I know from the comments I've seen online this week that I'm not the only one who was happy to see a new issue of Tea Time land in my mailbox. This is a French-themed issue, and I must say that I have fallen in love with that Bernardaud Brocante tea set on the cover!

Here, the teapot beautifully accents the blue glass serving plate. (I have a similar blue serving plate and made a mental note to use it with some berry dish, as those strawberry and orange blossom scones look so pretty on it.)

Even this teacup from the set just made me swoon, and while it's much more affordable than the $393 teapot, it's still $161, so I don't see myself ordering one anytime soon. (If it comes to T.J. Maxx or Goodwill, though, all bets are off.) Still, it's fun to have a new tea set to dream about. Are you dreaming about any new tea wares lately?

I like to think I'm a pretty observant gal, but tea friend Margie wrote the other day and pointed out that the same teapot is on the cover of the current issues of both Tea Time and Victoria. Did y'all notice that? I didn't. (But hey, at least it's a pretty teapot!)

One of the surprises in the new Tea Time was the discovery that this teapot is by Sadler. Why a surprise? Because I think it looks so very much like …

This Wood and Sons teapot I have. With the ribbed base and the stripes of gold on the rim, handle, and spout, I just knew it was a relative of my teapot, which I received as a gift a few years ago, but apparently not. (And I am aware that companies borrowed styles and patterns, so there's that.) It's always fun to see how shapes and styles of teapots have changed over the years.

Something else that caught my eye in Tea Time: While I have never collected salt cellars, I've often admired them in antique stores and thought what a pretty (and affordable!) collection they would make. I'd never thought of serving lemon curd or jam in them, but what a cute idea!