lucky in kentucky
KFC, bluegrass, horse racing… these are all things Kentucky is known for. Upon our descent into Lexington, we first noticed the heavy amount of construction happening downtown. Then we saw the countdown calendar, which announced 70 days until the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Cup was coming to town. These people are serious about their horses!
As the resident Southerner the crew regularly asks me questions about southern culture, such as: how do we make sweet tea? why do we love Chick-fil-A so much? and are we really this polite? Southern hospitality is not a facade; it’s knowing you’d better refer to anyone remotely older than you as ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’, knowing your friend’s-momma’s-neighbor’s-niece’s-boyfriend’s-uncle will help you out in a spot of car trouble, and knowing it’s always gonna take you an hour longer than you think at the bank/grocery store/coffee house/etc… because you’ll see folks you know and they will start asking about your daddy/sister/dog/brother/aunt… you catch my drift.
So when Ms. Juliana James, after sharing her aha moment, offered to bring us lunch the next day I looked at Dave and Kait and said, “THAT’S southern hospitality.” Juliana, also known as Chef Jewels, caters good ol’ Southern comfort food to folks of Lexington and on Friday she catered to the newest guests in town: us. Cowboy baked beans, corn bread, seven- cheese baked macaroni, potato salad and chicken, we were in hog heaven.
In her aha moment, she shared that she uses her talent to serve up food for local community needs, such as new Habitat For Humanity home recipients. Juliana is an incredible and generous woman. On behalf of Kait, Dave and I (Gary was gone for the afternoon), we’d like to shout out a huge THANK YOU to Chef Jewels for showing us some true Southern hospitality.
Here are some other Lexington aha moments that made us smile:
Meet Robert:
When I was in grad school completing my MFA, I had dreams of becoming a famous, rich artist. As I got older I got married, had a baby and left my dreams of becoming a famous artist behind me. I loved my family but felt that I wasn’t fulfilling my potential so I decided to make a website and start selling some of my art. The process was slow going but I am thrilled to be sharing my art and passion with the world.
Meet Laken:
My little brother, Charlie Lovely, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia the day after his sixteenth birthday, October 31, 2008. Charlie fought leukemia for 62 days, until January 1, 2009, just after midnight. The passion to make a difference had been ignited and I knew I had to carry on the legacy of this unbelievable person that had showed all of us how to Live Lovely for sixteen incredible years. Our biggest goal for his foundation is to eventually open a hospital or care center specifically designed to care for adolescents and young adults fighting cancer.
We’re spending a brief night in Indianapolis as we trek north to South Bend, Indiana. Thank you again to all the Lexington people who made our tour stop great!
