Happy Birthday!!!!

Today happens to be Maggie's birthday!!  If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that Maggie is a little girl that my daughter, Jessica, babysits three days a week at our home.  #maggiedays are our #favoritedays for sure!  This little girl is as sweet as sweet can be and today she's turning 2!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE!!!!!

Speaking of birthdays, I had the cutest set this week for a little girl turning ONE!!  Her name is Sloan Piper -how cute is that name??  Her momma sent me an invite and that was the inspiration for the cookie set.  

I'm finishing up some last minute details on a set for the governors' holiday tour in Alabama and then I'm on to finishing up some personal baking and decorating.  I can't believe that we leave tomorrow for Alabama.  This is such a needed and anticipated trip for a number of reasons.

My hubby, Bill, is on his last day of a crazy work hours, six 12-13 hour days for the past 4 weeks.  He is beyond is exhausted and ready for a break.  I've been shipping cookies to the sweet people of Alabama for quite a few months now and I'm looking forward to meeting some of them, not to mention finally meeting Evan.  We've never been to Alabama and are ready to do some exploring while we are there and are in need of some serious time together.  Life is crazy busy and we don't take the time to slow down and enjoy ourselves enough at all.

Although we'll be gone for Thanksgiving and away from our children and family, there will be much that we are giving thanks for! This creative outlet being one of them and all of the great people who continue to ask for cookies from me!  Some days I can't even believe that any of this is real!

God is good and I can't wait to soak in His goodness on the streets and in the towns of Alabama!!  Tomorrow we have soccer and then have to get to packing.  Should be fun -I hope that I don't over pack -I have a feeling that's inevitable!!

I'll keep you posted!!  

God bless,

Lorraine

Let's talk turkey, shall we?

So Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away and we are typically in a last minute frenzy over here prepping to host our family Thanksgiving dinner - but not this year!! 

 This was from a few years ago, before we knocked that wall down behind Bill and removed that tacky plastic, printed paneling!

While the battle blazes on for the case of Christmas prep before Thanksgiving, we have our own battle here on the home front.  It's not a deadly battle, thank God, or even one to merit a meme, but it is a battle none-the-less.

Here are some whimsical and fun little turkeys that are heading south for the holiday!

You see for years and years, my husband, children and I have hosted our Family Thanksgiving dinner.  We've enjoyed preparing all of the food, a large turkey, sometimes two, cutting, boiling and mashing the potatoes, providing veggies from our garden, warm rolls and cornbread, homemade pie crusts and pies, and of course plenty of cookies.  While Bill would man the kitchen and handle all food planning and prep (with the help of little hands), I was in charge of cookies and table setting!.  On the day of, my job was to keep everyone out of the kitchen and make the place look pretty. Check!!  I've got this!! In fact, I would look for new ways to set the table each year.  We didn't have tons of room on the table for centerpieces and whatnot, but I did what I could to provide a different atmosphere year after year.

 our "kids" table one year

This year will look a little different for us and the rest of the family.  While we have experienced some change in the past few years, with families growing and doing their own thing and watching loved ones pass into eternity, we are familiar with change and the fact that nothing stays the same.  But sometimes, whether you choose the change or not, it's hard to let go of what once used to be.

If you don't already know this about me, I change around rooms like it's going out of style!!  This room is now our office but then was our dining room.

God has been teaching me how to be brave over the past five years or so.  Especially so over the last three years, I have heard His nudging and calling to let go and let Him navigate and orchestrate.  So with anticipation we've decided to take a break from what used to be, and my hubby and I are embracing change and taking a trip to Alabama!!  The kids are not happy at all about us leaving them on Thanksgiving and I'll admit, it feels a wee bit selfish.  But we feel that it's something that we have to do and that week just made sense for a number of reasons.

We always filled up on appetizers right before the meal was served.  What were we thinking?

So I guess the point of my post really is this......This is our first Thanksgiving without our children, our parents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  We'll be in a different state, where we have some contacts but no one that we "know" or "knows" us.  What do we do?  Turkey sandwiches from WaWa?  Wait, they don't have WaWa there.  Could we find a restaurant that isn't already booked up?  Should we make a mini Thanksgiving meal in our hotel suite?  I don't know.

 Bill makes a mean Pumpkin Pie!! 

We would love to experience a true Southern Thanksgiving.....but where do we start?  Alabama friends, what are your typical Thanksgiving dishes??  What should we know about Thanksgiving in the South?  What are your traditions?  We'd love to know!!

Can't wait to see Alabama and the sweet people there!!!  God bless, Lorraine

Who doesn't love a good tea party??

I LOVE tea parties!!  One of my best friends, Kathleen used to host a group of us at Christmas for a tea.  It was such a special time of fun and fellowship, especially when you're used to running around rushed and crazy, it's nice to slow down, breathe deeply and act "like a lady". There's just something about holding a dainty tea cup, sipping sweet, savory tea and nibbling on pretty little pastries and tea sandwiches......aaaaahhhhhhh! 

Oh sorry, I'm back with ya now.  A few weeks ago I was asked to create custom decorated sugar cookies for a special little girl turning 8!!!  Her party theme has to be one of the most popular tea parties ever. Are you a fan of "Alice in Wonderland"?  I am!!  I loved the original when I was little and I love the new version with Johnny Depp even more.  He is such a fabulous actor and does an incredible "Mad Hatter".  Anyway, the tea party scene is a classic and I couldn't wait to jump in and start designing and creating.

Thanks to Kara Anne from Kara Anne Custom Paper & Lettering, I knew exactly where to start.  She created an amazing custom invite and it provided me with so much inspiration I couldn't wait to have these cookies come to life.

 

 

I decided half way in that I was going to try my hand at hand painting some of the details, especially the ones that I took directly from the invitation.  I know, not the best time to try something new, but if not now, then when?  This cookie adventure has pushed me beyond my cramped little comfort zone and I couldn't be happier! 

 

 

I decided to try it out first on some of the smaller cookies, like Rabbit's stopwatch.

We're late! We're late! For a very important date!!!!! 

 I also painted the lettering on the potion bottle.  I liked how they turned out and felt confident that I could move on to the bigger cookie design!  No problem!!

You have a beautiful smile Chesh!!  Ever notice how contagious a smile is?  Especially a great, big genuine smile?  If not, try it out! Notice who's smiling and smile back!!

 

 

I don't know that I did the invitation any justice but I sure tried!!  Hand painting on a cookie is time and labor intensive, but soothing and rewarding at the same time!!  I hope that the birthday girl loves these cookies as much as I loved creating them for her!!  Happy Birthday Nikki!!!  Hope you have a magical celebration!!  8 is a pretty big deal!!!  You're just two years away from double digits!!!!!  But remember, just because you're getting older, don't ever lose the child inside!! Slow down, have tea parties, play with dolls, laugh - a lot!!!!!!  Birthdays are great but it's the inbetween moments that make up a magical life!!

 

God Bless

Lorraine



 

Road Trip Time!!!!!

Okay, so here's the deal!!  We're headed to Alabama!!!!!!!!!



WHEN:  Saturday, November 22nd - Friday, November 29th
(I know, Thanksgiving??  We picked this week because it was less vacation days for my hubs to take!)

WHERE:  Montgomery, AL

WHY:  We've been dreaming BIG and praying HARD for a while now, dream chasing if you will and we feel that Alabama may be a part of that dream!!!  This is a great time for us to come down, explore the area(s), meet some of you and have some fun!!!!!

We'll be having a fun give away or two, so stay tuned for details on that!  If you've ordered from me in the past, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to meet ya!!!!!  Also looking for the best places to visit, things to do, places to see, etc.  So any favorites you have, I'd love for you to share them with me!!!

On another note, we are looking to make things a bit easier for you to find us, figure things out and so on, so Sweets for your Sweet will be merging with my blog and IG, A Place to Gather!!  Facebook, IG and my blog will be one cohesive place.......to gather!!!!  We'll talk life, family, God, Cookies (of course) and plenty of other things!!!!

Would you keep this dream of ours in your prayers?  I don't know how or when it will all play out, but God has been orchestrating this for quite some time now and I'm super excited about this next phase and the opportunity to meet some of you!!!! 

Please feel free to message me here, on facebook or IG to let me know if you'll be around that week and when and if we can meet up!!!!  I'll be bringing some sweets with me and plus don't forget about the give away!!  More details on that to come in the next few days!!!!

God bless,
Lorraine

What's been going on?

Things are starting to slow down around here.....a tiny. little. bit!!  I thought I'd take a few quick moments to catch you up on what's been going on around here!!!!  The last time I stopped by it was April, I had needed a break and had some big things on the horizon....you can read about that here!!

So, May:

I decorated my first (and probably only) barn wedding!!  It was a blast!! It was scarey!!  It was a personal challenge, trusting in the abilities that God has given me and the encouragement that I got from friends and family.  There were many times that I wanted to quit and run away (which is my "panic button")  But....I didn't do that, I pushed through and it was amazing!!!!

photo courtesy of Satta Photography

 



I wish that I could share all of the pictures with you, because it was such a great wedding!!  All of the details matched the bride and groom perfectly and the photographer did an incredible job at capturing it all!!! I could probably do a post just on his photography, his shots were unbelievable and magical!!  Make sure you check out his website, one word of caution...he's based out of Thailand!!  But he does visit the states and I believe he's planning a trip back here in the fall!!  Check out his facebook page here!! {tell him I sent ya!!!}

After the wedding came Jessica's GED test...which she passed and is now a High School Graduate!!!  At age 16, I might add!!!  She's done her first year at community college and is well on her way to achieving the goals that she has set before herself!!  We are very proud of her, to say the least!! 

Two weeks after the wedding, I was on to our Youth Group Girls Retreat!!  It's another decorating opportunity for me, plus (and way more importantly) a chance to really pour some Jesus into these teens that our youth team work with!!  The theme was "Obsessed" and it was based off of a six week bible study book by Hayley Dimarco.  We tackled the things in life that we tend to be obsessed with and then wrapped it up by looking at what it looks like to be Obsessed with God.  It was an incredible weekend!!

 

"Are you ready to unpack your Obsessions?" This is where girls could come and write down things they were ready to let go of; things that were taking over the space where God is supposed to be.

We hid a large ping-pong table behind that burlap and bookcase :)

Just a few areas that I get to decorate!

 

Sunday morning we wrap up with a sunrise service on the beach!! We are up at 4:45 and out the door by 5:00.  It's an incredible way to spend a morning after digging deep all weekend.  To sit on the empty beach, anticpate the rising sun, and hear the crashing of the waves is a very humbling experience.  It's definitely the highlight of the weekend.

 

The Ladies Tea was next on the schedule and it was a blast!!!!  The ladies had shown me this picture at the last tea and said "THIS IS WHAT WE WANT YOU TO MAKE US!!!!"  Okay, maybe they weren't that demanding, but I wasn't about to let this group of ladies down!!

 

 

So this is what they got!!!!  

 

I went with the zebra print with hot pink, because, well, why the heck not!!??  They are such a sweet and fun group of women and this ministry is something that I'm so honored to be a part of!!!  Next tea.....The Mad Hatters Tea Party!!!!  Should be fun!!

 

I've had a few cookie orders mixed in between and a few more to come!!  I've done Thomas the Train, Princess, Birthday (hat, gift, cupcake) and I have a rehearsal dinner and a pirate party coming up!!  You can check out my facebook page here.  I don't know where this will go, but I'm enjoying it for where it is right now!!

 

We've officially wrapped up our homeschooling for the summer!  Joe is off on a mission trip this weekend, Jaysen heads to camp in July, Julia turns 9 and I will be at camp in August as the craft lady and a teacher, while Jessica takes care of the camp store and Joe camps that week!  We're hoping to have our pool cleared up soon and I'm looking forward to a lot of lazy days at the pool!!!

 

Life in between these events have been sweet with a little taste of this and that.....here a few pics!!  Okay, so I was going to give you a few more pics, but blogger isn't cooperating!  And maybe it's best anyway.....you might be sick of pictures, who knows?  Bill and I got away for a quick weekend escape!! We went to a B & B in Havre de Grace, MD and it was a much needed break and rest!!  The flowers have been blooming diligently and whenever we have a second, we are out there cutting them and making beautiful arrangements to enjoy!

 

I've had to fight looking at my summer as being over before it begins .  We always have one major event in each month and I tend to glaze over and miss the in between times.  The backward bucket lists have really been a help for me in that area and I'm sure I'll do another one throughout the summer.  If you want to check them out, you can do that  here and here!!

 

What have you been up to and what's on your bucket list??  Do you have a summer bucket list?

 

God Bless <3 Lorraine

So many cookies, so little time

Has it only been one week or two since I've been on here??  I don't even know, honest...it feels like a looong time friends!!!  Three weeks ago I played around with the idea of offering sugar cookies for sale.  We make them for our family at the holidays and have offered them for fundraising needs.  They are usually a big hit!!  I was asked to make them for an engagement party in December and so I guess I'm making a name for myself and my cookies!!! 

I no sooner got the thought out of my mind and off of my lips and there was a message requesting 3 dozen valentine's day cookies for the following week!!  So, I figured what the heck??!!  Well 24 dozen cookies later, I think I am comatose!!!  I've been sitting on a stool in the corner of my kitchen, nestled againts the counter and cabinets making delicate little heart shaped cookies for the past five days!!!  It pretty much took over my life!!!  It was crazy!  It was exhausting!  It was time consuming and it was so. much. FUN!!!!

I am glad that I decided to keep the ugly 1970's credenza in my kitchen!!  It has served me well in this monster baking endeavor!!!!  Thanks Jessica for the idea of clearing it off and lining them up!!  It was perfect!!

 

I was able to bring over a dozen at a time to the counter to decorate them.  I only had one decorator bag, so this took more time than it should have!  I had made 4 different colors to decorate with and had to either empty and clean the bag multiple times or have the forsight to know what I wanted to do on dozens of cookies so that I could use it up before starting over!

 

 

I am so thankful for Pinterest for all of the great ideas!!  Some I copied exactly and some I came up with on my own!  I definitely had a blast being creative, it felt like I was doodling, which I love to do!!

 

I could drown this post with pictures of cookies!!!  Different styles, stages, locations, packaging, etc.  I really want to, but I'll spare you!!! I need to look into packaging ideas that are cost effective.  I have typically used aluminum pans that can be thrown away.  The dollar store had these great tupperware-ish containers that I decided to use for the bulk of the orders.  They worked really well, but looked impractical!!

 

Here is the first batch of cookies, packaged and ready to go!!  This was my staging area for completed orders!!  See the containers on the left?  Those are the dollar store ones, they're great!!

Just when I thought I was finished and had cleaned up, I got a few more orders!!!  LOL, I joke about not wanting to go back into the kitchen, but I am truly am thankful for each and every order! 

 

I decided to use these cute paper punches to keep track of my orders!!  Hey, if it can be done in a cute way, I'm alllll about it!!!!!

 

After completing all of the orders (I have one dozen that needs to be delivered today), I had to go back to the kitchen and make a birthday cake for my lil Valentine!!!!  My Joe turned 13 yesterday!!!  It truly feels like yesterday that he came into this world!!  He's such a great kid, thoughtful, quiet, creative.....its been amazing watching him grow over the years and we're excited to see what the next few years bring for him!!!

 

 

 

I also threw together a little Valentine's Day fun for my love bugs!!!  I seriously mean "threw"!!!  I don't typically pull off Valentine's Day anything because of the birthday, but I've been feeling really inspired to take that day back and do "something" fun and special!! With the fact that I've literally been in the kitchen from morning til night for five days straight, I knew I couldn't do a whole lot and I didn't have any money to spend towards it, so I had to work with what I had.....not a whole lot!!

 

 

Luckily, you don't need a whole lot to be inspired and move forward!!!  So I gathered what ideas I came up with and just asked God to help me make it happen.  Typically when I get something in my head, I don't give up until I make it happen....I was sure that this was going to kick in for my surprise!!  A friend from church had given me a bag of wooden painted hearts, they've been in the garage for a few months.  I decided to have the kids paint them for me (heh heh heh) in chalkboard paint...they'd be the perfect little charger!!! 

 

Next, I knew I had some old Starbucks bottles on hand and thought it'd be cute to fill them with chocolate and strawberry milk.  I had just picked up some new red mugs from the dollar store and decided to make cake in a cup for them!!  I also had some small heart cookies left over, picked up the traditional "SweetHearts" for them and threw a few strawberry wafer cookies in the mix!!

 

I could have done so much more, and I'm not lying when I say that I am still fighting the urge to be discontent!  Some things die slowly.  The funny thing is, no one likes strawberry wafer cookies!!  The buttercream icing on the cakes was too sweet and gave them tummy aches, so they barely touched them.....they did drink their milk though!!!  That was a score.  I was highly disappointed in the response to this little shin dig.....the enemy knows my weak spots.  It's not pin worthy, it's barely blog worthy, but ya know what?  I don't care!!  I don't.  I could have done nothing at all, I could have used the excuse that I didn't have the time (I barely had the time) or that it wasn't important in the first place. 

But God gave me the desire, He gave me the means and He helped me make it happen.  I know that they enjoyed the treat, even if it didn't look like it.  I have to remember that what I do, I do for the Lord and not for man (or children) anyway.  I want to be obedient and pleasing to my Heavenly Father, and so I'm content.

I know that He delights in me, that I make Him smile when I am serving Him.  He is my sunshine and I am His <3  And that's all I need!!  I love the chalkboard hearts, I don't know where I'll use them after this, but I can't wait to see what we come up with!!! 

We moved on with our day, had french toast and bacon for dinner as per the birthday boys request!  He loved his little Creeper cake!!  He loved his gifts and he was surrounded with the people who love him the most!!  Isn't that what it's all about?  Knowing that you're loved, being surrounded with people who love you and falling into bed at the end of the day knowing you did a job well done!!

So I actually have to get back to the kitchen :/  I need to make some brownies.  Joe is have a friend or two over to hang out tonight and he's requested baked goods!!!  So back I go....to the one place that I typically spend very little time!!!!  If you need me you know where to find me!!!! 

Happy Friday friends!!  I pray you have a blessed weekend!!  Ours is packed with activity, as usual, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!!

God Bless <3 Lorraine

 

 

 



 





Simple Grace - Week Four

Alright, so instead of a wordy post about my thoughts on extending Grace to others....I'm going to give you the chance to practice it!!!  I don't have a post today on extending Grace, I don't.  It's killing me, trust me when I say, I'm fighting feeling like a failure.  But I have to put this into perspective, while I'm assuming that there are people out there who enjoy reading my posts, I know that your world is not going to end because I didn't come through with a post on Grace today!  At least I hope that's true, please don't tell me if your world falls apart after this!!! lol

So anyway, I decided to advertise locally for the sale of sugar cookies for Valentine's Day!  I have several orders between this week and next, I'm still a newbie at this so I'm scrambling just a bit to fit these cookies in with everything else that I'm doing.  It takes a bit of finesse so bear with me!!!  I'd like to quickly say that I think extending Grace to others is being willing to let go of the expectations that we put on others when we see they aren't going to match up with what's actually happening.  It's a tough one, especially if we don't extend Grace to ourselves in those same moments.

I'm still working on that!  I guess, that since it is a process, it'll be a while, if ever, that I nail that down.  I hope not though, I think we all need to get to the position of extending Grace to ourselves and others, simply because Jesus so easily and readily offers it to us and if we are following His example, we have no reason not to get to that place!!

Valentine's Day is next Thursday, which is also my son; Joe's 13th Birthday!!!!!  I can't even believe that!!!  But anyway, I think February is a great month to really contemplate what Jesus' love looks like, feels like and how it can transform us!!!  Take some time to know Whose you are <3  Send a few Valentine's His way in your prayers this month and let Him tell you and show you how crazy He is for you <3

It'll change your life!!!! 

God Bless <3 Lorraine