Mug Shot Monday: Bennington Potters Mug

I know I've mentioned in at least one of my earlier posts how much my mother (from whom I inherited my love of dishware) loved blue. This was one of her mugs, probably from the 60s. 

When I was a child my family used to spend vacations in Wilmington Vermont at the Adams Family Farm which is (sadly) no longer operational. We also spent a lot of time in nearby Bennington, home of Bennington Potters, makers of the mug in question. 

They still make these mugs. The closest current glaze they offer is the green elements. This one is more of a dark, robin's egg blue. 

Most nights, we would go for a walk after dinner and pick wildflowers. I still have a scrapbook from one of our earliest trips with flowers pressed between the pages. 

The flowers in the background picture are in Texas. I took the picture a short distance from my house. The flowers this year are amazing. 

Here's a link to Such Fleeting Pleasures, the Oberon/A Taste of Honey prequel in which Dan reminisces about spending time as a child at his family's nursery. 

Such Fleeting Pleasures

An Oberon Prequel Novella

Download Link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/5xxljdbblb

Love wasn't always strawberries and cream for Lucy and Dan Cavanaugh...or was it? In this Oberon prequel, we travel back in time to see how it all began. 

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Most of the material in this prequel novella (set some eighteen years before the series begins) also appears as flashback scenes in A Taste of Honey, which will re-release next month.

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A rivals to lovers, workplace romance.

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61xbi1LMskkfXaYLhIV0Cr

Mug Shot Monday: She Is This/Starbuck Collab Mug

 

So here's the thing. Did I really need to buy another new mug this morning? No I did not. I've been posting mugs every week for the past six months and have still only scratched the surface of my collection. Did I (even more specifically) really need to purchase another too-small, ceramic travel mug that's breakable, leakable, and not exactly insulated--you know, all the things I've been complaining about when it comes to my Sift mug? Oh, hell no. We know damn well I didn't. 

BUT...I've been seeing this mug for several weeks now. Every time I got my lavender oatmilk latte fix it's been there. Calling to me. Saying, "Pick me! Buy me! Take me home! You know you want to!"

I was at Target last week and there was only one left. When I went this morning, I told myself if it was still there, I was giving into temptation. Today was the day.  

Its vibrant colors are so bright and cheerful. The artist/designer (Shae Anthony, owner/founder of This Is She) had this to say about it:  “I want you to see that color grab you that you immediately feel happy.”  To which I can only say: Mission. Freaking. Accomplished.

We've had gray, gray, gray overcast weather all week. And I like foggy days, so that's not usually an issue for me, but it's muggy and indecisive--like the weather's thinking: "Feeling cloudy today. Might rain later. IDK." And I am OVER it. 

(Especially since those gray skies also came with a tornado warning, which--nope, nope, nope. Whole lotta nope. Don't come at me with that sorta shit. I don't have a basement to take shelter in. I have a closet under the stairs that's filled with boxes--that are largely filled with MUGS, btw, so I am fucked if it comes to that. Seriously. Give me earthquakes ANY day.) 

This is precisely the kind of weather (less the tornado watches--'cause Jersey weather doesn't do that to you either) that caused me to move to Southern California in the first place.  You rarely see this sort of weather in and around Los Angeles and then it's only in winter (and it's NOT muggy) and you find yourself humming California Dreamin' and feeling smug AF because even if the leaves are brown (they're actually not, btw) and the sky is gray you are safe and warm.

But I digress...

I love this mug. The designer attributes the color combination to the fact that she's "a ‘90s baby, and my style gravitates toward those kinds of colors and patterns." I am NOT a '90s baby, myself (in point of fact, I actually HAD a '90s baby). But those neon shades were also used extensively in the early '60s so I gravitate to them as well. 

In fact they're bringing up VIVID memories of my childhood. My dad had a dress factory (formal wear) and used to bring home scraps of neon-colored chiffon for me to play with. 

Actually...that's probably not why he brought them home, come to think of it, but that's what happened. 

Mug Shot Monday: Red Barn Bakery

 So I've been working a little on a new series that will be debuting next year, and took a little drive out to Lockhart for those quaint, small-town Texas vibes. On the way, we stopped at the Red Barn Bakery in Martindale for pie and coffee. 

If the mugs were for sale, I for sure would have bought one. Sadly, however, I had to be content with a picture. But I have a pretty good idea what the official Heartwood mugs will look like now. 

New Series Announcement! 

Now Available for Pre-Order!

Texas Heat will be your go-to for bingeable small town romance with spice. Let's turn up the heat and get to spreading those pages.

Texas Heat

Links

Texas Heat

Heartwood Texas

PG's newsletter

Heartwood Playlist (a work-in-progress)

Fall For You: Texas Heat 

 Heartwood, Texas: Book One ​ 

Welcome to Heartwood! ​ Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, the small town of Heartwood is a charming and welcoming place where you'll instantly feel at home. ​ 

Tessa Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Tess finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again. 

 Cooper Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

Mug Shot Monday: Salt Lick BBQ Mug

 

What today's mug actually says is, "If you can read this then bring me some ribs."

I got it at Slat Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas, which is close to where I'll be viewing the eclipse today. Or not viewing it, given that I'm not sure I trust my eyes to some bits of paper and plastic that I picked up for under $2.00. Also, they're dark AF so it would be weird if I could see anything through them at all.

Honestly, it's not the sun itself I want to see, it's the shadow, it's the eeriness I keep hearing about. I've been curious about eclipses ever since I read Annie Dillard's essay on the one she viewed back in...1971, I think?

Anyway, you can check it out in her book, Teaching A Stone To Talk. Highly recommended.

The mug is nice and sturdy--and BIG. Which I really like. It's got a different sort of shape, a comfortable handle and I love the way it's glazed. Shiny black and white with nothing but naked, buff-colored clay on the bottom. 

The BBQ at Salt Lick is really good, too. So, who knows, maybe I'll end up going there for lunch. They're located right across the street from Fall Creek Vineyards, which has some interesting wines. 

Of course, with an estimated ONE MILLION visitors coming to the area to view the eclipse, I'll probably be lucky to get a table. Maybe I'll just plan on having a picnic, instead. 

Mug Shot Monday:STARBUCKS EARTH DAY 2024 FLORAL RECYCLED 16oz GRANDE HOT CUP

 

It's not a secret that I like my coffee black--no sugar. Day and night. Cold brew in the summer--maybe--hot the majority of the time. But there are a few times a year that I make an exception to the plain black only rule. I like Irish Coffee on St Patrick's Day.  And I've been known to add a shot of Sambuca or Amaretto to my espresso every now and again. And then there are lattes. I treat myself to PSLs and gingerbread lattes throughout HallowThankMas season and in Spring and Summer there's nothing better than a lavender latte.

It's April now, so you know what's in that pretty green mug. And with Earth Day only weeks away, you know I'm drinking it out of a reusable, recycled mug. 

There are a few scents/flavors I didn't like as a child that I can't get enough of now--lavender, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumber. In many cases, it came down to not having had them prepared in a way that I liked. Broccoli is best smothered in Thai peanut sauce. Brussels sprouts MUST be roasted. Cucumber benefits hugely from balsamic vinegar--but only the good stuff. 

But lavender...I have no idea what I was thinking. I'll take it anyway I can get it now. It's magical. I made lavender meringue cookies for Easter and they were amazing. Full transparency: I tried to make lemon and matcha flavored ones as well, but sadly they fell apart in the oven.

Happy Spring everyone!