Fancy some tea?

I've always been drawn to the most peculiar and quirky things: the crackling sound a bell pepper makes when being manually broken; listening to heavily written pieces of paper being turn around in a notebook; the soothing smell of fresh basil; and, dreams of having my own house start with the purchasing of my very own fine China in hopes of hosting well-put dinner parties. Having said that, the decision of people investing on fine China has always thrilled me. Don't be fooled by how trivial the choice of purchasing place settings may seem: it IS an important decision.

Watching yesterday Mikasa's Fine China and Dinnerware inspired me to offer tea (late afternoon-ish) in the fine China my mother holds in our house. The excitement was so I treated every piece with extra care as if it were my own, placing each cup in the exact same position so it could fit perfectly into the small plates that holded each. Including the little cow for serving milk, who only comes out in special occassions!



I know I'm probably the only 20 year old who dreams of owning her own place so that she can buy China, but the thought of choosing dinnerware so the food I will someday cook can be placed on beautifully hand-painted plates is so whimsical I couldn't help but look upon THIS particular place setting, ¨Imperial Blossom¨.
Ah, a girl can dream:



Taking out the fine China and drinking tea in what appeared to be a regular Sunday afternoon just fills my old-lady heart with warmth. I'm an old soul, what can I say! What are you drawn to when peculiar things come to mind?

Stress Relief

I have been under a very busy schedule this week: waking up early to go to the gym, going to classes, studying until very late (under the influence of some highly caffeine spiked coffee) and helping a 9-year old with his homework. Consequently, my sleeping hours have been extremely limited. So, the day of the exam came and I thought to myself: FINALLY some rest. Only to discover how wrong I was. I don't need rest, I need to relax. The question is how?

Here are some ideas that come to mind:
-Maybe watching re-runs of Sex and The City (thanks to a good pal from which I borrowed the DVD box set!)
-Reading a good novel (Jane Austen sure sounds whimsical...)
-Get all cozied up with my blanket and watch an old film (a little Hepburn might be just what I need).
-Drinking some tea (NO more coffee please!)
-Browsing apparel online (I know I won't order but its always fun to imagine how I'd accessorize that dress).
-Bake something (maybe cookies or a pie. Yumm-o!)
-Watching a national baseball game. In case you don't know, I'm a big baseball fan. Mainly Yankees fan, so maybe I'll start to watch national games, too. Just for the fun of it!
And then MAYBE I'll get some sleep afterwards!

What kind of things do YOU do when you need to relax?