I don't quite remember when I fell in love with tea but I do remember the most special moments of me drinking tea. I was eighteen years old and I went to live with my biological mother for four months. I had just met her months earlier and it was awkward for both of us. She and her ex-husband lived a very quiet life in Boulder, Colorado. He was a professor at one of the universities and she was a housewife. After years of drug addiction and being in and out of jail, she deserved the break. I was homeless so she and her husband agreed to let me come live with them. Each evening my mother and I would find a spot in the living room with a cup of tea and a book.

Now, years later, I'm a self proclaimed tea expert. I start each day with a wonderful English Breakfast tea to get me going. As the day progresses, who knows what wonderful tea I will crown queen. But for sure, I have at least three cups of tea a day. And yes, when I can, I have tea everyday at about 3:00 P. M. I love to invite my friends over for tea and cupcakes and so far everyone thinks it’s a delightful experience. I am always in search of the best blend of tea. Yes, I’m a tea snob, I prefer loose tea but I do like some bags also. I have learned not to judge a book by it’s cover. Some bags can be quite nice. And yes again, any Diva knows, what you drink your tea out of is very important.

Tea for me is a way of life. It's wellness for the mind body and spirit. Here, I will explore every expect of tea possible, with a high concentration on wellness. I will review the best teas, the best places to have tea, the best ways to brew tea, the best tea accessories, what tea goes best with what foods, and the list goes on and on. I plan to share my passion for tea with you. And I've been told, nothing I do is ever boring so be prepared to go on this tea journey with me.





RLT Collection Tea Ball Frosted Clear Beads!

Mint Medley by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

About This Tea:

Until recently I had never drank Peppermint Tea made with loose leaves. And Honestly, I will probably never go back. The freshness of loose Peppermint Tea cannot be denied. When I open the can of Mint Medley, From The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, I feel as if I stepped into a garden of peppermint leaves. It is a perfect blend of organic peppermint and spearmint leaves grown in the US.

Mint Medley has become a favorite and I find myself reaching for this tea tin almost everyday. It is great for on-going nausea. The health benefits and endless. It relieves muscle aches, headaches, migraines, stress. And now that it feels like someone is sitting on my chest and I have a mean cough, I'm sure it will help to relieve some of this congestion in my chest. Mint Medley has been in my tea cup more than any tea as of late. It has really helped with my winter cough, congestion related to this bout of pneumonia. You can read my full review on The Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mint Teas.


RLT Collection AIDS Awareness Tea Ball!




Welcome to my world of books! As an pre-teen books changed my world. I fell in love with the writers of the Harlem Renaissance period and the more I read the more I wanted to read. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It spoke to my own degradation and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

I love to read! Inside a book I escape into someone else's life. There is something wonderful about turning to the next page of a wonderful story. Something intoxicating about the smell of the book and the story it brings to life. Reading brings me joy, and these days with my health in the balance, I find solace in my books.

I spent hours in my bedroom sequestered with the door closed reading the classics from the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes, Larsen, Hurston, Wright and Baldwin. Books became my escape and my salvation. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

Reading is the one thing that the pain of my life could never take away from me. It was the thing that helped to make it better. And even today, living with AIDS, books continue to be the safest place for me. It’s the one thing that belongs to me that AIDS cannot take away from me.The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS.

The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS. I have read hundreds of books from many different genres and I will pick the best of my reads over the years. I warn you, it will not be exclusively white or black, male or female, fiction or non fiction, it will be all of them.

I’m so excited and I’m grateful to everyone who wants to be a part of this venture. We already have 110 Book Club Members. You can email me @ RLTReads@raelewisthornton.com. The Twitter hashtag is #RLTReads. We can make this book club as wonderful as we want to make it. Who says that Oprah has to have the only ownership to a wonderful book club?

This Month We are Reading In My Fathers House by E Lynn Harris


Read along and join our discussion July 19th at 7 pm CST







For more Tea with Rae "Vlogs" Click here to visit her youtube channel

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Gratitude Sunday!

Gratitude Sunday! Today is our very first Gratitude Sunday.  Remember on Monday I asked you to participate with me in Gratitude Sundays. (Read Last Weeks Blog Here) All  you were supposed to do is buy a new journal and send me a picture of it, tweet, facebook or e-mail it to me, which ever way makes you happy.  I asked for a new journal to start fresh, leaving yesterday's baggage with yesterday. Get a notebook if you can't afford a fancy journal.  A picture of your journal will go into our Gratitude Album on my Facebook Fan Page.


Now each night, at the close of your day, you are to get a cup of  soothing tea and reflect on your day.  Take this time to shed off the hectic day.  In the midst of all of your "busyness" there was something to be thankful for; Some small thing, no matter how simple it may seem. 


Sometimes we get so caught up in the day that it takes a life and spirit of its own and it dictates what you do, or don't do, and even how we respond to people both good and bad. 


What you do at work,  or at school, what someone said to you or did to you, what didn't happen the way you wanted it to, and what you didn't do; It all takes a life of its own and sometimes it shapes your day.


 I know that to be true in my own life. When I was working on the Trunk Show  for RLT Collection I was so focused. Each night when my BFF Luke would call he would get brushed off. 




 All these things take on a life and they become the end all of your day, which can carry over into your next day. So I want to help you to change this, make the ending of your day that which is good. For even in bad there is some good.  My life of pain has evolved into a life of ministry with wisdom beyond my years.


So reflect on your day, and jot down the good.  And as you are reflecting, if your mind goes back to a week, or a month or whenever  you get that Aha moment of gratitude that's OK too. Sometimes it takes time to see the goodness in a situation.  Now by Saturday no later than 6PM of each week send me one thing from your journal that you would like to share with all of us. It's your decision what you send and please indicate to me if I should use your name.  


This is my new journal and five things I'm grateful for, just to get us started... But all I need from you is one thing you really want to share with the rest of us.




RLT
1. Reflecting, I'm grateful that  Luke didn't stop calling even though I didn't give him any of me during that entire time of the RLT Collection Trunk Show.


 2. I'm grateful for the Trunk Show experience because I'm working on getting more balance in my own life. Sunday's are Sabbath days for me now. 


3. I'm grateful for my first Black Friday experience thanks to Markeeda my other BFF, who insisted that we go.  We learn so much from new experiences and I got some cute ankle boots.


4. I'm grateful to be a part of the Chevy/Buick  marketing program to test drive their cars. Having the Buick LaCrosse this week was an absolute blessing, especially on Black Friday. #RLTRides


5.  I'm grateful for all RLT Collection customers on Black Friday because it replenished my funds. 
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Sylvia


 I'm most thankful for my job & living life too the fullest .
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Next Week I hope that you will tell us what you are grateful for. Until then, Love the skin you're in...
at 11:08 AM
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