Announcing "Dainty Dining" has arrived!

I am so happy to announce the publication of my first book, "Dainty Dining: Vintage recipes, memories and memorabilia from America's department store tea rooms."

I've been researching department store tea rooms all year and occasionally published a blog post about one of them on my Tea With Friends blog. The book includes recipes, tales and memorabilia from 20 department store tea rooms/restaurants across the country, including Bullock's Wilshire in Los Angeles, Burdines in Miami, Denver Dry Goods in Denver, Filene's in Boston, Frederick & Nelson in Seattle, Gimbels in New York, Hess's in Allentown, Penn., Higbee Company in Cleveland, J.L. Hudson in Detroit, Innes Dry Goods in Wichita, F & R Lazarus in Columbus, Ohio, Macy's in New York, Maison Blanche in New Orleans, Marshall Field in Chicago, Miller & Rhoads in Richmond, Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Rich's in Atlanta, Wanamaker's in Philadelphia, Woodward & Lothrop in Washington, D.C. and Younker Brothers in Des Moines. The 1947 postcard above shows the "modern" Rich's Department Store in Atlanta, a beloved retail institution in my fair state.

And this postcard is from the tea room at Woodward & Lothrop in Washington, D.C.

Here is the chocolate fudge cake that was once served in that tea room, and it is simply divine!

You can order "Dainty Dining" via the PayPal button at top right. You don't have to have a PayPal account yourself, but it allows you to securely enter your debit card or credit card information, which I never see. I've been sending and receiving funds via PayPal myself for more than a decade, and it's my favorite way to pay for online purchases. I hope you enjoy the book!