A Dream Come True!!!!!

Oh my word, Wednesday ranks right up there with one of the best days ever for me!    After, of course, my wedding day and the birth of my children.   It was a dream come true really.  Are you ready for this??  I had lunch with Paula Deen!!! I sat beside her ... She ate off my plate ...  It was so much fun.  And let me just say, she was kind, gracious, and funny.  I honestly felt like I had known her all my life.   This is what she said to me when she met me "Crevolyn (pronounced correctly, by the way), it is such a pleasure to you.  I've heard so much about you."  What? excuse me?  Obviously, our friend Jeff had given her some background but seriously?

Here is how it all happened ... Darrell had a message on his voicemail at work from Jeff  who works for a local poultry producer, Fielddale Farms that there was an opportunity to have a "visit" with Paula on Wednesday mid-day at the Chattahoochee Country Club.  We immediately said - oh yes, we're there!!  We had no idea if there was going to be a ballroom full of people or exactly what.  Turns out, there were 10 of us in the room for lunch: my family; two of our JandJ associates;  Jeff; Paula's food brand manager; Paula and her husband, Michael.    That was it.  They wanted to talk to us (little ole us) about partnering with Fielddale's brand, Springer Mountain Chicken and Paula's brand.     Paula has been the spokesperson for Springer Mountain for about two years.    We already sell this product in our Limestone store but they are expanding the brand to include some of Paula's sauces, rotisserie chickens, rubs, spices and mixes.  All were developed in Paula's kitchen.  These should be in our stores very soon.

Honestly, I'm still pinching myself that this even happened.  It was such a thrill for me!  Here are a few photos to document this wonderful occasion!

We laughed that we may send this as our Christmas card this year.  We'll just have to photoshop E's husband in the pic!

This is Paula and I solving the world's problems.

Oh, funny story.  As we were talking, she mentioned a kind of corn meal that she loved but couldn't find.    Darrell told her that we had it in our store and she wanted to come by and get some.  We had her a little to-go bag ready full of her favorite!  This was taken in the parking lot at the Limestone store.

And that, friends and family, is how one perfectly ordinary day turned into a HUGE day in the life of this girl!  Love that Paula! 
And many thanks to our friend, Jeff who arranged this meeting! He's the bomb!

This, That and a Blog

Good morning, sweet friends!

I just woke up in the best mood this morning which is highly unusual given the circumstances. Let me explain. My husband decided to stay at the farm last night. We are in high gear up there preparing for an extremely busy fall. Beginning this weekend, we'll be hosting two weddings and the store's Vendor Party, all in the course of about eight weeks. D's parents have been super busy preparing the house and land for these events while D, E and I have been busy with all of the event planning details. While some parts of event planning are glamorous, D's part this evening was anything but. Bless his heart, he hauled tables, chairs and miscellaneous sundry items up there and unloaded them. But since he was already there, he decided to stay and ride the 4-wheelers. I really can't blame him. He's also going to work with the farm crew to install new lighting over the deck this morning so I think the man deserves a little ride through the woods! I hate I missed that part because I really like riding 4-wheelers especially at night, except for the bugs in your teeth but really D only gets those because I hide my head behind his. He's quite the protector.

Actually, I was at church until almost 10 last night helping with a regional training event that our church hosts every year. I told D to just go ahead and have all the fun. E and I are headed up to the farm this evening to meet with the bride who is getting married there in October, her mom and the caterer for a tasting. Now, I will just have to admit, tastings, whether cake or dinner, are one of our favorite things to do. On several occasions, E and I have been the pleasure to sit in with our brides who are getting married at Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega. Can I just say, Montaluce tastings rock! Not only do you have the opportunity to taste their exquisite food but you also get to taste their wines. After all, we are there to assist our bride in all possible ways. It's our job. Yes, it is. Somebody has to do it.

Okay, where was I? So all of that to say, I usually don't sleep well when D's not beside me but while I didn't go to sleep until after 1:00 a.m., I did sleep like a rock til 7. So, rise and shine, let's get this day started!!

One of my early morning rituals is reading several blogs. Actually I read lots of blogs throughout the course of the day. I love them, what can I say. But lately, I've been in like with one in particular. I've just got to share it in hopes that you will be as blessed as I have by it. It's called "Bring the Rain," written by Angie Smith. I guess I'm a little behind in that I knew Angie was a gifted speaker as she tours regularly with Women of Faith. But I had no idea what a gifted writer she is. Oh.My.Word. When any one's written word, brings me to tears, I am smitten. So I am smitten with Angie and her powerful message. I'm linking a couple of her amazing posts. Let me say, please don't be tempted to rush through them. They are deep and moving. Love them.

This one, entitled The Stone had me at hello.
http://angiesmithonline.com/2011/08/the-stone/

And I think you'll love this one, too. I've included the follow up article which involves our own Atlanta Braves.
http://angiesmithonline.com/2011/06/honeysuckle-and-fireflies/

http://goodguysports.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/norris-the-atlanta-brave/


Tomorrow, I'm going to share a few more blogs I love. I think you'll like them too because if you read this one, anything is a step up. Thanks for reading - I love both of you!

Bridal Expo 2010

Come by and see Wonderful Events and Celebrations tomorrow at the Bridal Expo! Here's the details:

Bridal Expo
Gainesville Civic Center
from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Fashion Show at 3:30 p.m.
$3 Admission

Mary Stanford will be joining us at our booth tomorrow creating beautiful bouquets and table arrangements. It will be so much fun!

Hope to see you there!

Can I Just Tell You How Much I Love John Berry

Okay, tonight was a true highlight of my 2009! I just saw John Berry in concert at Brenau's Pearce Auditorium and I just cannot tell you in words how good he was. He absolutely has the purest, most beautiful voice I think I have ever heard. The first half of the concert was a variety of some of his past hits as well as some new songs. My favorite from this half - "Blessed Assurance" - just him and his guitar. The second half was Christmas songs. My favorite from this half - "O Holy Night" - without a doubt. He sings this song to perfection. (Although, "Mary Did You Know?" was a close second). For his encore, he did two songs I had never heard before but am now officially crazy about: "Straight Down Rain" and "Love is a Cross." Both were truly amazing. I can hardly wait for him to record these so I can listen to them all the time. Throughout the concert, he spoke freely about his faith and his personal walk with Christ.

This concert was made possible by Butch Miller and his staff at Milton Martin Honda. All ticket proceeds went to benefit Challenged Child. Butch is a good friend of ours. He totally bailed out my husband this afternoon when D realized he had promised we could go and then found out the concert was sold out. Many thanks to Butch for making it happen!

Oh, and good news, friends! Butch announced tonight that John will be in concert in Gainesville the day after Thanksgiving for the next five years! Think it is too early to get my tickets??

Bumpin'-It at the GFIA Extravaganza

Last night was the annual Georgia Food Industry Association Holiday Extravaganza. Wow - that's a mouthful! This event is so much fun - food, faux gambling (they give you play money to lose at Black Jack and Texas Hold 'em), and the much anticipated raffle of fabulous prizes. And I'm not just kidding about the fabulous prizes. We are talkin overnight stays at Barnsley Gardens and Chateau Elan, plasma tvs, Kindles, Macy's gift cards, etc. And guess what? My girl and her hubby won a basket! Theirs was full of gift cards - lucky, lucky them!

Thought I would post a couple of pics from this event. Side note about my hair in these photos because I know you are wondering. I am officially not wearing a bump-it even though it looks like I am. I was thinking I wanted one of those for Christmas but it seems, however, that I will not be needing one. For some odd reason obviously not known to me, my hair decided to bump-it all by itself!

My First Photo!

Wonderful Events & Celebrations at the "A Day in the Mountains Bridal Event." It was held Sunday at the R Ranch in Dahlonega!

Where I'll Be This Weekend!

Never one to miss a shopportunity, on Friday I’ll be over at the:

Heart & Hands Emporium
Benefitting The North House
First Baptist Church Banquet Hall, Gainesville
Friday, September 18: 10 -7
Saturday, September 19: 10 – 4
$3 entrance fee
Over 50 Vendors

The Women’s Ministry at First Baptist Church does a fabulous job with this event! I attended it last year and it was great! I am really looking forward to getting a jump start on my Christmas shopping while benefitting a good cause. The North House is a long-term residential recovery home for women in Gainesville.

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On Sunday, Emily and I will travel up in the mountains to Dahlonega. Wonderful Events and Celebrations will have a table there while Mary Stanford, our resident floral designer extraordinaire, will be creating bridal bouquets, table arrangements, and other wonderful things on site. We are so excited about this!!!

A Day in the Mountains Bridal Event
At R Ranch
Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Brides and Grooms Free; Guests $2 at the door

This is so cool – there will be “Magnificent Wedding Cake Challenge.” Also a bridal and formal wear fashion show and wine tastings from the North Georgia Wineries.
See you there!

Save the date for Marketplace at the Civic Center, November 6 & 7th. More information to come later about this fabulous shopping experience!