Life Goes On

Hey there! Sorry it's been a little quiet around here lately. Sometimes life hits you like a crashing wave, and this past week was no exception. My father in law, Michelle's husband, came home from his boating adventure for a few doctor's appointments, and we really weren't sure what to expect. He was having some problems that led us and the doctors to think maybe his cancer was coming back. This news, of course, seems to put life on hold for a little while. However, I am very happy to report that his doctors told him that his symptoms were very routine for someone who has gone through his type of battle! We are thanking our Heavenly Father for that good news! His doctor told him to get his rear end back down to Florida and launch that boat into the water!! He took that advice and hit the highway just a few short days later. 

Two Bad Hombres - Marah and Lasse

This means Michelle and I are back to work adding new products to our store and preparing for our upcoming cooking class! We are so excited to be holding an Italian themed class where we will make homemade four cheese pesto Alfredo ravioli. My mouth is watering as I type this!! Who needs to diet and lose weight before summer anyway, am I right?! Whoever said "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" clearly has never eaten pesto Alfredo ravioli before!! Anyway, stay tuned for that recipe and video footage, as well as a very exciting March giveaway!

What's On The Table - New Contest Coming Soon!

What's On The Table

We are putting the final touches on our new contest featuring favorite recipes of all our friends.....stay tuned!

Our First Giveaway!

First Boston Stoker Giveaway!

We just celebrated our first giveaway!  This business really is too much fun!  (Side note:  prepare to laugh a lot when you come to a cooking class!)  Our winner for a bag of Boston Stoker coffee was Brenda Jones of Kentucky!  Sweet lady - we actually know her personally through the Wild Turkey Federation (not to be confused with anything but a hunting association!).

Congratulations, Brenda, and thank you for your support!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR 

BUNDLE OFFER

Marah is the quintessential classic wife and mother.  Every morning she takes a steaming mug of Boston Stoker (Highlander Grogg) to her husband, followed by a decaf version to her six year old son!  Every morning these two fellas are served coffee.  She is wonderful and caring and her guys have no idea what life without that kind of service would be like!  But six year old Ivan may be becoming a little bit of a coffee snob.

He was spending the night with his Aunt Chelsea and then being dropped off to Granny's house the next morning (that's me, I'm the granny).  Aunt Chelsea called to clarify breakfast plans, here or there, and I explained that the boy is a hobbit and is into "second breakfast" so he would eat at both of our homes.  I said to just make sure he has his decaf first to which Ivan replied, "Nah, I will have my decaf at Granny's because she has Boston Stoker."  Oh.  My.  Word.  "The best part of wakin' up.....is...."

If You Were Alone on a Deserted Island:

When you choose to add an iron skillet to your kitchen ensemble, you are choosing a pan that is able to last your entire lifetime.  You cannot kill these pans.  They will survive the Apocalypse.  

You can cook or bake or fry whatever in these pans.  We have fried chicken, burgers, potatoes, baked cornbread, biscuits, pineapple upside down cake in them; we have used them to roast broccoli in the oven, cook pasta casseroles - you name it and an iron skillet is the answer.

Here is Marah demonstrating how to properly clean an iron skillet:

How To Clean an Iron Skillet

If you were alone on a deserted island, choose to take an iron skillet with you for survival!  

P.S.  We are both married to men who are precise in almost everything they do.  So one of our husbands pointed out that in the video we have led people to believe that it is not necessary to use soap or the dishwasher when cleaning your iron skillet.  This man said, "It is just not, "not necessary", it will ruin the iron skillet.  It should be a warning."                                             

Yes, Sir, noted.

Baguette in the Bag?

You know that old saying, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right"?  Well, we boldly go where we have never gone before in making our tutorial videos!  There are so many things we would change about ourselves before we dive in but sometimes you just need a good shove into the water and you will sink or swim.  So kick those legs and move those arms and breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle, or dog paddle but go!  There is never going to be the perfect day to begin, we are never going to already weigh fifteen pounds less, and the hair is never going to be styled perfectly - but dive in and get it done!

Best French Baguette Part 1

Best French Baguette Part

This is the bread I make every week - the recipe is so easy and produces perfect baguette every time....unless I burn it - which has happened a few times!

We would like to dedicate this video series to our dear friend, Terri Brooks.  She attended our first cooking class and anticipated learning to make this bread, however,  we ended up laughing just a little too loudly and maybe there was just a wee bit too much wine - just a wee bit!  Cheers to great evenings with best friends!

2017 - A Grand Opening

2017 – A GRAND OPENING

Hi Friends!  This is going to be an amazing year; can you feel it?!  We are having the time of our lives building this business.  We just discussed yesterday that we certainly do not have it made nor do we know it all but rather we are enjoying our own growth.  Actually we are just beginning on our way down this new path and we have a lot to learn ourselves. 

Our mindset is:  what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?  Our goal is to help as many folks as we can to make their homes and families a top priority.  We believe that we are doing just that with bringing families back around the dinner table.

 

What are your goals for 2017?  How will you push yourself to rise to the level of your talent?  You look back and list those things that you have accomplished so far; see?  That list is a splendid indication of what you can do!  Close your eyes and see the person you want to be.  How will you get there?  Make the list of action items that will take you to that scene.  You can do it. 

Yesterday we made a commercial!!!

Oh my word, we did.  We really did.  Now, neither of us believed that this would be the commercial of all commercials but we knew it would be okay as our very first video.  Could we just lose 15 pounds before we filmed?  Please?  We follow bloggers who seem almost like personal friends and to watch them look back and laugh at their own first videos actually gave us more confidence to push the record and publish buttons!  Belly laughs for all of our family who have watched it!  But, ya know what….we did it!  And that feels great!  Here ya go: 

The Classy Pearl Commercial Take One

New Motto:  Drink Coffee – Do the Work!

We are beyond excited to be able to partner with Boston Stoker Coffee Company and bring you what we believe is the best coffee available.  Being just a tad bit on the coffee-snobbery side it is a pleasure to work with this company.  Boston Stoker gave us the grand tour of their roasting facility and I don’t know, maybe it was the aroma of the roasting Costa Rican coffee beans but we swooned!  We purchase coffee that is roasted the very day we pick it up and are able to ship to you within hours.  That’s fresh.  Boston Stoker is mighty picky about the coffee plantations they purchase from and we could not ask for more than that.  We offer free shipping on our 12oz bags of Boston Stoker to anywhere in the continental U.S.  We end all of our cooking classes with a classic cup of Boston Stoker as well!

Cooking Classes

Just what are these cooking classes and why are we hosting them?  Well, it all started about a decade ago when the two of us would leave our husbands for an evening of wining and dining at the Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking.  It really was a special treat just a couple of times a year until the grandson arrived.  It became hard to justify a $150 evening when “baby needs a new pair of shoes”!  So, last year we formed the bright idea of hosting our own cooking class.  Okay, so our first class was a little like an episode of “I Love Lucy” but it was so much fun!  Our classes consist of recipes that are easy to duplicate at home (never going to serve braised fennel…what is braised fennel anyway?!).  Each course is served with appropriately paired wines and dessert is served with Boston Stoker coffee.  Cost is $25 per guest and online registration is required (purchase under Shop).  Our guests earn a “pearl punch” for each paid class and after five classes they earn a $10 coupon towards another cooking class or for shopping at www.theclassypearl.com .  You can find our schedule of February cooking classes under the Cooking Classes tab on our website! Frankly, I wouldn’t want to miss the Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese class –February 9^th at 6pm!

Thank You!

Thank you all for being a part of our grand opening!  Even as we begin our new adventure on a small scale and the phrase, “humble beginnings” comes to mind, we are truly grateful for each of you and the support you have shown to us.  Thank you.

A  Costly Pearl

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,  and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Matthew 13:45-46 

Wow...it’s been quite a while since we wrote a blog post! Let’s catch up, shall we?!

Michelle and I have worked together since 2006 (I was just a baby!) and were moving forward with a business that would provide for both our families. We researched products, opened a business with the state of Ohio, created a website, and began reaching out to our future customers.  I can’t remember a time we were as excited about work as we were in those days.  However, the Lord was taking our lives in a different direction.  Michelle’s husband came home from his boating adventure, went to the doctor, and was suddenly diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.  Talk about a life changing blow right to the gut.  When you hear that a family member is ill, nothing else matters except for doing everything possible to make them well again.  Lasse and Michelle packed up and headed off to the Cleveland Clinic for chemo and radiation treatments, and I was working hard to finish out the school year with our preschool.  The days were long and exhausting, and our family really learned what it meant to trust in the Lord with our whole hearts.  The decision was made to close our preschool for good and as soon as I hugged and kissed all of the little ones goodbye, it was time to pack up Lasse and Michelle’s house and move them into a new one.  That was an adventure all its own!  2016 proved to be quite challenging and a complete emotional rollercoaster.  After many months, lots of tears, and constant prayers, however, Lasse received the news we had all been waiting to hear – he was finally cancer free!  Our family had a big party with loved ones to celebrate this good news and began discussing new plans for our lives.  We were excited and hopeful for the future!  Cancer, however, had other plans. 

My grandma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and we immediately got busy taking care of her and helping my grandpa any way we could. Did I mention 2016 was a really tough year?  My sweet grandma fought for as long as she could, but left this earth to be with our Heavenly Father surrounded by her entire family praying over her and thanking the Lord for the wonderful woman she was.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen my family cling to one another the way we did that day and the very devastating days that followed.  While it is so hard to lose someone so near and dear to my heart, she was a woman who loved the Lord and had given her life to Him, and that brought so much comfort.  I know that I will see her again one day, and what a glorious reunion that will be!

I can honestly say that my grandma lived her life to the fullest and accomplished her goals and lived her dreams. She loved the beach and made it a priority to visit several times each year.  There is something about seeing a life well lived that inspires others to do just that.  Michelle and I had many conversations about what we wanted for our lives and we immediately got busy making plans to turn our dreams into a reality.  Fast forward a few months and we are beginning 2017 with the business we had planned for ourselves a year ago.  Early morning planning sessions, late night research, and business meetings over coffee (and dessert, too!) have filled the last few months, and we are ready to hit the ground running -although probably not literally as we are both a little out of shape these days! 

We have dreamed of a little shop for specialty kitchen items, our best recipes, and our tips and tricks for making the Proverbs 31 woman a reality, as well as making family time a priority again. We have poured our hearts and souls into The Classy Pearl and are so excited to begin this new journey in our lives. We have spent a lot of time in prayer and seek the Lord’s blessing for our business, but also seek to be a blessing to other women and families as we bring back family dinners and classy and elegant kitchens. After all, this life is what we make it, and we are ready to make it fabulous! Stay tuned for exciting news and updates!

Written by Marah

www.theclassypearl.com