Weekend Recap: Sandi Patty Edition

Well, I just had the highest hopes for blogging everyday last week but then Mother got sick and we had to spend a major chunk of the day at Comprehensive Care on Tuesday.  And then on Thursday I came down with a fever and a stomach virus of epic proportions.  I'm convinced that I got it when we took Mother to the doctor on Tuesday.  My first clue was that her doctor came in and said "would you believe that I've seen four cases of a strain of flu with fever and stomach virus?"  Yep, that's where it came from.  I'm just beyond thankful that Mother didn't catch it.  That would have really been bad.  D was a rock star handling the dogs and helping with Mother (she's living with us now) when I couldn't lift my head off the pillow.  So that was our week last week, how was yours?

Saturday morning I met with one of my favorite young ladies from our church; daughter of some dear friends who is finding herself a bride in May.  When she set her date, I was already booked with another wedding so I'm working her through the planning process all the way to the Big Day.  It makes me a littler nervous to leave her in the unfamiliar hands of others but I'm sure she'll be just fine.  We had a delightful morning of looking back at old times and looking forward to her new season.  It was truly a blessing. 

On Saturday afternoon,, I found myself trying to play catch up with various projects from the whole week.  That was a little overwhelming and I'm still digging out.  The next six weeks are beyond busy with coordinating four events/weddings, hosting a shower at my house and opening my new office and the new shop.  Oh dear, one.day.at.a.time.sweet.Jesus. 

Before I go I've got to tell you about last night.  Okay, just like y'all I'm sure, D and I lead very hectic lives so we try our best to set aside Sunday evenings as a date night.  So when I saw that Ms. Sandi Patty was going to be at Johns Creek Baptist Church last night, I ordered tickets.  This would be a perfect date night (except that D's mom wanted to go so she went with us.  That's kinda the story of our lives right now).   I even upgraded so we could go to the Meet and Greet. I've been looking forward to it for months.    I can honestly say that Sandi's music has influenced me more than any others through the years. She's been one that I've just kept in the rotation and when I've needed a little uplifting moment from music, Sandi Patty has been there for me.  Her voice is truly one of, if not the greatest, of our generation.  Last night she sang with the church's 125-voice choir behind her and I thought surely we had already gone to heaven.    When she sang "How Great Thou Art" with that choir, I was just done.  It was amazing. 

Here we are with Sandi at the Meet and Greet:

This is not a great photo but this gives you the feel of the church and the choir with Sandi.   What a great evening!

Okay, gotta go.  I started a few weeks ago recording the "Cooking with Crevolyn" segments with the Dahlonega radio station.  They are fun bunch let me tell you!  I'm off to talk to them.  Have a great day!

Take me Out to the Ballgame - The G Edition

Last Monday was the opening day of Baseball 2015.  So in honor of that, the Braves 5-1 season start and let's be honest, just because I love this so much, let's let G get us in the baseball spirit!
I'm guessing he was about 3 or 4 years old at the time. I'm not sure what I love more: the knee slaps, the nose "itch," or all the hat action.  And the boy can flat out sing, don't ya think? 

The Retreat at Long Mountain

Many years ago when D's parents purchased the farm in Cleveland, it was his Dad's vision and dream for the property to someday be used for ministry.  Over the years, it was used many times hosting retreats, worship services, meetings, prayer days, Sunday School parties and a whole lot more.  It was used by our family for lots of fun and relaxing as well as family reunions, parties and even a few weddings.  But God had more in mind for this place.  After Johnnie died, D's mom decided it was time for the vision to be realized so talks began with our church, Lakewood Baptist, to become the beneficiary of this property.   On Saturday, April 4 the first official event unveiling the Retreat at Long Mountain was held.  It included over 1,100 people enjoying a meal, an Easter egg hunt, and a plane flyover.    We could not be more thrilled to see what God has in mind for this piece of His earth.  I couldn't help but think maybe God parted the veil and let Johnnie peak down.

Pictured with Dr. Tom Smiley, Kirky, Sadie and Penny.  :) 

My John Denver Story

This is my column published in The Times.    I'm sharing one of my fondest memories of days gone by ...

I’ve always worked.   In my family, when you turned 16 you got a job.  However, up until I was about 15 ½ I thought when you turned 16, you got a car.  Nobody told me until then that the car would also require a job!   It didn’t take me long to realize that if you want something, like gas to put in your car, you had to work for it.  I continued to work all through school.  My early jobs while in high school and college were as a bookkeeper, a receptionist, a student ambassador for my college, a fashion show coordinator for the local mall and a “prep assistant” for the college food science classes.  I wasn’t even a food science major.  Isn’t that interesting how life comes full circle sometimes? 

These days, my jobs include planning weddings and events, writing a blog, selecting/tasting/adapting recipes and speaking about food and entertaining.  I’ve had some interesting jobs along the way but I’ve got to tell you about one of my favorites that wasn’t really a paying job.  It was an internship.

 

In graduate school, I had the opportunity to work at an advertising agency based out of St. Louis.  One of my assignments was to handle the print advertising for upcoming concerts.  Remember, this was 1981 before the techno age hit and things were still being mailed, printed and hand delivered.  One day my boss came in and told me my new client was on the phone.  I picked up the phone and imagine my surprise when I heard, “Hi Crevolyn.  This is John Denver.”  Well, this job just got better.  We talked regularly over the course of the next few months.  He was warm, engaging and kind.  The day came when my portion of the job was coming to an end.  John made one last call and when I answered, he immediately started singing … “you fill up my senses, like a night in the forest, like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain” (from “Annie’s Song”) then very graciously thanked me for all of my work on his behalf.   What a great gift I received that day.  That alone was payment enough!  I’ll never forget it. 

My Daddy always said “a little hard work never hurt anyone.”  I’ll venture to say that most folks feel a great sense of accomplishment after a job well done.  So let’s get in the kitchen, make this Baked Spaghetti and reap the benefits of some good work.  This is one of our family’s favorites. 

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds lean ground meat

2 (24 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta

1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

1 ½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crumble ground meat in a saucepan.  Cook until no pink remains; drain off the fat.  Combine ground meat and spaghetti sauce.  Simmer together about 20 minutes.  While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Combine the cheeses into one bowl. Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with a third of the sauce.  Add a layer of pasta, then add a cup of cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the last third of the sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining cup of cheese, return to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Cut into squares and serve.

He is Risen!

It's March 2015 (again in April)!

March 2015 was one of the craziest months of recent.  There were lots of good things going on and lots of not-so-good things going on.  But I guess that's usually the way life goes.

The first of the month started with lots of planning for a brand new venture I could not be more excited about.  For months, my friend Tracy has been toying with the idea of opening a gift/home store.  Several doors closed along the way but one flew wide open about the middle of February and she took the plunge.  She signed a lease on the cutest little house and began the process of preparing to open The Iron Rose.   Isn't this awesome?  You want to know what is more awesome?  I'm moving my Wonderful Events office there!  WooHoo!  I'm super excited.  The Main Street Market location has served us well for almost 5 years but I felt like this was the next right thing.  So we moved all of the office things to the new location last week.  While things are still in major disarray there, it will eventually be fabulous.

Anyway, back to March.  Tracy and I began to think about how best to restore this old house to a more cozy cottage homey feel.  Paint colors and light fixtures were chosen and the buying of merchandise commenced.  Whew, that was an ordeal.  I went to the Mart a couple of times but Tracy, of course, has primarily worked tirelessly to choose just the right merchandise mix.  Which is no easy task when you are opening something new.  I think she's done an amazing job.  I love everything she's bought.  So we've got that going on ...

On March 7th, my sweet girl turned 29 years old.  LOVE this child.  She is such an amazing person.  She's so amazing that she had 2 birthday desserts:  her old favorite Strawberry Cake and her new favorite, Grasshopper Pie.  She loves chocolate and mint so I had to add this to the birthday mix. 

Happy Birthday to you, sweet Emily!


On the 14th we headed to Nashville just for a fun weekend.  We usually go to visit D's sister and her family in Murfreesboro and never make it to Nashville.  But this time, we were going to be tourists and we had a great time.

If you are a fan of American Pickers, you need to make a beeline to their new store in Nashville, Antique Archeology.  Of course, what do you think the Wiley's did?  They walked straight to this awesome miniature grocery store.  Is that not awesome?  If not for the $250 price tag, it might have come home with us. 

Next we went to the  Fontanel Mansion which is the former home of Barbara Mandrell.  Being a long time fan of Barbara and a super-fan of the Mandrell Sisters Variety Show (who remembers that too?),
this was an awesome glimpse into the Mandrell's career.  And, by the way, the Fontanel Mansion is the largest log home in the world.
Darrell was loving Buck Owen's red, white and blue guitar.  Okay, you've got to remember Buck, too, right? 

After an exhausting afternoon of site seeing we had to have some nourishment.  And of course you can't be a tourist in Nashville and not eat at the Loveless Cafe.  The best fried chicken I've ever put in my mouth.  Yum.  

On Sunday morning, we got up and went to Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin.  We first saw this grocery store turned restaurant on the Food Channel several years ago and have had it in the back of our mind's ever since that we wanted to visit.  We had their breakfast buffet and it did not disappoint.  Delish.  Obviously this is a stock photo of an event held there but this shows you how cool this place is. 


After leaving Franklin (which by the way I want to go back when all of those cute little shops are open) we stopped at Carnton Plantation.  I highly suggest you read about this place.  It was fascinating.  During one of the civil war battles, this private home became an instant hospital to 300  soldiers. The wood floors are still stained with the soldier's blood. The ones that were killed are buried right on the grounds, over 1,500 soldiers.   It is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.  The woman of the house, Carrie McGavock become devoted to giving these men a lasting legacy and worked tirelessly to identify the bodies, mark their grave sites and contact their families.  So interesting.

After we left Carnton, we headed to downtown Nashville for a major tourist attraction, The Country Music Hall of Fame.  I loved it.  I could have stayed in there all day.  Right now, they have special Alan Jackson and Ronnie Milsap collections.  Two of my favorites. 

One of the reasons for going this weekend was because we had tickets for The Sing Off Live Tour.  We have gotten hooked on this show and when we saw at Christmas that they would be at the Ryman Auditorium, we got together with D's sister and her husband and got tickets.  If you aren't familiar with the Sing Off, it is a singing competition for acapella groups.  The things these folks can do with their voices are amazing.  You just have to listen.  This is one of our favorite groups, Home Free, singing "Ring of Fire."  Love.

Monday morning as we were heading back to Gainesville, we got the call that my mom had fallen.  Long story but she didn't break anything or hit her head but she did have a heart attack.  She stayed in the hospital until Friday and was then transferred to a rehab facility to regain her strength.  She'll be released from there on Sunday and come to stay at our house for awhile.  So it's been a crazy couple of weeks.  I had knee surgery last Friday, the 27th and I'm making progress.

So I think that catches up to April.  Today is a big day.  I can't wait to tell you about it.  And tomorrow's Easter.  He is Risen.  He is Risen indeed! 

February 2015 (in April)

As you know, we are playing a little bit of a catch up game with the blog.  We are reliving the month of February today!

February started with a beautiful wedding right here in Gainesville on the 7th. The ceremony was at Grace Episcopal Church and reception at The Robson Center.   I was thrilled to coordinate this sweet family's special day.   I grabbed this photo off the photographer's website so I need to give a huge shout out to Kaylan Bradley of Happy Everything Photography.  She is awesome.  And aren't these fur stoles amazing and perfect for a February wedding?!



In January I wrote that  one of G's best friends had gone missing.  On February 8th, sadly, his friend's body was found.  To say that we were and still are heartbroken for his family is an understatement.  His loss is unimaginable.  He and G were super close in high school and he spent lots of time at our home.  When they both went to college, they continued their friendship and would see each other on breaks.  There wasn't a time that he came in our house that he didn't give me a bear hug.  He was a great young man.   G worked tirelessly when his friend went missing to find him.  We had hoped and prayed for another outcome.  G was asked to speak at the funeral and while it was extremely difficult, he did a great job honoring his buddy.  I just can't imagine the pain of losing a child.  Continued thoughts and prayers for his family.   

So on Feburary 14th we left for a much needed and long anticipated cruise with some of our best friends.  They most recently moved to Florida from Atlanta and because we never get to see them, we were super excited about this trip!
D pulled off the BEST Valentine's Day ever!!! We flew into San Juan a day early to celebrate and then explore the island.  That was a great decision. Because you know I'm all about the food and drinks.  Here's our Valentine's Day in review.
Red and white sangria.  It was as good as it looked. 

Honestly, I can't tell you what all this is but I do remember it was delicious. 

This is the best rice and beans on the planet.  I'm sure of it. 

San Juan we loved you.  We hope to see you again soon.  

We cruised to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Marteen.  All were fabulous but St. Marteen was our favorite.  Well, other than San Juan.
 
When you are on a cruise you usually don't get much cell phone service even when you dock.  However D couldn't stand it so he bought the limited service cell plan.  Imagine his surprise when he began to get texts and emails that there was a major ice storm in Gainesville and one of stores was without power.  Apparently, lots of places were without power.  However, it's a major thing when a grocery store is without power.  I'm sure no one that was involved in the process of pulling all of the refrigerated and frozen product from our Limestone store (except E) will ever read this but I just have to say they were rock stars.  They worked tirelessly to put all of that product on refrigerated trucks that were parked in the parking lot until the power was restored.  And then they put it all back in the store.  I just can't imagine the manpower that this project took.  D tried hard not to be distracted on the cruise once he realized all that was happening back home.   It was struggle for him, believe me. 

This trip was the highlight of our month!  Good thing we went because March turned out to be quite the hard one.   More to come ... 

I'm Back ... to January 2015!

No, this is not April Fools - I really am writing a blog post.  I just cannot tell you all that has happened in the almost 3 months since I last posted in January.  I tell you when that calendar rolls around to a new year, you really have no idea what that new year holds.  Thank the good Lord that He is beside us every step of the way.    Let me hit the highlights of January, February and March in the next few posts so then we can move on. 

In January ...
1.  We went to the Governor's Inaugural Ball and it was so much fun!  Here's a few photos of the loves of my life.   

That's Alan Jackson in that last picture.  Didn't know if you could pick him out!  :)

2.  We went on a little girls trip that next week to St. Simons.  And boy, oh boy, was that a fun weekend!  I adore these women.  And I love, love St. Simons' King and Prince, their shopping and last but never least, their food.  It's my happy place.

This might be one of the best things I've ever eaten, Eggs Low Country from the Echo Restaurant at the King and Prince.  Think shrimp, potatoes, corn, andouille sausage and a fried egg.  It was breakfast perfection.  

3.  The weekend of the 24th and 25th found me at New Beginnings on Saturday and The 2015 Gainesville Bridal Expo on Sunday.  Both were fabulous days!
 Here are few photos from the Bridal Show.  Emily and I, along with one of Emily's besties, Elisa, had a great time.  It's a crazy busy hectic day but in the end, totally worth it.  Many thanks to my buddies Mary and Judy for some amazing florals for all of our tables.  It takes a village to pull this off but we did it!

 So that hits the high points for January.  February up next!!