Christmas at Tea Rose Garden: Winter Garden Tea Blend

 There's something magical about the holidays combined with tea. It seems to keep the whimsy of traditions past and brings the smells, glow, and dreamy ideals all into one. No other place I know gives me this feeling more than The Tea Rose Garden; a hidden jewel in Old Town Pasadena. 

I've grown to love this little shop; first as a customer and later as part of the shop family. Tea Rose Garden was my celebration after finals, where my first solo gallery was featured, and my first job after college early this year. My history now runs along with this shop. I am so blessed to have it in my life; the shop and people behind it.

In the city where the Rose Parade runs through every beginning of the year, and the town is decked with utmost splendor, Tea Rose replaces the fountain in the center of the tea room with a huge tree that graces the ceiling. Large poinsettias cover the base and the walls are decked with lights and garlands. Many families in the area make their Christmas Tea a yearly tradition. Every time I go in for a visit I'm so happy to see the friends and family sharing tea and conversations. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to somehow be a part of this. 

Seasonal; treats come out this time of the year. The newest addition is the Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake. Finally! A holiday treat for chocolate lovers!

The famous treat that people look forward to is the Eggnog Mousse Cake. It's so light and delicate, much like a traditional Coconut Cake without the coconut shavings but replaced with thick eggnog custard. 

Another thing that comes out this time of the year is the Christmas Tea Blend. I love the bits of peppermint leaves with citrus and spices. There's also a little bit of rose in it, which is a trait with most of the mixed blends and the Tea Rose Garden.

Something new this year, which is my doing, is a new Tea Blend! Grace, the owner, asked me to try my hand at selling some of my tea blends at the shop. My debut flavor is the Winter Garden. I wanted this tea to reflect the frosty cooler side to the season. To keep with the Tea Rose Garden themes I wanted it to feel like you were walking into a garden in winter. The high notes that I chose were Cranberry, Clove and Sage. After notes I added were the light taste of Plum, Lavender, and Bergamot. Its been a hit so far, something I've been really proud of.

Helping out at Tea Rose has been taking up most of my afternoons these days. I'm glad I got to share this with those of you that have been supporting and reading this blog. Hope you're holiday doings are wonderful. 

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Well Lit Black Friday: Patriot Candle Haul

Despite the good sales this year for Black Friday; I ended up doing my tradition of stocking up on candles at my local Walgreen's. In keeping up with my Crossing Fingers Challenge, I make it a point this shopping season to:

• Not buy anything unless it's at least 50% off.
• Never spend more that $50 per day.

With all the pretty shiny deals bombarding my email and blaring on billboards; its easy to get jaded and feel like you need everything. Keeping these rules have been working particularly on behalf of my budget and seeing that it's not necessary to horde. One deal I refuse to miss however is the yearly Black Friday Patriot Candles sale! The sale is for jar candles that go for buy one get two free. Walking out of there with a handful of six candles was liberating.

I wanted to share this haul with everyone because these candles last for a long time and are a great value. I love the variety of scents especially in the layered candles. The blends make for fresh interesting scents. The sale makes them even more desirable, as they become more than 60% off!

Here are my choices:

  

Smoothie Blends (Wild Berry, Blueberry Burst, & Strawberry Swirl): I love this scent because it smells like a fresh berry blended smoothie from Jamba Juice. Most berry scents are super sweet and sickeningly ripe. This candle keeps a fresh berry scent to the very end. I burn it when I want a fresh and sweet scent at the same time.

Tranquil Retreat (Garden Rain, Days End, & Indigo Nights): It starts with a sharp earthy smell and blends out into more mellow scents. This candle overall has a rich incense smell to it which it nice as a neutral background scent. I love burning this in the morning, it has an energizing crisp hit to it.

Vanilla Celebration (French Vanilla, Vanilla Cookie, & Vanilla Caramel): When I picked this candle up I literally felt like I was smelling a slice of white cake. The vanilla smell is balanced out with a baked good smell to it. Not a sugary vanilla either, more like the smell of a vanilla scone or angel food cake. The smell is very light when burned and gives a cozy warm feeling to a room.

Midnight Garden (Seashore, Midnight Jasmine, & Indigo Nights): By far my FAVORITE Patriot Candle! It has similar notes to Yankee Candle's Midsummer's Night scent but with warm floral notes. I guess the best way to describe it is that it's the girly version of the Yankee Candle Scent. Think China Rain with Sweet Jasmine, Woods, and Cashmere. It's my go to candle when I want to curl up with journal or a good book in bed.

Fruit Fantasy (Lime Verbena, Flowering Pear, & Honeydew Melon): I got this candle for the first time this haul. What drew me to it was the balance of floral and fruit notes. Your first hit with the light lime and later the under of sweet flowers similar to Sweet Pea. This is the sweetest smelling candle out of the six I have, but it works with the fruit notes being very mellow.

Sea Grass: It has that soft smell from most Ocean scented candles except a sweet note and hints of what I think are Aloe and Lilac. I think it's a nice fresh scent that can be an alternative to the Linen Scent.

When I got home I found out that my mom had gotten a few herself; our family is pretty fairly equipped! I love having a variety of candles on hand so I'm ready for however my mood changes. This was definitely a wonderful way to spend my Black Friday and ease into the Holidays.

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