Pumpkin-Peanut Butter Dog Treats and the Draper James #BeKindYall Challenge!

These cookies are Sophie-certified

The recipe I'm most frequently asked to share is for my homemade dog treats. They're full of pumpkin and peanut butter, and dogs go crazy for them!  I adapted the recipe from this one to make a double batch and amp up the pumpkin and PB goodness. This morning, I decided to bake a batch for my own dog, and to share with my friends' dogs. My friend Ashley just adopted a precious senior beagle from the Kentucky Humane Society (that story is coming soon!) and Cathy's Willie is recovering from severe leg injuries. Since our crazy dog lady crew has eight dogs among the three of us, it seemed like a great time to make a big batch of dog treats! Here's the recipe for you to print out for yourself! (Just make sure your friends' dogs can tolerate wheat! It's a pretty common allergy!)

View recipe on Kulinarian.com

It just happened that, as these treats were cooling this morning, my Draper JamesBe Kind, Y'all tote bag arrived, along with the #bekindyall challenge card. I love this idea: simple ways that you can make someone's day a little better. You'll notice that I may have edited my challenge just a bit! 

I have to say that this challenge has inspired me to find more ways to do small everyday things to be kind to others. I plan to use this tote to carry donations to the food bank donation bin at my local grocery store and dog toys to my humane society. I also plan to keep out some notecards to drop notes to friends more frequently. Thanks so much to Draper James for the important reminder to be kinder! (Click here for $20 off your next Draper James online order!)

How do y'all plan to be kind today?

Elizabeth Mayhew at the Kentucky Center!

I'm so excited for tomorrow night's Kentucky to the World talk at the Kentucky Center for the Arts! The speaker is style expert and Draper James brand editor Elizabeth Mayhew. Elizabeth is a Today Show contributor, a Washington Post columnist, and a design author. She's also a Kentucky native and so, so lovely to work with! I recently had the chance to meet Elizabeth at the Lexington Draper James store, and she is just so gracious and lovely and authentic! I can't wait to attend this event and hear how Elizabeth's Kentucky roots helped her succeed on a national level! I hope to see y'all there! 

Click here for ticket information, and remember to follow the HerKentucky Event Calendar for more interesting and exciting events here in the Bluegrass State! 

Draper James Print Tops for Seasonal Transition

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Y'all, I am so in love with the new tops that just dropped from Draper James! They're such fun prints that will work now and into fall!

I may have already ordered the Sadler Stripe Knit Tee in raspberry. I think it'll be a great transitional piece to wear with white jeans now, and dark wash jeans or navy pants in upcoming months. (The top comes in navy as well!)

I'm moderately obsessed with this Foxy Tie-Neck Top. It would be perfect with a skirt now, or with a suit or cardigan into the fall!

This Spirit Cloister Top is perfect for 'Cats fans like me! It's another piece that would be perfect with white jeans now, and then with jeans or slacks in the fall!

Click here for $20 off your online Draper James order!

A Summer Evening with Woodford Reserve and Ben Sollee

A couple of weeks ago, my lovely friend Elizabeth McCall, Master Taster at Woodford Reserve, invited a group of our friends to visit the Distillery for a lovely summer evening of food, drinks, and music. It was the perfect Kentucky summer evening!

We started with a tour of the Distillery, where we learned about the grains -- corn, rye, and malted barley -- that go into the Woodford Reserve mash bill. We also learned a little about the yeast fermentation process, the distillation, and the maturation in charred barrels. One of my favorite things about distillery tours is the way that a very standardized process varies in small ways -- grain varietals, yeast recipes, wood type -- to produce very different bourbons. I always learn a little something new, even at distilleries I've visited before. This time, Elizabeth explained the barley-malting process to me!

Another fun fact I learned on this tour is that while we typically assume that all Kentucky bourbon stills were produced by Louisville-based Vendome Copper & Brass Works, the iconic triple stills at Woodford Reserve were actually produced by Scotland's Forsyths of Rothes, the company that produces stills for many famous Scotch whiskeys. The Woodford Reserve stills had recently been shined up and were extra-pretty for our tour!

There's nothing like a trip through a rickhouse. Getting a whiff of the "angel's share" just never gets old! 

We then sat down to an amazing dinner prepared by Woodford Reserve chef de cuisine Nat Henton who is, in the words of Ouita Michel, Woodford's chef in residence, "one hell of a chef." The four course meal didn't disappoint. Shrimp and grits made a perfect appetizer, while the greek salad with local heirloom tomatoes and a Woodford Rye-infused salad dressing was amazing. The main course was osso bucco with a Woodford Reserve jus and, in the most creative and tongue-in-cheek touch, a Woodford Reserve Mash Bill risotto! We finished with a dessert of Midway Bakery Lemon Love, a light and delicious lemon curd pie. The entire evening was paired with cocktail and wine selections -- very well-timed and moderated for responsible enjoyment and flavor enhancement! After the event, Elizabeth introduced our group to Chef Nat; he was so cool and humble, and we learned that his family farm is on the road to Woodford Reserve!

One of the coolest touches of the evening was that Kentucky native singer-songwriter-cellist Ben Sollee provided music for the event. Ben actually had dinner at our table. It was so wonderful to talk with Ben, he's so funny and personable and knowledgeable. We had a really great conversation about the problematic origins of My Old Kentucky Home, and how the song has evolved. I may have embarrassed a couple of my dining companions by asking Ben what holler his family is originally from; turns out that his roots are in Whitley County's hollers!

As Ben played our state song, I sipped on our after-dinner drink, Woodford Reserve Double-Oaked, and thought of my own Kentucky Home in the hollers of Floyd County. I thought of my grandfather, who played old-timey mountain music on a Martin guitar. Maybe I just had my grandpa, who always kept those little yellow butterscotch candies around, on my mind, or maybe the temperature hit the whiskey differently. Whatever the reason, I pulled a really strong butterscotch note for the very first time on the Double-Oaked, a bourbon I've tried several times before. It was truly a perfect Kentucky evening!

Draper James Lucky You Sale!

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I'm in Nashville for very short trip today. I even got to stop by the Draper James mother ship, which was as fabulous as ever. Even more fabulous is that Draper James just dropped their Lucky You Summer Sale, and it is so good, y'all! Here are a few of my favorites from the summer sale!

My favorite seersucker skirt is on sale!  It's also available as a dress or shorts. The great thing is, you've still got a month left to wear seersucker, and you know it'll still be in style next year!

And my favorite Hello Sunshine tee is under $20!

Of course, Kentucky girls need this Lexington Horseshoe Key Fob! 

Shop more of my favorite Draper James sale items below, and click here for $20 off your full-price online DJ order!

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats at Forecastle Festival

When the 2017 Forecastle Festival schedule was released, Bob and I were excited to get the chance to see Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats here in Louisville. The Saturday afternoon show was just perfect -- great weather, a great crowd, and a really solid set.

If you've listened to any of Nathaniel Rateliff's music, you know it was a high-energy set, with influences ranging from roots/Americana to gospel to blues and soul. At times, there's some good old jam band mixed in with a little Bell Bottom Blues-era Clapton. I'm not a music writer, but I know it was a great set. Rateliff had a great rapport with the audience while playing a tight, fun set. His best-known tracks, Look It Here and S.O.B., were the big  crowd-pleasers of the hour-long set, and I found myself wishing I could follow the band on down to Birmingham for the Sloss Festival the following night. I guess that's how music festival habits get formed.

Fred Noe and Bruce Russell at Forecastle Bourbon Lodge

This weekend's Forecastle Festival was so fun, y'all. In addition to the musical lineup, the Bourbon Lodge featured some rockstars of the spirits industry. On Saturday, Bob and I took in the  Bourbon Family Icons Fireside Charm, which was moderated by author Fred Minnick, and which featured Fred Noe, the great-grandson of Jim Beam and the current Master Distiller at his family's whiskey company, as well as Bruce Russell, the grandson of legendary Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell. 

Now, I've spent the majority of the last year interviewing and researching folks in the bourbon industry for my book. I still get extremely starstruck when I'm in the room with Mr. Noe or Bill Samuels Jr of Maker's Mark and I know it would be the same if I had the opportunity to meet Jimmy Russell. These old-school bourbon guys -- the ones who don't try to speak corporate lingo and for whom the family bourbon label is a source of heritage and pride -- well, they're just the best of Kentucky.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the bourbon industry is, as Mr. Noe mentioned during the Fireside Chat, that many of the historical bourbon producing families are friends. In fact, many times during this session, Mr. Noe referenced his own friendship with Bruce Russell's father, Eddie. Both men referenced drinking the other's whiskeys. It's one of my favorite aspects I've seen in researching the bourbon industry: there really is a camaraderie and a sense that it's better if they all succeed. 

Oh, and one more fun fact from the Fireside Chat: Mr. Noe name-checked his buddy Bobby Ritchie, better known to the rest of us as Jim Beam aficionado Kid Rock. It was at once surreal and hilarious.

Here's to a great experience in the Forecastle Bourbon Lodge. I can't wait to check out next year's lineup!