Pour Into Yourself. I Mean It.

This is the real side. My love for tea started in a hard year at a kitchen table, with a cup between my hands because it was about the only thing I could manage that day. Then my kids started sitting down with me. We talked. That's where all of this came from. In here you'll find reflection questions, rest that doesn't require a spa day, and holidays that don't look the way they used to. Self care is not selfish, and making yourself a cup of tea counts. If you want that reminder to turn up every month without you asking, that's what the Tea Blossom Club is for.

Thanksgiving table after dinner with a teapot, pumpkin pie and mismatched vintage teacups
Pour Into Yourself

Thanksgiving Tea: How to Make the Holiday Table Talk

The pie is gone and nobody knows what to say. Here are 20 questions that work on a multi-generation table, and the tea party game I use to get them into the room.

Pour Into Yourself

Thanksgiving Tea: How to Make the Holiday Table Talk

The pie is gone and nobody knows what to say. Here are 20 questions that work on a multi-generation table, and the tea party game I use to get them into the room.

Ruby red tea in a vintage teacup on a kitchen table with an October card, dried leaves and a pink ribbon
Pour Into Yourself

Something Is Brewing in October: Your Fall Tea Subscription Box Preview

October's teas stay a surprise until the 1st. Here is what the month honors, what is inside every box, and how to be in it by the 12th.

Pour Into Yourself

Something Is Brewing in October: Your Fall Tea Subscription Box Preview

October's teas stay a surprise until the 1st. Here is what the month honors, what is inside every box, and how to be in it by the 12th.

Comfort in a cup of tea on a San Antonio kitchen table in early September
Pour Into Yourself

Comfort in Every Cup: On Self-Care, Culture and the Season of Coming Home

My September letter from the box: Self-Care Awareness Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and what a warm drink says in kitchens everywhere.

Pour Into Yourself

Comfort in Every Cup: On Self-Care, Culture and the Season of Coming Home

My September letter from the box: Self-Care Awareness Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and what a warm drink says in kitchens everywhere.

Office break room table set with teacups and a tiered tray for an employee appreciation tea break
Pour Into Yourself

Corporate Tea Party Ideas for Team Appreciation (That People Actually Enjoy)

The appreciation event nobody dreads: thirty minutes, everyone seated, no bar tab and no forced fun. Here is how I run it for San Antonio teams.

Pour Into Yourself

Corporate Tea Party Ideas for Team Appreciation (That People Actually Enjoy)

The appreciation event nobody dreads: thirty minutes, everyone seated, no bar tab and no forced fun. Here is how I run it for San Antonio teams.

Cup of tea beside an open journal on a kitchen table for self-care reflection questions
Pour Into Yourself

10 Questions to Sit With Over Tea This Self-Care Awareness Month

The 10 reflection questions from my September box, one at a time, with why I ask each one and how to use them alone or with a friend over a pot of tea.

Pour Into Yourself

10 Questions to Sit With Over Tea This Self-Care Awareness Month

The 10 reflection questions from my September box, one at a time, with why I ask each one and how to use them alone or with a friend over a pot of tea.

The First Christmas After: Holidays When the Table Looks Different
Pour Into Yourself

The First Christmas After: Holidays When the Table Looks Different

A mom of five on the first Christmas after a divorce or a loss. What we kept, what we let go, and the small ritual that got us to January.

Pour Into Yourself

The First Christmas After: Holidays When the Table Looks Different

A mom of five on the first Christmas after a divorce or a loss. What we kept, what we let go, and the small ritual that got us to January.

Questions about this one

What does pour into yourself actually mean?

It means taking care of you before you take care of everybody else, in whatever small way you can manage today. For me it is 1 cup, made properly, sat down with. It is not a routine you have to earn or a morning you have to optimize. It is 20 minutes where nobody needs anything from you.

Is a tea party for one silly?

No, and it is the version most of us need most. Put out a real cup instead of a travel mug, turn the phone face down, and let it steep without doing anything else while it does. The fuss is not fussiness. It is how you tell your own body that this bit counts.

What are the tea reflection questions?

They are single questions to sit with while the tea steeps, not a journaling prompt you have to finish. 1 question, 1 cup. I write 10 of them every month for my subscription box and I put some of them here, along with why I chose each one.

How do I make time for a tea ritual when my life is full?

Do not add it to the schedule. Attach it to something already happening. The first 10 minutes after everybody leaves, or the 20 after the house goes quiet. I have 5 children. If I waited around for a free afternoon it would never come.

Send Someone a Tea Party

I started packing these boxes so I could send my kitchen table to people I could not get to in person. Every one holds loose leaf tea and something to do while it steeps, because the part that matters is the hour you sit down for. Pick the one that sounds like the person you are sending it to.

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