What's a blog?

My name is Santine de Roover. I'm a mother of five, and a month ago I had no idea what a blog was. Well here I am writing my first blog. It's a little harder than I thought it was. For one thing I'm NOT computer-savvy. As a matter of fact I just sent my first email last week. Jamie's mouth practically fell open when she heard this. This will be good for me!

I might not know how a blog works, but for a fact I do know how to work my mixer. I love to bake, especially my Dutch pastries. I have been in the United States for twelve years and love everything about it, however, more and more I feel like I want to keep the Dutch culture alive through my baking.

Back to my question...what is a blog? My answer would be that it is a story. A story told in short form yet very personal. This blog is about me and how I face my daily challenges in starting my very own bakery. Here you will get to know me and my family and how we face these challenges together.

Come with me on this journey as I document through this blog and through our video blogs you will soon find on YouTube.com. Share your thoughts and enjoy!

~Santine de Roover, Owner of the De Roover Bakery
(http://www.derooverbakery.com/)



My name is Jamie Yang. I have three kids, one husband and a business. What does that mean? It means I have to balance a family and a thriving business at the same time. I actually do know what a blog is but, my problem is that I am a horrific critic of my own writing and therefore do not blog...up until now. My story starts off at this lovely tea house I own which is called the Lavender Tea House. Here I have specialized in one particular product. The problem is... I am not the typically English tea proprietress you may expect to make this product. It's called a "scone." Pronounced "skon" in Scotland. A very European pastry made by a very south eastern asian woman. Typical? No. Delicious, yes!

This journey that Santine and I are on was started in a parking lot at our local YMCA. With the sun beating down on us and time flying away...we brainstormed on how we could get the word out about how to get the word out on our fabulous pastries that we make. In the end, we knew we were up to an excellent challenge. For one year we were going to document, Start-Up Mom's. We thrive at challenges and this is just the beginning.

It's going to take a lot of sweat, guts and an excellent partner to get through this. But, together we are willing to face these challenges as we promote and sell our unique pastries.

~Jamie Yang, Owner of the Lavender Tea House
(http://www.lavenderteahouse.com/)