps become a little crisp in the shade.

Lets go inside and enjoy a warm cup of tea...

In honor of the beautiful roses that are still blooming I've chosen this Royal Sutherland teacup with red and yellow roses. 

The saucer for the teacup is equally beautiful and although the roses appear to be the same I found it interesting to discover the bottom of the saucer read Rosina and the stamp was completely different from the bottom of the teacup. 

To welcome autumn I've brought out my Kaldun & Bogle teapot.

For our tea this week ... We are enjoying a tea from Mariage Frères - Casablanca - a sweet mint tea and bergamot - it's a China black and green tea blend. 

How about some Dutch shortcake cookies from Marks & Spencer to go with our tea?

The shortcake has been dipped in Belgian milk chocolate ... these truly melt in your mouth.

I was recently asked "How are you handling the change of the season?" and will be sharing my response over a cup of tea next week. 

Wishing you all a beautiful week.

Hugs and Blessings,


Send your questions to askCeliaM@highheeledlife.com

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...


sharing this post with:  Mosaic Monday ~Le chateau des fleurs  Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea ~ Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea time Tuesday ~ Artful Affirmations and Martha's favorites for Teacup Tuesday ~  Inspire Me Tuesday ~  A Return to Loveliness Tuesday 

Week-end Inspiration ~ Journaling

Like most people I have kept a journal on and off since my teenage years. Sadly for one reason or another these journals have ended up in the fire pit or shredder over the years. Recently I came across an article on the Oprah website - An Exclusive Look at Oprah's Journals that has inspired me to think about the importance of putting pen to paper not only as a way to release my thoughts, but to also capture my life's story and in a way create a book of memories.

After forgiving myself for having discarded the journals of yesteryear - after all there is no point in dwelling on something that cannot be undone - so forward I go. I started journaling again a couple of months ago and there is certainly something magical about seeing your thoughts written by your hand on paper. Writing my thoughts has also been instrumental in releasing negative emotions that may have been holding me back from freely moving forward. I'm also starting to see patterns, changes and shifts in my life - enabling me to make better choices that are inline with what I want in my life and who I am at my core. 

How I write...
5 tips I hope will inspire you to start or get back into journaling:

1. I write at the end of my day, when the the house in quiet, the dogs have been let out for their final evening business and I will not be disturbed. Often half hour to an hour before I'm ready to go to bed. This is also great for disconnecting from technology gadgets before bed - thus relaxing the mind.
2. I aim to write for at least 20 minutes each evening.
3. I write for myself NOT censoring what goes down allowing my emotions to release freely.
4. I don't worry about grammar or spelling. I'm journaling for me and no one else.
5. I write not only about what is happening in my life - I use my journal to write about the dreams I have for my life and the things I am grateful for.

If you are a long time reader of HHL you will already know that I am a believer in the power of our thoughts. Think of journaling as a gift to yourself - a place where you are able to release negative thoughts, making room for positive ones. A journal will become your personal reference on how you have lived your life. It will empower you to build upon what you have already created or to make changes for self growth which are inline with the life you are dreaming of.

Would love to hear about your experiences with journaling ~ 

what worked for you, how long you have been journaling? etc.

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

Precious Blessings in Our Family...

These precious little blessings are my brother's and my sister -in law's gift to our family. Living almost 4 plus hours away we don't get to see each other often. So, I was over the moon excited when August presented an opportunity to take the drive and see Matthew - who had just turned 2 and meet Chelsea and Michael who were just born in June.

Mathew has grown into such a helpful young boy ...here he is helping me open a gift from my brother and his family.

Matthew is also great at opening his own gifts ... 

 When Matthew was born I had searched high and low for a gift that would express our love and how blessed we were to have such a precious blessing in our family, and something that he would be able to treasure for years to come (possibly one day pass it down to his own children). My search ended when I realized that Nathalie from Dolce Dreams created beautiful handmade custom quilts.

When Chelsea and Michael arrived - I knew exactly what their welcome to our family gift would be. And once again reached out to Nathalie, who lovingly handmade two custom quilts. The quilts arrive wrapped in angelic tissue and ribbon, ready to be gifted. Matthew was a great helper in getting the quilts out of the box for the twins.



Chelsea and Michael welcome to our family, love auntie C. and uncle G.

All three blessings enjoying their quilts.

Michael ....

Chelsea

Matthew

Proud auntie C. with Chelsea

Just PRECIOUS!!!

These quilts by Nathalie have now become my signature baby gift. From the selection of the fabric, pattern combination to the care in which they are made- you can see the love that goes into every stitch. If you are looking for a baby gift that will be treasured I suggest visiting Dolce Dreams Boutique and have Nathalie create a custom quilt for your little blessings or see all the other fabulous items in her boutique. The lavender and flaxseed seed pillows are amazing - I have a couple myself and always take one with me when I travel.


Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

Catching Up over a Cup of Tea

Hello to all my regular readers of HHL and welcome to all new readers.

I'm so happy you stopped in for tea today. It has been a while since I was able to share tea with all of you and I have missed your visits. 

I have chosen a special tea for today - one of my favorites teas comes from  Paris - Ladurée's Marie Antoinette. A delicious blend of Chinese black tea combined with rose petals, citrus fruit and honey.

So let's get the kettle going ...

Some wonderful Marks & Spencer almond biscuits will go beautifully with our tea.

Since we are catching up I thought a nice large cup would be useful. This one is a white cup with scroll detail and a pedestal base stem. It's made by Lenox and was a gift from my dear friend Nan writer of The LBD Diaries. 

Having brought the water to the right temperature ... this little gadget helps to ensure the proper steep time.

The generous size of this cup makes it perfect for steeping the cotton tea bag. 

  

Time ..... 

Perfectly Steeped...

Ladurée even in a tea bag - is heaven!

 
Now that we are settled in with our tea let me share with you some of the fabulous adventures that have been happening.

I spent the summer clicking away on my keyboard working on my chapter for an upcoming Adventures in Manifesting book (which has now gone to press - more info on the book at end of this post) and my own book -( title TBA later this year)which will be released in 2014. I'm working towards becoming a mentor with Brain Injury Society of Toronto for people living with brain injury. And in the middle of all this wonderful chaos decided to renovate our home in the city. Oh, and did I mention having a website set-up for High Heeled Life? 

I'm also excited to announce that starting later this month I will be incorporating Ask Celia M. with my weekly afternoon tea sharing. If you have a question about finding balance and creating your own High Heeled Life - you can send questions to askCeliaM@highheeledlife.com . Thank you to everyone who has already sent in their questions. Note: only the first letter  (i.e. N.) of your name will be used - unless you specify to have your name attached to your question (i.e. Nancy S.).

I would love to hear what you have been up to...

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

sharing this post with:  Mosaic Monday ~Le chateau des fleurs  Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea ~ Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea time Tuesday ~ Artful Affirmations and Martha's favorites for Teacup Tuesday ~  Inspire Me Tuesday ~  A Return to Loveliness Tuesday 

I'm a featured author in the forthcoming book 'Soulful Relationships' from the best-selling Adventures in Manifesting series published by Älska release date Nov 2013. Available for pre-order see right side bar.

The Adventures in Manifesting book series is the flagship project of Älska (pronounced ‘elsh-ka’, which means 'to love'). Currently a bestseller and distributed in over 19 countries around the world, the series is regarded as innovative and inspirational by its ever-growing readership, with over 32,000 books in print.

Soulful Relationships is a compilation of 33 authors sharing personal stories about how to attract meaningful relationships into your life. Along with Sarah Prout and Sean Patrick Simpson (co-founder of both Älska Publishing and Verbii ) additional co-authors of this book include: Bob Doyle (author of #1 bestseller 'Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power' and featured teacher in the book/movie 'The Secret"), motivational speaker Lynn Rose, and Dallyce Brisbin (Co-Owner, Destiny Training Systems) and inspirational speaker.