drumroll... opening day announcement!

I'm so excited now I can hardly bear it! I've set the date for Cushion&Cake's opening, Saturday 7th May 2011. That's the end of next week!

But it is OK. I'm really pleased with the progress I've made on getting the place ready. Today, with the help of my partner Stuart, his mum Marie and my friend Jill, we got the place scrubbed top to bottom and the first coat of paint on. I like to think I'm organised and efficient but Marie just came in the door with a massive packed lunch for all in one hand and a roller in the other and got everyone to work without any hesitations. She's coming back tomorrow for hopefully more of the same.

I've decided not to post any more of the 'before' pictures now rather just let you see when it is all lovely and how I see it in my mind. I hope that's OK! Instead I'll show you a picture of me with an owl at the weekend :-)

 On the Friday eve of my opening to the public, I've organised a wee party for family, friends and folk who've shown kindness and generosity over the last few months as a way to say thank you. The booze was delivered today and I hope there's enough cava to go round. I'll be sure to get lots of pictures at the opening night too.

I'm really pleased with the number of folk who have stopped to have a wee look at the poster in my window and give a wave or approval or even pop their heads in to say they look forward to a cuppa in a proper teacup. Today an woman popped in with her cheeky wee Jack Russell/Basset Hound cross doggie and asked if she came for a cuppa, could I have a dog bowl of water for him. Of course!! I don't think doggies are allowed in tearooms but there will definitely be facilities for them outside.

I'll keep you posted on any more exiting developments over the course of the week...
xx

my first promo poster-yippee!!

A bit cheeky... but I like it... It'll be going up in my shop window this week xx

feeling excited, feeling confident

I've been a bit quiet this week in respect of the blog, but making lots of noise elsewhere.
My little tearoom and craft gallery really is starting to take shape. My worktops are now in place, drawers and fridge, with my lovely new big oven arriving on Monday.

I spent an hour with the electrician this afternoon discussing how I want me ceiling lighting. It is all going well and is such an exciting project. I'm really getting to design what is essentially a big cosy kitchen with comfy seating and getting to fill it with gorgeous kitchenware and all the bits I can't have in my tiny galley kitchen at home.

It is the same with the craft side of the business. This week I've been making contact with designer/makers who's work I really like and it is nice getting to know them and eventually stocking their handmade goodies in the shop. I feel great and so confident that I've made the right choice to make this career move.
I may not say this in a few weeks but I think I'd recommend to any woman who was thinking about doing a project like this to just get out and do it. Getting to this stage so far hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would and I feel my confidence growing every day. I know what a difference my business will make to my life but I really hope that the people who come to my tearoom leave with a bit more than just a full tummy. I want them to share my lovely, calm, positive space and leave feeling great. Not too big a thing to achieve is it???

 xx

tearoom bathroom wallpaper

I'm searching all my favourite places this evening for a roll of wallpaper for the toilet in my wee tearoom. I was hoping to be super thrifty and use up some left over Laura Ashley paper from my ownbathroom, but it turns out I don't have enough left...

So, I'm going to buy something different. I love this one from wallpaperdirect.co.uk.

However... I really like the white version of this paper which I'm considering having in my living room when I decorate after my first pay from Cushion&Cake :-) Would it be foolish to have nearly the same paper at home and at work? Probably... but I think the tearoom will be like an extension of my home... hmm... not sure...
There's also this paper which I really like from Cath Kidston.

What do you think?

the junk rooms, stirling

Like much of the country, we've had excellent weather this weekend. 19 degrees in Glasgow! That is like a Summer's day!!

I had a mix of fun and work this weekend kicking off with an impromptu run in the car to Stirling. We discovered this great place, The Junk Rooms.

It was a great cafe, bistro bar and as the name suggests, is full of interesting second hand furniture and quirky finds.

For dinner I had a lasagna made with butternut squash and I have to say, may well be the best lasagna I have ever eaten. Veggie lasagna can be very much hit or miss... this one was a HIT!

 I was impressed with their decor and these stairs were just some of the great details to enjoy.

We also did a lot of work in the shop over the weekend. We lifted several generations of vinyl floor tiles from the shop floor-yuk! We also had a bit of plastering to do. I knew that plastering really is a great skill but I thought I'd be able to manage not too badly. I was wrong! Just because I can ice cakes does not mean I can plaster a wall I discovered. The second coat went on today and the result I think is so so... I'll wait to see what my uncle the builder thinks when he sees it. He'll probably laugh out loud! Thank goodness for sandpaper, that's all I can say.

Out in the garden on Saturday we managed to get some other chairs spray painted. Only a few more left to paint I'm glad to say. My fore finger is fatigued from continuous spray paint action!

This week my new accessible toilet is going in and finally, my little kitchen will be installed and I can really get about doing what I like best. I just have so many ideas for the decor and little details for the tearoom that my brain could burst!
I'll keep you posted with pictures and any exciting news to come.

good news for tea lovers...and tea businesses!

Afternoon tea more popular than ever as hotels get huge boost in business thanks to the brew

Read the article here...

smashing weekend

A very productive weekend this weekend where I got involved in a bit of demolition. I thought I'd help the builder out by pulling down a big plaster wall to make way for my new toilet. I've never done anything like it before but I really enjoyed thrusting the crowbar into the plaster and making a massive hole then tearing a bigger one. I even tried to kick it Van Damme style to put the wall in but the result wasn't as satisfying as going at it with some heavy metal.

We also had the task of doing lots of runs in the car to the recycling center to get rid of all the rubbish. 

We did a good job leaving the site all tidy.

At the recycling centre I also managed to talk the site manager into letting me take a lovely little rocking chair that I spied in the recycled furniture area. You can just see it in the picture on the right.

The weather on Saturday was great so we made a start on painting the tearoom furniture. I have to say, the results using spray paint were excellent. A number of posts ago I was weighing up the pros and cons on using spray paint. Now there is no contest. The chairs I was painting with paint just take so long and the finish isn't as good. I'm going to source more spray paint colours today so we can finish all of the furniture. The only problem is, you only get ONE chair sprayed per can, and the cans are expensive...but... you save on time and they look great so I suppose it is worth it.

We tried just painting the back of the chair at the front. It was Stuart's idea, and with a new cover on that cushion pad, it'll look brill.

You maybe can't see the colours in the sunlight but the chair on the left, I think is my favourite. It is a lovely pastel green colour.

So later today I'll be pulling cut vinyl off the windows in the shop.Very boring job....

 xx