St. Jude Soiree at Williams Sonoma, Annapolis, MD

Hey Cuties,

Sunday I hit the streets in support of St. Jude, ya’ll know my love and devotion for all things St. Jude.  We gathered for some holiday cheer at the Williams-Sonoma in Annapolis, Maryland. Our gracious host Riche Holmes-Grant of The Riche Life, and my fellow St. Jude Ambassador put on a beautiful event in the name of charity.

Riche kicked the event off with a welcome, and a little about how she started working with St. Jude.  She introduced us to DJ Jordy who kept the festive holiday tunes going all evening long.

Left to Right:

Richard Snow, Senior Adviser – Multicultural Marketing at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Brandi Orcutt-Velez, General Manager of Williams Sonoma, Annapolis, MD.

#MiniBoss is the Cute Elf in the front, she is the daughter to our host Riche.

Riche Holmes-Grant, The Riche Life + Culinary Expert for Williams Sonoma, Annapolis, MD.

Craig Johnson – Former St. Jude patient, he shared his St. Jude story with us.

We had a captive audience of friends, family, influencers, and loyal Williams Sonoma shoppers.

We had a crafting station to make holiday cards and ornaments for St. Jude families.  I made a really cute ornament, I hope they love it.

Everyone loves a treat, the #MiniBoss was collecting donations and giving our popcorn as a Thank You gift.

She was about her business, you had options and she might have raised more money than the rest of us. You can’t say no to a kid.

It was only right that we took this group picture of Myself, Riche, and Leticia Barr, TechSavvyMama are St. Jude Ambassadors, and I already gave you Richard’s credentials.  Leticia recently did the St. Jude Half Marathon, she is a beast.

This was one of Savory Gourmet Catering treats.

Meet Danielle, she is the woman behind Savory Gourmet Catering. She served the most amazing Shrimp and Grits I have ever had. LISTEN! She had all the trickery to gain peak deliciousness. This was my second favorite part of the night. Let me show you what it looked like, then I will spill the tea per our cooking demo and tell you how you can make your own.

Is your mouth watering yet?

The recipe details for Shrimp + Grits

Grits: The Secret – to slow cook them ALL DAY LONG! Legit about 8 hours of time.

Put on a pot of water, so much water you think its too much on a low temperature.

Add salt + pepper + better

Grits grow as they cook, so let them open up and get fat and creamy.

Come back to stir occasionally, you may need to add more water or heavy cream.

Add salt + pepper + better

Seasoning: Cajun Season: Salt + Pepper + Paprika + Garlic Powder + Thyme

Shrimp: Start with a homemade Cajun seasoning and toss your shrimp in it.

Add butter to your pan, and a little olive oil.

Get your pan really hot, then add in your tossed shrimp.

You can put a top on your pan to make them cook a bit faster.

Remove the shrimp from the pan.

DO NOT TOSS THE LEFTOVER SAUCE IN THE PAN!

Sauce:

Turn the heat down low under your pan.

Add some heavy cream into your leftover “sauce” in your pan from the shrimp.

Add a little tomato sauce + hot sauce [Adjust the spice level to your liking.]

Add additional Cajun seasoning [recipe above]

Add in a little butter

Taste as you go to see if you like the flavor.

Add salt as needed.

The sauce will begin to thicken up over time.

Add chives or green onion for style.

The serving size was good, I swear we tried to lick the plate.

My girl Keonte came out to support, I love her!

More squad!

I remixed the squad!

The best part of the night was the Silent Auction by Williams Sonoma. They had a lot of good items, but with five minutes left in the auction, I feast my eyes on this Le Creuset Dutch Oven.

Backstory: On Thanksgiving Day my in-laws asked what we wanted for Christmas. I boldly told them a Dutch Oven. Babe promptly responded NO WE DO’NT! We began to chat about them and their beautiful colors and how much they cost. A week later a friend online posted that Williams Sonoma had them 20% off.  I told Babe, and after sharing the price $340+ Babe said no, I sucked it up and almost took it as final.  A week later I discovered a Le Creuset store at our local Outlet, they had the Dutch Oven on sale a little bit cheaper. I did a full photo shoot in the store and sent it to Babe. I think he responded with an emoji. I settled that if I wanted it I would have to buy it myself. I didn’t want to use my money.

Within the last few minutes of the silent auction, I called Babe and told him about the Dutch Oven they had for $340 that I could bid on for $150. That was way cheaper than any price I’ve seen. He told me to bid on it and guess what, guess what! I WON!!!!

Because I am extra I named her Dutchie and made everyone at the event tell her Good Night prior to departing. I also did a dance to celebrate THE BEST PART: The $150 was a donation to St. Jude. Dutchie is a gift that keeps on given.

Kimberly Treacy had a dope cookie decorating station and I totally missed out on it. I’m so sad, I need a do-over.

We had an amazing evening, thanks to everyone who came out to support us, to Williams Sonoma for sharing their space, and more importantly St. Jude.

How do you give back during the holiday season? Chat with me in the comments below or FB, IG, and Twitter.