Archive for Mary’s Raves
Be Thankful Food Drive
Posted by: | CommentsAs we are preparing for a wonderful Christmas holiday with family and friends we should take a minute to remember that not everyone will be able to have a bountiful feast. Our “Be Thankful” FOOD DRIVE is one way we can help. We have selected the Bethlehem Food Pantry of the First United Methodist Church of Roanoke Rapids as our benefactor. We will be collecting food items through Dec 21. We challenge you to help us reach our goal of at least 25 bags of the twelve food items listed below.
Here are a few facts about this ministry and the items they particularly need.
The Bethlehem Food Pantry
Did you know that from April 7, 2009 to December 22, 2010:
We have helped a total of 805 families in the Roanoke valley?
These families consist of 2024 individuals, including 647 children under the age of 18?
These families also include 239 seniors over the age of 62. In 2009 we served 240 families averaging 58 per month.
In 2010, we gave 2403 bags of food to 719 hungry families in great need, averaging 200 per month.
This past year, The Panty has distributed $27,109 worth of canned/dry food, plus hundreds of donated items to our clients
The present cost per family is approximately $11. Each family receives 1 bag of food consisting of:
1 box of cereal
1 can of spaghetti sauce
1 box of spaghetti
3 cans of vegetables
1 can baked beans
1 box of saltine crackers
1 can of fruit
1 jar of peanut butter
1 box of Mac & cheese
1 6-pack Ramen Noodles
Other non-perishable will also be accepted.
Thank you for your contributions!
Wishing you a very joyous holiday!
Hey good looking what ya been cooking?
Posted by: | CommentsCooking classes may seem like an unusal offering for an interior design business. Think again! What do interior designers do? They create spaces in which to cook, to entertain, to play, to sleep and to be with family and friends. To do all of this we have to eat. (I think you can see where this is going.) So, cooking classes seem to enhance all the other parts of interior design. 
Thanks to many loyal supporters our classes have become a hit. Here are a few of the things we had cooking at our 50′s cooking class presented by Lake Gaston’s cooking diva, Kathy Dikeman!!!
If you are as old as I am you may remember a lemon flavored, sponge cake cookie made in shell shaped molded pans called madeleines. These cookies are easy to prepare and perfect for a light luncheon dessert or an accompaniment to a raspberry sorbet. Sometimes these cookies are partially dipped in chocolate ganache for extra flare of flavor. In the 50′s they were frequently served at department store tea rooms and at ”ladies’ luncheons”.
Madeleine's made in molded pans
Shrimp Cocktail Aspic is an updated version of the traditional tomato aspic of the 1950′s. With V 8 juice and the right amount of spice this recipe made a tasty cold soup (similar to a gazpacho). With the addition of more gelatin you can create a variation of this recipe which can be poured into a mold or loaf pan and congealed before serving.
Savory Shrimp Cocktail Aspic
The favorite recipe of the class was Smoked Gouda Cheese Fondue. Reflecting back to the days of the fondue pot this recipe adds a new twist. The fondue is prepared on the stove top and served in individual small boules created from whole wheat, crusty dinner rolls from the grocery bakery. Topping the fondue with bacon bits and toasted, sliced almonds made this recipe the winner.
Warm and Savory Smoked Gouda Fondue Boule
Smoked Gouda Fondue
Ingredients:
8 ounces Gruyère, shredded
1/2 pound, about 6 ounces, smoked Gouda, shredded
1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large clove garlic, smashed away from skin
2 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup dry white wine
6 slices thick cut bacon
1/4 cup smoked almonds, coarsely chopped
Individual hard rolls, the top third cup off to form a cone shape in the inside
Directions: Make the fondue: combine cheeses in a bowl with flour and set aside. Rub the inside of a small pot with smashed garlic then discard. Add wine and lemon juice to pot and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and add cheese in handfuls. Stir constantly, melting the cheese in batches. Stir in a figure-eight pattern with wooden spoon. Transfer the fondue to the rolls and top with chopped bacon and smoked nuts.
50′s cooking trivia was a big hit with the class. The Betty Crocker Cookbook was the bible of the 1950′s kitchen and the “in” way to find recipes. Do you know the first Jello flavor? What was the most frequently prepared food? What popular snack food was developed from a crop by Fred Mennen in 1959? What brand of doughnuts were introduced in 1950?
Send us your answers. Add your own 50′s trivia.
Upcoming Cooking Classes… Mark Your Calendar!
April 16 Bruschetta is not just an Appetizer presented by Yvonne Hoffman (just back from an Italian Cooking School)
June 4 Cranking Up the Heat with Grilling Flare presented by Gene St.Clair
Mary Sherwood Lake Living working with you to create your lifestyle at Lake Gaston and beyond!
Sparkle, excitement, shopping, food and friends all in one place at Lake Gaston!
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday we had a crowd of people in and out of our store to take in the “sparkle, excitement, shopping, food and friends” at our annual Christmas Open House. The “buzz” that circulated the showroom was amazing! People came for all sorts of reasons. Some came for the chance to learn some quick holiday decorating ideas. Others came for the tasty food samplings and recipes. Others were just enjoying an annual “girl’s weekend out”. And of course there was shopping . Our customer’s little red shopping baskets were full to the brim. The hottest item was a silver garland spray with multicolor ball ornaments that we used in the seminar to adorn a wreath and a tablescape. That item was the first to sell out. The second popular item was the “water pearls” in both clear and red. The use of “water pearls” was shown in several glass vessels during the seminar.
Snowy mantel scape with lights that simmer in glass balls and silver candlesticks by Traci
This year, due to popular demand, we brought back the holiday decorating seminar after a five year hiatus… with a few changes. Limited admissions assured us all would have better opportunity to see the presentation as well as a safer environment. The seminar included tips on holiday wreaths, mail box swag, mantel scapes, table top ideas and the multiple uses for water pearls. Thanks to those who took the time to listen to our program. We hope you learned a few new ideas to help you this holiday season.
Seminar attendees awed by the the holiday decor presentation
Our food supply dwindled fast. We may need to increase the quantity for next year. You are a hungry bunch! :) We are glad you enjoyed the food buffet.
Red Hat Ladies enjoying the wonderful buffet samplings!
Here is one of the recipes:
Moroccan Road Infused Turkey Meatballs
Make a large batch to have on hand for unexpected holiday guests. Prepare in advance and freeze extras.
3 lbs ground turkey
3 eggs
1 large white onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup Italian herbed or plain dried bread crumbs
8 tbsp ketchup
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
9 tsp olive oil
3 tsp salt
4 tbsp Moroccan Road Spice Blend
Chop onion & garlic finely, place all ingredients in large bowl, hand mix
Scoop turkey with small stainless steel scoop so they lay flat on pan.
Bake 350 degrees about 20 minutes until brown. Lift off with metal spatula.
Place extras in Tupperware container and refrigerate or freeze, place back in oven to reheat.
Garnish with half grape tomato and lemon cream cheese secured with toothpick.
Compliments of Mary Sherwood Lake Living Christmas Open House 2010
Thanks again to everyone involved in such a wonderful day!
Please give us your comments and help us make it even better next year!
Mary
And the Winners are…
Posted by: | CommentsWe are pleased to announce we have two winners of our “We showed you ours, now show us yours…Pumpkin that is” decorating contest.
Sue Williams and Ivon Hauenstein tied for first place.
We are so pleased they submitted their entries.
Each will receive a $50 MSLL gift card.
Let me tell you their stories…
Sue has been a faithful supporter of Mary Sherwood Lake Living for many years. She always greets us with a big hello and hug! We first met through her Pampered Chef parties some 20 years ago and I am still using many items in my kitchen thanks to Sue. Over the years Sue has volunteered her time in support of many local causes. She also is a person with incredible creative energy. She has worked in many different arts and crafts mediums. She submitted her entry very early on after we announce the challenge. We were so pleased to have her as our first contestant.
Sue's Boo Ya'll Pumpkin
Ivon ‘s story is entirely different. We had not met Ivon prior to this endeavor. He was told of the Pumpkin Decorating contest by his neighbor, Paula Wood. Ivon was very interested in submitting an entry but wanted to wait until close to the deadline so his pumpkin would be “freshly” carved. As the deadline approached his energy diminished but his desire to enter did not. Encouraged by his friend, he and Paula decided to give it a go. The day of the deadline, Paula called in his intention to enter. She was helping him with the carving but didn’t know if they could bring it to MSLL by the end of the day. I told her not to worry and submit it as soon as possible so we could publish the winner.
Ivon and Paula with their spooky pumpkin!
The next morning, escorted by Paula, Ivon presented his pumpkin entry. It was a pleasure to have him want to participate and become so excited by the challenge. Paula says: “This pumpkin carving contest has really been a boost for him.” Thank you, Paula for making it happen.
Each day I am truly amazed at how important it is to be “connected”. Connections make it possible to be a positive difference in someone’s day. That’s what Sue and Ivon did for me.
Thanks!
Let’s stay connected!
Best regards,
Mary
Working together to create your lifestyle here at Lake Gaston and beyond!
Strong Trends from High Point: Part One
Posted by: | CommentsAutumn and I returned from the High Point Furniture Market with lots of new product photos. There were several recurrent themes which have been emerging for some time. We selected four strong categories. Our trend series will feature a few photos from each of these categories: Shiny Metallics, Everywhere (indoor-outdoor) Rugs, Floral Fabric Upholstery and Painted Chests.
There are so many things we want to share. We took a total of 497 photos at this market!
Here is Part 1 of a four part series: Shiny Metallics
If you need more information about any of the items shown just let us know. If you are dying to have first “dibs” on any of the items featured we can arrange that! We will be bringing many of these items into our showroom early 2011.
We would love to hear your comments.
Enjoy!
Mary
“Working with you to create your lifestyle at Lake Gaston and beyond.”
Global Views has done it again! Fabulous mix of shinny metallics, ceramics and natural materials. Love the vertical asymmetrical presentation.
This bed display has it all! The mix of gold and silver, symmetrical pendant lighting, and the sparkle and glow of all the elements.
Metallic finishes were shown in many forms including this beautiful serpentine, pewter painted chest by Hooker Furniture.
The shinny mix of metal finishes and crystal-like accents make this mirror stand out in the crowd of new market introductions.
Paul strikes again…
Posted by: | Comments
The Fall is a very busy season for all of us. There are lots of festivals, football games, tailgating parties and community events. As we are in the countdown days of the local Fall for the Arts event my wonderful husband, Paul, strikes again but not in a way you may imagine.
Read here for his latest “heart felt” blog post.
Paul writes:
“Tonight is a night for celebration. Mary and I ate dinner together!
I guess that bears a little explaining.
Today I had a need… (Don’t go there!). Mary and I have been working really hard, thanks to all of you (come on! That was a genuine “Thank you”!). Recently, I’ve been catching up on taxes (Oct 15th). To do so I had to go into the office about 6 AM each morning for several days. Once that was done there was a delivery to be made in Maryland. Before I could get home from that trip Mary and Autumn left for market and were gone for 4 days. In addition, we’re ramping up to Fall for the Arts this weekend at Lake Gaston. As Chairman I’ve had a lot going on. Then, there is still Mary Sherwood Lake Living requiring time and attention. So there sometimes isn’t enough time for Paul and Mary.
So, it’s been about 2 weeks since Mary and I have even had the privilege of having breakfast together!
If you’ve been around me at all you know I love to kid about how it’s necessary for the guy to keep his head down or how that information may be above the guy’s pay-grade! Most of my buddies agree: things would be a lot simpler and easier if we didn’t have to translate woman-speak into man-speak.
All of which is pointing up the differences between Mary’s and my approach to things in general.
I don’t know how it is for each of you, but it appears that, none the less, I do miss my wife when I don’t see her for a while. And I have to say, I needed some time where Mary and I just enjoyed being together. And that’s what we did at the dinner table last night. The conversation was all work-related, but we both just enjoyed being able to share something we both love.”
Thanks, Paul! How I do love this man!
Now that we have totally become sentimental for a brief moment in time I have to remind you there is still time to purchase tickets for the 3rd Annual Fall for the Arts sponsored by O’Sail. It is this Saturday, October 23, 10 AM – 5 PM. Purchase tickets from our store or at the site(s) the day of the event.
I’ll be roaming the sites and hope to see a lot of MSLL friends.
It is going to be a beautiful Fall weekend at Lake Gaston for the art tour!
Enjoy!
Mary
BTW… Coming soon-our picture blog of Hot Trends from High Point!
We Showed You Ours…
Posted by: | CommentsWe showed you ours…Pumpkin Event!
What a great event at Mary Sherwood Lake Living! Here are some of the creative ideas we showed for pumpkin decorating. The ideas ranged in difficulty from Autumn’s intricately carved spider web pumpkin to my very quick and easy wired pumpkin. Since time seems to be at a premium we tried to show several quick and easy ways to decorate a pumpkin without carving (consequently keeping it fresher longer).
Fabulous pumpkins and more
Colorful fall appetizers Our guests pondering over the pumpkin ideas!
Our guests pondering over the pumpkin ideas!
"Mixed Salad Satan"
"Help Me" says the fly
"Metallica"
Left to right: "Caught Up in the Web", "Pearl Jam" and "All Wired Up and Nowhere to Connect"
So we showed you our stuff…pumpkin decorating ideas. Now you have a chance to show us your’s! Enter our 1st Pumpkin Decorating Contest between now and October 23. Decorate your pumpkin, give it a funny name and bring it by the store to be photographed or submit a photo online. Online entries must include a small sign in the photo, “MSLL Pumpkin Decorating Contest 2010” to verify authenticity. NO, you can’t just pull a picture from the internet and claim it as yours! Bring on the pictures! Our loyal MSLL fans will vote on their favorite pumpkin design.
At the end of the entry period, we will send out the voting information. Voting will be blind, so no names or personal information will be shared.
The ballot will contain pictures numbered in the order they were received.
The award categories are as follows:
1st Prize as voted by our customers
will win a $50 MSLL Gift Card
The winners of following categories
will each win a $20 MSLL Gift Card
*Most Creative Use of Materials*
*Spookiest*
*Friendliest*
So the challenge has been launched! Show us your creative stuff!!!
Looking forward to your entries!
Mary
Mary Sherwood Lake Living
“Working with you to create your lifestyle at Lake Gaston and beyond!”
How are Lake Gaston and Dallas connected?
Posted by: | CommentsMany years ago a client walked into our showroom at Lake Gaston and ordered several decorative pillows for a child’s guest room. They were red, black, yellow and white to go with a Mickey Mouse theme. This one little job has turned into many! Now several houses later, Autumn and I leave on another adventure. We are off to Dallas to help this client and her husband, (now good friends) prepare a new home to accommodate the recent re-location of their extended family. The new property looks fabulous in photos and we are very excited to have the opportunity to make it into a comfortable and safe environment for four adults and three dogs!
Some ask: “How do you approach a long distance project like this? In jest, my answer is: “With a good tape measure, very accurate notes and lots and lots of pictures.” It’s a little too far away to go back to check a measurement!
We have done many long distance projects with no major problems and only a couple of minor ones. There will always be small obstacles like drilling into steel re-enforced concrete to install draperies at a hurricane-proof Gulf coast project or curtain rods that arrive from the factory incorrectly configured. There have been many broken drill bits and, of course, the closest home improvement store has sometimes been 30 miles away. Because our customers are so loyal and so much fun, the only real challenge is overcoming the stumbling blocks, adjusting to the unexpected and having a “can do” attitude.
Our “very” big bag is packed, just coming in under the weight limit. Whew! It is chock full of fabric samples and pillows to help set the stage for this new project.
Look for future posts about the “Mary and Autumn Do Dallas” project. While we are away come meet our newest part of the team, Traci Watson. Hope she has what it takes to keep Paul in line! Don’t forget to ask Paul for his “custom gift wrap”.
Enjoy this beautiful fall weather at Lake Gaston and beyond.
Mary
The Best Part of a Holiday Weekend at Lake Gaston
Posted by: | CommentsWe just finished a great weekend with our kids – well, our son and his wife. We were sorry our older son, Aaron could not join us.
Many years ago (36 now) I had the extreme good fortune to marry an amazing woman. Today, I can express great pleasure at seeing that my younger son, Jake, has accomplished the same thing.
This four day Labor Day weekend was terrific! I don’t know what you usually do when family comes to visit – but Sherwoods usually relax and share great conversation. For us it’s all about the relationships we’re building or continuing to nurture. Such is our growing relationship with Elif, our son’s wife and newest family member. For Mary and me Elif is the daughter we’ve never had. She is as precious to us as our two sons.
This reminds me of a story…
Seven years ago when Jake and Elif were dating, Mary, and others, made innocent (I guess) remarks leading Jake to feel pressure to propose. Of course he called me for fatherly advice. I suggested he would know when the time was right and no one could make that decision for him. Several days later the phone rang and a stranger asked for Paul Sherwood. After acknowledging I was he – the stranger – without preamble – started in on how he and his wife had gotten to know Jake and loved him as their own son. He said that Jake had asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage and he wanted to know whether Mary and I would accept his daughter into our family on the same terms. I can tell you – I have never been so completely surprised and touched by anything in my entire life. Whether traditional in the Turkish culture or just something Elif’s Dad wanted to know – that question said a lot about the quality of the relationship between that man and his daughter – and especially about the depth of his love for her.
It has been my privilege to get to know this young woman – and to love her as though she were my own daughter – which, of course, now she is! It has been my joy to see my son and his wife together – the love they have for each other is as obvious as is, I hope, the love Mary and I have for each other.
My thanks and appreciation to all four of my family for loving me.
Paul
Will You Accept the Crossing Challenge???
Posted by: | CommentsOn Sunday I invited a few girlfriends to share our pier, the party float, food and spirits. It was such a great afternoon, enjoying all of the above, especially the friendship.
As most of you know Paul and I are very involved in the not-for-profit organization, O’Sail. This Saturday is O’Sail’s sixth annual event, The Crossing. You can swim, float, or paddle across the lake OR for the first time you can walk the one mile bridge across the lake. There is a $25 registration fee ($30 the day of event) payable to O’Sail. You will receive a limited edition Crossing 2010 t-shirt.
While floating with the girls we decided it would be fun to walk across the bridge. No physical training for months to swim across. No silly rafts to float on. No canoe or kayak to manage. All you need is good walking shoes and sunscreen. You won’t even have to get your hair wet (except for a little sweat, maybe). Sounds like something we could easily do…right!
So let’s all do it together! I challenge you to join us this Sat. Aug. 14 as a member of our first ever MSLL Crossing Team. Here is the link to O’Sail’s registration information. http://bit.ly/cl9sAs The event begins at 9 AM. As a team, we will meet at Mary Sherwood Lake Living and go together to the designated parking lot. We will leave the MSLL parking lot at 8:15 AM sharp and return as soon as we have completed the walk.
As a special incentive, the first fifteen MSLL friends to sign up to join our team will win your choice of a “Getting a Little Woozie on Lake Gaston” wine glass koozie (no you can’t get woozie before the event ) OR a $10 gift card to use in our store.
Lake Gaston Woozies
The first fifteen MSLL team members to sign up can redeem their choice of prize at the store after completing the event. To sign up as a member of our team, respond to our blog, Facebook post or our email news-zine. The posted date and time of the response will determine the “first fifteen” winners. Team members must also register and pay for the event at the Lake Gaston Chamber Office. http://bit.ly/b98zdU All checks need to be made out to O’Sail. If you need any help with the registration process, please let us know.
Should we wear something funny to designate our team? This is not Project Runway! Our team uniform must be simple! Please send your ideas ASAP!
Can’t wait to have fun walking together while we are supporting a good cause!
The Crossing 08-14-2010
