Welcome Home to Joseph-Beth!
Visit Joseph-Beth for central Kentucky’s best assortment of books and gifts!
{This post was sponsored by Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Thanks so much to all sponsors who keep HerKentucky running!}
Joseph-Beth has been one of my very favorite places to shop for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, it always felt like such a special shopping treat to visit Joseph-Beth any time I was in Lexington. As an adult, Joseph-Beth is still such a special shopping destination that holds so many warm memories for me. As a college student at Transylvania, I visited Joseph-Beth to order texts for my classes and to purchase graduate school exam prep materials. OK, maybe studying for the GRE and the LSAT aren’t traditionally happy memories, but it was cool to visit the store a few times with a college friend who’d, much later, become my husband. I think it’s a pretty common theme for anyone who’s from Central or Eastern Kentucky; Joseph-Beth conveys warm memories for a lot of us. I was so thrilled when Joseph-Beth invited me in to see the new renovations to the store, do some holiday shopping, and experience their new theme, Welcome Home to Joseph-Beth!
The renovations at Joseph-Beth really do feel so cozy, like you’re settling in to someone’s home. There are fantastic nooks to enjoy a coffee or cocktail, read a book, or visit with friends. A manager even told me she’d seen gift exchanges and job interviews taking place by the fireplace!
Joseph-Beth has taken so many pains to create a haven for book-lovers. They’ve added library lights and a book lounge, including the best selection of local books you’ll find anywhere. They’re enhancing their selection of live author events, classes, and book clubs, creating an even greater community for central Kentucky’s readers! Give me a comfy chair and an Ann Patchett book and I’m content for hours!
Joseph-Beth also offers a fabulous shopping area, featuring a meticulously curated selection of gifts and goodies. Of course, I couldn’t pass up the UK and bourbon sections!
This time of year, we’re all trying to come up with unique, thoughtful, and special presents that let our loved ones know that they’re valued. The selection at Joseph-Beth is so well thought-out. I found so many delightful gift ideas! These map-inspired journals, the Lexington periodic table platter, and the Lexington duffel bag by Rebecca Ray were among my favorites!
If you’re looking for a special holiday gift, a great place to decompress, or a great new read, check out the newly renovated Joseph-Beth! You’ll feel right at home!
Louisville People and Lexington People
Testing the theory that Kentuckians identify with one of their two major college towns.
I've got this theory about Kentuckians.
It doesn't matter what county you grew up in, every Kentuckian identifies as a Lexington person or a Louisville person.
Oh, sure, you may live closer to cities like Cincinnati or Nashville. You may go to St. Louis or Charleston, WV or Indy or anywhere else to shop and unwind. But, when it comes down to college affiliations, sports teams, and generally which city you prefer, there can only be one. Nobody loves both cities equally. I've known plenty of people who drive from Western Kentucky to Lexington to shop, eat, or tailgate. Others may be from the Eastern mountains, but crave a steak from Mortons or Ruth's Chris or an Oxmoor Mall fix.
Of course, both cities are amazing. I've lived in Louisville and in Lexington, and have been very, very happy in each. There's no substitute for a night out on Bardstown Road, a play at Actors Theatre, or the view from River Road. But, I'm a Lexington girl at heart. I went to Transy and to UK. I grew up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. I bleed blue. And, I'll always be a Lexington girl. I start planning trips to The Track (Keeneland, duh. There is only one!) or to see my 'Cats months in advance. No matter how long my license plate says "Jefferson County", my heart will always lie a little farther east.
Are you a Louisville or Lexington person? Take our quiz and see!
- Keeneland or Churchill Downs?
- Blue or Red?
- Cats or Cards?
- Woodford Reserve or Maker's Mark?
- Ramsey's or Ramsi's?
- I-75 or I-65?
Of course, if you answers were from column A, then you're a Lexington person; if you answered mostly Bs, then you're a Louisville person!
Which one are you?
Blogger {View} Wednesday: Mindy Rohr of Love, Lexington
Today, we're starting an exciting new feature here on HerKentucky. Blogger{View} Wednesday will introduce y'all to our favorite Kentucky bloggers -- folks who are taking the internet by storm with their style, sass, and love for the Commonwealth. today, we're talking to Mindy Rohr, the fabulous blogger behind Love, Lexington. Mindy's website reads like a love letter to Lexington -- an exploration of the latest trends in food and drink, snapshots of the city's gorgeous scenery, and tips on the greatest Kentucky-themed swag. And did I mention Mindy's stunning SJP-esque ombre hair? Thanks so much to Mindy for taking some time to chat with us!
Tell us about yourself.
Hi I’m Mindy, the blogger behind Love Lexington. I was born and raised right here in Lexington, Kentucky. I love traveling and checking off places I’ve never been (like Napa this summer!) I am a horrible cook (note why we eat out so often)…our fridge and pantry usually only have tea, Hershey Kisses (dark chocolate only please…and yes we keep them in the fridge!), and cheddar skinny pop. What else does one need to survive? Bourbon…we always have bourbon on hand. I’m obsessed with my dogs! They really are the best and bring so much happiness into our lives. My favorite food is so cliché but I’d choose pizza over everything!
How did Love, Lexington get started?
Love Lexington came to me as an idea after reading the “Love Letter to Lexington” (published in the Huffington Post and written by my friend Megan Smith). Having personally deciding a few years back to get out of my Hamburg neighborhood and experience more of the downtown Lexington, Mr. Love Lexington and I started trying all the new local restaurants, going to Thursday Night Live every week, and just making a point to be a part of the growing downtown scene. Friends had suggested that we write a food/review blog but I didn’t want to be a food critic…I’m not into bashing anyone. From all that, Love Lexington was born. Ideally it is a love letter from Lexington to its people…and a way for me to share all the things I love about our city!
What’s your favorite thing about Kentucky?
My favorite thing about Kentucky is how absolutely stunning our state is! The beautiful rolling hills, the horse farms, the historic little towns…it is simply breath taking!
What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a blog?
For someone just starting out, I would recommend using a free site like Blogger or WordPress. It can get expensive to purchase a hosting site, a url, a theme, etc. and might feel overwhelming. Once you have figured out the technical part of getting a blog up and going, then you have to find your voice. Most readers relate to bloggers who write as if they are having a conversation. There is a lot of competition in the blog world…your voice is what will make you stand out.
People will say you do not need a good camera to take good photos…but I disagree. If a blog has low quality photos I am less likely to revisit the site. If you are serious about your blog (and photos are a necessity i.e., fashion, food) then invest in a starter DSLR or a similar camera (I started with a Nikon1). Once you have the camera, you must learn how to use it…if not, you might as well keep using your iPhone because you won’t be able to tell much different.
People will say and do the most random things. They think that because you are behind a computer screen that common etiquette doesn’t apply. They say things they would never say to a person in real life. Try to not let that bother you and if you truly love blogging then Keep On, Keeping On. The haters will move on and you will find people to follow you because they are behind what you are doing.
Now the important questions:
Cats or Cards? I bleed blue!
Louisville or Lexington? Should I even answer this?? ☺ Lexington…duh!
What’s your favorite bourbon? I’m not super picky when it comes to bourbon. I like Maker’s Mark in my diet coke; Woodford, Noah’s Mill, or Four Roses small batch in my cocktails. When I’m feeling cheap it’s not below me to order a good ol’ Kentucky Tavern and diet Ale-8!
Where’s your favorite local restaurant? If I have to choose only one and only one…I couldn’t live without County Club.
What’s your favorite local shop? My favorite “local” shop has to be High Street Fly. I cannot get enough of their awesome t-shirts. I do love Morton James too…my husband and pocket book however do not☺.
Check out Love Lexington for a dose of Lexington love!
Searching for Mary Todd Lincoln
Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House holds the key to the First Lady's personality.
When Sally Field was preparing for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in the recent Lincoln biopic, the dynamic actress insisted on two trips to the historic Lexington home that bears Mrs. Lincoln's name --one tour of the house to capture the essence of the woman whom she was to portray, and one visit for her CBS Sunday Morning interview about the film.
Now, I've probably driven past the Mary Todd Lincoln house a hundred times in my life. The truth is, when you spend a lot of years studying and working in Downtown Lexington, you don't always give a whole lot of thought to the historic buildings. After a while, they all run together. The Hunt-Morgan House. Ashland. The Mary Todd Lincoln House. They all carry the names of Lexingtonians of eras past. They reflect the architecture and fashions of their era. But, when you've used Gratz Park for outdoor undergrad classes or quick runs with the dogs and the Thomas Morgan House is a place where you performed your alumna duty of serving punch at sorority rush parties, you haven't always taken the time to read the historical markers or undertake the tours. While I always knew that the Mary Todd Lincoln House was the home of our nation's Sixteenth First Lady, I've never taken time to visit it. It's just part of the downtown landscape, like Old Morrison or the 5/3 Building.
My friend and fellow "obsessive Kentuckian", Sarah Stewart Holland, wrote an essay here on HerKentucky about the moment when, while reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, she first saw Lincoln as an empathetic and very human man rather than as a historically exalted leader. As I read Sarah's piece, I immediately thought of all the press surrounding Ms. Field's visits to Lexington. I did a little research about the Mary Todd Lincoln House and realized that, perhaps, Ms. Field was onto something. Maybe the home where Mrs. Lincoln spent her teen years is a key to her character.
Mary's room, via Mary Todd Lincoln House.
The house located at 578 West Main, an elegant two-story 14-room brick home, was purchased by the Todds in 1832. The fashionable address -- at the time almost suburban -- reflected the family's growing prominence. Robert Todd, a businessman and politician, was the president of a local bank. Mary, the fourth of seven children, lived the life of a privileged southern belle. She attending boarding school during the week, and traveled home on the weekends. When Mr. Todd remarried, Mary disagreed with her stepmother and step-siblings. At 21, she was sent to Springfield, Illinois to live with her married sister Elizabeth. In Springfield, Mary won the affections of two promising young lawyers -- Stephen Douglas and his political rival Abraham Lincoln. Although Mary was known for her dramatic personality and disarming mood swings, her marriage to the penniless Lincoln shocked everyone back home in Lexington.
The Mary Todd Lincoln House, sitting serenely in the shadow of Rupp Arena, boasts a decidedly colorful past. Originally built as an inn, it was later converted to a private residence. It even served as the "bawdy house" where Lexington's most famous madam, Belle Brezing, first practiced her trade. In the 1970s, the house was restored (the first site restored to honor a First Lady) with many original antiques belonging to the Lincoln and Todd families. Its many -- sometimes shady -- incarnations seem a fitting tribute to a woman whose tumultuous personal life was marked with political victories and unimaginable family tragedies. The home's series of reinventions seems also to embody the very spirit of Downtown Lexington -- constantly evolving and rebuilding, with an eye toward the future and a deep respect for the city's history.
Christmas Traditions: The Nutcracker
Christmas Traditions: The Nutcracker
During Christmas, my family has many traditions. We enjoy German advent calendars (little candies every day to count down to Christmas), watching The Muppet Christmas Carol and The Grinch, and making cookies. The Hubby and I have our own tradition; every year we go shopping for a Christmas ornament. My favorite tradition: going to see The Nutcracker.
My parents took my brother and me to see it every year since I was about 5 until they divorced a decade later. After that I didn't go to a live ballet--too emotionally draining for me. Then about 5 years ago, The Hubby took me, and I've been obsessed again ever since.
Why do I love it so much? I just adore the music. I listen to the music all year (seriously!), and around Christmas, I love to see the ballet live. Occasionally, we can't make it to a live ballet, so I watch my favorite version: George Balanchine's with Maculay Caulkin (dirt cheap right now at $3.75)
This year, we will be going to see the live ballet: my mother, brother, sister-in-law, and myself. I cannot wait!!! We are going to see the one by The Lexington Ballet at the Lexington Opera House. Not only are we honoring our past family tradition, we are supporting the local ballet.
What are some of your family Christmas traditions? What's your favorite?
Belle Brezing and the "other" Lexington
Lexington's fascinating, notorious characters.
I've always wanted to write a book about Belle Brezing.
To tell you the truth, I'm fascinated with a lot of the whispered stories of Lexington's shadowy past. I suppose there's something beautifully thrilling about such a picturesque and gracious town having a few secrets. Several years ago, I was thrilled when I came across an odd little University Press book about Billy Klair, Lexington's very own Tammany-style political boss. When we were in our mid-twenties, I can remember my friends and I feeling so cosmopolitan and sophisticated as we celebrated special occasions at a la lucie; as we ordered "good red wine" (we were super-into $12 Merlot at the time...), we'd stare in awe at the framed Christmas card from Drew Thornton that hung proudly on the wall. The list could go on, but so many of these secretive folks are as famous in Lexington lore as Coach Rupp or Governor Chandler. I love hearing these whispered stories, but none thrill me as much as the legend of Belle.
Belle Brezing, as any Lexingtonian can tell you, was the city's most famous madam. She first started working for a madam named Jennie Hill on December 24, 1879. It's truly heartbreaking to think of a nineteen year-old single mother going to work as a prostitute on Christmas Eve. It's also kind of amazing to realize that the house where she went to work had previously been the childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Belle was a smart businesswoman, and she rose to a high degree of social prominence. By the age of twenty-one, she was running "bawdy houses" of her own. Her first location was in a row of houses on Upper Street; the remaining house is now the Field House for my alma mater's Women's Soccer Team.
Following an 1892 arrest, Belle received a pardon from the Governor, a testament to her standing in the community. Soon after, she expanded her empire by establishing a house on the site that is now The Gratz Park Inn. I think that's the fascinating thing about Lexington legends. The town has always been just small enough that every building and every story are intertwined in the most peculiar ways.
Belle was famous for her business acumen -- she was forever expanding her enterprise, and lived off her investments for over twenty years, following her retirement. But, she will forever be known as the reported model for the Belle Watling character in Gone With The Wind. In recent years, Lexington has embraced her legend in very public ways. I was a student at Transylvania when the women's soccer field on Upper Street was built; the row house standing on the site, one of Belle's properties, was designated as a historical home, and thus protected from demolition. In the late Nineties, the old Lexington City Brewery had a tasty lager named for Belle. And, over the past few years, the Lexington History Museum has held an annual gala fundraising event on Belle's birthday, and the springtime Best of the Bluegrass Festival includes a quirky, commemorative "bed race."
When I finally do write a book on Belle, I'd love to say that she died with the dignity and comfort she deserved, but she finally ran out of money and developed a horrible morphine addiction. I'd also be remiss if I didn't include the fact that much of her success was underwritten by a newspaper magnate and trotting horse enthusiast. I'd love to focus on her success as an unlikely business owner, rather than dwelling on the horrors of prostitution, the disdain she received from "polite society", and the cycle of violence that seems to have surrounded her life. I'd love to focus on the fact that her 1940 death was designated as a "Milestone of the Week" in Time magazine.
I don't quite know how I'll work out all of those details, but I do know that the stories of Belle's life provide a unique glimpse into Lexington itself. The dirty and the pretty, the glamorous and the grimy, and the underside of some of our most beloved landmarks -- Belle has had a hand in it all.
My Kentucky: A Lexington Late Bloomer
Fried chicken, horses, white picket fences and farms.
Yuck.
These were my reactions when I learned that my family was moving to Kentucky. Granted, I was only 12 at the time, but based on whatever I “knew” about Kentucky, this was going to suck. I liked Georgia. I was leaving my world of friends, sweet tea, peaches, boiled peanuts and grits.
At Keeneland
Unfortunately, I fought Kentucky for years. My introverted nature made it hard to make friends, and I always longed for a different place. I spent my high school summers at fat camp near San Diego, where I tried to convince people that even though I lived in Kentucky, I wore shoes and didn’t have a horse. I dreamed of going to college in California, which seemed so large and amazing to me. I applied to several California universities and got in to them. Imagine my crazy disappointment when the financial aid and scholarships weren’t enough to convince my parents (who were going through a divorce and my mom was dealing with a degenerative neurological disease) to spend $20K per year plus all my expenses when I could go to the University of Kentucky for next-to-nothing.
I grunted and grumbled and dreamed of other, more exotic places I could be. (Yes, at that time I thought California was “exotic.” Silly me). I was an advertising major, and went to an advertising conference in NYC and decided that I could go to California OR New York. And for that point, I could also go to Chicago or Atlanta. Truly, my stubborn mind wanted to be anywhere but Kentucky.
Looking back, I can see where my loyalties started to change. My freshman year I went to UK basketball games and joined the frenzy of the Big Blue Nation. I had blue eyeliner to write “UK” on my cheeks, and had blue nail polish to match. I went to Keeneland a few times and liked the pretty horses. I met a down-home Kentucky boy and fell in love. I was hooked, for better or for worse.
My blood turned blue when I got to grad school. I quit my job and went into an intensive MBA program at UK. There, I spread my Lexington wings and finally learned how to fly. Nights downtown sitting outside a bar nursing a bourbon and diet coke after a day of tailgaiting, horse races and socializing at Keeneland. I discovered the Lexington Farmers Market, apple picking at Boyds Orchard, events at The Limestone Club, and corn hole in the backyard. And vineyards - did you know Kentucky has many of them, on old tobacco land? This girl even got married in one, under the speldor of the Kentucky fall (on the day that UK beat LSU's #1 ranked football team, no less. The UK fight song erupted over the DJs speakers). My grooms cake was Lexington's famous Spalding donuts, and we drank Kentucky wine and Kentucky beer.
I now hang out with a friend in her Highlands neighborhood in Louisville, wandering up and down Bardstown Road along with the hipsters in the hoodies and prepsters with Bugaboos. I even *gasp* joined the Junior League and quickly learned to appreciate all things Lilly Pulitzer, but more importantly, the value of serving the community. This summer I experienced my first Kentucky lake, with the beautiful surroundings and friendly, beer-drinking boaters. The rest of my family left Kentucky years ago, and I've chosen to stay here.
I may have been a late bloomer, but now, my Kentucky is my home.