Draper James Valentine's Day Collection

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Y'all. Draper James just dropped their Valentine's Day collection. It is so adorable that I kinda want one of everything, but I've picked a few of my favorites to share with you. (Click here to save $20 at Draper James!)

I *may* have already ordered this striped tee. It's just cute enough without being cloying or "holiday-ish."

This flutter sleeve tee is cute enough to wear year-round.

This "Love You More" tee is so sweet! 

And it's legit all I can do to not order EVERY SINGLE THING that has "Bless Your Heart" written on it; anybody who knows me knows that I use that particular phrase daily. DJ has a wallet, a tote, and a cosmetic bag with that saying, and I love them all.

Some of these pieces are still in pre-order, but it looks like they'll all ship in time for Valentine's Day. Happy Shopping, and don't forget to click here to get $20 off your DJ order! 

Happy Birthday, Miss Dolly!

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Dolly Rebecca Parton was born January 19, 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children born to a subsistence farm family.  Dolly's family may have been poor, but she had dreams of doing something great. "I went to bed hungry many nights as a child," she's said. "It was a Dream that dressed me up when I was ragged, and it was a Dream that filled me up when I was hungry. Now it's my Dream to see that no child in this world ever goes hungry." When Dolly began making money as a singer and songwriter, she and her husband Carl Dean provided for her younger siblings. As much as her prolific songwriting career -- she just was awarded two Guinness World Records for her long-lived success -- Dolly is known for her amazing sense of humor, over-the-top style, and her kindness. 

Now, y'all know that I'm basically obsessed with Dolly not only because of her amazing songs (Jolene is my favorite!) and her amazing films (9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias both had a huge impact on my early life!) but also because of her graciousness and kindness. I love that she's embraced all her fans and made Dollywood an inclusive, LGBT-friendly workplace. I love that she's providing preschool children around the world with books through the Imagination Library. And I love that she never forgets where she came from. Robert Harling, who wrote Steel Magnolias, recently recalled Dolly's amazing attitude on the film's set in a Garden and Gun article. While the film's other ladies were complaining about wearing heavy Christmas sweaters in the Louisiana heat, Dolly kept her cool, both proverbially and literally:" The women were dressed for Christmas, and Dolly was sitting on the swing. She had on that white cashmere sweater with the marabou around the neck, and she was just swinging, cool as a cucumber. Julia said, 'Dolly, we’re dying and you never say a word. Why don’t you let loose?' Dolly very serenely smiled and said, 'When I was young and had nothing, I wanted to be rich and famous, and now I am. So I’m not going to complain about anything.'" I mean, that's a lesson we could all take to heart: remembering the blessings we actually have.

Draper James Dolly Tee

To celebrate Dolly's birthday, our friends at Draper James are donating all of their online and in-store proceeds for the day to Dolly's Imagination Library. Y'all, this is seriously one of the coolest initiatives ever. Miss Dolly founded the Imagination Library in 1995 to provide books to the children of her hometown Sevierville, Tennessee. Dolly's mission to ensure that children had access to high-quality, age-appropriate books, regardless of household income, was designed to honor her own father, whose circumstances in the Appalachian hills of Tennessee led to his never learning to read or write. Over the past 22 years, the Imagination Library has mailed more than 100 million books to children in Australia, Belize, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. This service is completely free to the recipients, y'all! Over 1600 communities are served, and over 1.1 million children have registered! Here in Kentucky, there are over fifty Imagination Library affiliate programs. You can register your child aged 2-5, regardless of household income, if you live in an area supported by the Imagination Library. 

I LOVE my What Would Dolly Do tee from Draper James, and I want the tote bag so badly. Celebrating Dolly's birthday AND helping kids have access to books sounds like a win-win reason to order it, doesn't it?

Do y'all love Dolly as much as I do? Tell me your favorite Dolly song or role in the comments below! 

#herkentuckycares Simple Ways to Make a Difference Today!

Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Dawne Gee of Wave-3  to talk about the #herkentuckycares initiative. It was so amazing to be able to share the blog's mission for 2018, and especially to talk with someone as inspirational as Dawne!

For those of y'all who are new to HerKentucky, or who haven't been following #herkentuckycares on social media, I really want to use social media to engage Kentuckians to do good deeds over the next few weeks. I've teamed up with a great group of Kentucky businesspeople to "reward" the good deeds you share on social media. You can learn more about #herkentuckycares here.

I think that, so often, so many of us want to do something to help others but get caught up in the idea that it takes a lot of time, money or effort to really effectuate change. The thing is, there are so many small things that you can do that can add up to a big difference. Here are a few of my favorite ways to help out my community. As an added bonus, some of these activities can redirect the "too many consecutive snow days" cabin fever we're all currently experiencing! 

1. Clean out your linen closet for the Humane Society! Did you know that your old towels and blankets could be keeping shelter animals warm? I try to take donations of ragged towels, old bedsheets, and past-their-prime blankets to my local Humane Society a couple of times a year. This process keeps your linen closets clean and helps a furry friend in the process! 

I happened to be on Wave3 Country on the same day as Waylon, who is a Kentucky Humane Society Resident. Waylon hopes y'all will donate old bedding to KHS to keep him and his buddies warm!

2. Tie a scarf around a high-traffic tree. I love this idea, which I've seen on social media several times. If you'll be in an area where there's a high homeless or housing-insecure population, why not leave a couple of extra scarves or blankets out so that they can keep someone warm? 

3. Raid your travel toiletry stash! Those travel bottles of shampoo and lotion that you brought home from hotels and then never, ever used -- you know you have them. They'd be put to good use at a shelter for women and children!

4. Clean out your coat closet! Most of us have coats that don't quite fit, or that we just don't quite wear anymore. We're having a cold, cold winter and that Christmas present you never really liked could save someone's life!

5. Weed out your bookcase! I try to make an effort to take books I'm no longer using to my local Little Free Library. It's such a great way to know that you're helping spark new ideas for everyone!

Remember to tag photos of good deeds on Instagram and Facebook with #herkentuckycares for the chance to win a gift card to Starbucks, Target, or Heine Brothers and let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions of simple ways to help others.

Thanks so much to Louisville Salsarita's, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, Yoga Instructor Ryan Bratcher, Realtor Kacy Noltemeyer, Liz Toombs of PDR Interiors, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, and Realtor Russell Smith for their generous contributions!! Tag your social media pictures with #herkentuckycares for more ways to do good!

#herkentuckycares

Social media is an odd phenomenon, y'all. Sometimes it makes us smile and sometimes it makes us roll our eyes. And, sometimes, it can be used to effectuate change.

In the nearly six and a half years I've been writing HerKentucky.com, I've been amazed by how truly lovely HerKentucky readers and social media fans are! So, I've teamed with a group of Kentucky-based businesspeople to say thanks to some of y'all when you're "caught in the act" of doing a good deed. We call it #herkentuckycares!

Here's what #herkentuckycares is all about:

• While, most of the time, many of us try to be humble with our good works, this January, I'm asking you all to broadcast them to your social media! 
• Starting today, Monday, January 8th, think of some of the ways you'd like to help your community. Your local homeless shelter could use coats, scarves, and new, unopened packages of underwear and socks. Your hometown animal shelter could use food, toys, towels, bedding, and bleach. Your local food bank could use healthy food. And a charity of your choice can always use a financial donation.
• Please take a photo of your good deed -- or of a friend or family member caught in the act of doing good -- and upload it to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #herkentuckycares.
• By submitting the #herkentuckycares hashtag, you're eligible for random drawings for gift cards to Target, Starbucks, Heine Brothers, and Salsaritas provided by Kentucky-based businesses who want to help pay it forward!
• The contest begins today, January 8th, and will last through Friday, February 2nd! 

Please share the word with your friends, and  let's start a good deed social media revolution in Kentucky this winter!

Thanks so much to Louisville Salsarita's, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, Yoga Instructor Ryan Bratcher, Realtor Kacy Noltemeyer, Liz Toombs of Polka Dots and Rosebuds Interiors, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, and Realtor Russell Smith for their generous contributions!!

What to Buy on the L.L. Bean Winter Sale!

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I love L.L. Bean, especially in the winter. Their footwear, flannel, and pajamas really are the best I've found.  And, through tomorrow (Thursday the 4th), L. L. Bean has an additional 25% off all sale prices! I love this sale because there are so many things that you can use right now! Here are my picks for stocking up!

Slippers and House Shoes

Bean's slippers are the absolute best. I got Bob a pair of the flannel-lined leather slippers for Christmas; they've been the perfect thing for this cold weather snap! I've had my Wicked Good Camp Moccasins for a couple of winters now -- it might be time to stock up on a new pair!

Tote Bags

I love the open-top Boat & Tote for carrying odd- or over-sized items, or for daily errands. Order one to keep in your car. Trust me, it will cut the time you spend toting groceries/ Target run purchases in half! The Large bag in Mulberry is under $30!

Tees and Tanks

I LOVE the Unshrinkable Layering Tank. I have this in white and grey, and I wear it under everything from sundresses to sweaters. You can always use a few more plain tees to wear under sweaters and sweatshirts!

This sale is great, and it's made even better by Bean's free shipping! Let me know if you find any good deals - but don't forget it ends soon!

My 2018 New Year's Resolution

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. The idea that the arbitrary turn of a clock dial will miraculously give you the willpower to lose 20 pounds or give up Diet Coke once and for all seems a little too cute for me. I had the wonderful opportunity to take a few days off at the end of 2017, though, and I got pretty introspective. 2017 was a pretty monumental year at my house. A lot of hard things happened and so did some wonderful things. We had both big wins and big losses professionally; we had some illness and some setbacks, and we had some big accomplishments. And, we kind of left the year feeling exhausted and mired down in minutia. So, I set a fairly introspective and all-encompassing goal for Bob and me for 2018: This will be the year that we live bigger.

Now, that can of course be interpreted to mean more risk and more reward; a bigger home, bigger plans, and bigger goals. And, it goes without saying, those are part of the plan. However, what I'm really talking about is keeping our eyes on bigger goals. Not getting bogged down with pettiness and day-to-day drama -- this is a big one for me. Keeping myself focused on the end game.

I hope y'all will join me in living bigger in 2018. Think about your bigger goals. Travel more. Focus on leaving a lasting legacy. Help others more. Don't get distracted by petulance or gossip. Discover your hidden talents. Don't run away from big goals or big ideas. Live bigger.

What are your goals/ resolutions for 2018?

How I Shop the January 2017 Lilly Pulitzer After-Party Sale!

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I'm sure that most of y'all know that the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale starts Wednesday morning, January 3rd. If you frequent fashion blogs, especially those with a preppy twist, then you've seen the basic tips, and you know to have your login and payment info ready. But, I have a few of my own tried-and-true after-party sale tricks to help you get exactly what you want in a hurry!

1. Visit the Palm!
This year, Lilly stores are getting a head start on the sale fun. You can shop the sale starting tomorrow, Tuesday the 2nd, as soon as your store opens! In Louisville and Lexington, we have the Peppermint Palm; both locations are filled with a great selection and the absolute friendliest sales staff! 

2. Search by Style

The first thing I do when I get into the Lilly Sale is to search by style. For me, there are two Lilly pieces that always fit perfectly, hold up well, and generally work for my life. I start any Lilly sale by searching for those pieces: The Elsa Top and the Skipper Popover.

The Elsa Top

This is always the first thing I search for when buying Lilly. It's a silk blouse that can work with anything from jeans and shorts to skirts and tailored trousers. It often runs a little large, so I have a two-size range in this style. It's a popular style, and it goes quickly, so I search for Elsa tops, determine if there's one in my size (or my mom's) that I want, and make my first purchase.

The Skipper Popover

After I've assessed the Elsa situation, I move on to searching for Skipper Popovers. This is like a dressy, French Terry sweatshirt. There are a few variants on that style now, so "popover" is probably a better search term than "Skipper." Either way, this is my second favorite search, because I wear these tops year-round. I look for my size (and, again, my mom's!); I like to buy these so that they're a little large.

3. Search by Print

After I've looked for my favorite pieces, I search by print. If there was an absolute favorite print that I loved in the previous few months, I'll scan the sale for it. For example, during the January 2017 After-Party Sale, I looked for Psychedelic Sunshine, a print from August/ September 2016. I usually don't like to buy more than one piece in a particular print, but this one is so special that I wound up getting an Elsa and a midi skirt (I'd bought the Sophie dress when it was new in the stores!)

4. Shop by Size

After these searches, I finally search by size. I look for my size in tops, dresses, and skirts. I check what's available for my mom, and for my little nieces. And, I try not to buy more than we all need! 

I bought my niece's first Lilly dress on the August 2015 After-Party sale!

5. Check Back In!

Because it is so hard to get online at the stroke of 8 on Wednesday morning, the Lilly Pulitzer crew has really gotten smart about pacing the sale. New styles will come on the site as the sale progresses. This year, they've announced that the sale will last three days rather than two. I promise, if y'all want to shop, you'll be able to!

Good Luck, and let me know what y'all find! How do you shop the After-Party Sale?