Favorite Book List

"I am a part of all I have read."  John Kieran

Tammy's Favorite Top 25 Books

(In Alphabetical Order of Author)

 

1. Austen, Jane.  Pride & Prejudice
2. Baldwin, Christina.  Life's Companion:  Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest
3. Beattie, Melody.  Finding Your Way Home
4. Berg, Elizabeth.  Pull of The Moon
5. Breathnach, Sarah Ban.  Simple Abundance:  A Daybook of Comfort & Joy
6. Cameron, Julia.  The Artist's Way:  A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
7. Diamant, Anita.  The Red Tent
8. Estes, Calarissa Pinkola.  Women Who Run With The Wolves
9. Gilbert, Elizabeth.  Eat, Pray, Love
10. Goldberg, Natalie.  Writing Down The Bones:  Freeing The Writer Within
11. Kidd, Sue Monk.  Dance of the Dissident Daughter
12. Kingslover, Barbara.  Prodigal Summer
13. Lamott, Anne.  Bird by Bird:  Some Instructions of Writing and Life
14. L'Engle, Madeleine.  Walking On Water:  Reflections on Faith and Art
15. Lee, Harper.  To Kill A Mockingbird
16. Lindberg, Anne Morrow.  Gift From The Sea
17. Ortberg, John.  If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat
18. Quindlen, Anna.  One True Thing
19. Rilke, Rainer Maria.  Letters to a Young Poet
20. Stockett, Kathryn.  The Help
21. Stoddard, Alexandra.  Living A Beautiful Life
22. Tyler, Anne.  Ladder of Years
23. Wells, Rebecca.  Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
24. Wilkinson, Bruce.  The Dream Giver
25. Woolf, Virginia.  A Room of One's Own

 

I was thinking about my book geneology.  How reading one book has opened up a world of other books and authors.  Leading me on a path of discovery.  My library is extensive but I realized that the books that have resonated with me the most have been about what lies close to a woman's heart.  Spirituality, creativity, love seems to be the thread that runs through these books.  Maybe it will get you to thinking about your own favorites.  Enjoy!

What is on Your List?

In her book Feeling At Home, Alexandra Stoddard talks about how powerful it can be when you make a list of the ten symbols that define who you are and when you stay true to those things. I had to have eleven symbols because I couldn't delete one.

• Love - daily kisses, touch and chaos from my family





• Water - the color of turquoise, pools glimmering in the sunlight, lakes, oceans





• Tea - mornings and afternoons





• Spirituality - Journaling and Joy





• Nature - gardens, flowers, trees - taking long walks





• Romance - candlelight, driving in a convertible, chocolate, mystery





• Music that stirs me - I play piano and clarinet and sing but I love every genre





• Books - my ultimate weakness and inspiration, reading





• Family photos - memories, blogging





• Succulent and Delicious food - trying new recipes - dining alfresco





• Creativity - everyday I need to create something on some level, painting, writing, blogging!

What is on your list?

This above all. To thine own self be true!

Anonymous

In this transition time in my life I started a new women's bible study at my church called Anonymous by Alicia Britt Chole. It is excellent and offers incredible insight into questions like....

Are we there yet?

On the inside of her book she says: Most of us struggle if our dreams are delayed one year, let alone twenty or thirty! We find God's pauses perplexing - a waste of our potential. and when those pauses extend beyond what we can explain, we often spiral into self-doubt or second-guessing that leads to hasty decisions and spiritual discouragement.

But God views them differently, assures author Alicia Britt Chole. Just look at Jesus. He grew up as a relatively uncelebrated boy from an unroyal family in the unrespected town of an unliked region - yet this is precisely where God hid his His Son for His first three decades of life! And during those hidden years in Nazareth, God granted Jesus protected, undisturbed room to be and become, to grow and learn.

That's how hidden years can be for every one of us - if we can recognize their potential and realize that anonymous seasons are sacred spaces to be rested in, not rushed through - and most definitely never to be regretted. In hidden years, Father God is our only consistent audience. Others come and others go, but only He always sees...When no one else is interested in (let alone impressed by) our capabilities and dreams. God is still wholeheartedly with fatherly pride shouting His love over us.

I've had many seasons of being anonymous....when my preacher dad moved us four times from seventh to tenth grade during really crucial teenage years when you are supposed to be bonding and making a place for yourself; during stay-at-home mom years when I had throw up on me and could barely make it to the shower and adult conversation was a rare commodity and all my friends had "real jobs"; and now...I can sense that God is pulling me yet again to an anonymous time. Away from the spotlight of "Tea Lady" and into a time of being incognito. Where it is just God's approval that I crave and long for. Where I have the opportunity to watch my three boys grow into young men. Where they take center stage and mom becomes their biggest fan!

Anonymous makes sense out of those times in life when we feel that God is violating our rights...our right to be well-known, our right to be important, our right to be fulfilled. In our culture, celebrity and busyness have become diseases that are killing us. God is developing in us an unshakable identity. One that is based on our identity in Christ alone. It is in the spiritual desert where true character is forged and revealed.

January Reading

I am reading this book Faith and Will - Weathering the Storms In Our Spiritual Lives by Julia Cameron.

"It is seeking to cooperate with God's agenda for our life that we come to some sense of peace. Is it too much to think that God has no agenda for each of us? I don't think so. Again, a look at the natural world tells us of the exquisite particularity of God's care. The Daffodil is given just what is needs to grow and we are asked only to cooperate. "

" We, too, are given precisely what we need to grow and we are asked only to cooperate. We must be willing to be either the Daffodil or the Violet, according to God's will for us. We so often do not see the lineaments of our own character as it is being formed. We have an idea of ourselves that may be counter to what God's idea for our self is. I am in the midst of discovering this for myself right now. "

I, too this January am seeking to cooperate with God.

Book Signing - Touched By Greatness

Our friends John & Carolee Maxwell are at the tearoom today signing their book "Touched By Greatness". This has been a dream come true for them as they have told the story of Carolee's grandfather. Come in today and meet them and get a copy of their book. It will bless you!

The book retails at $23.99

God's Guidance

I'm reading an awesome book "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson.
I love the passage in the book where he says that God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. If you keep in step with the Spirit , God is going to make sure you get where He wants you to go. He is always working behind the scenes, engineering our circumstances and setting us up for success.

It is God who has ordered our steps at A Spot For Tea. Eric and I give Him all the glory because no way could we have made it this far without Him or His guidance every step of the way.

New Year 2010

If you are celebrating New Year's in the South, it is a Southern folklore, to eat black eyed peas. One that my mama adheres to if you're celebrating at her home. Black eyed peas are the first food to be eaten for luck and prosperity throughout the year ahead. Mixed with some ham and green beans...mmm good.

Brock and Cache were able to make "Bob" the snowman on New Year's Day. Seven days after the blizzard we still have enough snow on the ground to have Mr. Snowman Bob help us usher in the New Year.

One of my favorite reads is Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Every year at the beginning I like to pull it out and reread her first couple of pages for inspiration.

January 2 - Loving the Questions

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke urges us.

Get the book and read January 1st and January 2nd for inspiration of all that the New Year holds. It always makes me look at the year in front of me with fresh eyes.

We're On The Cover

Exciting News

Set for January 2010 release from Harvest House Publishers, Mini Teatimes cover will feature A Spot for Tea's portrait that Susan Rios painted of our tearoom. The book will have a wonderful collection of original reflections, inspiring quotes, and delicious recipes selected from some of artist Susan Rios' favorite teahouses including A Spot For Tea. We couldn't wait to share the exciting new with our customers.

Mini Teatimes will retail for $9.99 in hardcover (available in January).

Whats On Your Bookshelf?

My book shelf next to my reading chair.
From cookbooks to poetry..

The stack next to my reading chair. I have many more books and many more shelves; Christian books, tea books at the tearoom, favorite novels in one section, inspirational books, favorite authors, decorating books, lifestyle books, favorite magazines (Victoria, Southern Lady, Tea Time, Tea A Magazine). I love reading.

Favorite book quotes:

The contents of someone's
bookcase are part of his history,
like an ancestral portrait.
- Anatole Broyard

If you would tell me the heart
of a man, tell me not what he
reads but what he re-reads.
-Francois Mauriac

Barbra Streisand Takes Tea In London

My favorite Barbra Streisand was on CBS Sunday Morning News and took tea with Rita Braver. Her interviewer said it was kind of a dream...pouring Barbra Streisand tea in London.

Bruce Richardson and Jane Pettigrew have written a book called Tea In The City London and pictured on the front cover is the same teapot being poured in her suite at The Berkley Hotel in London.

We sell the book at A Spot For Tea. Retail: $18.95.

It's the perfect guide to sipping and shopping in the city London.

Special Event with Jennifer Rothschild

Celebrations of Hope

"Blessings In Disguise"

"Lessons I Learned In The Dark"

written by Jennifer Rothschild

I read her book last year and my mom got it autographed today.

Tammy Seibert, Jennifer Rothschild & Charlotte Nease



Menu: Tea Party Sampler (chicken salad mini croissant, smidgeon of tuna salad on greens
and sliver of Breakfast Quiche with fruit and muffins)

The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary
Friday, September 25, 2009
Coles Garden - Royal Room

Foreward by Beth Moore in "Lessons I Learned In The Dark"

After I heard Jennifer's testimony (she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that slowly eats away the retina of the eye at 15 years of age) I had an "aha" moment and knew why her maturity exceeds her years. Not only did her eyes reveal a knowing; there was something indefinably chosen about her. From this vantage point I now know that I was seeing Jennifer not so differently from how Jennifer sees most all the time - with eyes of the Spirit. I saw the invisible hand of God upon her. And I've never failed to see it since.

2 Corinthians 5:7 "We walk by faith, not by sight."

Keep Climbing

In the book Keep Climbing by Gail MacDonald there is a story I love about the traditional life of the Swiss village baker.

Why does a young man rise at such early hours six days a week? What motivates him to work as long as sixteen hours each day for a relatively modest income? And what does his wife Norma, gain from a life-style in which work virtually consumes the best part of every day?

Hans Rudi and Norma are purpose driven. Hans Rudi saw his role in the community as far more significant than the mere baking of a two-kilo loaf of dark bread.

The people of the valley can get along without meat. They can live without milk and other dairy products and they can forgo their vegetables for a while. But the one thing every Swiss family needs every day is bread. I must have the bread ready every morning.

The baker is sometimes the community chaplain. Many times, I will see a man or a woman linger behind the rest of those who have come to buy my bread. I know what is probably going to happen. They want to talk about a family problem or a personal matter that they do not feel they can share with the pastor. They think I'll understand. After all, I'm the baker, and I know about everybody's problems. I never talk about what I hear. They are sure I'll keep their secrets.

When asked about visiting America they shake their heads, perhaps in twenty years, but now we could not leave the bakery. The people of the valley need us to much and there is no one to take our place for many days. This is a couple who lives by purpose - one that far exceeds running a bakery business or selling the max number of breads. It marks their marriage. It dominates their choices. It says much about their sense of significance in life.

"But this one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Phillipians 3:13,14

It's not just a job to Eric and I - it's our purpose to be a sanctuary to our community in the disguise of tearoom.

Passion For Tea

Passion for Tea by Beverly Rorem.

Helping others discover a passion for tea.

Beverly Rorem came and did a reading from her book today for Dolores Heer's Annual Friendship tea in the Queen's Room.

- "Why is tea so miraculous? Is it comfort hot tea provides on a cold day and iced tea gives on a sweltering day in summer? Is it the calmness in its ritualistic preparation, or its taste, or the stimulation it invokes while soothing body and soul? Is it because of the congeniality it creates in all aspects of society and all cultures? Is it the miracle because, although it has been around for nearly five thousand years, it is still the second-most popular drink in the world, after water? Or is tea miraculous because of its accessibility and its health benefits? - Tea is miraculous for all these reasons, and drinking tea is one of the nicest things you can do for yourself."
Excerpt from Passion For Tea by Beverly Rorem

Talking about tea and sharing tea.

Beverly sharing her thoughts on tea.

Her book will be on sale at the tearoom for $18.99.

You can also visit her website http://www.passion4tea.com/ for more information.

Living A Beautiful Life

" Living A Beautiful Life

& Living Beautifully Together"

by Alexandra Stoddard

Sometimes in the midst of all the craziness of tea parties, weddings, and events I need to remember to slow down. Two of the books that help me do that are my favorites by Alexandra Stoddard. I first read Living A Beautiful Life in 1992 after Eric and I got married. It was important to add elegance, order, beauty and joy to our every day life.

She quotes Rainer Maria Rilke in his Letters to a Young Poet:

So rescue yourself from these general themes and write about what your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember. If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place.


It reminds me once again to enjoy the daily rituals that enrich the whole of our lives.

Spring Fever - World Travel

Passport in hand....

Jersusalem, Israel Summer 1981

Kuaui, Hawaii - January, 1991


Athens, Greece - Summer 1984



Santorini, Greece - Summer 1984

Santorini, Greece Summer 1984

American Airline Boarding Screen

Paris, France - Summer 1983

Paris, France - Summer 1985

Paris, France - Summer 1983

London, England - Summer 1983

London, England - Summer 1983

Rome, Italy - Summer 1981

Spring Fever...I've got it. Usually it hits me at the first of March when the Daffodils start poking their head through the ground. I love to travel and experience the adventure of a new place, its customs and people.

Countries I've visited: Italy, England, France, Switzerland (x2), Germany (x2), Austria (x2)Leichtenstein, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, St. Martin, Anguilla, Mexico, Canada.

States I've visited: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Conneticut, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Hawaii

Eric worked for a division of American Airlines for 12 years and we loved to travel. Children made flying stand-by much more difficult. In the early days we could go jump on a flight when we lived just minutes south of Dallas/Ft. Worth airport and be away for the weekend.

Even before I got married during college I always headed south during Spring Break either to Galveston or South Padre Island, Texas. Eric's parents rented a place near Daytona Beach, Florida for a few years and we loved to visit and relax beachside in March.

Owning our own business has made travel anywhere more complicated. I did make it to Las Vegas and Atlanta for the World Tea Expo but its not the same as a cruise through the Greek Isles. Which by the way is my most favorite spot of all the places I've visited so far.

Dust off your passport...and if you can't do that then we have many teas from different countries for you to try out. You can arm-chair travel and dream of all the places you would like to visit in the future and mark off the places you most want to see. Have you read the book "1,000 Places To See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List" by Patricia Schultz? It will inspire you.

"Tea is wealth itself,

Because there is nothing that cannot be lost,

No problem that will not disappear,

No burden that will not float away,

Between the first sip and the last."

- The Minister of Leaves

" Each time you experience the new, you become receptive to inspiration. Each time you try something different, you let God know you are listening."

- Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance

Books That Change Your Life - Part 2

Author Madeleine L'Engle

"Walking On Water - Reflections on Faith & Art"


My Journal Entry - December 21, 2000 - "Confirmation...last night Kristen and I went to Barnes & Noble and she told me about a new book by Madeleine L'Engle. I could not believe it - of course, she is one of my favorite authors of all time .

In L'Engle's book she writes, "The artist is a servant who is willing to be a birthgiver. In a very real sense the artist should be like Mary, who when the angel told her that she was to bear the Messiah, was obedient to the command. I believe that each work of art whether it is a work of great genius or something very small, comes to the artist and says, 'Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me."

On page 22 of Walking on Water, she writes "a young woman said to me, 'I read A Wrinkle In Time when I was eight or nine. I didn't understand it, but I knew what it was about'."

Continuing in my journal I wrote, "Yes..I say. Yes..me too. I read it and I knew Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who & Mrs. Which were angels. We sometimes have to go beyond ourselves to reach our destiny. We have to go beyond what is our world and reach out for God's help. Meg was a child and I quoted a passage in my journal about this. I was also the same age when her work affected me and I became no longer afraid of death."

My Journal Entry - December 28, 2000 - "I'm still waiting for a sign. I'm in Buffalo, New York for Christmas. (Eric has been diagnosed with pneumonia. We took him to the doctor and he has been in bed and put on antibiotics. He is very ill.) I'm reading, praying and waiting. Waiting for a clear something. I'll know it when it comes. Waiting for understanding. I wait for God's revelation to me. I know there is something more that I am not getting I can tell it. Something in the whole picture that is not complete. God is trying to tell me something and I just haven't gotten it yet. Something I wish I could listen to the wind to my dreams. I wish I could hear it."

We gave birth to the dream...we built the Rose Cottage in the back of the antique mall in April 2001. A Spot For Tea would soon have an actual location for tea parties.

Luke 1:38 " 'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered, 'May it be to me as you have said."

Books That Change Your Life

Author Madeleine L'Engle

"A Wrinkle In Time"

Published in 1962 - Winner of a Newberry Award.

When I was nine years old, I discovered a story that would change my life - the author has continued to mentor me throughout my life. The opening line "It was a dark and stormy night." begins a journey that I needed to take. I'm a P.K. (preacher's kid) and when I was in grade school we lived in Marlow, Oklahoma, in a Methodist parsonage behind the church which was located on Main Street. In the middle of the night we had a knock on the door to tell my father that one of the high school baseball players had been killed in a car accident. I remember realizing for the first time my own immortality. How could a person die at such a young age? A fear began to grip my heart...it was a dark and scary time. Then I read Madeleine L'Engle's book and felt myself relate to the main character, Meg Murray. In just a few pages I felt and sympathized with her struggles and worries. She became a heroine to me. In the chapter titled "The Foolish and The Weak" she is given an impossible task but before she is sent on her mission to rescue her brother she is given instruction by three ladies Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who & Mrs. Which:

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how than not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, no many noble, are called, but God had chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are nought things that are." 1 Corinthians 1:25

As a gradeschooler I knew little of scripture but I knew truth that resonated in my heart. A tiny seed was planted in my heart at a very early age. What I realized during reading this book that God can use even me. I knew at that moment that God was calling me to do something for Him that would confound the wise. I just didn't have a clue as to what that might be.

The three women advise Meg of the mystery of God. Until the time is right for Him to reveal His plans for us we cannot try to figure everything out. We couldn't because God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. In God's upside down economy He uses the most unlikely people to accomplish His work and that qualifies even me.

"But of course, we can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts." Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L'Engle.

If Teacups Could Talk

Two of my favorite things are tea and books. There is nothing nicer than to be able to sit down for stolen moments with a comforting book and a lovely cup of tea. Some of the most satisfying readings are those in which the author also understands the value of tea and includes it in his or her writing. The book "If Teacups Could Talk" by Emilie Barnes is one such book, with illustrations and paintings by Sandy Lynam Clough.

Barnes shares stories of inspiration, tea party ideas and recipes to whet your appetite. It is the perfect starting place for hosting your own tea for friends or just spending some quiet time with a good cuppa. In fact, I can say that this is the book that started my own tea journey. After reading it in 1995, God gave me the idea for A Spot For Tea.

In September 2004, my brother Greg and his wife Misty gave me a copy of this very special book with which they signed, "It takes great faith and even greater courage to step out and act on something God has laid on your heart. It is inspiring to see your dreams become reality. Keep up the pace until you finish the race and know your prize is well worth your perseverance."

How like God to give me this meaningful book back with such an inscription inside ten years later. Enjoy the read!

"If Teacups Could Talk" is available in our gift shop for $15.99.

Psalm 20:4 "May the Lord give you the desire of your heart."

Fab Job Interview - Being A Tea Room Owner

I got an interesting request for an interview for Fab Jobs.

Julie Moran contacted me for an upcoming book that she is writing about being a Tea Room Owner. It got me to thinking and I wanted to share with others that might be interested in the inside life of owning a Tearoom. I can't wait to read what she writes as she interviews other tearoom owners for their responses.

Interview:

I am very excited to have the opportunity to share my perspective on being a tearoom owner. If you want to succeed in this business, if you really want this FAB JOB, only you in the end can make it happen for yourself. Nobody is going to do the work and build a business for you!

First off, I would highly recommend interning at a tearoom before you decide to get your business cards made up and pick out a logo. I would HIGHLY suggest working in the FOOD INDUSTRY before you start out on this journey to gain a respect that this is not just serving tea in a relaxing environment and saying "aaahh". That is what we want our customers to feel but behind the scenes and in the kitchen its a whole other world. Speaking of serving food: I think that if you have never been a server whether fast food, restaurant, or catered parties you probably should rethink this as a vocation. This is a service industry....we are the staff and we work HARD to make memories for other people.

I laugh to myself each time anyone exclaims to me, "You're a tearoom owner....that must be so relaxing...and sooo much fun!" To be honest...its not just one big tea party. But it is rewarding and fulfilling doing what you were made to do. I am a person who strongly believes in callings (my father is a retired pastor) so I spent alot of time on my knees before signing the dotted line on the lease and the loan at the bank.

Now to answer your questions:

1. Please briefly describe your typical day, from preparing to open your tearoom to closing.
We are opened 11-3pm Tues - Saturday. I usually get up and start working on the computer in my kitchen before ever leaving for work. I'm an early bird...I built my own website and am in charge of updates, blogs, etc. We have 3 boys ages 12, 10 and 6 so this job can be done with a family. We are also the in-house caterer where my parents co-own wedding chapel and gardens Walnut Creek Wedding Chapel and Coles Garden (I also take care of both of their websites and a blog. There are no normal hours...you work till the job is done. My husband and I never complain when its summer and we are doing about 20 weddings a month along with all of the tearoom events. We're always joking that we're like squirrels saving up for the winter months. Our slower months are November and January. I spoke with a tearoom owner in California at the World Tea Expo and she said January is a very busy for them so I guess alot of it is weather related. I spend alot of time visiting with customers and building relationships during tearoom hours. You can't say enough about customer relations. I wear many hats when we book a dress up tea party in the Rose Cottage I become the Tea Lady in all my antique clothes orchestrating these all-inclusive parties. I am in charge of retail, ordering, display and inventory. I am also in charge of payroll and accts payable. We have over 20 employees and I leave the kitchen to my husband and our chefs. If they need me and get overloaded I can help out there but mostly I'm the front man. If we have a night event at our location or an off-site event to cater it can be late into the evening before we call it a day.

2. What do you find most rewarding about operating a tea room? We believe that it is a ministry to people's souls...so I would say the people make this job worth all the effort...both the customer and our employees, which are like family. You get a real sense of community here.

3. What do you wish you had known before you started your tearoom business? There will always be surprises...broken down refrigerators, employees calling in, rising food costs, ice storms, unpredicatable sales, customer issues, minimum wage increases. If you are wanting safe and predicatable this is not the road for you. If you like challenges and change, being your own boss and finding creative solutions welcome to TEA LAND.

4. What educational background and/or work experience would you recommend that a person seeking to open a tearoom obtain before starting his or her business? My husband has a degree in Marketing and I have a degree in Liberal Arts. We both worked for corporate America in the travel industry (American Airlines and Hertz). I did alot of catering both tea parties (birthday parties) and women's groups for churches before ever taking the big step to open up a tearoom. Get your feet wet by interning at a tearoom, for a caterer or start out taking the parties to people's homes before you sign a lease and spend the big bucks to make sure you enjoy serving others. My husband kept his full time job until May 2006 to supplement income so we could pay our staff well and not worry about paying our personal bills until the tearoom got strong enough to support our family.

5. What POS system do you use (assuming you are happy with the one you currently use)? We just updated all of our computers to VISTA and we got a touch-screen up front. Amigo is our POS system. I've also talked with other tearoom owners who used Quickbooks POS to start out.

6. How and why did you choose your tearoom's location (ie what were the most important factors in your decision? Can you offer any tips or advice on choosing a good location? I just spoke on this in Las Vegas at the World Tea Expo 2008 about expanding beyond the traditional concept of a 30-seat tearoom to a Tea Event Center with multiple party rooms. We have 14,000 square feet with a grand staircase. Alot of tearoom owners are failing today because they can't generate enough income to make it on 30 seats with shortened hours. I would say don't limit yourself. We have great parking so a tour bus can pull up and unload a whole group. We have pull up parking so older customers don't have to walk a long way. We have an elevator for easy access upstairs to our Queen's Room and Rose Cottage. Alot of people make the mistake of seeing a real cute Victorian house and say oh, wouldn't it make a wonderful location for a tearoom without checking on building codes and handicapped requirements for bathrooms etc.

7. What licenses or permits were you required to obtain before opening your business? Did you encounter any particular difficulties (eg with the building dept, health or fire dept etc) prior to opening your tearoom? State sales tax, restaurant license from the city, food operator's license from the county health dept, Health dept, fire department. There are always issues but everyone was really excited to see us move into their community so they wanted to help make it successful by giving up steps to take to make it happen. Kitchens are the hardest part....lots of requirements and codes...we just did it step by step.

8. Do you have any tips on hiring and/or training good employees? We interview everyone...I get a gut feeling and usually if I follow it...it always works out when hiring people? Most of our employees have been with us from the beginning. We pay good and we have a staff manual. My husband and I are always here and I think that also makes a difference. You lead by example. My manager, Ashlie, has been with me long enough that I would trust her completely to act on my behalf and make a decision the way I would want. She is like my daughter and I have known her all of her life. It really is so important to hire the right person because I've made a couple of bad hires and we all felt it...it changed the dynamics of the whole tearoom.

9. Do you have any marketing or promotion tips or ideas that have worked particularly well for you? NEWSLETTERS AND BLOG. Connects the customer directly to you and what is going on. It makes them feel a part of your brand. We have customers that save all of their newsletters. I would also say market original item to sell (ie cookbooks, tea mugs with our logo, tea shirts, we just had a portrait done by the artist Susan Rios that we will sell to our customers in Sept) they want to take a piece of us home with them and we try to help them recreate the tea experience. We sell 50 loose leaf teas and we are always doing samples for customers to try new types.

10. Please briefly list or describe the standard general terms for new business owners in purchasing wholesale teas. When we first opened with 18 teas on our tea list. Metropolitan Teas really helped guide us through the process of having a wide variety of interesting teas. We have since added other vendors and more teas. Most tea merchants will let you start out with 30 days net but I always just used my cc to establish good relationships. I use my debit card almost 95% of the time and pay cash.

11. Are there standard profit margins or standard markups in tea service on tea and/or foods commonly served with tea? Our standard markup on all retail is this if it is wholesale at $5.00 I'm going to at least get $10.00 for the item sometimes more depending on the product. I try to keep our food cost at 25-27% anything under 30% is considered good in the food industry. We are not typical though because of all our catering and lunches. Our tea service upstairs is based on what our market will bare in this part of the country. You can charge $29.99 for a full afternoon tea on both coasts but in the middle of the country I charge $19.99 for a full tea. You have to know your customer and be sensitive. We get $24.99 per child for our tea parties in the Rose Cottage.

12. What words of encouragement would you give someone who dreams of opening a tearoom? What's the best advice you would give that person? Don't give up...in the first year specifically it is so hard and you wonder if you were crazy to ever embark on this journey....but it is so worth it. Just make up your mind that no matter what, you will find a way to make it work. I didn't really want to cater outside when we first began but it has been icing on the cake to our bottom line. With each step in the journey the next step was revealed. I started out in a trailer taking the party to the girl's home the first year and operating a booth out of an antique mall where I sold teas and tea accoutrements. I started this business in 1996 and we didn't open the full service tearoom until April 2003. Each step prepared me for the next large move and God has not let us down yet. NEVER GIVE UP!

Thanks for letting me share....can't wait to see what you write after interviewing others in the industry.

Proverbs 24:27 "Put first things first. Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home."

It's Called Life - by Charlotte Lankard

Author and Columnist - Charlotte Lankard

Charlotte Lankard is a weekly columnist for Oklahoma's largest newspaper, where her wisdom and compassion have been shared with countless people. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist; director of the James Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit at Integris Health; founder of Calm Waters, support groups for grieving children; and recognized community leader who made "significant contributions and leadership in physical, mental and spiritual wellness." (biography from It's Called Life)

My mom and I have been reading her column for years and then I got to personally meet Charlotte as she visited the tearoom. What a treat that turned out to be. Then I found her book and gave it to my mom as a gift. My mom called me crying after she had finished reading it and exclaimed, "You have got to read this book."

It's Called Life is a real treasure from the introduction to the last chapter. When a rock-climbing accident dropped Lankard 125 feet down to a canyon floor it changed her life forever. She takes the reader on a journey through pain, divorce, death and cancer of a loved one, and the courage to share her experiences with all of us. She quotes Mary Tyler Moore, "You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you," and she challenges the reader to know their fear and face it.

We have signed copies available at the tearoom for $10.99 plus tax.

Psalm 27:13 is a favorite scripture of mine.

It says, "What would have become of me had I not believed that I would

see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!"

Charlotte Lankard is an example of someone that believed.