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Cup of Encouragement – Woodhouse and Company

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Guinevere – Owner of Woodhouse and Co

This is our FIRST business profile here at Coffee Mama Bear! I stumbled upon Gwen’s Facebook page after a friend of mine posted cute pictures of her NEW custom made patio furniture that was delivered to her house! I immediately knew that I wanted to meet the maker of that cool furniture. After discovering her Facebook page, Woodhouse and Co, I messaged Gwen about taking some pictures of her work. I crossed my fingers that she would say “YES”! Low and behold, she wasn’t weirded out by me and she was fully on board with a photo shoot. Gwen is amazing, get ready to learn more about the heart and soul of her business…this is your cue to grab coffee. 😉

Woodhouse and Company was founded in 2017 and is owned and managed by Guinevere Sturch at her home in Mckinney, TX! Gwen is very personable, kind, hard working, and dedicated to her craft. She is also a stay at home mom and takes care of her two boys during the day. A prior military family, not too long ago they decided that Texas is where they wanted to plant their roots. Her husband is now a police officer and he assists Gwen with many of the furniture deliveries.

During the photo shoot Gwen told me of her passion for making sustainable and long-lasting furniture. “Wood is quicker to biodegrade than plastic”, she said and I agree! She also has experience in re-purposing furniture pieces so they can be saved from the landfill. Gwen seeks out local businesses for any paint supplies needed for her projects because she wants to do her part to support other small businesses as well.

Why the name Woodhouse? It turns out that their family dog inspired the name and Woodhouse just happens to be a good guard dog too. *RUFF* – see, he agrees. The wood working skills run in Gwen’s family as her father and grandfather are hobbyist wood workers. Her dad sometimes offers to assist with any orders and it is sweet to see all family bonding that is happening through this woodworking business. Gwen loves her family and her two growing boys, I know they are at the heart of her reasons for starting the business. It is easy to see her love for this type of work too and all the care that she puts in to each piece for her clients.

I’m so glad that I got a chance to visit with Gwen. Now, you have a chance to support a budding small business near you! I know that with every order a small business receives there is a happy dance on the other end of the phone call, email, or facebook message! If you are looking for custom patio furniture, a new table for your kitchen or dining room, or restoration of an existing piece…I know that Gwen would love to hear from you.

Check out the Woodhouse and Co page on Facebook!

For inquiries, including custom orders, restoration, or pricing, please contact Guinevere Sturch by phone at (817) 980-6163 or by email at grsturch@gmail.com

Cup of Encouragement – 5 Must Try Coffee Roasts!

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Coffee for Two
Coffee for Two, Please

I’m not a morning person. My first born is not a morning person either. We get each other. My youngest…she pops her head off the pillow with a smile on her face. Have you ever seen someone do that?! Literally wake up with a smile. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! She’ll run in to my room, tap me on the shoulder and say, “Mom, MOM, MOMMMEEEE! I’m awake!” Lately, she has been adding, “I’m a morning person, right, Mommy?” to this routine. Oh goodness, she melts my heart, so I can’t be mad, but I still need coffee.

Since I have tried a plethora of coffees and because I feel we could all benefit from a good cup…here are some coffee brands and blends to try. Make sure to check out my “Top 10” section to make sure you have some great coffee accessories like a coffee bean grinder, air lock storage container, a kettle, or even a french press! Now, let’s get some pep in your step, a gleam in your eye, and give your tired mind a wake-up call with one of these delicious coffees! Or as my husband would say…some yum yum in your tum tum.

Queen Anne Roasters – Seattle, WA

Queen Anne Roasters – Ghost Alley Blend
Smooth, smooth, smooth. Maple syrup, molasses, and gentle almond notes are present in this roast. Queen Anne Roasters (based in Seattle, WA) even told me that I nailed their flavors! I did a coffee cupping tutorial on Facebook with this blend. I totally geeked out when they commented on my Instagram post and I want to try more roasts from them. This blend has Ethiopian, Uganda, Brazilian, and Indian Robusta beans. Unique and well crafted, they are so smart with this roast.

Pearl Cup Coffee – Costa Rica Blend
I stumbled upon this blend after a visit to Pearl Cup’s Richardson location. This Costa Rica blend was on drip and I’m so glad that I had a chance to experience this roast. Chocolate and nutty flavors shined through, making this a very delightful cup! You’ll have to make a trip one of their shops to pick up this roast – Richardson, Plano, or Dallas (Preston Hollow). They have many options for your coffee pleasure, including french press, chemex, kalita pour-over, and much more.

Pearl Cup – Richardson, TX

Apropos Roasters – Coffee Subscription
Does someone in your family or one of your friends love coffee? Do you love them too? I got two words for you…COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION. Jennie-Mae, owner of Apropos Roasters, was featured on Etsy and her story is worth a read! This will be a coffee that your gift receiver will RAVE to you about and hopefully, you’ll get an invite to partake too! Jennie gives excellent customer service and can create a custom order. She creates some of the cutest wedding favors featuring her coffee! If you’re ever in Richmond, VA check out Sefton Coffee Company to get a taste of Apropos Roasters!

Addison Coffee Roasters – Kenya Peaberry
I never ever EVER purposefully tried a coffee described as having “fruit notes”. Fruit…in coffee…WHY? I’m just imaging someone dropping half a peach in my coffee. (Let’s just side step the fact that coffee beans are considered a fruit.) Y’all, I found a good one with this peaberry blend. Apricot notes make this a joyful tasting cup and it had no bite to it at all. They described it as “bright” and a “clean cup” and I wholeheartedly agree. It would pair beautifully with a relaxing afternoon and a good book in a garden.

White Rock Coffee Roasters – Brazil Monte Cristo
This Texas coffee roaster hails from Dallas, TX. You can purchase coffee directly from their site. They do source a large part of their coffee through direct trade; from the coffee grower/farm to their roastery. This particular coffee tastes like CHOCOLATE and PEANUTS. A tasty match that I really enjoyed because who doesn’t like chocolate covered peanuts? It’s a timeless flavor pairing that most likely has it’s own trophy in dessert heaven!

Let me know if you purchase from one of these roasters! Come find me on Instagram or Facebook for more coffee related posts and fun. This journey has truly been a blast for me and I can’t wait to share more about my coffee hunting travels, life, and all I discover along the way.

Warmest Wishes and Coffee Dreams,
Erin aka Coffee Mama Bear

Do you have a coffee brand or blend that you LOVE?
Please, share it with me!

Are you a coffee roaster and want to send me coffee?
I’d love to be your friend too.

Do you make cute coffee related cups, mugs, or shirts?
I’d love to feature your handmade items.

Contact me: erin@coffeemamabear.com

Coffee Mama Bear – Self Portrait

Cup of Encouragement – Underdog & Apple Pie

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Gluten Free Apple Pie – Recipe Links Below

This apple pie originated from a failed photo shoot. I was nervous to even attempt the photo shoot idea, but to have failure right out of the gate?! It was a kick in the gut. This next week I’ll be diving in to learn how to create some of the effects needed to make my photo series DREAM come true! I still have the desire to see the series completed, even though I am back at square one. I don’t have all the skills (yet) and I’ve already failed, but I’m not going to give up on the goal. I want to be the underdog in this story!

Have you ever been knocked down, verbally attacked, been made to feel unworthy, or felt abandoned? Your heart feels heavy and your soul feels weak after that defeat. Maybe this has happened to you in a relationship or a business situation? I keep envisioning being in the bottom of a well and looking up, somewhat hopeless, with no understanding on how to get out. You don’t feel like you have much fight left physically, mentally, emotionally, and in your soul too. There is an overarching grief about the situation as well.

I can tell you, firsthand, that all you’re feeling and experiencing is normal. When you thought a particular path was going to be your route and you get smacked towards another direction…it’s not a very comfortable experience. When you relied on an individual(s) and they don’t show up when you needed them the most, it is heartbreaking. You do need someone to be there for you, never leave you, and who always has your best interests at heart. A strong person in you life, who will cheer you on as you aim at your goals. It might not feel like it right now, but you CAN be the one who upsets the win at the podium and the one who claims the victory. You can become the underdog.

Gluten Free Apple Pie

This delicious apple pie has softened the blow just a little bit. It’s a pie born through struggle, but delicious nevertheless.
Namaste Gluten Free Flour Pie Crust Recipe
Homemade Apple Pie Filling Recipe
And I feel like apple pie for breakfast is totally acceptable. Especially, when you are trying to heal the wounds of disappointment. The Namaste GF flour made for an excellent crust. It was thick enough to hold all the juices from the apples and it was not dry or too crumbly after baking. The apple filling can be made ahead of time and stored in 32 oz. wide mouth mason jars. Coffee from Addison Coffee Roasters made an appearance too. I chose the Mexican Vanilla blend with its sweet flavors and it paired very well with the apple pie.

I’m pretty sure that the next people I mention did not have APPLE PIE as a part of their victory story. Moses, from the book of Exodus, he became the underdog in the fight against Pharoh. A huge load of drama encompasses that story and Moses was very scared of what God was asking him to do. Moses had made some big mistakes in his past. God wanted Moses to convince the most powerful man in the land, Pharoh, to let his entire work force (the Israelites) go. That was no small task, but with God’s mighty hand at work, Moses was able to free thousands of people from the hand of Pharoh. Underdog status acheived.

The next underdog from the Bible is David. Not only did this shepherd boy defeat one of the most formidable foes in the old testament, Goliath, David was on the run from king Saul for many years. For David, being on the run was exhausting, physically and emotionally. God brought Saul to David in a chance meeting and that’s when David won. I encourage you to read that passage in 1 Samuel 24. David…underdog status achieved, in a very unique way.

I feel like the best part about being the underdog is that no one will see you coming. You have the extra element of surprise on your side. You also have a strength behind you that no one else can take away. You’ve been to the bottom. You have had to dig deep to climb. You ARE going to rise up to meet the challenge and you WILL succeed. More importantly, you have had God on your side through the entirety of your challenge. Your success might not look like anything you had envisioned before you got knocked down, but that’s probably a good thing. You’ve gained knowledge and now you have grit.

Gluten Free Apple Pie

What I say next is just as much for me as it is for you:
Let’s take all this failure, the pain, the disappointment, and missed steps and use it for good. Battle scars, no matter how they come, can be your strength. God can use any past hurt, mistake, and failure, for His good. I have read way too many stories of people born from hardship that have partnered with God to do amazing things. We will have to dig deep to start that ball rolling toward our goals, but once we get it going…it is not going to stop. Especially, when we have God on our side and in our hearts.

Warmest wishes and coffee dreams,
Erin aka Coffee Mama Bear

Cup of Encouragement – Finding Friendship

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Finding Friendship

True friendship can be tough to find. Add in a busy adult life and that goal seems impossible. The daily grind often keeps me busy and my brain full of lists to complete. So, where can you find friends? How do you cross the bridge together in to true friendship in a busy season?

A close friend of mine told me that every time she went to her local park she handed out her number and said, “Will you be my friend?”. I laughed at that notion and wondered if that’s really what I had to do to gain community?! I’m naturally shy and I got a lump in my throat just thinking about having to do the same thing. I wanted and needed friends for the season of new motherhood! I just didn’t know how to get my tired, overwhelmed, and shy self in to a new friendship.

That friend, by the way, she is an awesome woman and I am so lucky that I have her as a friend. I’m grateful that she reached out to me and welcomed me in to her circle. She was a new mom too, but that didn’t seem to stop her at all! She taught me a lot about diving in to community and making sure to SHOW UP when people are in need. She always opened up her home for play dates and lunch. We brought groceries to each other several times when either of us got stuck at home with our sick babies. I credit her for helping me take the next step and joining a Moms group at my church!

One Sunday, I saw a listing in my church bulletin for a Moms group and I jumped in with both feet! I was nervous, but excited because I was really in need of friends close to home. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, there isn’t another adult present to lean on during the day. When I was in the newborn season, I don’t think I even knew what day it was for several months! Friday? Wednesday? No clue. That first year my constant companion was a baby. Speaking from experience here…that whole scenario will make you a little nuts. Babies are ridiculously friggin’ cute, but they don’t really fill the friendship void! Hence, why Moms group was SO NEEDED. I’ll never regret taking the leap to join Moms. It has been a wonderful place to meet friends in the same season of life as me!

This I know is true…no matter how a friendship evolves, friendship itself is important. Some friendships will fade and friendship that last are a gift, BUT I will never downplay the importance of friends for a particular season of life. I think that would be such a sad thing, to lose out on those “friend for a season” relationships. You both need each other, lean on each other, learn from each other and survive the season together. All types of friendship have value.

Friendships that last through the seasons are rare, special, and should be held dear. An example of close friends through the seasons – I have a friend from my childhood, a friend I met in college, and a friend I met when we were both new to motherhood. Currently, we do not see each other more than once or twice a year. No matter our physical distant from each other, I trust these women with ALL my struggles, trials, and praises. I lean on them for advice on parenting, marriage, and personal growth. There are a lot of phone calls, text messages, emails, and marco polo videos between us! And even if it’s been a while, because life has a funny way of staying busy, we always pick up where we left off.

Every friend has a unique experience, a new take on the world, and life lessons to share. Friendship is very needed as we were not meant to live this life alone! I hope that you have some close friends to lean on, but if you don’t, it is time to take the risk and put yourself out there! You have something great to bring to the friendship…YOURSELF.

-Erin aka Coffeemamabear

Two Cups for Sharing

Cup of Encouragement – Hustle, Party of One

Hustle:

Party of One

Hustling in business is an art form. It’s not sporadic or out of control. Each step, motion, or choice is calculated. Winging it can only get you so far. There has to be an end goal in mind. A central vision has to be declared and established. Otherwise, you’ll start spinning in too many directions. What you wanted to create will get messy.

I’ve spent the last week pondering. In between making meals, packing bags, making lists, washing clothes, and traveling…I have been in a serious conversation with myself. I entered the boardroom (of my mind) and attended MANY meetings. Some went well and many others ended without any resolution being produced. Lots of ideas were tossed about as I was aiming to create the foundation I wanted to build on.

The one thing that was established very early is that it takes HUSTLE to get this work produced. No one else is writing down the words I say on this blog, Facebook, or Instagram. It’s me. A party of one. It takes a major amount of hustle in order to get the work done. This last week I had to remain steadfast on forming my goals.

The most wonderful part of this whole thing that I’m building is that the work has been enjoyable. It is exciting, thrilling, and awesome that I get to create content through videos and images…AND I get to share it with friends. I love it. I’m going to keep at it, as the ideas keep coming forth. I also pray that God will use me for His purpose in all these things. I want to be a source of encouragement for you all, through the silly, the everyday, and tough stuff. It’s my goal.

Whatever it is that you are working on, I know that you realize that the hustle is going to have to come from YOU. Ideas are great, right? But YOU will have to do the work. YOU will have to push. YOU will have to keep on keep’n on. Just keep on brainstorming. Set up time for those inner meetings of your mind, your inner board room. Meet with people who have experience with what you want to accomplish. Gather information, read articles, and keep at the hustle.

God has a plan and you got the hustle.

-Erin AKA CoffeeMamaBear

Cup of Encouragement – Failure & Fear

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Failure & Fear

Failure. Not an encouraging word, right? It sparks images of disappointment and feelings of self doubt. Moments of personal failure have risen up out your memory and the fear that you felt with those moments too. Don’t stay there too long. Come back to the present with me and hang on to your seat.

Failure is a part of EVERYONE’S journey. Are you a person? BOOM. You’ve had some type of failure. Failure in school, with friends, in your job, in your business, or a tough spot in your relationship with your kids or your spouse. Want to know something? I have had failure in every area I have just mentioned. There were obstacles, heartbreak, missed goals, and doubt. Yet, even with that list of failures, I still see hope. I can still see opportunity.

When the failure comes, it hits hard. There’s a lot of muck to wade through and fear is often a constant companion. It takes a while to have the DESIRE to stand up on your own two feet. I get it. I want you to know that your feelings are valid, but one thing I cannot be remiss in stating is that YOU CAN SUCCEED AGAIN. LIFE changing moments often stem from set backs and missed goals. If you get out of your seat and start to chase down your goals again… YOU CAN SUCCEED.

Past failures do not define your future…they REFINE YOUR FUTURE. Knowledge of better choices, a wealth of information gained, and wise wisdom can follow you now. Embrace that awesome part of you!

Now, start running.

-Erin aka Coffee Mama Bear