A Weekend in the "Country"

This weekend I found my way down to Nashville, TN to visit Fry. Fry is my oldest friend - since our very first day at Assumption High School! One of the best things about Nashville, is it's only 3 short hours away from Louisville, so it makes a great weekend get-away. Fry and I spent many weekends romping around Nashville our senior year of high school, under the pretense of "college visits".  I have to say though, this weekend topped all of those!

We started off Saturday morning at the greasiest little spoon restaurant called "Vittles". Vittles is a classic southern diner- with all the necessities: amazing coffee, celebrity autographs on the walls, and hash brown casserole!

Next we headed to an amazing spa called Athena. After massages we enjoyed the steam rooms, sauna and spas. If you've ever been to the bathes in Baden Baden you would love Athena. All I can say is the Greeks sure have a knack for relaxation.

Next we headed to a local frozen yogurt chain called "Sweet CeCe's". All I have to say is: Red Velvet Cake flavor. Yummy!

It was SO cute inside- pink and green everywhere!

Then we headed out to dinner to celebrate a friend of Fry's 26th birthday. We had dinner at new-age Mexican restaurant called Cantina Laredo. They had delicious skinny berry margaritas, and I was lucky enough to have my Grandbig join us as well!

The best part about Cantina Laredo was that it's located in the Icon building- where Taylor Swift calls home!

Fry is working her dream job as a publicist in Nashville, where her firm just-so-happens to represent a little bar called Tootsies- THE Nashville bar where all the country crooners go to "get famous". Her boss was generous enough to reserve us the VIP table for the night!

It was a wonderful visit with my sweet friend, and I even found the perfect dress for an upcoming event. Quite the successful weekend! How was your weekend?

Stay Glossy,
Kentucky Blonde

Palomino's Product Post

As a girl who works out more than she washes her hair ( Yes, I know that’s gross), it comes as no surprise that I would be willing to try a dry shampoo.  For those of you who don’t know, a dry shampoo is a spray for hair that is clear and reduces the appearance of oil in your hair. If you are thinking “This is too good to be true!” --you are absolutely correct. This product will not take the place of a wash, but it will definitely leave your tresses less oily.

My latest find was Oscar Blandi’s version.  I found that it instantly reduced the appearance of oil in my fine locks. However,  the minute I tried to play with my hair, it started to lose its “cleaner” appearance.  While I was satisfied by the isntant improvement, I wasn’t completely sold on it.  It did not leave my hair feeling clean and felt like it had the same weight as hair spray.

The good news? You can try it for only $11 at Sephora.com. It’s also better than using the grandma’s babypowder trick which is- ahem-not so glossy.

However, don’t rule this product out.  It is great for states of emergency like having zero time to shower after a long workout. Great for girls on the go!

Stay Glossy (not greasy),

Pal

The State of our Union (is strong)

I still remember when my 10th grade History teacher, Mr. Schumaker said to us, "Ladies, when the President talks, people listen. When the President is on T.V., people watch."

Through my years as a Government Major, I have remained proud to be a citizen of our wonderful country (as well as Kentucky!). Politics aside, tonight's address is a shining example of democracy at its finest. I hope you had the opportunity to watch a piece of history tonight.

"I know there isn't a person here who would change places with any other nation on earth."
 - President Obama

Stay Glossy,
Kentucky Blonde

Wait, there's no Spring Break in the real world?

So, it's been horrendously freezing in my sweet southern state this January. Therefore, I am going to take a mental break to Mexico, where Palomino is traveling in a mere 3 weeks. I sure do wish I could stow away in her baggage...but between me and my bottles of SPF 200, there wouldn't be much room left for her clothes...bummer.

In any case, while she's in the sun, I'll keep some south of the border flair close to home:

Photo courtesy of skinnygirlcocktails.com

Cuspid introduced me to Skinny Girl Margaritas this Friday evening. At 35 calories a pop they are 100% guilt-free. Something I wish those German beers would have been (cough 13 pounds cough).

Guac and Plantains at Mojito's. Just saying the name Mojito's makes me feel warmer. I like the restaurant so much...I went twice this weekend.



Photo courtesy of barnesandnoble.com

And what mental break to Mexico is complete without a good beach read? Thanks to some convincing Junior League friends, I am a soon-to-be owner of a Nook. Emily Giffin and I have catching-up to do.

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Speechies, Swizzlers and Strings

Saturday was BY FAR the busiest day of my year so far. I was running around from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next morning. That's not to say it wasn't plenty of fun, though.

Saturday morning I returned to my high school stomping grounds to judge a speech tournament. Yes, in high school I was a "speechie nerd"...which in turn made me a great public speaker, and much more out-going than I think I would have been otherwise.



Assumption High School. All girls. Catholic. Yes, I was taught by a Nun: "Sister Marge"

 Post tournament I headed off to Lexington to visit my college roommates, well two of them. The "fourth" is back in Germany, where I was until November. My roommates and myself were known by some as "The Swizzlers", as we referred to our 4-person "Suite" as "Swizz". This was my first-time visiting my roomies' home and it was such a treat to see what their "big girl" apartment looked like!

View of downtown Lexington from their balcony...they can walk most places when it's warm!

We went for dinner at a new restaurant with local fare called "Windy Corner". It was the cutest little place! I knew the moment I saw the menu what I would be getting...Clearly: I ADORE Beer Cheese. So when I saw that there was a burger that combined Beer Cheese and Bourbon...well, I was sold:

The Bourbon Burger: a Bourbon sauce and Kentucky Ale Beer Cheese...SO good!

Windy Corner was so perfectly Kentucky...I can't wait to go back for a girl's brunch sometime soon. The ambiance was absolutely adorable-- there were even jockey silks on the walls for decoration:

And to make a great meal amazing, the cook gave us a complimentary serving of beignets with dark chocolate sauce-- he told us he "accidentally" made extra...but there were 3 of us and 3 beignets, so I think he was hoping we would come back (And we sure will!):

To finish off a great day, I met up with one of my oldest friends, Ahmic, and her boyfriend, to see No Strings Attached. Ahmic didn't like it, but I thought it was absolutely hilarious. I would definitely recommend going to see it for a good two hours of laughs.

As I said, I didn't get back to Louisville until 2 a.m. this morning; but it was a wonderful day spent with the people and places I love the most!

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Thoroughbred Thursday: Beer Cheese: A History

"It all started in the late 1930's on the banks of the Kentucky river near Boonesborough where Johnny Allman opened his first restaurant, The Driftwood Inn. This was the restaurant where Johnny Allman first served his cousin Joe Allman's now famous "Snappy Cheese". In the past thirty-odd years many versions of beer cheese have popped up on store shelves and on the tables of regional restaurants." -allmansbeercheese.com

Kentucky Ale Beer Cheese- made with our local brew, Kentuky Ale

Fact: I survived college on beer cheese and Snyder's Buttersnap pretzels.

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

A Case of the Mondays

So yesterday was one of those days where I was feeling a little down for no good reason at all. Solution?

New Shoes:


I've been wanting some nude patent heels forever- these are a little less conservative than I typically go for, but, I'm "trying new things"!

 Baking Cake Balls:

Finally got to use those Hello Kitty ziplocs!



Pink (white chocolate) and Brown (chocolate) with pink sprinkles


And a nice workout to The Bachelor:

starcasm.net

Isn't Emily adorable? I swear she looks JUST like Palomino.

Today was a much better day- I love have something after work to look forward to. Tonight's Junior League meeting was a great end to the day, and my cake balls were a hit!

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

For thy gifts we offer thee, Centre dear our loyalty

This weekend I visited my alma mater for the first time since graduation. Being that I was abroad during Homecoming, I was very excited to be back home! I made the trip down with my wonderful friend Aqua (who I spent my time abroad with) and her boyfriend.

Crounse Library at Centre College

 While Aqua and her boyfriend went to watch Aqua's former swim team compete in a meet, I got to visit with my Little and Grandlittle. It was so wonderful to see both of them, and they even let me drag them to see Country Strong...which was amazing...and sad...and I have Leighton's "Summer Girls" stuck in my head!

Back in school, Aqua and I LOVED going to Old Owl Tavarn at the Beaumont Inn for dinner. They have the best pulled BBQ sandwiches and even better green beans. Plus it's the coziest, most charming little place in town.


Can you see the owl with the santa cap? So cute!

My Little, Julep, is obsessed with desserts, so I had to bring her back some bread pudding for her to enjoy after the inter-sorority dodgeball tournamnet she was playing in was over (we found the most obnoxious yet perfect zebra-striped chucks for her to play in):

Right before we graduated, Danville, our college town became "moist". All the seniors bemoaned JUST missing this big event, but I think we all secretly loved going on those 30-minute car rides with our friends after class on Fridays to stock up. In any case, Aqua and I couldn't help but visit the new Liqour Store in town (it used to be a Blockbuster):

After having a glass of wine with some sorority sisters before they went to a flapper-themed date party, we called it a night (we're OLD now! haha). However no trip to Danville is complete without a stop by our college coffee shop "The Hub"...Sugarfree Choco-Coconut Latte? Yes, Please!!

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Thoroughbred Thursday: Derby 2010

As usual, I have Palomino to thank for inspiring today’s post. This Thoroughbred Thursday, I will be featuring The Kentucky Derby…however, with a “Not My Town” twist.

“Not My Town” is a game where one behaves as though they are not in their hometown. It should be noted that if you are with an individual who, indeed, IS in their hometown…you may want to carefully choose your “Not My Town” moments.

While I consider myself mildly funny and creative, I cannot take credit for this pastime. I must credit this game to a man I’ll call, “The Legend”.

Not to give away too much about this iconic figure, I will say that he came into my life as a childhood friend of Palomino’s boyfriend, circa Derby 2010. It being his first trip to our lovely state, he could not help but verse us in his traveling game.

Let me explain how exactly NMT works. Basically, Not My Town means having a carefree attitude.

Example: Your Mint Julep gets knocked over and your collector Derby cup smashes

Response: “It’s okay, not my town!”

Example: The lady in the box behind you is annoyed because you aren’t taking the Derby seriously

Response: Shrug your shoulders, “Not my town!”

Example: The tourism van driving you to Derby has your face on it

Response: “Not my…shoot!”

I’ll conclude with one final example, with pictures, to really bring my point across.

Now, normally one attends the Derby looking like this (Pal and I, Derby 2010):

However, playing NMT, you may find yourself looking more like this (Legend, Derby 2010):

This man was not playing. Sadly:

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Guest Writer: Palomino!

First and foremost, I am so excited that my glossy friend has allowed me to have a say in her blog.  Recently, I have noticed she has been playing “nice” in her startup entries—which is fine. However, give her a few more weeks and you will see the real reason I advised her to start chronicling her life. I won’t give anything away, but I will end this rant by leaving you with three words (of which you will soon be well versed on): Not my town.

And now for the encore. I would like to share with you all a product that has changed my life--  Moroccan Oil. 

http://moroccanoil.com/

Ever since I can remember, I have always been overly insecure about my hair. This may be accredited to my mother who forced a bowl cut on me throughout the entirety of my youth, starting at the tender age of 4. My sweet mother thus handicapped me in the hair department after years and years of blow drying that perfect bowl mop. She then left me to fend for myself in middle school with a dry and damaged set of locks. Thanks, mom.

Needless to say, I have tried nearly every available serum and fried hair product known to woman and NONE have come close to Moroccan Oil.

Moroccan Oil will change the overall condition of your hair- not just after one blow dry- but for good.  Start using their line of shampoo, conditioner, and hair repair mask in addition to the oil and I can promise you a new set of healthy, well maintained locks. 

I’ll admit it is a little pricy-between $30-$40- but you will not be disappointed and the bottle lasts a long time. I usually use it both before and after I blow dry- especially on my ends. I only use a dime size with each application and it never leaves my hair greasy, especially when I avoid putting it on my roots.

Order it. You won’t be disappointed.

Stay glossy (literally),

Pal

Junior League of Louisville

As I mentioned in my last post, I had my first Junior League meeting this Saturday morning. Despite the wintery-weather, most everyone made it (and enjoyed a mimosa or two to unwind from the drive). I have to admit, at first I was a little intimidated when I learned that all the ladies in my "provisional group" (a small group within your orientation class) were married. Odd-one-out, if you will.

However, this feeling quickly vanished, as all my group members are so lovely and sweet. I think they will all turn out to be great friends, and perhaps even mentors, as they are a couple years older than me and have experienced some of these things I'm starting to jump into (ahem house hunting).

We were given these adorable t-shirts (which of course, I noted, are game-day attire!):

This evening was supposed to be our first General League meeting- we have over 500 members total here in Louisville. However, due to a lovely snow storm (again!) the meeting was cancelled. My biggest disappointment: Not being able to give away my "cake balls" I made for my group members. I even bought Hello Kitty Ziplocs:

 Blackberry pictures = a little bit blurry, sorry! I have a special surprise tomorrow, so be sure to read!

Stay Glossy (& warm!),
Kentucky Blonde

It's a buyers market!

This weekend was a bit more slow than I am used to...and I have to confess I loved it. After all the excitement of New Year's Eve last weekend, I decided to take a few weeks off from going out and what not.

I spent my first Friday night "in" in quite a while-- and it was amazing how productive those hours were! I am currently shopping for my first home, so I spent Friday evening perusing listings from my realtor (I feel so old!). It really is a buyers market right now- and I found a number of homes I really like that are within my budget!

After braving the treacherous KY weather conditions Saturday morning for Junior League (more to come on this Tuesday!),  I had dinner at Nappa River Grill with my dear friend Cuspid (she's in dental school...get it??) After trying two different cinemas to find CountryStrong sold out- we settled for wine, and delicious ahi tuna "nachos". Yum!

Photo courtesy of Napariverlouisville.com

Sunday I was able to attend a couple Open Houses- 3 to be exact. While I felt like a total phony looking at these homes alongside young families, I also got a taste of things I am not willing to settle on home-wise. Like a dishwasher. And garage.

How was your weekend? Any tips for a first time home buyer?

Stay Glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Thoroughbred Thursday

There is only one place in the world that you can make Bourbon Whiskey (Kentucky!). We love our Bourbon so much- we name our counties after it (Bourbon & Woodford Counties, just to name a couple).
True Kentucky Blonde that I am, my senior year of college I made it a favorite hobby of mine to tour our famous distilleries whenever I had a chance. (Did I mention there are always free Bourbon AND Bourbon Ball samples at the end of such tours?) This Thoroughbred Thursday I am featuring a few pictures from a tour of Woodford Reserve that Palomino and I took in October 2009. Enjoy!



The back of Woodford Reserve's gorgeous receiving house. Sadly, we couldn't go up to the balcony and enjoy the view because there was a rhersal dinner going on....such a great idea!



A whole warehouse full of aging bourbon barrels! They have to have intnse fire-sprinklers in these warehouses so that they don't lose millions of dollars if a fire happens.



Woodford triple-distills their whiskey in these huge copper stills- part of the reason why it is so good!

Stay Glossy,
Kentucky Blonde

  

More Than Pearls...

My friend Louisiana refers to Palomino and I as her “Kentucky Blondes”. Louisiana says that when she thinks of Kentucky, she thinks of quintessential “Kentucky Blondes”:  wearing pearls, riding horses, and baking cookies. Personally, I thought people were reminded of horses, bourbon and fried chicken when they thought of Kentucky- but I much prefer Louisiana’s take.

To Louisiana’s credit, Palomino and I can, very much, fit her definition at times. However, I think some may just call this “southern belle”… but it feels pretty tacky to claim to “be” a “southern belle”. You may very well deserve to find yourself in a Walmart buying a pink t-shirt with rhinestones and hot-pink script touting the phrase.

One thing I want to do on Kentucky Blonde, is use this blog as an inspiration to get “out there” and really experience the amazing city I live in beyond the horses, bourbon, fried chicken (yeck), pearls and cookies. This goal is useful two-fold: 1. I have material to write about 2. This fits nicely with my resolution to “try new things”.

Yes I live in the suburbs of Kentucky…but I also live 10 minutes from the heart of a city rich with cuisine, arts, culture and entertainment. So every Monday- I'll try to do a review of just that. But don’t worry- every “Thoroughbred Thursday”  I’ll get back to my roots.

Stay glossy,

Kentucky Blonde

Try New Things...

I’ve been giving some thought to what my New Year’s resolution was going to be. I don’t do resolutions like “lose weight”. Instead, I like to make themes for the year to come, of which I’ll frequently remind myself. The first year I did this the results were phenomenal:


I studied abroad in France and traveled Europe; I fell in love for the first time, and I broke a lot of (minor) rules…all in the sake of “Living passionately”. The following two years were less impressive: “Be absolutely fabulous” was a little too vague, and “Forgive” was easier said than done. But today, January 4, 2010, I decided that this year’s resolution should be “Try new things”*, which perhaps has some roots in living passionately, but I could definitely use another year like 2008.


Today at work, I was taking a break from Facebooking to G-chat my dear friend Palomino. We were discussing our mutual adoration of Chelsea Handler, her wild stories, and how we were quite funny ourselves. Well, Palomino began to insist that I should start a blog to recount all of our funny adventures (since she’s much too busy with work, grad-school and burning 5,000 calories at the gym daily).


At first, I pretty much brushed this idea off. I have admittedly considered starting a blog in the past, but considered it a little too narcissistic. However, having just decided on my new resolution this morning, I realized this was my first opportunity to try something new. So, I welcome you to Kentucky Blonde. Let’s see where this goes.


Stay glossy,
Kentucky Blonde


* I may have hear on E!News (while brushing my teeth this morning) that Kim Kardashian said 2011 was a year to try new things...in reference to her new song