Sweet Gatherings

Last week was a busy one at the Richie's house, not only do the fall activities typically start this week, but for us, this week is dotted with birthday celebrations!!

On Sunday night (the 6th), Jaysen had a handful of friends come to spend the night and celebrate his 14th birthday on Monday.

14-17 year old guys aren't hard to please; pizza, soda, Double-Stuff Oreos and M&M's was about all it took to satisfy!!

Wednesday night we kicked off fall with our youth group friends at a black Light party packed with games and Rita's water ice.

Thursday morning was the Ladies Tea at church; it's always so fun to come up with a decorating plan for the ladies!  They love to see what we've come up with!!  This time we celebrated Fall and I knew that my plaid blankets were going to be perfect, coupled with my vintage thermos collection and a few other rustic things, I think it turned out just right!!

Thursday was also my son Jon's 24th birthday!!  We had soccer practice, then it was cancelled and we had to run to the nearest wholesale shop to pick up everything we needed for the biggest celebration of the week coming Sunday.  He and his girlfriend went out to dinner and we all met back up at the house later and celebrated at 10:00!!!!  #livingtherichielife has come into play.  We are a busy family but not too busy to celebrate one another -even if it is at 10 pm!!  lol

Little pockets of time throughout the week were spent preparing for a larger gathering to come on Sunday the 13th.  But before that, Julia had her first soccer game of the season on Saturday, the 12th, which also happened to be Jessica's 19th birthday!!!!  I'm exhausted just typing this!!  It was a busy, busy week - but filled with such wonderful things!!!

Bill and I are the coaches for her team, which actually means Bill is the coach, Joe helps coach at practice and my name is on the roster as assistant coach! lol  I like to think of myself more like the team mom.  My girl killed it in goal for the entire game!!!  The girls played a GREAT game and won 3-2!!  

Jessica came home from college on Saturday night around 10:00 and we were in full party prep for the next day.  Using left over cake mix, Julia made a cake for Jessica in, yes, a metal bowl and presented it to her at MIDNIGHT!!!!!  You thought 10:00 was bad?!?  Remember #livintherichielife?  Yep, it's just how we do!!  

Sunday morning came quickly and there were still lots of things to accomplish before our last celebration of the week!!  There are so many pictures that I'd love to share from Sunday, but I'll spare you!

We had the honor of throwing Jon and Cali a baby shower for Oliver Lee, due to join us in November!! Here are just a few shots.

 

 

They got so many great gifts and Oliver is so very loved already!! The rain held off, the sun came out, friends and family gathered, children ran and laughed, the dogs loved being outside all day and my heart was overflowing with gratitude!! 

To top off an incredible day (and week), after the last gift was opened, Jon took a knee and asked his love if she would marry him!!!!  "Calaine Ann Graham, will you marry me?"  After a few moments and some tears, he stood up and proclaimed, "SHE SAID YES!!!!!"  It was such a sweet moment!!  My momma heart was bursting!!!

It's already Thursday, almost a week has passed by since the celebrations.  There is still residue from all of the celebrating.  It's so easy to get under the mess and feel miserable, but the mess is a reminder of all that is good and celebration worthy!  There is still celebrating to be done in the midst of cleaning up the mess!  Small mundane moments are moments worth celebrating if we choose to do so.

What moments, big or small, are you celebrating this month?  I'd love to hear from you!!

God Bless <3
Lorraine

Sweet home Alabama

I suppose that I should start at the beginning by answering some of the questions that I've been asked over the month or so.  So here it goes:

What are you doing in Alabama? 

Well about six months ago I connected with Evan G. Cooper on Instagram.  He asked if I shipped cookies and I said Yes!  Truth is, I had only just shipped my first set of cookies to California and that was for a family member.  Shipping was not something that I had any real experience in and it was something that I really didn't expect to be doing very often.  I was wrong.  

If you don't know Evan, let me tell you that once he finds a product or a person that he believes in, he sticks with it.  If you happen to be that person with that product, well you have a friend for life, not only a friend but an advocate, an inspiration and a cheerleader!!  With that being said, Evan has been a huge supporter of "A Place to Gather" cookies, formerly known as "Sweets for your Sweet".  I have developed a friend/customer base in The Heart of Dixie and it was time to go meet some of them!!

Another part of this trip for us was exploring our dreams.  No, we haven't had dreams of Alabama per se, rather finding opportunities to do what we love.  It just so happens, that the dream trail led us to consider Alabama as a possibility.  Life since the job loss has been....interesting. It's had it's moments, but overall, it was a good experience.  God carried us and continues to do so, but it also gave us opportunity to ask ourselves some good questions.  Like, what do you really want out of life?  What is the one thing that makes you "come alive"? If you could do anything, what would it be?

I honestly fell into this cookie thing by no attempts of my own.  God has definitely had His hand in this and it's been fun to look back and see just where He has shown up.  Now I'm not saying that we're moving to Alabama but I am saying that we are open to what ever and where ever God has for us!  It's a freeing place to be!  We're not trying to write our own story, we are simply giving God the pencil and letting Him do what He does best.....write His own story on our lives.

How did you get invited to the Governor's mansion?

In addition to that, I had 8 dozen holiday open house cookies for Evan and he had invited me to provide some special cookies for Governor Bentleys' holiday mansion tours!  So this was a chance to hand deliver these sweet treats and save my friend some crazy shipping costs!   We picked Thanksgiving week because Bill would just be finishing a month of working six twelve hour shifts per week and we needed some time away!!

Our time there was incredible!! My emotions and feelings fluctuated between feelings of being a "star gazer", if you will, and the confidence that I'm gaining in knowing that I was supposed to be there and it was "no big deal"!  For example, the south jersey stay-at-home-mama in me is still freaking out that an event planner in another state wants my cookies!  I'm still freaking out that I actually went to Alabama to meet said event planner and on top of that.....THE GOVERNORS MANSION!!!!  I.Can't.Even!!

Then the flip side is taking all that I've gained over the past two years, specifically the past six months and feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be!  The fan in me wanted to take pictures of every little thing and "selfie" the heck out of Evan and Laura, but the cool, calm, collected side of me wanted to just take the experience as it came, like I've been there all along.  It was weird.  And I loved every minute of it!!

 What a stair case!!!!

Okay, here's a word from the "fan girl" in me.  When you are going to meet a very talented event planner and his super adorable assistant for the first time, and you get the opportunity to have your very first picture taken with said "amazing people", the above conditions are NOT the conditions that you would consider for said opportunity.

Please note:

          1. While I am considerably shorter than both of these individuals,  I have to inform you that I ended up standing in a drainage ditch for the governors pool.  So, to be accurate, I'm not THAT much shorter!!  lol  

          2.  In the bundle of nervous energy that I was in, I was talking to Bill when he took this shot.  This ONE AND ONLY SHOT!!!!!!!  Have I not taught that man anything about taking pictures????  Who doesn't know that you never, EVER take only ONE SHOT!!!!  I was going to bury this pic for.ever.  But what fun would that be!!!  So there you have it, my awful, first picture with Evan G. Cooper and Laura Jean Belle!  

Sincerely,

Lorraine D. Richie

fangirl

Okay, back to the story!!  Here are a few more pictures of the mansion. 

 We're so teeny tiny!!!!

 The Governor and First Lady Bentley have seven granddaughters and a grandson on the way.  Evan went with a family friendly theme in the dining room and I made cookie place cards with their granddaughters names on them.  Evan and his team finished them off with beautiful red ribbon and sealed them so that they could be keepsakes for the children.

 The master at work. Evan G. Cooper

 This is Collier, she is the Initiatives Coordinator for the First Lady.  Bill and I made up bags of mini cookies in four different flavors to hand out to customers and other people that we met on the trip.  Collier was through the roof about this tasty little treat and promptly sat on the floor in the dining room and ate those cookies up!!!  

 Mini-Dippers; mini sugar cookies in chocolate, vanilla, chocolate chip and brown sugar n- spice.  Comes with it's own little tub of icing to dip in.  They were a hit!!

 We went through them pretty quickly and had to make up more bags each night!

 Bill and I hit Hobby Lobby on Monday night for some supplies for a project I had that week and I came across this bracelet.  It's says "Just Breathe".  This short statement got me through some tough times during the job loss and unemployment.  It was a good reminder on the eve of meeting Evan and Laura and going to the governors mansion.

Well, that's it for now.  That's only day two of our week stay.  I'll be back with more info and pics from our time in Montgomery!!

I originally wanted this post together and out to you the week that we returned, but as life would have it, I have been swamped with orders since we returned and have only now had the time to sit down and process!!

Hope you had a blessed Christmas and will have a super New Year's Eve!!

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