Year of the Sweet Potato Queens

Ok, I first need to explain the title of this post : )

There are 44 new members (yay!) in the Junior League of NWA for 2009-2010. Each year, the new member class is divided into 4 groups of ladies. My group is the Green Group and we so-very-aptly named ourselves the "Sweet Potato Queens", after the fiesty ladies in the best selling book. Clear as mud?

Here are (as promised) LOTS of pics from the retreat.

Beginning our night at Christy's house with a yummy dinner, scavenger hunt and video.

The Green, Blue, Purple and Red Tables. Naturally, Green was the cutest ; )

Photos from the Scavenger Hunt! I'm wearing the orange top. The 3rd pic down is of our "Glory Run", right after we found the last item on our list, ha! Of course The Sweet Potato Queens won.

These pics are from Saturday's work day at the "That's My Bag" storage shed. We spent the day cleaning out the storage facility and stuffing bags for needy/displaced children in Northwest Arkansas. It was overwhelmingly rewarding to know all that sweat was going to a good cause.

Here are our 4 wonderful team leaders: Stephanie, Cara, Shay and Christal.

Beautiful "Sweet Potato Queen/Green Team" photo

And beautiful blue, purple and red photos too!

Our amazing President, Mrs. Kamron Whitehead

Cooking With Paula

As many of you know from reading this blog, I love to cook. It's one of my all-time favorite things to do, besides eating! I've always been a believer that food and the art of feeding someone is the best way to connect with people. Especially in the south, we use food as a way to celebrate marriages, mark the arrival of new babies and heal the hurt from the loss of a loved one. As I remember my Memaw saying once, "If you don't know what to do for someone, then cook." Food is a universal language.

All my life, I've been surrounded by great southern cooks; my Memaw (which is my dad's mom), my Mom, my great grandma Ruth, the amazing little ladies at my home church in Heber Springs, Drew, Mrs. Holifield and the list goes on. Cooking inspires me to try new things; not just in the kitchen, but in all aspects of life. And I have an inspiration/idea that I want to share with ya'll...

I simply cannot wait to see the new movie "Julie and Julia" in theatres. The movie is about a young woman named Julie Powell who, after being unsuccessful in her career, decides to cook her way through Julia Childs' cookbook and blog about it. I like the concept of undertaking a project like this and sharing tips and tricks along the way.

Now, I admire Julia Childs' ambition just as much as the next gal, but I gotta say, Paula Deen is my hands-down favorite celebrity cook. She even calls herself a cook, not a chef. She seems down to earth, warm and southern to the core and the simplicity and deliciousness of her food is somewhat of a trademark.

So...drum rolll please...I've decided to "cook" my way through the Paula Deen "Savannah Country Cookbook." I chose her cookbook because it can be found at most bookstores and on her website, so if any of you want to join me, the book won't be hard to find. Her ingredients are also cheap and easy to locate (you can get them at any Walmart) and feed lots of people in a cost-effective way.

I'm giving myself some rules (I do better with guidelines) that way ya'll can keep me in line if I start to slip up:

1. I have 1 year from Wednesday, August 12 to "cook" my way through Paula's "Savannah Country Cookbook."

2. Sauces, dressings, beverages and salads are exempt, because you really can't make a meal out of a sauce. Or a salad.

3. I'll rate each recipe on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty and taste, (1=easiest, 10=most difficult), and provide an estimated cost of each recipe with each posting. Since I'm a girl on a budget, the cost estimate will be essential to other young women out there who need to adhere to a food budget.

Don't worry, this is not going to be all I blog about. In fact, I'll probably combine the posts into one big post and set up another blog address where you can find the recipes. I realize some of you may not enjoy cooking, so I'm keeping that in mind as I plan my posts.

I'm really excited about this and I know I'll be a better cook as a result. Hope you'll join me along the way! Now the first order of business is to make sure I look stylish while I cook...I'm loving this apron from etsy.com and it's fabulous. So cute!

Junior League New Member Retreat 2009

I hope everyone has had a great weekend so far! I attended the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas New Member Retreat last night and today. We stayed overnight at the Embassy Suites in Rogers , which I must say, is a pretty awesome place for a retreat!.

The retreat began last night at 5:00. We arrived and were so warmly welcomed by current JL members. First, we got our roomie assignments, which was exciting! My roomie was Heather, a super-sweet new member. After that, we went downstairs to the conference room to meet our new member groups that we'll be with for all of 2009. My group was the "Green" group and frankly, we rocked : )

At 7:00, we were shuttled to one of our member's houses for dinner (yummy lasagna, salad, french bread and veggies) and had some time to eat and bond. We also took part in a group scavenger hunt, which was fun and absolutely hilarious. Picture 44 overly-caffeinated young ladies running around in the woods with flashlights, looking for random objects, LOL

The Green group (my group) won the scavenger hunt and, as a result, were treated to ice cream sundaes first!

Today, we woke up around 6:30 for a 7:00 a.m. breakfast and began our day. We spent the first half of the morning cleaning and organizing the storage shed for the "That's My Bag" project. "That's My Bag" is a Junior League project that provides everything from school supplies to basic necessities for needy, displaced or homeless children in Northwest Arkansas. It gave me goosebumps to see 44 young ladies my age working together for a common goal: to improve the lives of local kids. I don't mean to sound like a Miss America contestant, but it's the truth!

After our work at the storage facility, we went back to the hotel and listened to one of the most powerful speakers I've ever heard. Her name is Tonya Waller and she is an active Junior Leaguer. Tonya survived a terrible domestic violence situation and today, works with other women to battle domestic abuse in their own lives. I really don't think there was a dry eye in the house after her speech, which made me realize how vital this organization is to our community.

Women are amazing creatures and I really believe it's our social responsibility to empower and give back to our own communities.

I'm so excited about the upcoming year and KNOW that these new members will quickly become life-long friends of mine!

Enjoy the pics below. There will be MANY more to come!

A too-cute-for-words cookie that was waiting on all of our beds when we arrived.




A room full of great girls!


Our oh-so-pretty room at the Embassy Suites in Rogers.



Even our vanity was nice!



Amanda and Shannon, two of my fellow new members and "Green" group buddies.



The Green group table.



Another shot of the room.

P.S.- Remember those Fish Tail bracelets I was going to try to make? Well, I finally made some earlier this week and am so happy with how they turned out. What do ya think, am I the next Martha Stewart or what? : )

Are You Hungry Yet?

Because you will be after you read this recipe! I'm thinking of making brunch Sunday, and if I do, I'll be making this:

It's called Baked French Toast Casserole and it's brought to you by the one and only Paula Deen!

Only Paula could create something this divine, yet SO easy. I'm dying to try this in my own kitchen. You might want to remember though, you do have to prepare the dish one night before baking. The liquid has to soak into the bread for 8 hours, but it looks worth the wait!

Here goes:

Ingredients:

Dash of salt1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (brown)
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 cup whole or 2% milk
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
Butter (for pan)
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Praline topping (recipe follows)
Raspberry syrup (recipe follows)

Praline Topping:

2 sticks butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Raspberry Syrup:

1 cup raspberry preserves
3 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons raspberry liqueur

Directions:

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 x 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Raspberry Syrup.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Cook Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Yield: 6-8 servings

Praline Topping: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

Raspberry Syrup: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

Junior League, Web Marketing and Beyond

Only 1 more day until the Junior League of NWA New Member Retreat at the Embassy Suites in Rogers! I cannot wait to meet the rest of my fabulous fellow leaguers and talk about upcoming projects for JLNWA. I really do strongly believe in this organization and it's motto to help the community. For this retreat, we were all told to bring clothes that we don't mind getting dirty and also to bring a flashlight : ) Not sure what the flashlight or scrubby clothes are for, but hey, I'm up for anything!

I'm sure it will be a great time.

I spent the first half of my day today at Rockfish Interactive in Rogers for my work, to discuss ideas for the upcoming year for our website. As some of you know, I work for a major financial institution in NWA and do marketing for their website. The amazing folks at Rockfish are always full of great ideas and today was no different! Meeting with a creative team like that always gets me pumped up about the web and social media.

If you love fashion as much as I do, go check out A New Mode...they have fantastic articles on fashion, trends, beauty and just about anything else a girl could ask for. Right now they have a great article up about how to get organized using household items. Sounds quirky, but honestly, I love their tips.

I try not to get sappy with family stuff, but sometimes we all need a little support and prayer. My great grandma suffered a really bad stroke about a month ago. Please remember her tonight; she had an especially bad day yesterday and needs all the prayer she can get right now.

On a positive note, tomorrow is Friday! Let us all rejoice ; ) Now go and plan your weekends accordingly.

Blonde Blessings,

Leslie