Pink + Green Hearts + Polka Dots Quilt
Every Thursday, HerKentucky presents a Quilt of the Week. Over the years, my grandmother has made some absolutely stunning quilts for me; I love to photograph them and share their stories with y'all. This week's Quilt is a pink and green hearts and polka dots pattern. Several years ago, I was walking through the grocery store and saw a cute hearts pattern on a magazine cover.
Of course, my tastes run more toward jewel tones, Lilly Pulitzer-ish prints, and deeper pinks and greens than the magazine's example. My granny was able to work with colors she knows that I love, and the result couldn't be more stunning.
I absolutely love the sense of motion that the subtle paisleys and swirls add to the hearts.
Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here:
- Navy + Blue Bear Paw Quilt
- Orange + Green Halloween Quilt
- Pink + White Dresden Plate
- Blue + White Kentucky Wildcats
- Pink + White Double Wedding Ring
- Yellow + Green Grandmother's Flower Garden
- Pink + Green Plaid Butterfly
- Red + White Ohio Star
- Pink + White Kentucky Wildcats Patchwork
- Pink + Green Lilly Pulitzer Patchwork Quilt
The HerKentucky Guide to Jump-Starting Your Holiday Shopping in Louisville
'Tis the season to start your holiday shopping! If you're like me, every year you tell yourself that this is, absolutely, the year that you'll stay in budget and get the holiday shopping done early. Now, I can't guarantee the budget part, but there are plenty of events coming up in Louisville that will help you find unique holiday items now while shopping locally and supporting local causes.
- Anchal Holiday Trunk Show: I simply can't say enough good about the Anchal Project. This Louisville-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization provides former sex workers in India with a new beginning as an artisan. The Anchal Project transforms old saris into stunning textiles that are used for home goods and accessories. Their newest project is a series of gardens in Louisville's up-and-coming Portland neighborhood which will be used to provide sustainable, natural textile dyes. If you aren't already convinced, check out Anchal founder Colleen Clines' recent Creative Mornings talk, which was nothing short of inspirational. The Trunk Show will be held this Thursday, November 12th, at Whitehall Mansion & Gardens, 3110 Lexington Road.
- Temptations Holiday Boutique: Join a select group of Louisville-area business owners for a premiere local shopping event November 17th-19th at the Olmsted, 3701 Frankfort Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public; shoppers are encouraged to bring a 30" square scarf to donate to Hope Scarves, a St. Matthews-based nonprofit which provides scarves and stories of hope to female cancer survivors.
- Middletown Boutiques Holiday Open House: Join The Prickly Pear, Tunie's and Moss Hill Thursday night November 12th for shopping until 8, refreshments, and free gifts with purchases over $25.
- Festival of Trees and Lights: This volunteer-driven decor boutique features beautifully decorated trees, wreaths and assorted greenery. Area businesses and individuals show their support by sponsoring these trees, and creative designers generously bring them to life. Proceeds benefit Kosair Children's Hospital. This year's event will be held November 13th-15th at Slugger Field.
Happy shopping, y'all!
Make-a-Wish and #MacysBelieve present Reece's Wish
Today, my holidays got off to the most amazing start. I had the opportunity to meet a 13 year-old boy from here in Louisville who has set a pretty incredible goal for the holiday season.
Reece, a Make-a-Wish "Wish Kid," is working with Make-a-Wish and Macy's to serve as a Make-A-Wish kid Believe campaign ambassador. A couple of years ago, Reece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His wish is to raise $1 million to help other kids battling cancer. Reece hopes the money he raises will go toward improving teen patient rooms and common areas at Kosair Children's Hospital; he also hopes to help grant more wishes to kids throughout Kentucky.
The eloquence and poise Reece displayed while being interviewed was inspiring. At a press conference held earlier today, Reece said he'd originally been on the Make-a-Wish list for a custom treehouse built by the Treehouse Guys, but he removed himself from the selection process, believing that other kids may be more deserving than he. He also said that his cousins had forgone birthday presents this year, asking instead for checks to go toward Reece's wish. How amazing is that? These kids have such a heart for service and giving. So far, Reece has raised more than $210,000 through local initiatives.
Today, Reece publicly announced his initiative with Macy's and Make-a-Wish.The Macy’s Believe campaign returns for the eighth year to celebrate the season’s spirit while benefitting Make-A-Wish. From November 6 through December 24, “Believers” of all ages can bring their stamped letters to Santa to their local Macy’s store or send a letter by visiting macys.com/believe. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million, to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
New this year, Macy’s Wish Writer stylus and app are a fun way kids can learn the magic of giving through interactive games and write the most magical letters to Santa. Available at approximately 600 stores across the country and macys.com, the stylus can be purchased for $14.99 and $1 from each sale will go to Make-A-Wish.
Donate to “Reece’s Wish to Raise $1 Million” by visiting reecemakesawish.org, texting 80077 to give a $10 donation or by calling toll free (877) 206-9474. Make-A-Wish relies on the financial support of the local community to grant wishes. Currently, there are more than 150 eligible wish children in Kentucky. For more information on ways to help Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, visit kentucky.wish.org or call 1-877-206-9474 and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @makeawishohkyin.
Navy + Blue Bear Paw Quilt
This week's Quilt of the Week is a navy and blue Bear Paw quilt. If you look closely, this is really just a variant of a nine-patch, but the addition of the triangular "claws" adds a sense of motion to the pattern. My granny made this one a few years ago for my beau. I think it's just beautiful.
If you want to try a Bear Paw quilt of your own, here's a downloadable pattern.
Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here:
HerKentucky Shops! Capes & Wraps for Autumn
This time of year, I'm obsessed with capes and wraps. They're the ultimate layering piece for days when drastic temperature changes require multiple costume changes. They dress up jeans or leggings; they pull an outfit together with a pop of color or a fun pattern.
This weekend at the Breeders' Cup, I was thrilled that I'd accessorized with a sweater-knit wrap -- it was cool and rainy trackside, but warm inside the Bourbon Lounge. I was so glad I'd seen this awesome Talbots piece on two of my very favorite Kentucky bloggers, Authentically Emmie and Seersucker + Saddles; it was the perfect piece for an awesome day of racing!
If you have all the money to spend on a cape and wrap collection, then I'd suggest Burberry, as their colors are simply dreamy...
There are lots of amazing capes to be found at a much more realistic price point.
Of course, your favorite local boutiques are always a great place to find the latest trends. I love this one from Monkee's of Lexington.
Image Via Monkee's of Lexington Facebook
Monkee's also has a lookalike for SJP's amazing Burberry wrap -- you can even get your monogram!
And head to the Peppermint Palm in Lexington or Louisville for one of these adorable Lilly Pulitzer Harp Wraps. I have one, and can tell you that it's super-comfortable and functional!
Kentucky's Signature Sandwich
Celebrate National Sandwich Day with a Benedictine + Bacon or a Hot Brown
Today is National Sandwich Day. Of course, the story goes that, sometime in 18th Century England, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, couldn't be bothered to leave the gambling tables, so he instructed his servants to bring him slices of meat between two pieces of bread, and the name stuck. Here in Kentucky, we've introduced two amazing sandwiches to the world.
There's the Benedictine and Bacon, the perfect mix of salty and sweet, hearty and light. It's a real-world interpretation of Jennie Benedict's tea-sandwich favorite, and it makes the perfect lunch around Derby time.
And then, there's the Hot Brown, the sandwich created to serve famished flappers at late-night dances. The same recipe that the Brown Hotel has used since for nearly a century, and the most lovely way to use Thanksgiving leftovers.
Image via The Brown Hotel
We'd love to hear from y'all -- what is your favorite Kentucky sandwich?
Muhammad Ali and the The Rumble in the Jungle
“You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned, wait till I whup George Foreman’s behind.”
Forty-one years ago today, Louisville native Muhammad Ali took on up-and-coming boxer George Foreman in the nation then known as Zaire. The stakes were $5 million put up by dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. The fight was one of the very first promoted by a brash young man named Don King. The Rumble in the Jungle, as the fight was billed, would be remembered as one of the greatest sporting events of all time.
Ali, whom all Kentuckians and boxing fans now know as The Greatest, was the unanimous underdog in the fight. After an amazing start in the early 1960s, including achieving the title of World Heavyweight Champion at 22, Ali had faced years of backlash. He'd been stripped of his title and suspended from boxing for three and a half years following a conviction of draft evasion. Ali's opposition to the Vietnam war established the athlete as a counterculture icon, but did little to further his boxing career; he lost some of the most valuable years of physical capacity to the lengthy legal appeals process. Ali resumed training in 1971 and, despite victories including a unanimous decision win over Joe Frazier only a few months prior, he was considered too old (at 32) and small to beat the muscular, talented, 25 year-old Foreman.
Don King, along with an international crew of investors and promoters, made sure that the event received epic billing. A three day music festival known as Zaire 74, with a lineup of legendary musicians like B.B. King, James Brown, and Bill Withers, was planned. Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire for a fight which was slated to occur on September 25th. After Foreman suffered a cut near his eye during training, the fight was rescheduled for October 30th.
James Brown in a still from the documentary Soul Power, via the New York Times.
The narrative of the fight presented the cocky, glib and charming Ali against the silent, brooding Foreman. Ali's stance as a conscientious objector to the Vietnamese conflict struck a chord with the young and hip, while Foreman, who'd proudly waved the American flag at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, seemed out of touch with his generation. Ali won the hearts of the people of Zaire, speaking against the European imperialism against which the locals (formerly inhabitants of the Belgian Congo) had revolted a decade earlier. When Foreman arrived with his pet German Shepherd, the local crowd reacted to the dog, which many associated with Belgian oppression.
AP File Photo
While sports fans and boxing insiders considered a Foreman victory to be a foregone conclusion, Ali shocked the world by employing his rope-a-dope strategy to wear Foreman down and avoid direct contact from the more muscular fighter. Ali's choreographedi footwork and brash proclamations -- in the greatest instance of trash talk ever, Ali hurled psychological taunts like "They told me you could punch, George!" and "Is that all you've got, George?" -- wore Foreman down as much as Ali's well-timed punches. The fight ended in the eighth round, Ali threw a right hook to Foreman's face, followed by a hard right that took the younger fighter down. Ali emerged victorious, beating the odds in what would become the most famous boxing match of all time.
Today, the political overtones of the fight hold a far different connotation. It's hard to imagine a time when Ali wasn't a beloved humanitarian, or when Foreman wasn't the guy who sold grills and named all his kids "George." The Rumble in the Jungle remains a fascinating story of African sociopolitical history, popular culture, and the greatest underdog story in sports.
As always, here's to the Greatest! Muhammad Ali continues to inspire Kentuckians in so many ways!