MRW Fundraising Auction ends in 3 DAYS on Monday Oct.26! @MarylandRomance

You guys! The Maryland Romance Writers' fundraising auction ends in THREE DAYS!

Come Monday (October 26th at 11:45pm EDT), the time to bid on some awesome services and gift baskets will END.

Click ------------>>> HERE <<<------------to be taken to the auction site where you can bid to your heart's content and raise money to help support a kick-ass group of authors.

Yours truly has a Full of Energy Gift Basket up for grabs. It includes some delicious New Mexico Pinon Coffee, and four boxes of Twinings Tea, plus tasty biscuits! Bidding is up to $30.00 (still a steal based on fair market value!) so get your bids in ASAP.

And in case you need a reminder, here are some of the awesome things you can bid on:

~Query, critique, and agent submissions

~Career counseling and self-publishing sessions

~Wordpress web maintenance

~Goals, motivation, and conflict tutorial

~Gift certificates to awesome places like Teavana, Cheesecake Factory, Amazon, etc.

~Ad-ready art for promotional materials!

~Gift baskets containing anything from coffee, tea, chocolate, books,

~A personalized Scrivener tutorial

~Jewelry

And MUCH more--there are 59 lots up for grabs!

Go forth and raise funds, my dears!

xoxo Sarah

The Maryland Romance Writers' Auction Ends in 2 WEEKS! @MarylandRomance

YOU GUYS!

The Maryland Romance Writer's annual fund-raising auction ends in TWO WEEKS from today!

The clock is ticking, so get your bids in on awesome items like:

~Query, critique, and agent submissions

~Career counseling and self-publishing sessions

~Wordpress web maintenance

~Goals, motivation, and conflict tutorial

~Gift certificates to awesome places like Teavana, Cheesecake Factory, Amazon, etc.

~Ad-ready art for promotional materials!

~Gift baskets containing anything from coffee, tea, chocolate, books,

~A personalized Scrivener tutorial

~Jewelry

And MUCH more--there are 55 lots up for grabs!

If you're like me and snatch people's dreams away from them at the last possible second (seriously--I'm a horrible person when it comes to Ebay...) then put it in your calendar that the auction ends on Monday, October 26th at 11:45PM EDT so you'll know when to swoop in like a majestic eagle and put your bid on whatever you want.

Oh, and here's the direct link to my awesome (if I do say so myself) Full of Energy Gift Basket.

The winner of this basket will receive:
- 4 boxes Twinings of London tea (20 tea bags each): English Breakfast, English Breakfast (decaf), Irish Breakfast, and Darjeeling
- 1 12oz bag of New Mexico Pinon Coffee (ground) (SIDE NOTE: This coffee is amazing!)
- 1 box McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestives (milk chocolate coated wheat biscuits)
- 1 box McVitie's Milk Chocolate Hob Nobs (milk chocolate coated rolled oat and whole wheat biscuits)
- Decorative basket (measures 13x9x4 inches)

Current bid is up to $25 (well below fair market value), so get your bids in!


xoxo Sarah

P is for Peacocks Tea Room

Though I probably missed a big opportunity to wax poetic about Pimm's, there's no better use for the letter "P" than for Peacocks Tearoom and Fine B&B in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

A proper cuppa.

This was my friends' and my go-to place for a lovely lunch...it wasn't uncommon for us to literally spend hours there.  I think once we arrived around 11am and closed them out around 5pm.

They have a ridiculously huge loose-leaf tea selection, and a few of us tried to get a different one each time we went. By the time I left, I'd hit thirty teas, and that's not counting the few times I went but had a duplicate.  Famously served on mismatched cups and saucers, each tea blend was delicious, and, if you didn't like the one you picked, they'd bring you another. And if you really like one, you can take a bag home! They have a large selection pre-bagged and priced for you, but they will do any that you request.

One of the specials: asparagus quiche, beetroot, and potato salad.

They've been ranked highly on the Tea Guild's top tea places, have a fantastic TripAdvisor rating, and have a Facebook page you should like immediately after reading this "P" post so you can torture yourself, as I do, with the daily specials they post on there.  

They don't take bookings, so make sure you get there early if you don't want to wait (they open at 10:30am on most days).  Also, they're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for most of the year, but open on Monday bank holidays and during the summer they're open on Tuesdays. One more day to squeeze in a proper tea. 

Sticky date pudding with toffee sauce.

If the weather is nice, there is plenty of seating outdoors, and if it's typical English weather, there's plenty of room inside the main room, the kitchen room, or what we dubbed the "secret" room that was mostly opened on a particularly busy day.

Their sandwiches (my favorite: bacon, banana, and maple syrup!) and light lunches (favorite: croque monsieur!) are to die for, and their coronation chicken is the best I've had. 

And though you can't go wrong with a fruit scone with clotted cream and jam, the desserts--especially the specials--can't be missed.  They had a special menu for the Queen's diamond jubilee, and their gooseberry fool and lavender scones were superb. 

After a meal there, no trip to Peacocks would be complete without poking into Waterside Antiques next door for a bit. And make sure you go to Ely Cathedral and take the Octagon Tour. It's a must-do. Trust me.

So if you're in the Cambridge area, take the train up to Ely and enjoy the short walk to Peacocks.  They have a fabulous B&B now, so you can even stay there!

I keep saying it's not to be missed, though I miss it a lot--George's fabulous shirts, Patrick's elegant French accent, and Rachel's creations. It will always have a special place in my heart (and stomach). 

Q is up next, so stay tuned! 

xoxo Sarah

E is for English Breakfast

This one is a two-fer, and both things I instantly loved when we moved to the UK.

Twinings English Breakfast packaging as it appears in the U.S.

Firstly, there's English Breakfast tea--a full-bodied and robust blend of black teas from Assam, Ceylon, and Kenya (other countries' teas are used as well, though these are the most common). It's also one of God's gifts to humanity (or something like that). All I know is that it makes one hell of a cuppa.  I prefer mine white with sugar, as the English say (that's with milk and sugar, for the rest of you), and my particular favorite is Twinings, though there are many good ones out there.

UK packaging for Twinings English Breakfast

Tea is accepted as a fine drink to have most of the day, and is what is often offered, so you'd better get used to it.  We learned quickly that a common courtesy was to offer anyone working on things in your house (an electrician, for example) a cuppa as you would usually a cup of coffee or a water in America.  

And I'll admit that I make a pretty good cuppa; I grew up in New England, and we enjoy our tea almost--almost--as much as Old England does. I like to think that I surprised a few English folks with my tea-brewing bad-assery.

A proper cup (with a tea bag) is brewed as follows: 

-Warm your cup with hot water so your tea doesn't cool quickly.

-Heat water in a kettle, then pour over the tea bag.

-Let the tea bag steep for 2-4 minutes, then wring out the tea bag--never leave the tea bag in the cup; the tea will become bitter. We are not animals, for God's sake.

-Add milk (preferably whole milk; something about the fat in it makes the cup of tea so much better) and sugar as desired.

-Enjoy!

The other English breakfast I adore is the actual meal kind.  Also referred to as a "full English" or a "fry-up", it is generally a heavy breakfast reserved for weekends or special occasions, and on pretty much every B&B menu in the UK, and rightly so.  While various parts of the UK have their own spins on the full English, they generally consist of the following:

-Eggs (sunny-side up, poached, or fried)

Full English breakfast (from Wikipedia)

-Bacon (back bacon, which is, upon first eating it, odd--it seems a combination between what the Brits call "streaky bacon" ("normal" bacon to Americans) and the more ham-like Canadian bacon)

-Beans (often Heinz beans, which aren't like baked beans in America; they're in a light tomato sauce and oddly awful on their own but amazing when put on buttered toast...I've seen them in the states in the international isle of the grocery store)

-Toast or fried bread (because you need the toast to go with the beans, of course)

-Fried or grilled tomato

-Fried or grilled mushroom

-Fried potato or hash brown

-Sausage

-Black pudding (sometimes)

-Tea and sometimes juice

Is it good for you? No, absolutely not; it's delightfully greasy and filling, and you probably won't want to move for a while after eating one. But it's a delicious experience, and I'd recommend you try one when you're in the UK. 

Now I know you're wondering...have I had the black pudding?  Yes.  I've had it once, and I liked it, though I've heard that, like most foods, it depends on where you get it and the recipe.  And for a good, proper full English that's available all day, I'd recommend La Hogue Farm Shop in Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, so stop by if you're in the area. 

Have you had a full English? Thoughts? How about your favorite brand of English Breakfast tea?

If you're not too full, come by tomorrow for F. It'll be a big party!

xoxo Sarah