Look who's on the loose!!

Sock monkeys! And they're hidden all around Cushion and Cake! How many will you find in the tearoom?

 

They've got Iona Bruce's owls all in a flap!

P

RIP Rosemary Cassidy

So I had to close the shop this morning for a funeral. My best friend's mum Rosemary died last week of cancer. She'd spent her last weeks in a hospice. I did see her twice in the hospice but I much prefer to remember her when she came to my tearoom last month for her birthday. She loved the place and even though she wasn't feeling well, she remained bright and wished me well for all to go well at Cushion & Cake. She'll be missed by all.

Closing the shop today was odd too. When you work in an office or something you get leave to do these kind of things. Working for yourself there is no one to cover or let you away for a few hours. I guess this is one of the (very few!!) downsides of self employment. I came back in the afternoon and stayed open till 6 pm and made a hummingbird cake for tomorrow. Some pictures of cakes are long overdue on this blog but I'm happy to say I've been so busy in the tearoom to be able to take photos! I'll try to get some up tomorrow xx

Wednesday Morning Tearoom Closure

Hey folks, just a little note to say that if you were planning to visit the tearoom tomorrow (Wednesday 27th July)I will be closed in the morning unfortunately. But I'll be back in the afternoon with Summer Fruit Loaf and Orange & Rosemary cake xx

Beautiful Foody Blog

On my usual web surfing of gorgeous things on the internet today I came across this lovely site/blog. What first caught my eye were these chocolate brownies, but they're additionally special because they're made with Twix chocolate bars!

I'm salivating right now! I think I may give the recipe a whirl in the tearoom and see what people think.

Today was my day off which I spent treating myself to a little lunch, on my own, in the sunshine, running around getting things for the shop and more furniture painting. I got some outdoor tables and chairs from Ikea but they were BORING, so I bought a beautiful exterior wood paint called Little Pond and got to work. I've just been outside to check on their drying progress and they're still really tacky, so I built them a wee tent out of old shower curtains and bamboo canes to make them showerproof. The shelter however is not preventing lots of FLIES getting themselves stuck on my newly painted surfaces! I tried to rescue as many as I could but it was too late for some... Well... adds a bit of texture doesn't it?

A wee bit of notice for dates with early closing

Hi folks, there are a couple of dates in August where I have to shut the shop early to accommodate some lovely hens celebrating their friends entering into wedded bliss with a Cushion & Cake tea party.

The shop will be closing early for these events on Saturday 13th and 20th August 2011 from about 2pm. 

New Food!

What a great week so far! My wee tearoom has been quite busy with lots of lovely new people and plenty of my new fidels!
Finally  I arranged to go and see a fellow new business woman and florist, Allie, at Lavender Blue a week or so ago and arranged to get fresh flowers from her every week. How great, a surprise delivery of gorgeous flowers for my table displays. Last week I got a huge hydrangea, sunflower and peony, some lavender straight from Provence and delicious roses.

I've said a lot recently that if I hadn't done the tearoom thing, I'd love to retrain as a florist but I've changed my mind! The work involved is HUGE. I saw Allie today and she told me she'd just worked 24hrs! And she was still bright and smiley! I wouldn't be able to keep up with that...

I was super pleased when a new friend and C&C fan Cat Ingall popped in with her Stitch n Bitch gang to the shop on my late opening last night. They're working on a knitting project together while having a good gab and giggle and from what I could hear, advice on how to remove tics from dogs or yourself if you're ever walking in the country. I didn't get to join in last night but I'd like to. It's been ages since I was part of a wee group or community. When I was younger I was in groups of everything, Girl Guides, youth orchestras, art groups, you name it. I just realised I miss it. Perhaps working alone has prompted this need to socialise!?

I've decided to offer a bit more choice of food at C&C. There just wasn't enough cheese for a start on the menu for my liking so I'm introducing Tasty Plates. Three different types. A cheese plate, Mediterranean plate and Scots plate. They each will have lots of things to nibble on and share. We'll see how that goes. I'm bringing them in from Friday so I shall take a picture and blog it here to see what you think :-)

More lovely news is that two individual women have approached me to provide an afternoon tea for their hen parties. I'm delighted to have have them and let's face it, it is an excuse to get more decorations up!! One group wants to do some cupcake decorating which will be excellent fun. I can't wait to do that and the other woman wants an afternoon tea for her and sixteen other ladies. Big group. It'll be a hoot. I'll have to impress them with my banter ( and food).

This cake went down a treat yesterday, blueberry packed cake with a cream cheese frosting. A woman who bought it yesterday was back in today looking for a whole one to buy and take away! T'is a good one and I love people who love cakes as much as me!!

Late Opening Tuedays

That's right people. I'm now open late every Tuesday until 8pm for tea and cake, and tasty food. I hope we get nice weather here in Glasgow because my shop gets full sun in the evening and I've got some lovely new outdoor furniture to help you enjoy it :-)

All's going well at C&C headquarters. I'm pretty chuffed with the repeat customers and new people that I meet every day.
Today I tried staying open later to see if anyone came in. It was pretty quiet but I think on sunny evenings, people may come along to the tearoom. I get full sun in the evening, so with some cute tables and chairs outside, it is a great alternative to the pub. I might try late opening Friday too, even just for the Summer to see how that affects business.

I'd been meaning to go and visit a lovely florist that I met just before I opened my shop, so I popped into see her yesterday. He name is Allie and she has an adorable florist shop called Lavender Blue. From the moment I stepped into her shop I could see that we had a similar style. She had pastel blue painted furniture and a lovely selection of handmade goodies amongst all of her beautiful blooms. Yesterday we had a chat and organised a weekly delivery of flowers to Cushion & Cake. I can't wait to get seasonal flowers for my tearoom. Agapanthus, peonies, allium, hydrangea, sweet peas, all my favourites will soon be all around my tearoom. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures each week to show you what I've got.

I've been on a mad fabric buying frenzy. I hadn't been buying fabric for quite some time but recently, I've been quite fabric greedy. I'm aiming to make cushions every week and keep changing them round in the tearoom.

I love this pink and turquoise fabric.

 I've had this trug in my flat for ages but I couldn't find a use for it. So here I'm using it for flowers and things for sale.

You can see little notebooks by Lovely Pigeon and felt toys by Iona Bruce.

I love the work these girls do. They're perfect for the shop.