Sometimes it’s great on a Friday night to go out & have a blast with friends, but some weeks you just need to chill at home. This week is one of those weeks. The exhaustion sets in & my brain is just too far gone to do much that’s productive. Today, my version of fun is to relax with some delicious tea & a good tea-time mystery.

My tea of choice: Youthberry White tea from Teavana.  (Thanks, sibling for the kind gift.) This tea is delicious! It is a delicate white tea infused with red currants, açai berry, hibiscus, rose petals, candied pineapple, mango pieces, & Fuji and golden delicious apples. It doesn’t have a high caffeine content & the herbal ingredients make it PERFECT to help you relax. I put about 2.5 tsp of the loose tea in a personal-sized teapot & let it brew for about 2-3 minutes. I add a quarter-sized dab of honey in the bottom of a beautiful bone china teacup, set a dainty strainer over top, & pour away. Seriously! It’s absolutely delicious!

Next, you have to add a good book. And at the end of a long week, pick a book that will cheer you up. I have a massive stack of books to read but I don’t have a whole lot of light-reading books. A lot of my books are serious or cover heavy topics. There are a few, though. My mom is in love with tea & she recently gave me a few books by Laura Childs. They are part of her line of “Tea Time Mystery” novels. I love a good mystery novel, & one with a tea theme is perfect for a day like today. So…I picked “Blood Orange Brewing.”  It takes place in the stunning Historic district of Charleston. The main character owns a tea shop & there are great tea tips & themes throughout. It’s great so far & is making me desperately want to open a tea shop & boutique.

So, on this lovely Friday, take time for yourself to relax, grab your favorite tea, a great book, & relax the evening away!