I thought it was about time for another Afternoon Tease progress update! I’m afraid we’re still at the messy construction stage so if you’re expecting pictures of something that resembles a cafe you’ll be sorely disappointed :).
However uninspiring this shot may appear, I can confirm that there’s been a lot of work going on behind the scenes. The most exciting development for me has been the skimming of the nasty artexed ceiling!
Here’s a before shot of the artex in all of it’s textured glory (bleurgh)…
and here it is once it had been tackled by my lovely plasterers! They didn’t look too amused when I commented that I thought skimming looked pretty easy…like icing a cake upside down! I was joking of course, there’s no way I could’ve got it that smooth!
Internal walls have gone up to make my new kitchen…
and the ducting is in for my extraction system (a tad boring perhaps but I said I’d keep you posted :))…
But now for something a bit more interesting. The other weekend, I rolled up my sleeves, donned a mask and set about sanding a patch of floor so that I could do a trial of what I’ve got in mind for the cafe flooring.
When I do the real thing, my lines will be straighter and my masking more acurate but all in all I was very happy with the end result!…
No project would be complete without a trip or 2 to IKEA. So, along with willing assistant (Miss Igs) I headed off to the big blue and yellow treasure trove! We were feeling quite adventurous with how much we thought we could buy and fit into my car so we loaded up 3 trolleys worth of goodies…
However, we realised that perhaps we’d been a tad over-optimistic as we neared my little Ford Fiesta in the car park…
But, we are very determined young ladies and (bar the 2 chairs that I had to return but we won’t talk about them) we got it all in and even managed some pic n mix for the journey home!
Although I’m not personally at the cafe every day, I have a busy team who are and one morning this week as I was biking towards number 13 at 8am to let my plasterers in, I was really excited to see that (what will be) my outside seating area was bathed in lovely autumnal sunshine. All of the thoughts of paperwork, to do lists and worry flew out of my mind and were replaced by pure excitement! I can’t wait to see my customers sitting here, drinking a coffee and soaking up the rays…
Not long now!
In the meantime, however, if you would like to get a slice of the action…come and say hello this Saturday (21st September) when I will be selling my cakey wares at the Castle Hill Open Day. I’ll be in the Kettle’s Yard courtyard from 11am-5pm and have got some treats in store for you including gooey chocolate brownies, caramelised fig friands, raspberry and white chocolate blondies, salted caramel millionaires shortbread and lemon drizzle cake. There will also be a selection of my cakes for sale in the Museum of Cambridge tearoom if you fancy taking the weight off your feet.
I hope to see you there!
Afternoon Tease 