Front Porch: Tea Tuesday and bookstores a perfect date with daughter-in-law

Forget Taco Tuesday, my daughter-in-law and I recently discovered something even more fun: Tea Tuesday.

Longtime readers know how excited I was when our son, Zachary, married Naselle in October 2024. After raising four sons, I finally got a daughter-in-law nearby. And not just any DIL – one who shared my love of tea parties and books.

Recently, while scrolling through social media posts, I found a teashop in Post Falls that offered “Tea Tuesdays.”

I’ve been longing to take a jaunt east of the border to visit Kindred & Co., a Post Falls bookstore/bistro that opened in 2024. What if I could combine three of my favorite things: books, my daughter-in-law and tea?

Naselle was all in. Her next Tuesday off from work coincided with the day plumbers were in our home for a major remodel. Perfect timing!

She picked me up on a gray February morning, and we set out for La Tea Da Tea Room. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the venue hosts casual café lunches – no reservations needed.

We were captivated by the charming shop, which features tea essentials, jewelry and girly gift items. Our server pointed out a sweet selection of fancy hats.

“You’re welcome to borrow one for your visit,” she said. “They’re sanitized after every use.”

Who can refuse an opportunity to try on myriad flowery, lacy concoctions?

I quickly settled on a pink frothy number that matched my outfit. After some deliberation, Naselle chose a wide-brimmed forest-green chapeau with lots of lace and netting.

Appropriately adorned, we sat at a lace-topped table set with blue glass water goblets and dainty porcelain teacups.

We started with a pot of vanilla almond tea. Our server set the clear glass pot on a warmer and brought cream and sugar cubes.

While sipping the perfectly steeped beverage, we opted to share the English Tea Nibble, followed by a scone trio.

The tea nibble featured toasted sourdough topped with whipped feta and bacon jam, accompanied by a tasty pasta salad with diced cucumbers.

Then came the scone trio. Tender, warm apple cinnamon, blueberry lemon and snickerdoodle scones served with Devonshire cream, raspberry jam and garnished with fresh fruit.

Each bite, a delight!

Next, we drove to Kindred & Co. Already sated, we strolled through the bustling bistro to explore two stories of bookish joy.

Upstairs in the children’s section, puffy white cloud lamps hung next to a glittering pirate ship chandelier. I thumbed the rows of picture books looking to add to our grandsons’ library.

Winter sunlight warmed the conservatory, where a group of crocheters quietly stitched at one table, and business folk and students tapped away at laptops nearby.

Cozy armchairs tucked into multiple nooks throughout the shop added to the welcoming ambience. We didn’t take advantage of their comfort, because we had one more stop.

Naselle had found a used bookstore on Seltice Way.

We walked into Literary Souls Used Books and were promptly greeted by a svelte black cat named Gorgeous (Gorgee for short). When you find a bookshop with a resident cat, you know you’re likely to find all kinds of treasures.

Like all the best stores, books overflowed from countertops, spilled from bookcases, and were stacked in piles throughout. We had a wonderful time browsing, and Naselle was tickled to find that Literary Souls has a large selection of jigsaw puzzles.

It was truly a delightful day, and more delights are heading my way.

In July, I’ll gain another daughter-in-law when our youngest son weds. Spoiler alert: He proposed in a bookstore, putting a sticky note in a volume of “Anna Karenina.” For their first Christmas, she asked him for a pretty pink tea set.

Turns out, daughters-in-law, like all the best things in life, are worth the wait.

Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com. Hval is the author of “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation” (Casemate Publishers, 2015) available at Auntie’s Bookstore and bookstores nationwide.