It was a happy, but slightly shocking mistake when I ordered a teapot from the iconic Cornishware® from England.

The “seconds” sales always draw me in. Yes, the items are less expensive than their regular items, and yes, they’re sold with minor “defects” that make the product less-than-ideal for their high standards. But it’s still a piece of Cornish cookware and those minor imperfections give it character.

I saw the Rosie teapot on sale. I didn’t read much about it because I loved the shape and style of it. I assumed it was a normal-sized teapot. CLICK! On it went into the shopping cart on their beautiful website. When the box from the UK arrived, I noticed it was much larger than I was expecting, but thought it was due to the amount of protective packaging to keep it safe on its journey across the big pond. Well, no Heidi. The box was that large because the teapot you ordered was the 12 cup, big girl teapot! That’s almost a gallon of tea.

Heaving it from the box took some effort and I cannot even imagine what it must be like when completely filled with hot liquid. Did I return it for a smaller model? Nooo, I did not. How could I NOT love this gentle, stripy giant? I may never actually use it for tea unless I have Dave come and lift it for me, but I adore it. I don’t even know that many people who could join me for tea. Have you ever seen me actually post a photo with others? It will make a fabulous vase once my peonies bloom this spring and it looks lovely behind my desk at the home office when I’m on my virtual Teams meetings.

Oh, and because I still wanted a Cornishware® teapot, during their next “seconds” sale, I DID order a smaller, but different style teapot. I DID read the fine print on that one and it’s perfect.

To show you the comparison to a “normal” size teapot, I grabbed my fabulous Brown Betty teapot which is a 2-3 cupper. Look out below!

Happy pouring!