A Life Long Dream Come Tru!

The Kavanaugh family has been in the Hamilton area for generations. My grandparents, Audentia and Cicero Kavanaugh ran Kavanaugh Salvage in Hamilton for most of their lives. Their daughter, Fanny Kavanaugh is my mother. All her young life she dreamed of living by the ocean. When she met my father in college at North-West Missouri State, who had aspirations of a doctoral program at UC Berkeley in California, she happily married him and moved. My sister and I became the “weird cousins from California.” Our parents were teachers so we spent many summers in Hamilton running barefoot, catching lightening bugs, and listening to Grandpa’s stories on the porch. 

I too became a teacher and so continued the tradition of bringing my children to Hamilton for summer vacations.

Hamilton, and particularly my Grandparent’s house on E Arthur street, was my happy place. I dreamed of one day moving to Hamilton and living in that house.

My grandmother may have started my love of tea and china. She painted a tiny tea set for each girl grandchild. My sister and I played with our sets constantly. When I grew up to be a preschool teacher, I served tea to my students at the end of each day. When I became a middle school math teacher, I instituted, “tea and talk” Tuesdays for the students. I have never grown out of my love for tea, toys, or the company of children. 

As I approached retirement, I dreamed of living in Hamilton and opening a cozy little shop where children and adults could feel comfortable. Mrs. Little’s Tea and Toys was born out of that desire. 

Through a convoluted but fortunate series of events I was able to purchase my grandparents old house. (For that story start at the beginning of my blog: https://cicadatreeproductions.wordpress.com/ )

The only thing left to do was find a place for the tea and toy shop. My cousin saved the day by allowing me to use half of her already established shop: Twigs, Rust, and Dust. Her artist’s eye and fantastic decor was a perfect match for the authentic and whimsical style I wanted for the tea shop. The doors opened on September, 25th, 2021 (my son’s 25th birthday!). I haven’t looked back since.