Some things are just a perfect fit.

Colstrip's Debby Haas had worked in hospitality for many years when she decided to open the Lakeview Bed and Breakfast seven years ago. Her spacious home was perfect for hosting guests, and its location next to Castle Rock Lake gave it "the most romantic view in Eastern Montana," according to Haas.

Haas, too, seemed to be the perfect person to run such an endeavor.

"It's the perfect thing for me," she said. "I get to do all the things I love doing, and make a livelihood at the same time."

Debby loves to cook exotic and gourmet foods, experimenting with new recipes and fun flavors.

"Food is really rewarding,” she said. “It’s the most intimate things you can do for someone. You're making a memory."

Then there's the decorating. Debby confesses to having a passion for decorating. She has taken the five guest rooms in her bed and breakfast, located on Castle Rock Lake Drive in Colstrip, and transformed them into elegant rooms with decor matching five different themes.

Last winter, Haas decided to repaint the three original guest rooms. She sponge painted walls, and in some cases ceilings. Her 16-year-old son Josh helped hang the matching wallpaper borders, giving each room a fresh new look.

Haas said she had a lot of fun choosing furniture and decor for the rooms, The themes provided a great jumping-off point for decorating ideas, she said.

The “Castle Room,” located upstairs, has a balcony overlooking the lake. Debbie searched high and low for medieval-themed decorations to create a quiet, romantic room overlooking the lake.

Other rooms include the Seashore Room (decorated with some of the many shells Debbie collected during her youth in Southern California), the Garden Room, the Woodland Room, and Western Room. Each of the rooms has its own television and vcr, along with a small refrigerator, so guests can stay in their rooms to relax if they want to, Haas said.

Last winter Haas also had a bathroom installed in the Garden Room. Now each bedroom has its own bathroom – making a total of six in the house, Haas said. Each room also has high-speed internet access and coffee.

“We have tried to accommodate what people want,” Haas said.

Lakeview Bed and Breakfast is different from many other B&Bs across the country, Haas said, because a goodnumber of the guests are in the area working. Because she has long-term guests, she tries to make them feel like the B&B is a “home away from home.”

"I treat them just like I do a relative," Haas said.

Many travelers tell her that they've gotten the best night's sleep they've had for a long time, Haas said.

When she first opened, Haas ran a tea room in her bed and breakfast and served exotic lunches. People still talk about the cold strawberry soup, she said, and ask for the recipe for her puff-baked pancakes.

As her bed and breakfast business grew, Haas had to stop serving lunches - it was too time-consuming, and she had become too busy.

People who remember the tea room - or people who never got a chance to enjoy it - have the opportunity to sample some of the delicious treats Haas made. She will serve those and other goodies during her open house, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9.