Orange + Green Halloween Quilt
Every Thursday, I show y'all one of the gorgeous quilts that my grandmother has made for me over the years. Today, it seemed seasonally appropriate to show you this Jack O'Lantern themed quilt she made me a couple of years ago. How fun are the sad and surprised pumpkins?
Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here:
Join the Fight Against Breast Cancer with Dean's DairyPure Milk!
This post was sponsored by Dean's Dairy. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks to all the sponsors who make HerKentucky a reality!
Two causes that resonate with me are breast health and proper nutrition. My own mother is at very high risk for breast cancer, as she was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease in the early 1980s and has spend most of her adult life enduring high risk mammograms, lumpectomies, and biopsies. Like most women my age, I have watched several friends fight breast cancer. We need to work toward raising funds for the nonprofits that work toward research and patient advocacy, like the American Cancer Society.
Here in Louisville, Dean's Dairy products have been providing gallons of nutrition to our families for over 75 years! Now, Dean’s Dairy is also providing gallons of hope in the fight against breast cancer. This October, as part of the American Cancer Society’s 19th annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer,” Dean’s Dairy will kick-off an initiative to build awareness and generate resources for the fight against breast cancer in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Throughout the month of October, Dean’s Dairy invites us all to make a difference! For each sale of specially-marked gallons of Dean’s DairyPure white milk sold in the Louisville area, Dean’s Dairy will donate five cents to the American Cancer Society!
“Breast cancer ranks second as a cause of cancer death in Kentucky women,” says Kendall Anderson, senior director of corporate relations at the American Cancer Society (and my friend and sorority sister!) “The support of partners like Dean’s Dairy is instrumental in winning our fight.”
Products eligible for the five cent donation will feature the pink ribbon and the American Cancer Society logo. Consumers can find the specially-marked bottles of Dean’s DairyPure white milk at most major retail outlets, including Dollar General and Meijer.
For more information about Dean’s Dairy, visit DeanDairy.com and find Dean’s Dairy on Facebook. To learn more about the American Cancer Society and the upcoming “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” events in Kentucky, please visit MakingStridesWalk.org.
What to Wear to Keeneland's October Meet
The number one question that HerKentucky readers have for us is "What should I wear to Keeneland?" Here in Kentucky, a trip to Lexington's storied Keeneland Race Course isn't just a trip to bet on the ponies. It's a full-scale experience of racing, food, fun, and, of course, fashion. Trust me when I say that 70% of all the people you've ever met in your life will be at the track any day you go.
Keeneland Crowd
Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but with weekend crowds reaching over 25,000 people, you sure will see a lot of Kentuckians at Keeneland. To help you look your best, we've put together a few dress code tips that will help you look great at the track!
If you're going to stay near the Paddock --General Admission, Grandstand, or Equestrian Room-- there's no need to dress up very much. Guys often opt for khakis and polo shirts, and women can wear slacks. You're actually dressing for a horse race in these sections. These are the areas nearest the track itself, and people are truly there to watch (and bet on) the horses. With that said, don't be surprised to see a lot of dresses and sport coats in the lower-levels. In recent years, a culture of dressy tailgating (think Steeplechase) has popped up among college students and twenty-somethings, and the second floor (General Admission) Sports Bar often resembles a campus bar or fraternity semi-formal. While the dress code says "casual", there's plenty of Vineyard Vines ties and Lilly Pulitzer dresses to be seen.
Lexington and Kentucky Dining Rooms Dress Code, via Keeneland.
Phoenix Dining Room Dress Code, image via Keeneland
If you'll be dining in the upper-level, enclosed dining rooms-- The Lexington, Kentucky, or Phoenix Rooms-- then expect to dress for a business event. The Lexington and Kentucky rooms -- dining rooms often reserved for business and social gatherings-- have a "business formal" dress code; these areas require men to don a coat and tie, and skirts/dresses/dressy slacks for ladies. The Phoenix Room-- another reserved dining room-- is "business casual", requiring collared shirts and slacks for men and dresses/pantsuits for ladies.
Most of all, dress nicely, look good, and have a great day at the races!
Shop the Look: October Opening Day
Luke's Diner Pop-Up Shops!
Gilmore Girls was one of my all-time favorite shows. And, as I'm sure you know by now, the folks from Stars Hollow are returning to Netflix next month!
To celebrate, Netflix is opening 250 Pop-Up "Luke's Diner" Coffee Shops at 7:00 am local time in coffee shops across the country. There will be free Luke's Coffee and prizes! There are four Luke's locations here in Kentucky, and a few more in very close driving distance of the Bluegrass State! The entire list is below!
Kentucky Locations
Louisville
Please & Thank You 800 E Market St, Louisville KY 40206 and 2341 Frankfort Ave, Louisville KY 40206
Lexington
Southland Perk 472 Southland Dr, Lexington KY 40503
Coffee Times Coffee House 2571 Regency Rd, Lexington KY 40503
Not-Quite-Kentucky, but Close!
Tennessee
Nashville
ZolliKoffee 701 8th Ave S, Nashville TN 37203
Bond Coffee Company 602 12th Ave S, Nashville TN 37203
Sam & Zoes 525 Heather Pl, Nashville TN 37204
Knoxville
The Golden Roast 825 Melrose Pl, Knoxville TN 37916
Ohio
Cincinnati
The 86 Coffee Bar 2820 Vine Street Cincinnati OH 45219
Happy Coffee, y'all! Look for HerKentucky at Luke's on Instagram and Snapchat tomorrow!!
The Adorable Earrings I Bought This Weekend (And I Hope Y'all Will, Too!)
Hey y'all!
I just wanted to let you know about the adorable earrings that I bought over the weekend. Now, are a pair of freshwater pearl earrings wonderful? Yes, of course. But what makes these earrings worthy of a blog post is that my dear friend Emily Maynard of Elva Fields Jewelry has created a capsule collection just for the Younger Woman's Club of Louisville, a cause near and dear to both Emily and my hearts! Half of each design's retail price will be given to the YWC to help them help others in the Louisville Community. The YWC Charity Campaign gives 100% of its funds raised back to Louisville-area 501(c)(3) charities in the form of juried grants. It's a great cause, and Emily is so kind to use her talents to benefit our Club. Read more about Emily's connection to the YWC here.
Emily Wheat Maynard
I hope y'all will join me in shopping the YWC collection by Elva Fields!
Shop the Elva Fields Collection!
Smathers & Branson Needlepoint Keychain Giveaway!
Thanks so much to everyone who sent kind words of congratulations on HerKentucky's fifth anniversary! I can't believe the amazing direction this website has taken over the past five years! Of course, the birthday celebration isn't quite over!
Smathers & Branson sent HerKentucky a little birthday present this weekend, and one to share with y'all! They sent me a black Lab needlepoint key fob, because everybody knows that I'm obsessed with my Labs Max and Sophie! I simply adore Smathers & Branson's needlepoint and leather items; they remind me of the belts and keychains that I used to make in college, when I still had time for crafts! Smathers & Branson products are high-quality, using soft leather and hand-stitched canvases. Their designs are so adorable and they have a theme to fit nearly any interest!
Smathers & Branson also generously sent a bourbon needlepoint key fob to give to one lucky HerKentucky reader!
Enter to win the bourbon keychain using the Rafflecopter widget below!
Thanks so much to Smathers & Branson for providing the products for this post!
Whiskey Wednesday: Date for Your Bourbon Type by Bianca Spriggs
Lexington-based poet Bianca Spriggs shares some insights about dating and bourbon in the Bluegrass State.
My friend Bianca Spriggs has a guest essay for us that is, well, perfect for anyone who's dating a Kentuckian. Then again, I've never read anything that Bianca has written that isn't pretty great.
Here's her official bio: Bianca Lynne Spriggs is an award-winning poet and multidisciplinary artist from Lexington, Kentucky. She is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently, Call Her By Her Name (Northwestern University Press, 2016) and The Galaxy Is a Dance Floor (Argos Books, 2016). You can find out more about her work at: www.biancaspriggs.com. What she's left out is that on top of being tremendously talented, Bianca is funny, inspiring, and nurturing of her tribe. I'll let her essay tell you the rest of the story.
I like my men like I like my bourbon: Top shelf. Neat. Smooth. Complex. Hard to find. In other words, I don’t risk a heart hangover for just anyone.
Recently, I was speaking with a girlfriend about a couple of fellas she was dating. With the first guy, given what I knew about him (dubious living circumstances, place of work—we’re actually still not sure where that is—and all the personality of steel wool), I blurted out, “No! Way! You’re like a Pappy Van Winkle! He’s Rebel Yell! What do you look like running around with some Rebel Yell?” We both started laughing because being Kentucky-bred women, bourbon is the quintessential metaphor to contrast her qualities with his. No more needed to be said. The next of her prospects was a sight better—this guy wasn’t too hard on the eyes, kept a decent job, paid his rent on time. But I surmised he was more like a Maker’s. And in Kentucky, that’s like saying he’s the Coca Cola of bourbon. Basically? He’s basic. She could go to any bar in America and find the same guy.
Any hipster bourbon bar, anywhere.
One of the issues I’ve noticed with a lot of women is that they tend to be much too modest about assessing their own profile! The problem therein, is that if a person doesn’t value their own traits, they’re going to end up attracting riff-raff. Some of my girlfriends tend to make compromises (because, let’s be honest, the pickings are pretty slim in a state that notoriously contains more bourbon barrels than people) so inevitably some well-dwellers are going to end up on the wrong shelf. But after you date so many bottom-shelf people, you can forget you’re a total catch. Thus, I developed this handy-dandy bourbon classification system because there’s quite the difference between a Basil Hayden’s and an Old Crow. All we need now is a Buzzfeed quiz to establish what bourbon type we are and what might correspond in a partner!
But perhaps, deep down, most of us would probably already be able to say what shelf we’d belong on if we were a bourbon. That means some of us might have to admit: ‘You know what? I’m Wild Turkey right now. If I don’t want to date Wild Turkeys (heh), then maybe I should spend some more time in the barrel.’ I don’t claim to be a bourbon expert, but everyone knows that the longer bourbon sits in its barrel letting the right combination of ingredients do its thing, the better quality the bourbon. In people terms, spending more time in the barrel might translate to getting one’s career or finances or health on track. But the longer we hold out in the barrel ourselves means the more likely we are to attract someone who can not only appreciate the finer qualities of what we have to offer, but will match them.
Now, before hurt feelings start amassing (particularly from the folks who are inevitably going to get that friend-zone text: “I need a Blanton’s in my life, not a Very Old Barton”), hear me out! This doesn’t mean there is going to be an increase of lonely nights ahead for everyone. The system actually works in terms of whatever you’re looking for in a partner at any point in your life! So, say you are feeling a little reckless. It happens! By all means, go for the Kentucky Gentleman. That person just might help you forget your cares for a night or two even if they burn like the devil going down. If the hangover from that little experiment is worth it, more power to you.
Maybe you’re not even be looking for tip-top shelf. You could be totally cool with someone who is consistent. A Knob Creek or Four Roses. Someone you can count on to meet your needs whether it’s just you two hanging out or you’re in a Derby-sized crowd.
Now. If you’ve reached a certain point where you think you’re ready for someone more seasoned, someone with all the right ingredients who has taken extra time to mature, this might mean you go out on fewer dates, but let’s be honest. Anyone who’s ever tasted Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year, can tell you just how worth it is for the wait.
Is it hard being single as a Kentucky woman? Sure. This state is brimming with women who pair off straight out of college and busy themselves with getting hitched, procreating, and so on. To each their own. And I get it. The older and more solo you become, the more people start y’know…wondering. I get that the pressure mounts to find the right person. Your person. But my point is, baby-girl, understand that this is less about getting that dreamy forever boo or nabbing someone that will do in the meantime to keep up with your friends. This is more about learning how to value yourself. Learn to recognize what you are bringing to the shelf first, so you will more readily recognize those qualities in someone else.
My suggestion if you’re serious about settling down? Don’t date ‘em if they’re further than one shelf down. The closer to the bottom-shelf, the more time they could use in the barrel. And if you find yourself indulging from that shelf a little too often, maybe so could you.
(Bourbon photos: Heather C. Watson)