Our Local Box - June Review

I loved this box so much last month and couldn't wait to receive June's edition! Our Local Box released a couple of spoilers on Facebook to leak that this month's box would be a collaboration with Edward Lee*, a Louisville chef who has gained fame through various ventures including a stint as a contestant on Top Chef! I was intrigued and couldn't wait to see what he picked out!

This subscription features only products that are made/grown/etc. solely within the state of Kentucky. Since the box is based in my hometown of Louisville, mine gets hand delivered! How cool is that? :)

The box was HEAVY! Heres first looks:

This subscription has some of my favorite information cards. Big and glossy and thick stock. The items are individually described and the retail prices are given (it's nice as a blogger not to have to go look them up! First world problems! ;). This box included the regular info card attached on the underside of the lid plus an additional recipe card that is an excerpt from Lee's upcoming cookbook, Smoke & Pickles. The recipe is for "braised beef kalbi with soft grits and scallions." I'm not gonna lie. This recipe scared me a little. When I realized the ingredients went over into a second column, I kind of mentally checked out.... Hubs gave it a go, though (see below)!

The box contained four items, all four are included in Lee's enclosed recipe. The first three items are from Bourbon Barrel Foods. Hubs and I have friends who are investors in this company and we've been BIG fans for years, long before it got picked up by the likes of Williams-Sonoma! Every single thing we've tried has been PHENOMENAL. Seriously. The bourbon smoked salt and pepper are pantry staples for us so I was excited to get more pepper ($9). I bought my mom a subscription to this box and she was JUST telling me that she had used the end of the pepper I gave her a couple of months ago, so that timing is perfect! My hubs has wanted the soy sauce ($6) for a while and he's been putting pure maple syrup in his bourbon lately, so he loved the pure cane sweet sorghum ($12, says its a 2x sweet sorghum national champ!). He was all about these two items!! It's so fun to get a box that we can *both* enjoy! ;)

The last item was a bag of grits ($5) from Sunflower Sundries Farm, a major selling point being that the one pound bag has only ONE ingredient. Pretty amazing really. But, um...... How do you prepare grits?? I'll be looking that one up online.

Hubby got a little excited this last weekend and attempted the recipe. It took MULTIPLE trips to the store, including four different places to find beef short ribs! He figured out hours into it that there were no instructions on where/when/how to use the 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar called for on ingredient list?? He winged that part and said it turned out great! Only problem was the recipe called for the WHOLE BOTTLE of soy sauce, so he still has NONE! LOL!

prep

MORE prep.... all good recipes make a mess, right??

Dinner is served! (no grits... still no clue... LOL)

This box cost $30 with my three month subscription and had a retail value of $32. I love that this box was all edible but what's really cool is how DIFFERENT this box was from last month's and from the inaugural month in April. I'm so proud to be a Kentuckian and it's really neat to think about this well curated, high quality box showcasing our awesome state's resources to people all over! My 9 year old asked, "does EVERY state have a box like this??" Wouldn't that be cool if they did?? But, nah, only bad ass Kentucky! ;)

* We have a hard-to-get reservation at Lee's 610 Magnolia on 6/21. I've wanted to go for a while and it's supposed to be quite the experience! Can't wait to check it out!  

** UPDATE: You can read my review of our experience at 610 Magnolia HERE! 

Summer fun with kids in Louisville!

School is out! Yay!!! I am SO excited to have the girls home for a couple of months!! As time continues to fly by, I appreciate my time with them more and more! <3

This summer we will do all of the usual things in Louisville, KY, including:

Louisville Zoo: so excited to see the baby zebra!! So sorry to think that this will probably be the last year my two are interested in the splash park. Boo :(

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari: the girls are finally both tall enough that we can all ride EVERYTHING, including The Voyage, voted the #1 wooden coaster for the 5th year in a row!! Nice!!

Kentucky Science Center: always a favorite destination!

We will be doing the free Summer Reading Program offered through the awesome public libraries again. Have you done this?? It kicks off June 1st and it's so great! Once they fill out their reading log, the kiddos get a goody bag filled with lots of fun free admissions to local attractions, etc.! My girls love doing this each year!

And we will spend tons of time at the pool and at gymnastics, cheer and dance classes. I'll drag my husband to at least one minor league game at the awesome Slugger Field (how can he hate baseball SO much??) and we might make another trip to creepy Dinosaur World. But what else??

Some things we've never done that I want to try include: Bernheim Forest, My Old Kentucky Home State Park and Kentucky Down Under. What do you love to do in the summer that we haven't tried?? Anything else fabulous that we are missing out on??

Our Local Box May Review

Out of the subscription boxes I'm expecting this month, I think I've been most excited about this one! It is such a unique concept and, of course, so close to my heart! Our Local Box offers a subscription service that "features a curated collection of Kentucky-made products." I LOVE anything that's made in the USA, much less made right here in KY! I was sorry I missed the inaugural box from this company last month but signed right up for a 3 month subscription - and bought my mom in Arkansas one, too, for mother's day!

My box was HAND-DELIVERED yesterday, placed lovingly in display mode in the corner of my front door! Yay! Treats!! Here's first looks:

The information card inside the lid is adorbs. Gives a little perspective on how Derby obsessed we've all been for the last few weeks, gives plenty of info on products (but not TOO much! ;).

Of course the first thing I dove for was the Banana Pudding Fudge ($8) by Cellar Door Chocolates, made right here in Louisville, KY! I've been a fan of Cellar Door for a while now and love trying all the unusual flavors they come up with, like cayenne pepper and green chile coconut truffles! I KNEW this was going to be delicious but I wasn't prepared for HOW delicious. OMG. It's described as "a rich juxtaposition of banana and crispy vanilla wafers that will leave you in a sugary coma." No coma for me, I'm a sugar pro! haha, but this piece disappeared pretty quickly! My afternoon brought occasional texts from my mom as she tried to slow herself by eating one little slice at a time (I would bet the house that hers is all gone this morning, too! LOL!). Don't hesitate. Buy it now. It's one of the best desserts I've ever eaten!

I'm also super excited about the two natural, handcrafted products from Rituals By Nature, a company in Florence, KY.

Magick Skin Balm ($7.50) is supposed to work on everything from scrapes and new tattoos to eczema and psoriasis. I've got it sitting in my kitchen, going to use it daily in hopes of some "magick" on my cuticles! ;) It smells DIVINE.... formulated with olive oil, organic beeswax, cocoa butter, lavender, vitamin E and dragon's blood. I adore it already for smell alone!

Carnelian Lip Balm ($6) is a best seller for RBN and I can see why! Comprised of beeswax, cocoa butter, honey, dragon's blood, vitamins and oils, it is SO smooth and creamy and also smells like HEAVEN - a mix of honey, orange and cocoa butter. I loved letting my kiddos try it, knowing how clean and pure the formula is, and they LOVE it too!!

The final item is Cherry Rose Green Tea sachets ($10.50) by Elmwood Inn Fine Teas in Danville, KY. We got talked into buying a massive amount of tea in Beijing a while back and have had PLENTY of tea around here for a while, especially considering that the hubs is the only tea drinker in the house. But these little pyramid sachets are gorgeous and smell wonderful! Maybe they will finally convince me to give up my massive morning coffee consumption and make the switch (probably not!).

Altogether this box had a value of $32 and the two subscriptions I purchased had a price per box of $30 (with tax in KY) and $28.30 (shipped out of state). Value was good for me! I LOVE getting a chance to learn about and try items made so close to home! I think this is an awesome way to support small business and try super unique products regardless of where you live! My mom and I can't wait to see what comes in June!

Derby Eve Festivities!

So many fab parties around town, so many opportunities for free cocktails and random celebrity encounters! This year we got a super fun group together and headed out to Unbridled Eve, a party to benefit Blessings in a Backpack, a Louisville charity that is doing big things for little people far and wide!

For the pre-party at our house, we decided to make yummy Strawberry Bourbon Lemonade. Turned out great, needed twice as much for our enthusiastic guests, though! Haha!

When drinks started running out, it was time for a quick group pic then off to board the party bus!

The dining room looked gorgeous as usual and a super fun dinner was had by all! I love extra surprise goodies like the special edition KY Derby 139 bracelet by Alex and Ani that was waiting with my place setting! Fun! And of course the Marker's Mark inspired chocolate mousse for dessert was the best part of the meal! When Nicholas David from The Voice took the stage, there was no table with a louder sing along and break down to Lean On Me than ours! Always the ones having the most fun!! ;)

One of our favorite things about a big event like this is hitting the auctions! We got some great things at this one! New bag for me, Montgomery Gentry autographed guitar for the hubs, UL football autographed by head coach Charlie Strong (da man) and a trip to the Emmys in September, complete with tickets to the iconic Governor's Ball! Nice!!

The most disappointing celebrity was Lauren Conrad... Ugh. Horrible. Didn't even want to stand up to take pictures. I took a couple of photos for friends with her but I passed on that one. A tie for our favorite celeb of the night is between Coach Strong/his wife, who were having an awesome time, too!, and Lance Bass who was SUCH a good sport with everyone!

My hair was definitely looking a little insane.... I've always thought it better to be on a "What was she THINKING?!" list than no list at all! Haha! After dancing, a few more drinks, a Luke Bryan performance (yawn), late night White Castles, a trip to the photo booth and some songs with the always rockin' Full Contact Karaoke it was time to call it a night. So much funl! Love to have the chance to show off our fab city and have a great time doing it!!

Opening Night at Churchill Downs

It always officially feels like spring is here and summer is just around the corner when Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs rolls around! Last year at opening night, there was an INSANE storm with golf ball sized hail that destroyed my new car. This year, the forecast called for rain - and there was a TON of it - but we wound up in a cozy suite and had a wonderful time regardless!

First of all, what to wear?? Downs After Dark night racing events generally have a theme, sometimes elaborate, but this event called for this under the "Fashion" heading:

Ladies: Party/cocktail dresses and headwear. The signature accessory for this event is an evening headpiece a la fascinator, feathers, etc. We want ladies to have fun in sporting a “night-time Derby look!” Gentlemen: Sharp pants/shirt (tie optional); headwear recommended as well!

I love my feathers and sparkle, so I pulled out this unique comb I have from Beth Beverly Diamond Tooth Taxidermy. Yep, TAXIDERMY. Be warned that the website has some really unusual stuff (especially for a 20+ year vegetarian and tree-hugging animal lover like me! LOL!). But the comb is GORGEOUS. The pictures are after the fact and I lost a peacock feather somewhere along the way, but you get the point! ;)

I had been super excited to wear this Derek Lam CFDA for Kohl's dress. It's on sale now for only $42. Kohl's is hilarious! LOL! It wound up a bit of a wrinkled mess and was pretty short for me, so I was glad it was chilly and the night called for tights! Design wise the pattern was definitely not what I normally pick out and was fun for a change!

The paddock area was full of bands, acrobats and stilt walkers. Super fun! No pics, though, I was hustling to get out of the rain!

Once in the cozy lounge of the Jockey Club Suites, it was time to enjoy the decor and watch a few races from our private balcony. Happy for the climate control and cover from the rain!

Before long, the random drunkies started wandering into the suite, including this guy:

He told me I looked like a character out of a Tim Burton movie, which may have been intended as an insult, but I love Tim Burton movies, so I'm cool with that! When he came around a second time looking for any leftover alcohol in our suite, it was our cue to call it a night.

All in all, fun start to the racing season. Hoping for nicer weather next weekend for Derby, though!! :)