would you like some tea?

Morning! It's another beautiful day in Northern California. I'm heading up to San Fransisco to see my son Phil. Going to pick his brain-since he graduated from culinary school and has a degree in restaurant management and hotel hospitality. Figured I could gleen from his expertise, enjoying 'catching up' while we are at it. He had said at one point if we got our B&B off the ground he would be our general manager.....wonder if he remembers saying that?! He's got a lot of experience in the field and it would be awesome to have him work with the family.

I met with the Small Business Development and finished my 1st course on "How to Write up a Business Plan" And now they will hook me up with a counselor to walk Greg and I thru each step of this venture....and don't forget-it's still free!! Anything from the financing to marketing and everything in between-this is so cool!!

As I promised in one of my previous blogs-"Marmalade Cafe and Tea House"!-Sounds silly you say? Well I have to live up to my reputation....but hey, it's a catchy name. Don't you think people will say "How fun-we need to try that place"? You know as it says, Bed and Breakfast, breakfast is part of the deal-and since you have it set up already-why not do lunch and tea too? We are trying to utilize different aspects to help build a 'total package' inn. This can help bring in customers while the B&B gets established. We know it generally takes a couple of years for businesses to get off the ground, so adding some fun fluff could fill in the void.
Think of a 'tea house'. What do little girls like to do at tea houses? That's right...'tea parties'!! And not only what you would think of as normal-but how about 'princess tea parties' or 'teddybear tea parties' 'ladies fashion show teas' etc. get the picture?
I have an idea that has evolved a little over a couple of years with a little help from my friends. Being the 'ecclectic' non-tradtionalist that I am, I want to collect all different tea cups from around the world-but not only that-I want them labelled on the bottom with the name of the person I got it from and their favorite scripture as well-so that it can be a conversation piece as well as a special momento. My aunt Patricia who passed away last year loved the idea, and she gave me my first cup and saucer-which will be put in a special shadow box for display in the tea room! So-assignment america!!!: I need tea cups/saucers-if any of you out there have UNWANTED ones tucked away in the garage or attick. I'll start the garage sale circuit soon-once we sign on the dotted line! Then you can be a true part of this adventure!-Can't wait to have you over for tea!!