Nail biting wait

This week we have someone coming to the place we want to lease to tell us from the "experienced" point of view what do we need to do to bring it up to code.  Since we have limited resources, this is definitely a "do or die" situation.  If it is more expensive than we plan, then we can't do it.  We can't just go and open the place without enough money to back us up for few months until we are actually making money to cover all our expenses.
Although I'm very optimistic that we can succeed with our new café, it is hard not to feel nervous thinking what is going to happen.  So, basically this is decision week.  I guess by next weekend I'll know for sure what we'll be doing.
I would be biting my nails if I did that when I get nervous.  Instead, I'm watching movies on Hulu.

I am right about the toilette!

And here's the proof!

I took this image from my desktop while I was watching "The View" on Hulu, and ultra famous  legendary journalist Barbara Walters  showed this picture of her  while traveling in New Zealand, where apparently one of the attractions is ...  THE BATHROOM!

I am a firm believer that just having an interesting and out of the ordinary kind of bathroom at the café, will be a way of "word of mouth" marketing.  I'm very much looking forward for people to say...  "yes, I went to this café, and the cakes were amazing! And you gotta go and check out the bathroom!"
So far I have so many ideas, I guess I'll be changing it every 6 months or so.  I told Ina last night about that, and she laughed about it, but she likes the idea so far.

I am so looking forward to get the lease signed and starting to do all the things we have planned!

Feeling sick

I feel awful!  Perhaps is the fact that I hate my job more and more everyday...  I am so looking forward to get to RIchmond and start the new café...  There are a million things that I rather be doing, like getting in contact with companies and people that will be useful to us on the new café!  As one of the most important things, we need a cleaning company that has special high power cleaning, to make sure everything is as clean as it will ever be. I do have the "before" pictures, but I'm really looking forward to the "after the cleaning" pictures.  there are so many things that have to be done!
Still no coffee yet...  I woke up late.

Getting serious

The dream is taking the form or reality, basically the form of a paper called "proposal" for the lease.  It looks  like a very good deal, we'll have a good grace period before the commencement of the rent, and it will definitely help us with the opening, with getting the place up to code and applying to all the necessary permits.
Honesty, it is a little scary.  As much as I want to do it, signing the lease is a compromise for 5 years! it'll be longer than many of my relationships have been.  On the other hand, I am willing to do this for at least 15 years.
So, I want to show you an example of the cakes that motivated this dream of having a cafe...

The thing is not only they look good, but they taste really good!  What do you think?
I would love to hear your comments.

Every journey starts with a single step

Here I was, in my bed thinking... I really hate my job!  I need to do something different! I've been talking to Ina many times, about having a café where she can sell her cakes, (which by the way are incredible), and as always, I would end up saying "just let me win the lottery and we'll do it".
Turns out that winning the lottery requires a lot more than 1 dollar and a dream.  Dreams are very cheap, and very abundant when you are making very little money for a job that you don't enjoy anymore.
So, one night without even buying my regular Mega Millions ticket, I started to write down a menu for the cafe, how much would cost, and how much would I need to sell to be able to pay the rent and have some money too.  I spent the night awake, thinking of possible expenses, of what would I need to do, or better, what would "we" need to do to make the dream a reality.
The next morning I called Ina and we talked about it.  Let's open a cafe, where we can have some light menu, something like soup, salads, sandwiches and pizza, and make the desserts the highlight of the meal... because, again, I was just thinking of a way to sell Ina's cakes.
That was the first step! The moment we talked about it, the dream started to take shape, a shared dream with different visions, different colors and taste.
After that conversation, I spent the first $25 for the business in a couple of books I ordered from Amazon.com:  "Running a Restaurant for Dummies" and "Starting a Small Restaurant, Revised Edition"
That was on February 6th.