I think a teashop or coffee shop is just the best place to meet up with friends or family. It's even a place where you can go alone, read a book, do some work or studying. Someone else makes you a brew and you can also have a bit of food too. What more is there to want in this world apart from it being free of charge I suppose.

I was browsing on Facebook earlier and stumbled over this post which was on a group for a certain diet company. This poor woman posted a picture of her dinner which she was proud of as it was a nice healthy balanced meal and good for her. Well the comments about it were amazing. I thought if that same lady was in a restaurant with that same meal people wouldn't go up to her and say 'blimey those sausages don't look cooked'. It does make me mad and I do try not to go on so much but I'm like everyone else it becomes a habit to check the old timeline doesn't it?

I prefer the teashop and meeting people in reality which surprises me as I'm not the most sociable person in the world. I do tend to like a bit of solitude now and again but I can still pop along and be by myself if I want to. It's Facebook live really in a tea/coffee shop, the only thing is that you notice things and don't comment - you just keep those feelings inside your own head. This where we used to keep those things years ago before social media.  It's much nicer to just meet your bestie or a family member and have a giggle privately about life. 

I think from now on I may use Teapot Tuesdays to tackle some debates that may crop up through the week, as if we were sitting having a brew somewhere. That was the original plan for my blog, think of it as 'Make a Brew Sue goes Live'. Oh we could get t-shirts printed......ok I'll slow down a bit.

I feel I needed a little rant about Facebook. I hope that lady ate all her dinner and it was bloody yummy. If it was me I'd have put a photo on of my empty plate and told them to bog off.....I ate it and it was gorgeous. But I feel she was a nice lady, not at all a bog off type. She probably swore offline and wondered why she bothered putting the post on at all, oh we've all done that haven't we? Bless those Facebook police types.....anyone would think they owned it. 

Anyway that's me finishing my brew now and it was a tasty Yorkshire Biscuit Brew. Full caffeine, no wonder I'm typing fast ha ha. You all take care now and be nice on those twitbook things. The world needs a bit more niceness. Forget Facebook anyway and come back here tomorrow instead for What to Buy Wednesday......I'll wow you with my bargains. 

Bye for now......

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Oh two of my favourite things......tea and chocolate in one cup. Now I've tried chocolate tea before and could never make my mind up about it. Today though I really craved some chocolate. but I'm trying to retrain myself to get back onto my diet.

I've not been good, I'm managing to maintain my weight a little which is good but blimey I could eat a kilo of chocolate every day if given the chance. It's sweet stuff I'm craving and I just wish it would naff off. I don't want to spoil things as I've lost two and a half stone on Slimming World and I'm so close to my three stone award, well been close for a while and I so want to get there.

I'm not very good with temptation so if there is a chunk of chocolate  staring me in the face I'm having it.....life's too short and all that but yes life will be so much shorter if I don't shift some more weight.

So I had a plan. I wondered whether having some of this Chocolate Chip Tea from Adagio Teas would take that craving away. It won't cost me syns as it's just tea so I'd be onto a winner. 

The Verdict: well of course there is nothing like tucking into a piece of soft milk chocolate, something irresistible like a Galaxy bar but it ain't happening. This tea is actually really nice and my favourite that I've tasted. It contains a really light taste of chocolate not overpowering at all and do you know I think it has helped. I find a drink of tea quite filling which is why I probably drink so much but this has made me feel quite full and taken away my craving. 

We'll see if it lasts but I might carry on and just use it when I'm really pinning for a bit of naughty chocolate. I think I've been quite clever there and used tea as a bit of therapy. It could just send me the other way and make the craving worse but I will have to keep you posted. The Yorkshire Biscuit Brew which I absolutely adore hasn't stopped me having the odd biscuit so I could be setting myself up for a mighty fail here. 

If you fancy trying the Chocolate Chip Tea from Adagio you can follow this link which will take yo on your way 
www.adagiotea.co.uk/flavors/chocolate_chip.html

I've just spotted a caramel flavour on this website too and thinking of trying that........I will get my sweet tooth sorted by drinking tea. Heaven!!

Thank you for reading today, join me again tomorrow for What to Buy Wednesday. I can't actually believe how quick these weeks are flying by......you take care now. 

So what other uses can we find for our teapots and teacups? Well we can use them in the garden. Yes share the tea love my friends and extend the tea vessels out there with the natural world.

I purchased the wicker cup and saucer and popped a plant in it for a Mother's Day present this year. They are a nice change to cut flowers and last quite a long time. That's if you are better than me with the looking after plant life. I tend to fail here and think I am quite capable of killing a cactus if I tried. When I buy plants they quiver with fear as they seemed have heard on the grapevine (excuse the pun) that I am a plant murderer. 

I try though and I think it just takes a bit of time until I earn my green fingers. I definitely don't seem to have inherited any plant skills from Mum from the Brew, she's ace with plants......they love her. One day people, I will own plants and they will live!!

The little china cup and saucer is a nice little bird feeder that hangs in my garden. I purchased this from our local garden centre. You can fill the cup with water for the birds and then put bird seed on the saucer. A bird bath and feeder.....brilliant.

If you do have an old teapot or one that you don't use so much you could put a plant in it. I think it just makes a nice change from a standard plant pot and it makes a cute little feature in the garden. People are bound to comment on it and love the way it looks. I might plant my plants in teapots and then maybe that will make me look after them more.....yes???? Well ok we'll see.

I am a florist which seems a bit bizarre and probably isn't great for my image that I'm not good with plants. I'm fine putting cut flowers together, there's an art to it and they go off to be looked after which is cool. The plant stuff before hand is done by magnificent growers all around the world and I think they are just the best but I just get them cut off at the stems and I think that's the kindest thing at present if I'm not involved in the growing process. I'd never get a job in a garden centre or a garden nursery.....can you imagine? They would have nothing to sell. 

I just struggle with the winters with my own plants and didn't fetch my  beautiful Calla Lily in which I bought at Chatsworth last year......it drowned and froze. Not pretty, well not pretty anymore and I am disgusted with myself. I hang my head in shame and will watch more Gardeners World and attend Chelsea Flower Show to see if I can redeem myself.

I can wrap a plant and make it look nice and the time between it coming from the market, spending a short time with me and finally getting to you  is not long so alls good and the plant is deemed as safe. Safeguarding plants, who would have thought there would be a need. Next we'll see a telethon every year called 'Plants in Need'. I may feature heavily in that. 

Thank you so much for reading today.....please pop back tomorrow for What to Buy Wednesday or as I should rename it 'I'll tell you what I bought from Amazon recently'. Hey I would hate you to miss a bargain.

Take care  

I've just had my brew.....at the end of a lovely meal to celebrate my brothers birthday and my youngest son turning sixteen. We went to the Joiners Arms in Quarndon Derbyshire. which is absolutely lovely.

The staff are so friendly and after eating there a few weeks ago we decided to return. The menu is fantastic with so much choice....they have their own pizzas and the portions are plentiful shall we say. 

There is a good extensive drinks menu too and quite a selection of tea and coffee. They have a Earl Grey, Breakfast Tea, Peppermint, Chamomile, Green Tea and a Fruit Tea so plenty to choose from. The dining area inside is so pretty with a extension to the pub which was built around a tree, it's like eating in a forest with added foliage and fairy lights......really magical - love it.

As a family we've really become fond of it here.......tonight our boys were even treated to a birthday surprise.......a birthday board with ice cream.......

A lovely touch and we felt very spoilt. A super place for a brew, light snacks outside or a full meal inside plus beverages of your choice. I can definitely recommend it here. 

If you would like more information go to their website at:
www.theja.co.uk or download the Chilled Pubs App and select The Joiners Arms to read their menu and take advantage of offers and their rewards scheme.

Thanks for reading today.....join me again tomorrow for What to Buy Wednesday but for now......

Take care.