"Curiouser and curiouser..."
Spring is when my writing royalties come in and sometimes you just have to treat yourself to something nice, especially when you've been working hard, because hard work without reward is just no fun at all. It's been a crazy year at the practice and I've been there throughout the lock-downs, plus studying and attending online classes for the Masters degree, and of course writing my psychotherapy column each month too. So I decided it was high time to give myself a little reward for all this diligence.
I've had my eye on the Alice In Wonderland tea set from the Victoria & Albert museum for quite some time. It's a lovely set, with all the whimsical charm of the original story. Each item is printed with illustrations from the book of all the best loved characters, including the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the March Hare etc. For ages I've kept going back to it, looking at the images and picturing it in my house, and so I decided to just bite the bullet and treat myself to several pieces from the collection.
I'd been hesitating because I didn't really need a new tea set, but then again, tea sets are an additional luxury anyway. You really only need a dinner service, and I have two of those already. A tea set is a little extra luxury on the side - a pretty set of plates and cups and saucers, designed purely for the joy of having tea and cakes and dainty sandwiches. The truth is, I've never really grown out of tea sets, so to find one this pretty, made for grown up tea parties, was like finding treasure! It adds to the charm that it's inspired by one of my favourite children's books too. Part of me still wishes I could jump down the rabbit hole after Alice and share in her adventures. This tea set brings that dream a little closer to reality.
The fine china collection is sold as separate items, so you can build it up and create a tea set that is ideal for you and your household. Each item comes gift boxed, so it makes a perfect present for birthdays, weddings, or for someone who is just setting up home. I bought several lovely pieces from the collection, including the gorgeous gold-trimmed cake plates, with the matching cake forks; tea cups, saucers and the matching teaspoons; and of course I got the beautiful cake stand, because a tea-party without a cake stand is no tea party at all. This will be a perfect centerpiece for coffee-table tea-parties, and girl's nights in, once lock-down is over.
I also the teapot, even though I already have a teapot shaped like a white rabbit that I adore, I decided to get the V&A Wonderland teapot, sugar bowl and creamer jug, just to finish off the set. As a nod to our current lock-down situation, I bought the tea-for-one set too, which is just precious! The matching forks and spoons have porcelain handles that depict Alice and the White Rabbit, and all the pieces feature literary quotations from the books. It's just the perfect tea set for a bookworm who loves fairytale enchantment.
I feel fortunate to have such a lovely china tea set and I'm glad I decided to treat myself. It's also one of the perks of living alone, as men really can't be trusted with fine china! They are too clumsy. This is very much a woman's tea set. It was certainly worth waiting for and it will bring me joy on a daily basis, in the way that being surrounded by pretty things often does. Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer, William Morris said "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful". This tea set is both those things and I didn't even have to leave the house to get it - you can have it delivered from Amazon here. After all, it's always tea-time. So, would you like an adventure, or shall we have tea first?
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