Bev’s Cornbread Café

2011 in review

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:53:08 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Faith moved mountain…

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:31:20 +0000

Cornbread Journal

As a result of my story airing worldwide on CNN Primetime Weekend with Don Lemon, I was blessed with eBook purchases, product orders and donations. All of which helped me to resolve two serious issues hindering my cornbread business. Faith moved the mountain! By December 30, I will be packing and shipping orders! A wonderful Christmas present and a great way to start the New Year! It pays to never, ever give up. Creativity truly solves problems.

Thanks CNN Primetime!

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:32:36 +0000

Segment aired last night worldwide with breaking news of Iraqi troops returning home. Thanks everyone at CNN! Response has been wonderful! Here’s a link: http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/18/follow-up-on-foreclosed-homeowner-the-cornbread-millionaire/

How to fix crumbling cornbread?

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:30:56 +0000

UPDATED Dec. 27, 2011

CORNBREAD SCHOOL
Here’s a question from a friend on Facebook.com/BevsCornbread:

QUESTION: I cook cast-iron skillet cornbread, why does it fall apart?

Make sure the batter has at least TWO large eggs and is pourable before adding to preheated baking dish. If the batter is too thick, add tablespoons of buttermilk until it’s pourable. Also, make sure the oven is preheated to 425 degrees. Then, add two tablespoons of shortening (or vegetable oil) to the skillet or baking dish. Place in oven and preheat until sizzling hot. Remove from oven, pour in batter and bake 20 to 25 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cornbread recovers foreclosed home!

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:09:23 +0000

This prophetic picture, celebrating my comeback, was taken by a friend in August 2010. It was five months after the foreclosure and was used in a news story for ABCNews.com. My neighbors looked at me like I was crazy. NOT!

I regularly visualize recovering my home and the current occupants moving out and into a new home elsewhere. After reading Visioning: Ten Steps to Designing the Life of Your Dreams by Lucia Caachione, I was super inspired to create a vision board with pictures and words prophesying recovery of my foreclosed home, buying another house and running a thriving business. Here’s an empowering excerpt from her book: “Yours is not to declare how, but to declare what. When you look at the world with the eyes of your heart, opportunities you would have missed before will loom up in you like neon lights and you won’t be able to miss them. Hunches you used to shrug off as silly or irrational will speak to you now with an urgency you cannot ignore.”

Last year, when I did not recover my foreclosed home at the auction (the contract went to another bidder), I received several calls and emails proclaiming I wouldn’t get it and to focus on buying another house. At first I was agitated by the naysayers. I got over it quickly because I remembered that some answers to prayers take a while. It’s really about timing, about being in the right season. During this time, we have to hold tight to our faith and believe God no matter what it looks like or how long it takes! I call it pit bull faith.

As an act of my faith, I visualize the victory, meditate on Scriptures and always speak positive words. I KNOW I WILL recover the house. I’m not concerned about the details or when. The Lord will guide me and show me what to do to raise the funds. I believe it! My responsibility is to trust God. Yes, by faith, I see myself standing in the driveway; I see the balloons lining the fence celebrating my triumphant return. I can hear the renovation work going on inside by the designers from The Nate Berkus Show (they don’t know this yet). In my mind, I see the beautiful new interior design, new furniture, appliances, carpet, drapers, electronics – everything paid for!

When I regain ownership, I plan to rent the house to a family member in need of permanent housing. The relative will only have to pay utilities and a small monthly amount for rent to cover taxes and insurance. I can see myself living in a new, debt-free home elsewhere.

I’ve had previous success with visualizing goals. When I first got the idea to create a cornbread career, I visualized successful media coverage on all the major networks, on blogs and in newspapers – before it ever happened. I would picture the CNN news truck pulling up in the driveway of my house (waiting on that one).

Since launching CornbreadMillionaire.com, it has been featured on FOX National News, WSB-TV with Clark Howard, 11Alive News, ABCNews.com, MSNBC Real Estate and feature articles in The Athens-Banner Herald, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, two radio shows and numerous blogs. On December 17, 2011, a segment aired on CNN Primetime Weekend with Don Lemon. I’ll soon present cornbread cooking lessons on three morning talk shows!

I successfully sold microwave, buttered popcorn to generate income when my income dwindled during the setback. I would walk the streets and ask people to donate because I was raising money for my own business. The responses were thrilling: My favorites: “Go for it! I love to help people who are trying to help themselves. I’ll donate just because I like popcorn” Many chuckled. Some said they were inspired to launch their own popcorn fundraiser. Love it! It strengthened my faith and self-confidence.

This blog entry serves as my prophetic reference. When I recover the property, I’ll post an update on this page. Oh yeah, when my eBook Homegirl’s Cornbread Sandwiches: Tasty Recipes & Wise Life Lessons is a bestseller (prophetic declaration), I’ll post an update.

And the Lord answered me, and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

Cornbread not cooked thoroughly?

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:32:11 +0000

If the cornbread is not cooking thoroughly it’s a sure sign the batter isn’t cooking long enough. If the bottom is thick, greasy and soggy it’s because the baking dish WAS NOT preheated before adding the batter. The next time you bake cornbread, try the following:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease baking dish (or skillet). Preheat until the oil is sizzling hot. With an oven mitt, carefully remove baking dish from oven. Pour in batter. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. This means it’s throughly cooked. Kindly let me know if this helps.

House update

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:54:43 +0000

I’m often asked did I recover my foreclosed home at the auction. Here’s my official answer. The foreclosure was in March 2010, I moved out of the house into a homeless shelter in June 2010. In July 2010, when I launched my cornbread career with just $10 while temporarily residing in a homeless shelter, my main goal was to raise enough money to buy back my home (pictured) at the August 2010 auction. The budding business was generating great sales, but not fast enough to meet the auction’s deadline. It was a disguised blessing for which I’m very grateful.

The real estate agent told me the $73,000 bid went to another buyer. A new family currently lives in the house. In October 2010, just three months after successfully launching CornbreadMillionaire.com, I was hit with a setback that temporarily shut down both me and the business! Once again, I stared UGLY defeat in the face. Thankfully, I’m recovering. One day, I believe I’ll buy back the house in Fairburn, Georgia from the current owners and use it as rental property. Dreams come true. In the meantime, I’m focused on stabilizing my business and resolving all issues from the setback. A winner never quits. After that, I have plans to purchase a new house by my 50th birthday, April 23, 2012. I have a detailed, creative strategy to raise funds by selling the upgraded eBook, securing strategic partners and by selling advertisements on both the website and this blog.

The other question I’m often asked is why didn’t I move in with friends or relatives. For me, that was NOT an option. When I first purchased my house, many “arrogantly assumed” I would lose it. Their negative words were “curses” that also returned to curse them. They could no longer hide their jealousy. I distanced myself from the haters. Know what I mean? Adversity always reveals who’s with you and who’s pretending. Unemployment, foreclosure and homelessness are now my steppingstones to success. I’ll never again trust another employer as my sole income source. I’ll never again ignore negative words spoken against me – even condescending jokes. I got a spiritual revelation. Plan to preach a sermon on it one day! Through daily prayers, I destroy word curses and they’re effects in the Name of Jesus! My firey experiences taught me some valuable lessons. I’m MUCH stronger and MUCH wiser. I’m writing a “bestselling book”(prophetically speaking) about bouncing back from foreclosure and homelessness with a creative idea. Also, I added a a new chapter titled The Rise of Cornbread to my first eBook Homegirl’s Cornbread Sandwiches: Tasty Recipes and Wise Life Lessons. It has the detailed scoop of my struggle and how I survived. You’ll read about the really nasty, sneaky, mean-spirited things people did when they saw my struggle – and how I handled it. Success is so LOUD that it silences your haters. The eBook is available on CornbreadMillionaire.com. When one door shuts, another opens.

CNN Primetime

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:42:29 +0000

UPDATE Dec. 9: My CNN contact emailed me today with a note stating the segment could air Dec. 17 or 18 – and it could change if there’s breaking news. As always, I’m still very grateful for the opportunity! Delay is not denial. The Lord is working on something real good. It’s all a matter of “positive perspective”! By the way, a big thank you to JOe VAn Hoose who’s doing a follow-up story on the Dec. 14th issue of The Athens-Banner Herald. Joe, was the first journalist to write a newspaper story on my new cornbread career. Thanks Joe for your encouraging support! Here’s a link to that article: http://onlineathens.com/stories/062310/liv_659979361.shtml

UPDATE Dec. 4: I didn’t see the segment. Waiting for an update from the producer. If it aired in your part of the world, please let me know. Again, I’m still VERY grateful for the opportunity to film with CNN. A dream come true. Already working on additional promotional tv segments (different network) where I’ll be sharing my testimony along with some delicious cornbread cooking lessons. Yall know some people don’t have a clue how to bake this famous southern dish. Delighted to spread some knowledge!

UPDATE Dec. 3: Producers of CNN Primetime Weekend with Don Lemon, rescheduled Cornbread Millionaire segment for tonight (between 10om-10:30om). They wanted to wait until Don Lemon was hosting. In the world of television, if there’s breaking news, the Cornbread Millionaire segment will be rescheduled. Whatever the case, I’m still VERY grateful for the opportunity. Thanks again to everyone at CNN!

On Saturday, Nov. 26, check out CNN Primetime Weekend with Don Lemon. We filmed Nov. 4 at the Young Chefs Academy in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Many thanks to the owner, Jennifer, for her hospitality! Filming was a fascinating experience; a dream-come true for me! I’ve always wanted a mention on CNN. Due to unforseen circumstances (I’ll spare you the details), I was late arriving and missed my chance to meet Don Lemon. I apologized numerous times, with tears, to the crew because I respect other people’s time. Many thanks to Ms. Jennifer, owner of Young Chef’s Academy in Sandy Springs, for allowing us to use her beautiful facility! The CNN segment is an update with details of what I did to survive the disastrous setback from which I’m recovering! I’m very grateful for the exposure which helps me grow my cornbread career. Three additional television segments (different networks) and a magazine story have been confirmed. I’ll post the details AFTER interviews have been completed.

Bev’s Budget Basics

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Dec. 9, 2011…This is for everyone who loves free samples of designer fragrances. It’s a great way to test for allergic reactions and to make sure the fragrance smells good on you – before purchasing. Last night, for the first time, I visited the fragrance section of Nordstrom’s in Perimeter Mall (Atlanta, Georgia). There was an awesome collection of designer fragrances, body lotions. Customers are welcomed to three samples of this expensive collection. I also stopped by Bobbi Brown’s cosmetics counters and asked for a heavy moisturizer. The super nice clerk offered to mix up something for me to try and gave it to me in a cute bottle with a black top. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

I also enjoyed my visit to Sephora in the same mall for free make-up samples. Within minutes, the cosmetics expert identified my color and provide generous samples of moisturizier, primer and a foundation to match my skin color. I hope you’ll visit both stores. Samples are suitable for all budgets!

Dec. 4, 2011…On this new weekly post, I’ll be sharing fabulous money-saving tips on groceries, shoes, clothes and household items. Let’s begin with The $1.00 Lunch Menu. I personally purchased the delicious following from my favorite Kroger store: Small banana (.14 cents), cheese croissant (.59 cents), Oriental Ramen Noodles (.20 cents) and two FREE bags of Oyster Crackers. With tax (.05 cents), the total came to .98 cents! My lunch filled me up which is excellent for less than a dollar. What’s your favorite bargain? Please

Cornbread Journal

Beverly "Bev" Davis — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:10:27 +0000

After receiving numerous calls and emails asking for details on how I went through unemployment, foreclosure, homeless to Cornbread Millionaire. Since writing has always been therapeutic for me, I look forward to journaling the details on this blog. My goal is to make updates twice per week. Since I want to write a bestselling book for a major book publisher, I declare prophetically the words written in The Cornbread Journal will be included. What’s your dream? I'll begin with some things that are happening with me now. With the next posts, I'll go back to the beginning of when I wasemployed and how I became unemployed (a disguised blessing). On Nov. 30, I had the blessed experience of speaking with my brother by phone, we haven't spoken in almost 20 years. We both asked for forgiveness because when we were younger, we both did some wrong things to each other. When we talked, you could feel the peace. I look forward to meeting my niece, his 15 year old daughter! I'll post some pictures too. Months ago, I began saying intensely for him. I felt in my heart it was time for some deep healing and forgiveness, so I began with prayer. I wasn't surprised to get his text messages. Long story short, a great healing has taken place and we're both moving forward. It's the beginning of great things for our entire family.

On Nov. 28, I emailed several major corporations proposing a partnership; a unique opportunity to sell more of their products. I was delighted to receive a return call from one of my favorite entrereneurs, Michele Hoskins, founder of www.MicheleFoods.com, a multi-million dollar syrup business based on her family's secret recipe! She began her business with no capital, a dream and a need to care for her young daughters. In the beginning, she called Denny's everyday at the same time for TWO years seeking a contract for Michele's Honey Creme Syrup. Yes, she got the contract and has been in business over 25 years and has built a manufacturing plant. More details on the next post.