Joining a charity club is soooo not for me.
Today's charity clubs aren't your mother's league.
Oh, you know, I'm not one of those women. Joining a charity club is soooo not for me.
Yeah, I've heard that a lot. And yet, I never really know what it means.
Does it mean that you think you're too serious and important to waste your time with silly little women's clubs?
Well, Julia Child and Sandra Day O'Connor were both Junior League members; if your work is more important than "First Celebrity Chef" or "First Female Supreme Court Justice", I'd really like to see your résumé.
Does it mean that you don't want to help others in your community?
This year alone, the Charity League of Paducah presented a check totaling $25,600 to Easter Seals West Kentucky. The Younger Woman's Club of Louisville awarded over $40,000 in grants to 17 deserving 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations in the Louisville area. The Junior League of Lexington awarded $30,000 to five deserving Lexington agencies. The Junior League of Louisville raised over $50,000 for area agencies. That's close to $150,000 raised in one year solely by female volunteers from four charity organizations in three key Kentucky cities, granted to some of the Commonwealth's most deserving non-profits. A safe estimate is that these organizations' rosters combined total a membership of less than 600 women. That's around $250 raised per Kentucky woman per year to make a difference in the lives of their fellow Kentuckians. Obviously, you wouldn't want to be a part of that, right?
Does it mean that you don't want to strengthen your professional network?
I've been a member of several different women's charity organizations over the years, and I can safely tell you that most of them have been run with a higher degree of precision and accountability than most Fortune 500 companies. That's because a lot of the members of these clubs were, in actuality, qualified to run Fortune 500 companies. Modern women's clubs count physicians, attorneys, educators, financial analysts, entrepreneurs, and work-at-home mothers among their ranks. When charity club women congregate, you're more likely to hear legal and financial advice, medical referrals or analysis of your child's IEP than gossip or tips on upcoming boutique sales.
Does it mean that you're afraid you won't see "women like you" there?
I promise you, attending a charity club meeting isn't going to look like a scene from The Help. You're going to find a diverse mix of women of various backgrounds and ethnicities -- accomplished, well-educated, professional women. Some of us are work-at-home mothers, others are entrepreneurs, law partners, and surgeons. Here in Louisville, you're also likely to find an impressive group of bourbon professionals. But, you probably won't find any beehive hairdos.
Does it mean that you don't want to see your favorite Kentucky bloggers?
HerKentucky contributors Emily Ho (Lexington Junior League) and Sarah Holland (Charity League of Paducah) are charity club members. I am a past member of the Lexington and Louisville Junior Leagues, and currently sit on the Board of the Younger Woman's Club. We all firmly believe that the training and networking opportunities afforded by these clubs have played a crucial role in our professional success.
Have I changed your mind?
- Younger Woman's Club of Louisville is accepting applications through this Friday, August 14th. A Meet and Greet Happy Hour will be held this Thursday, August 13th, at 5:30 p.m. at Tony Boombozz in St Matthews, where you can learn more about the YWC.
- The Junior League of Louisville is accepting applications for their August provisional class. A Recruitment Open House will be held this Thursday, August 13th, at the Junior League Office (982 Eastern Parkway)
- The Junior League of Lexington will accept applications for 2015 membership from October 1st to October 31st.
- The Charity League of Paducah is currently accepting applications for membership. Email them at charityleagueofpaducah@gmail.com for more information.
- The Junior League of Cincinnati will accept new applications in the spring. Email them at membership@jlcincinnati.org for more information.
- The Junior League of Owensboro will accept new applications in the spring. Contact them at info@jlowensboro.org for more information.
A Conversation with Irrepressible Author Emily Bingham
HerKentucky editor Heather C. Watson interviews Louisville native author and historian Emily Bingham.
was at the top of HerKentucky's list of the summer's must-read books. The story of a charismatic Jazz Age debutante who scandalized Louisville society by kissing girls at the city's most exclusive clubs while charming London's elite Bloomsbury intellectual set , Irrepressible reads like a tightly constructed novel, deftly weaving through continents and eras to tell a lovely and ultimately tragic story.
The second child and only daughter of Louisville politician, judge, and publishing magnate Robert Worth Bingham, Henrietta was born in 1901 into a Kentucky of thoroughbreds, cotillions, and country clubs. Her Louisville was a world most of us have only experienced in myth -- her grandmother Henrietta Long Miller owned an imposing mansion in Old Louisville and an equally impressive summer home in Peewee Valley -- but which was often too rigid for her tastes. Upon graduation from Louisville Collegiate School, Henrietta sought refuge first at Smith College (where she began an affair with magnetic young composition professor and heiress Mina Kirstein, whose family co-founded Filene's Department Stores), then abroad, where her gracious disposition and violet eyes captivated the free-spirited intellectuals of the Bloomsbury group. Among her confidantes and lovers were Wimbledon champion Helen Hull Jacobs and actor John Houseman; her complex and co-dependent relationship with her larger-than-life father cast a decidedly Southern Gothic shadow over her life of privilege.
Ultimately, the societal norms of Henrietta's era -- it's heartbreaking to remember that, less than a century ago, gay Americans were forced into the closet by the imminent threat of criminal charges and physical violence -- along with a lifelong history of mental health and substance abuse issues ultimately dulled Henrietta's flame. The outré flapper and muse became known as a sad and embarrassing branch of the Bingham family tree. When Henrietta's great-niece, the writer and historian Emily Bingham, announced her plans to name her daughter for this relative whom she'd never known, the story goes, her family blanched. Henrietta's name was considered an unwelcome burden to saddle upon a new generation of Binghams, so Emily started reconstructing her great-aunt's story. In a twist so fortuitous that it seems torn from the pages of a Hollywood script, Emily Bingham found two perfectly preserved trunks in the attic of her family's estate. Henrietta's story unfolded through the trunks' contents -- a glamorous story of love, heartbreak, and adventure. Emily graciously answered some questions about Irrepressible for HerKentucky readers.
HK: What was going through your mind when you discovered Henrietta’s trunk of memories?
EB: That day in 2009 was probably one of the greatest experiences I'll ever have as a historian. I went to that attic in my childhood home very reluctantly. I had peeked into the trunk some time before and seen a lot of very old shoes, hats, that sort of thing, and it was pure duty to spend hours on a frigid January day in the uninsulated space full of soot and lit by a single dangling bulb. The house itself was empty and did not contain my happiest childhood memories (though I did love exploring the vast attic where servants had once lived and where my father and his siblings had a lot of toys and books and old saddles stored).
The first amazing find was a massive silver flask with Henrietta's initials. It holds about two fifths of bourbon. Nothing like the discreet flapper flasks you might imagine.
Then I came across the tennis outfit that turned out to have belonged to Helen Hull Jacobs, the 1930s lesbian tennis champion. Her monogrammed shirt suggested a more intimate relationship than I knew had existed between her and my great aunt, and the clothes, which I sent to the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI led me to her diaries and scrapbooks and the "joyous and satisfying life" she shared with Henrietta in the 30s and 40s.
There were some little tiny folded papers containing white powder. I thought I'd come across some illicit drug but on closer inspection they proved to be "dog powders" for Henrietta's beloved border terriers and Pekingese!
And then, as I was about to leave for the day to relieve my babysitter, I saw that another trunk was hidden in the shadows in a corner of the garret room. At the very bottom is where I found the carefully tied up and almost perfectly-preserved collection of love letters from the sculptor Stephen Tomlin and the actor/producer John Houseman. Seeing Henrietta through their besotted eyes was one of the utter thrills of my experience with this book.
HK: Was there ever a time when you thought of turning back and keeping Henrietta’s story in the past?
EB: Absolutely. My editor didn't think the book was even possible given that I had no diaries and almost no letters from Henrietta herself. So it was almost DOA. But I pushed past that with some of the discoveries in the attic and elsewhere. There was a point when her depression and addiction melded with a sad and confusing time in my life and I wondered if the project might not make me ill.
HK: I’m a Jazz Age buff, and a Kentucky native, so as I read, I was thinking both of the timeline of some of my favorite authors and historical figures (thinking, e.g., “OK, Scott and Zelda would have been here, or Gerald and Sara Murphy would have been here”) and of a very local timeline (saying things like “the Miller house was a block down from the Woman’s Club” or “of course they all thought Henrietta was a gracious hostess; she was a Louisville girl!”) It almost felt like Henrietta lived two completely separate lives –freedom in London and duty in Louisville. When you were working on the book, how did you feel that place played into Henrietta’s story?
EB: Henrietta felt very connected to her Kentucky and southern roots. There is a remarkable passage in the pages John Houseman cut from his memoir: see page 180-181. He was drawn in by the romance of Kentucky but later he came to see things in a more nuanced way. Here's a bit more of it: "I discovered that Louisville was, in reality, a typical middle-Western American city, indistinguishable from Indianapolis or Cincinnati, and that its main claim to national fame -- Churchill Downs, scene of the Kentucky Derby -- was ringed with factories and power plants that made it, without question, one of the most squalid hippodromes in the United States. Yet, for close to a century, from Foster to Fitzgerald, the legend of Louisville's romantic fascination had persisted--and not without reason. For in its own mysterious way the spell worked -- not only on public occasions such as the long Derby weekend, when the entire population, swollen by streams of visitors, lived in a state of collective alcoholic hallucination, but also, in a more intimate way, each time the natives came together and succeeded, through sheer emotional energy, in generating and sustaining an atmosphere of glamour and gaity that was no less magical for being achieved almost entirely with Bourbon and mirrors."
Henrietta loved her Miller grandmother. She also loved having a mansion to throw parties in. She dared to make passes at girls at the Louisville Country Club and kiss her lover in the elevator at the Pendennis. She went sledding in Cherokee Park and was pushed in a stroller in Central Park in Old Louisville. I was stunned when I figured out that for at least a year she and her father and elder brother occupied an apartment 5 doors away from me on Cherokee Road! London and Manhattan were much freer places for her, for sure, but I think she always wanted to come back and her thoroughbred breeding farm at Harmony Landing was the way she hoped to find her way in -- brave as a woman, a lesbian, and someone without direct experience in bloodstock (though her great uncle Dennis Long had two Derby winners in her childhood and that may have set her ambitions early).
HK: You do an amazing job of, as you say in the preface, not presuming to speak for Henrietta. Yet, you’re very fair with your assessments of her mental health and her likely dyslexia. Was this a hard line to walk?
It's always hard to walk the line between empathizing with your subject and wanting to protect them and being frank about their weaknesses and shortcomings. I believe that readers don't just want "models" and can appreciate lives that are as complicated and imperfect as their own.
HK: If you had the chance to talk to Henrietta, what would you say to her?
EB: Sing for me. Play the sax. Tell me the stories of the musicians you loved and who, doubtless, found you pretty interesting, too. What was your favorite bar, show, concert, player? Where did you feel most free? Who did you really love? Finally, "You are in the world again and people still find you lovable and irresistible and are so glad not to have lost you altogether."
Thanks so much to Emily for the amazing interview, and for writing the summer's best book. Check back later this week as HerKentucky takes you on a photo tour of Henrietta's Louisville.
The Five Best Food Trucks in Louisville
Louisville's favorite food trucks
It's no surprise that Louisville's food truck scene is prospering. Add a cool city where folks work hard and love to support local business to an already exciting foodie culture, and you've got a fantastic environment for food trucks to prosper! Here are five HerKentucky faves.
5. Longshot Lobsta There are legitimately times when nothing other than a lobster roll will do. This Louisville favorite brings lobster rolls to a parking lot near you!
4. Sweet 'N Savory Honestly, if you can get a hot brown crepe and a mint julep gelato from one truck, what else do you need in life?
3. Black Rock Grille. Follow the delicious aroma of sizzling burgers through downtown, and you'll wind up at Black Rock!
2. Traveling Kitchen You have no idea how much you need a Korean taco in your life until you actually eat one.
1. Hi-Five Doughnuts. I love their doughnuts, and I love owners Annie and Leslie (and their truck Shelby!) even more. Their bourbon-caramel glaze is a must-try, as is their peanut butter glaze!
What's your favorite Louisville Food Truck?
Girls' Night Out with Karaoke Machine at Mercury Ballroom
Enter to win a girls night out with Karaoke Machine!
Have you ever dreamed of getting on stage with the band to sing your favorite song? Want to have your closest friends there to document it for their entire social media feeds to see?
Then you need to be at Louisville's Mercury Ballroom Saturday night, August 15, where Karaoke Machine is performing. You can go on stage and be the lead singer for the band; it's just like karaoke, only with live music!
We've partnered with Mercury Ballroom to provide a Girls' Night Out package for one lucky group of HerKentucky readers! Enter below to win a table of six for the Karaoke Machine show!
Check out the list of songs you can sing with the band here! (I've got to say, I'd be rocking Lita Ford and Prince, if I were up there!) Click here to buy tickets to the show.
Woodford Reserve + Original Makers Club Bourbon Tasting
HerKentucky's Heather C. Watson reviews the newest limited edition Distillery Series bourbons from Woodford Reserve.
Last night, my beau and I attended the Original Makers Club's tasting party for Woodford Reserve's Distillery Series bourbons. It was a perfect summer night for an outdoor party.
Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris and Master Taster Elizabeth O'Neill led us through the proper tasting methods, including how to properly nose the aroma, why you don't give it a big swirl as you would with a wine tasting, and how to sip the whiskey for optimal taste.
I loved the Sweet Mash Redux. This bourbon had a really sweet, fruity up-front note that was extremely pleasant and reminiscent of an Irish whiskey. I'd recommend this for a fan of Bushmills or Jameson, anyone who loves fruity notes of apple, pear, or cherry, or those who often complain that bourbons have a harsh taste.
The second whiskey we sampled was Double Double Oaked. A variant of the popular Double Oaked label, this bourbon was aged an additional year. A lot of folks at the tasting detected deep, spicy notes in this one. At first, I found it very unstructured with a strong burn. However, when paired with the cheesecake samples we were provided, it was delightfully spicy against the brown sugar crust.
One of my favorite aspects of attending Woodford Reserve tastings is the way that they integrate food to influence flavors. They've developed a fascinating flavor wheel, and they always put great care into choosing food that works with a particular bourbon. Of course, it doesn't hurt when, like last night, the food was chosen by brilliant local chef Ouita Michel.
After the tasting, we moved to the lawn for drinks, snacks, music, and a fabulous display of basket charring.
My cousin Amy and her husband joined us for the festivities!
Chris and Elizabeth used hay from American Pharoah's stall to light the barrel, which was allowed to burn for seven seconds, leaving the barrel "toasted."
The air was filled with a magical scent of roasted marshmallows; it was such a fantastic sensory experience and really illustrated how the toasted barrels produce the rich, caramel-vanilla finish for which Woodford Reserve is known.
Thanks so much to Original Makers Club and Woodford Reserve for the fabulous party and delicious samples!
National Lipstick Day!
Kentucky bloggers discuss their signature lipstick shades and offer readers a chance to win a $20 Sephora gift card.
Today is National Lipstick Day, which got the HerKentucky girls talking about our own favorite shades. Most of us have, at some point, found that perfect shade. The one that makes us feel confident. The one that matches our skin tone just so. The one that makes us stand out.
As Peggy Olson said in the brilliant "Basket of Kisses" scene of Mad Men,
For most of us, that's true. There's THE ONE shade.
For me, it's MAC's Dubonnet. It's a creamy matte burgundy red. It can be worn with casual ensembles and dressed up by mixing in some gloss. It doesn't overpower my fair skin like many reds do.
Glenda's signature shade is also a MAC red; she goes with Russian Red. Coincidentally, this classic shade was Madonna's go-to favorite in the 1980s and 90s.
Julie, our resident Beauty Addict, opts for BeautyCounter lip sheers because they look great and contain no lead. For Julie, there will always be some beautiful memories tied up in a classic lipstick tube:
“I still have a tube of my grandmother Alice’s Revlon Moon Drops lipstick. The name of the color has worn off (it’s pink), but it’s bright and vibrant and not to be ignored— just like she was.”
Wendy's go-to is Indian Rose, a stunning dusty pink shade, while Jennifer of A Girl Eats World likes to mix it up. She says, "I love Clinique Black Honey (dark purple close to my natural color), Nyx Chaos (bluish red for my fair skin), and Revlon Lollipop (fun bright pink)--I'm all about lipstick!"
Over on Bluegrass Redhead, Sarah included this sage piece of advice as among the 34 things she's learned in 34 years:
“Red lipstick is all the makeup you need.”
Jennifer R. has us all running to the beauty counter at Louisville's CirceSWAG, where in-house makeup genius Sloan Winters's brilliant recommendation has become her signature shade: "I have a shade of red, Aphrodite Red, that Sloan sold to me. It's sort of cheerleader red. People stop me to ask about the lipstick, and Sloan says they come in Circe to buy it. Friends give it to me on special occasions."
In a bar or restaurant, says Nikki of Coal Miner's Bride,
“It’s not hard to find a Kentucky woman in a bar. Look for a put-together lady with a lipstick stained glass of bourbon.”
We want to know your signature lipstick shade, and we want to give you a little gift to pick up a new favorite or an old reliable. HerKentucky is giving away two $20 gift cards to Sephora. You can enter to win the first one using our Rafflecopter widget below, and the second on our Instagram page!
(This post contains affiliate links. Prizes are provided by HerKentucky.com and are not affiliated with Sephora, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.)
So, What Do You Do in a Tabata Class?
HerKentucky.com's Heather C. Watson walks you through a Tabata Class at B.You Fitness.
Now that I've increased the flexibility and range of motion that was previously impaired due to a back injury, my new goal is to sustain these benefits while adding in additional toning and weight loss. Of course, the most efficient way to achieve those benefits is through cardio interval training.
B.You's cardio interval classes are known as Tabata, Based on the findings of Japanese exercise scientist Izumi Tabata, these classes use 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest in a cycle of eight. Participants engage in a series of intensive 20-second interval low-impact Tabata-specific/plyometric exercises that send the body right into the fat burning zone.
Let me tell you, it's extremely challenging. I honestly think that the last time I got my heart rate that high was in cheerleading camp. In the 1990s. The intervals are placed at the beginning of class, and then you "cool down" with a 45 minute barre class. I'm a mess when I'm finished, but I also feel like I've achieved an amazing workout. I hope to see y'all at a Tabata class soon!
In Case You Missed It:
- B.You July Challenge
- So, What Do You Do in a Silques Class?
- Derby Detox with B.You's B.Silques Yoga
- Hitting Barre Class Milestones at B.You!
- How Barre Class Changed My Life
- Be You at B.You!
- Yes You Can: Barre Fitness at B.You!
- So, What Do You Wear to a Barre Class?
- So, What Do You Do in a Barre Class?
- B.Fit with HerKentucky + B.You!