Have you ever done anything to change the way you live your everyday life and then think, “Yes, this is who I am – why didn’t I start this sooner??” This is exactly how I felt after making and drinking my first cup of tea. Oh. My. Goodness. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I really think I was born to be a tea drinker and unfortunately it took an agonizing 25 years to figure it out. Where did this sudden urge to drink tea come from? From British people. Clearly.

I think it was when I first watched The Holiday and Iris with her amazingly cozy English house, and I began to think, “Wow, well that just looks lovely.” Ever since then I’ve dreamed of a quiet life in the English countryside, drinking tea, reading lovely books, and snuggling in an extra cozy cardigan. Sounds romantic, right?! Since then, I’ve wanted to begin living that lifestyle, where all I need is a good book and a cup of tea (and of course someone wonderful to share the pot of tea with (that would be Paul…)). I think I first watched The Holiday when I was in high school. So really it’s only taken about 8 years to figure out my calling in life. Not too shabby.

The heart-wrenching part of this whole story is that I just bought my first tea a mere 4 days ago! Can anyone guess what gave me the push to finally buy the darn stuff? Why yes, a movie. A lovely movie: Saving Mr. Banks (if you have not seen it I am begging you to see it – if you love a good cry, Walt Disney, feeding the birds, and tea, then you will thank me). So, while Paul and I were out shopping with my dear mother and father, I finally bought my first tea. Bliss. However, I was so excited to choose the most perfect tea that I didn’t realize that I had bought tea bags instead of the loose tea (if I was going to start drinking tea I was going to do it the right way).

So, there I was with tea bags, a brand new infuser, and no teapot. Until I remembered that my dearest mother had given me her entire set of china which so happened to include an old, beautiful tea set my great-uncle had given to her when she was a little girl.

I made my first pot of tea. And forever will my life be changed.