New Ads on iList Paducah

We have two new ads from ongoing sponsors over there at that cute, cute, cute Web site, iList Paducah. Michelson's is now promoting jewels from Rebecca, the hottest jewelry line in Italy. I personally inspected them at the John Hardy trunk show last Saturday. They are GORGEOUS. So get thee to Michelson's and try on (and buy) some Rebecca. DAR-LING! And besides, you can wear them to...


...the grand opening of Jasmine! Kara and David are preparing for a benefit for the Paducah Arts Alliance on Tuesday, July 7, and then the grand Rock and Rolls opening on Thursday, July 9. So mark you calendars and get your sushi on!

Plus, vote for your top three favorite Q2 iDates of the Week and be entered for a drawing for a free drink with Kara and/or David! They're doing all the publicity for Jasmine.

Right on, iList Paducah sponsors!

Like Mick Jagger, But More Christian-y

It's not every day that I get emails and photos from super hot lead singers in super hot bands. It's not like Chris Issak is constantly emailing me. Or John Mayer. (Yick, by the way.) Or, you know, Mick Jagger.

So whenever I get an email from cute, cute, cute Cory Greene from The Union Suit, or cute, cute, cute Craig Felker from Hearts of Saints, I can't help but be extremely flattered. In Craig's case, it's like hearing from a significantly younger, non-wrinkly, more Christian-y version of Mick Jagger, himself. And if you've seen Craig Felker perform live, you know what I mean.

Anyway, Craig sent this photo the other day. That's Hearts of Saints performing in front of 10,000 people at the Atlanta Fest Christian Music Festival. The sound guy's wife took the photo — super cute!

So the new news is that Hearts of Saints is fixin' to announce that they've signed with a muckety muck big record label, but they're keeping mum on the name for awhile. What they can say is that they've got a new single, Breakdown, which should hit the radio in July.


To hear Breakdown, just hit that pink forward button thingy.

AND, they have a new album that should debut in October.

So love, love to Hearts of Saints. Keep watch here for news of their super double secret muckety muck big record label, which I hope to get to announce soon.

And please plan to see them Sunday, July 12, back in Paducah at Trinity United Methodist Church! Check out their Web site, too. Lots of cool photos, videos and a link to Tom's Shoes — buy a pair using HEARTSOFSAINTS as a promotional code and you'll save $5. Plus, Tom's will donate a pair to kids in need. Now that's heart.

Separated at Birth?

Is it just me or is the size of their flowers the only thing separating iDates of the Week Eddie Herrador and Gabriel Camacho?

And maybe a little Sanctuary?

Don't miss the opening this Friday, July 3, of Gabe's new venture, Sanctuary Lounge, inside Bobby's Inkslingers, 2083 Irvin Cobb Dr.! The gig features DJUK, The Union Suit, The Hi Fi Ninja and Roscoe! Doors open at 7 p.m. $5 at the door.

We've got the sweet story here!

Landee Promises...

...a whole new meaning to "punch in the face." Fight Club and fun beverages, tonight at Maiden Alley Cinema!

My Two Moms

Aren't they beautiful? That's my mom, Mary Lee, on the left. And that's my husband Bruce Brockenborough's mom, Pat, on the right. If you've been following along, you know that we lost my dad very unexpectedly in February. So my siblings and I have been spending a lot of time with mom at her home in San Antonio, and I brought her back to Paducah with me last Thursday afternoon. And, as you can see from the posts below, I've had her running around with me ever since: BOTRWAT, public flockings, the Easter Seals Art Show, A Taste of Jasmine at Roof Brothers, plus a few dinner parties, photo shoots and even some shopping in between.

On Friday, Pat threw a luncheon for my mom at Serenitea and invited a few friends from our Mayfield days. It was quite lovely. Serenitea's food and tea are excellent, and Pat even brought two flower arrangements that she whipped up a lá Martha Stewart. I loved listening to the women talk and laugh about all the funny characters and ancedotes of days gone by. I suspect when my time comes around, I'll have a few tales to tell, too!

Mom and I returned to San Antonio last night so that she can jump back into her own busy social calendar. Many, many thanks to everyone who met her this weekend for making her feel so welcome and so special. She had a great time.

By the way, we just posted another Paducah Sun Pat column on iList Paducah, in honor of her 80th birthday. This one, first published Nov. 17, 1991, relates (more or less) to the importance of clean underwear, and includes a super cute illustration from Nikki. Just scroll down and you'll see it on the left. And click, of course, to go to the full column.

We're running one or two of Pat's old columns each week through the summer, and then we'll put 'em in a book for Pat. Fun, huh? I'm very lucky to have two moms, and an awful cute father-in-law, too.

A Taste of Jasmine

Our iList Paducah current iDates of the Week, Kara McCombs and David Szemeredy offered sneak servings of sushi from Jasmine this past Saturday at Roof Brothers Wine and Beer Tasting. Jasmine is the fab Thai restaurant in Murray that's opening in Paducah at Jordan's Crossing next week. I'm swiping this EXCELLENT photo from Suzanne. She did a sweet post on it, along with a quite insightful piece on the whole Jon & Kate Plus 8 break up. Suzanne's been writing about that couple quite a bit lately. And while I've only caught seconds of the show, I'm much more interested in Suzanne's take on it all than I am in the show, itself. Suzanne should be hired to help write it. (Or maybe rewrite it.)

Anyway, back to Jasmine. The official opening is 4 p.m., Thursday, July 9. DJ Urban Kobbb will be the man behind the music, and Kara and David (they're doing all the PR) will make sure everyone has a great time — and more sushi!

Jasmine is also doing a fun benefit at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 7, for the Paducah Arts Alliance. Stay tuned for more details on that!

Welcome to Paducah, Jasmine!

Public Flocking

The flocking continues! The Paducah Housing Authority was among the latest recipients. The flamingos then migrated...


...to City Hall!

Help raise money for the Wildcats Fast Pitch girls' softball teams. For a mere $15, you, too, can flock a friend so that these young women can travel and play in tournaments all over the region. Call Gabrielle Mitchell, 331.1598, for details!

Easter Art

The Easter Seals of West Kentucky hosted The Artist Within show for its adult services clients this past Friday. It's an annual event held in partnership with VSA Arts of Kentucky, which provides arts education to folks with different abilities. That's my niece Sarah Bynum above — she's Easter Seals' development director — and my mom, who's been visiting us for the past few days. Super cute!

The artwork is beautiful, and you can't help but think about the artists, themselves. As Sarah will tell you, many have a difficult time expressing themselves verbally. And some simply cannot. But a paintbrush opens all sorts of possibilities for new levels of communication.

Here are a few of my favorites:




This one, by Eddie Harns, is titled Eddie the Great. Right on, Eddie the Great!


Chip Wynn donated this "art van," which folks have been decorating. It will up for auction, along with all the artwork, at the Easter Seals West Kentucky Heart & Soul Art Celebration fundraiser, Sept. 17. Tickets go on sale July 1.


This particular section caught my eye:


True that, no matter how you spell it. Congrats, Easter Seals!

Congratulations, Easter Seals and all the artists!

The Union Suit: Maiden Alley Cinema

I'm sorry that I didn't make it to The Union Suit's big show at Maiden Alley Cinema's Anvil premier last Thursday. We were at Business After Hours, with a Twist, or, as Suzanne calls it, BOTRWAT — pronounced maybe BOW-TRWAT? BOT-RWAT? BOTR-WAT? Plus, my mom is here and, well, she's not much of a music fan unless we're talking Frank Sinatra or Robert Goulet who, by the way, serenaded her one evening in Las Vegas many years ago. But that's a totally different story.

Back to The Union Suit. I hear they ROCKED, that the crowd ROCKED and that the free PBRs ROCKED so well that Robyn Shapiro had to go on a beer run. Woo-Hoo!

For more great photos from Keith Ford, like the cute one above, visit Keith's Flickr page! Congratulations, everyone!

Our Farrah Homage, for Ginger

Regular reader Ginger (thanks, Ginger!) left a comment in the post below lamenting the fact that while at BOTRWAT (as dubbed by Suzanne) we homage-d Michael Jackson, RIP, we completely overlooked lovely Farrah, who also passed away on BOTRWAT day.

Fear not, Ginger. We didn't overlook Farrah, as evidenced above by Suzanne, Donna-Maria and yours truly. I just overlooked the photo when I was posting today.

RIP, Farrah Fawcett. She fought the good fight, and we lost one of the world's great beauties.

I wonder whatever happened to that red swimsuit.

New iList Paducah Banner Ad for TODAY

Come join us at Roof Brothers — and check out the new Jasmine Web site! Grand opening is 4 p.m., Thursday, July 9, Jordan's Crossing!

Business on the Rocks, and Our Homage to Michael Jackson

Our first Business on the Rocks, with a Twist, was great fun with a really nice turnout of women. Not surprising, though. Extending an invitation to overworked and overwhelmed women (and cute men) to come enjoy cocktails at di Fratelli and talk a little shop — what's not to love about that?


Even our special guest had a great time. That's her, my mom, the knock-out gorgeous one in the middle, surrounded by Robyn Shapiro (left), and Laura K and me on the right. My mom's visiting from San Antonio, and no sooner did we land at Barkley Regional Airport (Buy Local), then we whisked ourselves over to di Frats (Buy Local).

Speaking of Buy Local, all the women who came — I'm guessing at least 30 — made great contacts, talked informally with one another about bidness and I know of one person who made two sales and attracted a fundraiser to one of her favorite causes.

And ALSO on the Buy Local front, a BIG shout-out to Laura K. She's been helping the Chamber with PR and marketing. The other day, the Sun ran a story about the Buy Local program and made special mention of the Buy Local Facebook page, which has been a huge hit. Laura K created that, of course!

Here are some random pix — big fun — please everyone join us again 5:30-7 p.m., next Thursday, July 2, at di Frats!








Oh, and, in memory of Michael Jackson, RIP, our homage:

Support My Home Girl

I have tons of fun pix from last night's Business on the Rocks — I'll post them a little later today. But in the meantime, here's a shout out to my niece, Sarah Bynum, development director for Easter Seals! Please stop by this lovely art reception during lunch today and support the work of this amazing organization.

My Momma's Coming...

Hoping everyone will join us for Business on the Rocks, with a Twist tonight, 5:30 p.m., di Fratelli's! We'll have lots of great bidnesswomen there, for sure, including special guest of honor, MY MOM!

But super cute men can come, too. We like men.

Bring your business ideas, career questions, success suggestions and powerful thirst, and we'll brainstorm with inspirational beverages.

Thanks to Suzanne, Laura and everyone else who's been helping us promote this shin-dig via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and good old-fashioned word of mouth.

And don't forget those hotties The Union Suit are playing at Maiden Alley Cinema, 6 p.m.!

Energy Fitness Staff Shrinks for Charity

Remember our iLove it story about Energy Fitness staff members challenging themselves to lose weight — and for the total pounds lost, Wagner Moving & Storage would donate the same amount in food to Paducah Cooperative Ministries?


Well, how does 275 pounds of food sound? Yep, that's Energy Fitness Manager Sharon Hagan shopping for 275 pounds of food. Geeze, can you imagine?

That's right! In just three months, by doing that crazy exercise and eating right thing, 27 employees together lost 275 pounds. By the way, each paid an entry fee donation to Relay for Life and were required to weigh in weekly.


That's Energy Fitness Trainer Terri Lundberg in the middle with Jeffery Vinson and James Lewis — the fellas were category winners.

Top 5 most body fat losers:

1. Jeffrey Vinson 10.1%
2. James Lewis 7.8%
3. Leah McKinney 6.9%
4. Denise Romanak 4.2%
5. Kelli Ellerman 4.0%

Top 5 highest percent of weight losers:

1. James Lewis 19.45%
2. Jeffrey Vinson 17.86%
3. Melissa Smallmon 13.45%
4. Leah McKinney 11.63%
5. Chelsea Snyder 10.27%

Super cute! Energy Fitness has another fun program in the works — this time, an incentive for members! We'll share all the scoop on iList Paducah next week. Congrats, EF staff!

New Column on iList Paducah

You may recall that last week we celebrated my mother-in-law Pat Brockenborough's 80th birthday in San Francisco. So much fun — especially when I told her that we want to put together a book of favorite Paducah Sun columns that she wrote during the mid-80s to the late-90s.

Each week, Pat had some funny insight to offer about raising sons, life in Paducah and the ever-changing world around her. Everyone loved those columns. Even today, a week barely passes without someone mentioning a favorite Pat story.

But we need your help!

Starting today, with permission from the Paducah Sun, we've created a new section on iList Paducah called iLove Pat's Columns! We'll publish a whole bunch of them over the next two months, and invite you to send an email to let us know which ones you like the best. Then those will go in a little book.

The first one, Is There a Studmuffing Hanging Around Your House?, originally appeared July 18, 1993. It's totally super cute, as are all of her columns. We hope you enjoy reading these columns as much as we’ve had reprising them.

Thank You, Marie!

Marie Liang, the McCracken County Public Library's fantastic director, is retiring after 18 years of service — and everyone is invited to her party, 5-6:30 p.m., today, in the Library Community Meeting Room.

Everyone loves Marie. And based on her amazing accomplishments, it's no surprise. Her staff members especially love her. In fact, they nominated Marie for the Carol J. Parris Mentoring Award, which she received in October 2008. If you wanna know what it's really like to be loved by your employees, read their nomination letter on Iris Shreve Garrott's blog. Iris took the photo, above.

I'm also a big fan because she was an early iList Paducah supporter and sponsor. And I'm awful partial to supporters and sponsors!

Stop by and thanks Marie for her contributions to our community. And say hello to Julie Hart, the library's new director! Julie started work June 15, and she is already a big hit!

The Princess Bride

Wow. I mentioned this in my post below, but just in case you missed it: Jill Tanner has posted a sneak photo peek, including the image above. I can't wait to see the rest of them.

Suzanne Clinton has some very fun photos and commentary.

And mine are on Flickr. You should be able to click on the "set" and then click each thumbnail to enlarge or run the slideshow — you'll see a little slideshow link, top right.

Cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it!

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Kenndra!

Y'all, I'm not even kidding. It was as fabulous a wedding as you can imagine. The June 20, 2009 nuptials of Kenn Gray and Kendra Thompson perfectly reflected the couple that they are: Gorgeous. Stunning. Huge. Wild. Fun. Steamy. HOT. Very HOT.


Here's a sense of what the interior of the huge tents looked like...


The groom...


Natalie, one of the stunning bridesmaids...


The absolutely gorgeous bride in one of her two gorgeous get-ups for the big event.


Pretty, huh?


The 4th Street backyard was filled with well-wishers and a very sweet minister who gave a lovely, lovely homily. (I'll insert his name shortly. I forgot...but he's totally cute.) Update: He's Bro. Paul Mullikin of Arcadia Methodist Church in Paducah.


The kiss. I missed the pre-smooch Binaca spritz — Suzanne got it, though.


And, Woo-Hoo! It's official! Say hello to Mr. & Mrs. Kenn & Kendra Gray! (By the way, I was in such a tizzy to get this photo that I tripped on my cha-cha heels and skinned my knee. The efforts we amateurs go to...)


Cake by Artisan Kitchen — all the food was fantastic! By the way, now Kendra is wearing her second stunning dress of the day. I was quite honored to get to lace this one up. Update: Kenn designed the second dress and Ian Scott (future iDate of the Week) made it.


DJUK and DJLJ pump up the beat...


The dance...


The dip...


And a very sweet message from our friends at Roof Brothers, official refreshment purveyor to the happy couple.

Where are all the guests, you ask? They were EVERYWHERE! You've never seen so many gorgeous people all in one place. I've got tons of fun photos on my Flickr page, so have a look here. I also finally got around to loading more photos from our Kendra's Naughty Arabian Nights party.

And check out the sneak preview of the extremely beautiful professional photos by the lovely Jill Tanner. They're fantastic! Hire her for your next wedding!

Congratulations, Kenndra! Thanks for such a great party, and best wishes on many Gorgeous. Stunning. Huge. Wild. Fun. Steamy. HOT. Very HOT. days to come.

Tween & Teen Movie Night Party Pix: Twilight

I just posted lots of super cute photos on my Flickr page from the Maiden Alley Cinema's new Tween and Teen Movie Series kick-off: Twilight. It was Thursday, June 18, and a huge success. Great food, Etcetera Coffeehouse bubble tea...


...DJLJ spinnin' the tunes...



...very fashionable young people and even a fab fashion show! Congrats to organizers Lily Shapiro, Anna Chambers, Ian Lewis, Molly Thompson and Shelby Overby!

I Have SUCH Tweet Envy!

Seven hours ago, Christina Jade — known in Twitterland as @christinajade — welcomed her 1,700th follower. That means 1,700 people are reading her frequent Tweets on Twitter.

I am blown away! She had 700 just a month ago. So imagine how many more she'll have just one month (one year!) from now!

In Laura K.'s most recent newsletter (see post below), she raves about Christina, suggesting to readers: "...has Christina had an experience with your local business? Did she 'tweet' about it online for her (then) 1,653 followers to see?"

Laura K., by the way, has her own impressively growing Twitter audience.

It's definitely a new world. Your audience of one could very well have an audience of her own — in Christina Jade's case, of thousands.

Tweet on, Christina Jade.

Free Web 2.0 Advice in Your In-Box!

Web 2.0 - get on board or get left behind! That's the main message in the latest issue of the Laura K. Style Newsletter, which the lovely Laura K. shares with the world, free, twice each month. In this issue she's got great tips on Twitter (with a nice shout out to Christina Jade and her 1,653 followers — oops, make that 1,700 followers as of this minute!), photography, design (with a nice shout out to Nikki May), public relations, business smarts (with a nice shout out to Kristin Reese Williams) and, of course, her ever lovely Laura K. style.


She also added a promo for our new Business on the Rocks group, which kicks off Thursday, June 25!

Sign up for Laura's newsletter at her blog by clicking Get Email Updates on the right. And please join us at Business on the Rocks, where you can ask her all sorts of Web 2.0 questions (and more) in person!

New iList Paducah Sponsors

Need a little Hardy? You can get plenty of great pieces at this upcoming John Hardy Trunk Show at Michelson's, June 25 and 26!


And the Fred Paxton Fund Run for Charities is set for Saturday, July 18, in Noble Park. I love this run. The Community Foundation of Western Kentucky puts it on, giving away a total of $100,000 to various non-profits. To sign up, Download the PDF!

You've Been Flocked!

The fine folks at the American Red Cross on 8th and Monroe were greeted by a flock of pink flamingos yesterday. Isn't that the cutest thing?


It's all part of a fundraiser for the Wildcats Fast Pitch girls' softball teams. For a mere $15, you can arrange to flock a friend and help raise money for the teams to travel and play in tournaments all over the region.

The Wildcats are so good that they've made the "world series." So they need extra money to travel further distances — $10,000, in fact. That's a lot of birds. Help 'em out by calling Gabrielle Mitchell, 331.1598. She's the one doing the flocking — in fact, she has orders to flock at least three places per night over the next week or so. So watch out! You might be next!

SUPER CUTE! Thanks, Victoria Caldwell, for the scoop and the photos!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

ADDED DISCLAIMER: My fabulous mother-in-law would like me to note that the glass of wine she's holding in the following photos is the SAME glass, containing the SAME wine. Lovely, she is. Lush, she most definitely is not! The rest of us, however....

I love Pat Brockenborough. Which is quite handy, considering she's my mother-in-law. Isn't she beautiful?


She turned 80 yesterday, so we had a little family gathering for her in her old favorite haunt, San Francisco. Where rumor has it that she dated Jack Kerouac while living here, on her own, back in the day. That finger snap the Beat Poets did? She invented that. She even has her own set of bongo drums.


Hosting the birthday shin-dig in San Francisco was also quite handy, considering her oldest son, Bill Brockenborough, and his family (that's Julian and Lucas with him) live there.


And Bruce Brockenborough (her middle son) and I have a place there. We flew in his kiddos, Joan and Patrick, for the occasion.


We were just missing youngest son Jay Brockenborough. So we made a point to drink extra champagne in his honor.


My SFBFF Eddie Herrador was on hand to make sure everything was gorgeous.


Here's an example of his amazing flower arrangements. The three purplish flowers are ARTICHOKE PLANTS. I'm tempted to eat them later.


Speaking of eats, we had a great meal prepared by Alison Gibson, one of the chefs at Google. Yes, you read that right. If you work at Google, a professional chef makes your breakfast and lunch. Life must be very good at Google.


So the birthday girl was surrounded by her grandchildren (Lucas and Julian made the cake)…


...and surrounded by her daughters-in-law — that's Catherine on the right. Isn't she gorgeous? She's a very famous hypnotherapist in San Francisco...


...and, of course, her handsome husband Jim — otherwise known as Bop.


It was a great birthday celebration — much better than last year when she and Bop were stuck in the dentist's office all day. But back to Jack Kerouac. All those poems and coffees and bongo drumming eventually wore on Pat. Frankly, she was bored with it all. So in 1954, she set sail on the SS Exochorda and even wrote a little book on all of her world-traveling adventures. I have a copy, if anyone would like to read it. And like Pat, herself, it's definitely saucy in parts!


So we're now working on Volume 2, in which we're pulling together lots of Pat's famous Paducah Sun columns, which she began writing in the 1980s. With the Sun's permission (a-hem), we'll post them on iList Paducah and invite everyone to vote on your faves. Then we'll put 'em together in a little book and have a cruise-themed launch party in September.

So look for details on that soon and help us honor Pat for all her good works — and words — over the years.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

From Mayfield to Mozart

"Elizabeth Futral has established herself as one of the major coloratura sopranos in the world today. She has embraced a diverse repertoire that includes Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, Glass and Previn."

Yep, and I used to hang out with her at the McDonald's in Mayfield, Ky.

Gorgeously beautiful Elizabeth Futral — or Boo, as she was known back in the day — was a year ahead of me at Mayfield High School, and even then you just knew she was totally special. Funny, smart, very outgoing. And that voice. She sang all the time in school, at church — just gorgeous.

That was close to, gulp, 30 years ago. The next time I see her she'll be on stage at the San Francisco Opera where she'll be performing in La Traviata, in early July. Then we're meeting for dinner afterward. I'm so excited, I can barely stand it.

For more on Boo, visit her Web site. I'll do a story about her for iList Paducah, too! SUPER CUTE!

We're Starting a New Bidness Group!

Have a business idea? Career challenge? Non-profit project? Or just looking to expand your network in a fun, informal way?

Several gal pals and I have been talking about getting together regularly for drinks because 1) We don't see one another's fun faces often enough, 2) We're always coming up with ideas and need some helpful feedback and 3) We are very often thirsty.

So we came up with a name: Business on the Rocks, with a Twist! And then Nikki May designed our logo — cute, huh? See the twist? Like a dollar sign? Get it? Get it? It makes you wanna reach for your liquor cabinet and your deposit slips at the same time, doesn't it?

And we now extend an open invitation to everyone to join Robyn Shapiro, Kristin Williams, Jill Chambers, Donna-Maria Walker, Debbie Stone, Mary Hammond, Nikki May, Laura K, Kara McCombs and me, and lots of other great gals, each Thursday evening through the summer at di Fratelli, 211 Broadway, where our favorite bartographer, Brian Steffen, can keep us rehydrated with after-work refreshments.

Our first gathering is 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 25. So please come and help us spread the word.

You know you're gonna want a cocktail on Thursday anyway, so why not make it tax-deductible? Not THIS Thursday, though. That's Tween and Teen Night at Maiden Alley Cinema, and Lily Shapiro and Anna Chambers (Robyn's and Jill's daughters) are involved in that little shin-dig. Our action starts NEXT Thursday, June 25!

The Photos Keep Rollin' In!

These, also from last night's Roller Girls home bout, are from the fabulously beautiful Jill Tanner. View more here!

A Great Weekend for Our Two-Wheeled Wonders!

From the looks of photographer Keith Ford's very fun photos, the Kentucky HOG Rally in Paducah's LowerTown neighborhood was a big success this weekend!


Even the Radioactive City Roller Girls, who love all things on two wheels, showed up to promote their first home bout, held last night at the Paducah Regional SportsPlex.


Photographer Iris Shreve Garrott was there to capture some images from the "Pleased to Beat You" bout. The result? Our gals clobbered the Lafayette Brawlin' Dolls, 173-58!

Roll on, Roller Girls and HOG riders! And roll back, soon!

The Union Suit Meets Anvil: June 25!

I love those hottie guys from The Union Suit. On Thursday, June 25, they'll open for 1980s metal band, Anvil. Well, for Anvil's new documentary, showing at Maiden Alley Cinema, anyway! Unlike brother bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, Anvil didn't quite hit it big. Now in their 50s, band members Lips and Robb Reiner are on the road again, trying to fulfill their boyhood dream. It should be a great movie — a real-life Spinal Tap — with unlimited popcorn and PBRs! $15 for those 21 and over, $12 for you youngsters out there. Take your MAC ticket to KC's Rec Room for the Radioactive City Roller Girls after-party, and you'll get a surprise! And did I mention that The Union Suit will be playing? Action starts at 7 p.m. See you there!

Healing Hannah: The Backstory

Suzanne Clinton wrote a great piece for iList Paducah to help promote the Healing Hannah Ministries Chinese Art and Jewelry Auction, 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 18, at Etcetera Coffeehouse. Read her interview with gorgeous founder Dawn Greer Choate and find out how you can help support the good folks who open their homes to orphans around the world! (And add some nice new jewels to your collection at the same time!)

Mary Kay Today!

Lovely and beautiful Tina White is having a Mary Kay Inventory Sale. Stop by her super cute home, 311 West Jefferson, between 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and pick up some great products! She's offering at least 10 percent off today!

And the Winner Is...

Iris Shreve Garrott! Congrats, Iris, for winning two free Roller Girl "Pleased to Beat You" home bout tickets for Saturday! And thanks, everyone, for your sweet comments! Be sure to read Bella Bazooka's interview with several of the gorgeous Roller Girls on iList Paducah!

New iList Paducah Sponsors

Our friends at Michelson Jewelers are promoting their Trunk Show of Estate and Antique Jewelry this weekend in our iLove Michelson's section on iList Paducah this week. The show is Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. So stop by and try on some wonderful one-of-a-kind jewels. Many come from leading fáh, fáh, fáh estates — so you might end up with a piece from Jackie O!


We welcome Rebecca Canestrini of Sweet Bella Grace as our newest sponsor! Rebecca's darling boutique is located within Market@315 (315 Broadway), where she has all sorts of great clothing, jewels, handbags, T-shirts, gifts and more. She even has an online shop. Look how cute:





Rebecca's store hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. 442.6151.

Welcome aboard!

Mutual Fan Club

I love Darlene Mazzone. When I moved here three-and-a-half years ago and first saw her Paducah Life Magazine, I immediately called her to introduce myself and gush over her wonderful work. We've been friends, colleagues and kindred spirits ever since.

When I had the idea for iList Paducah, I showed Darlene an early prototype and asked for her feedback. She gave it two thumbs up, offered suggestions and even featured our site in an issue of Paducah Life soon after we launched.

In our frequent email exchanges, we've kept noting what a great complement our two media outlets have become. So it only makes sense that we bring a little Paducah Life to iList Paducah, and offer a little iList Paducah to Paducah Life.

And so.....


Voilá! We're extremely excited to add a new column, iLove Paducah Life, to our site. Starting today, you'll begin to see feature stories and artwork from the magazine and additional sidebar pieces and photos created especially for iList Paducah. In fact, we have a sneak peek at one of the new This I Believe essays Darlene has been collecting — this one from Trinity Leach — as well as links to previous essays published in Paducah Life.

In the July/August issue magazine (coming soon), you'll see our logo at the end of select stories, letting you know that more scoop and additional photos are posted to this section on our site! Cute, huh? And look for some of our iList Paducah pieces expanded to fit the Paducah Life format, as well.

We believe that what Paducah Life's team does in print and what we do on the Web together serve as a wonderful reflection on a city that we all love: Paducah, Ky.

We hope you enjoy our new collaboration. We already do.

Win Two Tickets!

iList Paducah is one of the very proud sponsors of The Radioactive City Roller Girls. We were the first to feature them when they were just getting started. And hey, any gal who can make fishnets, rollerskates and big bad bruises look sexy is OK with us.

For the past two years, these women have worked their hot rears off and are now ready for their first home bout. They're going up against the Layfette Brawlin' Dolls this Saturday, June 13, at the SportsPlex. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the blood and guts spilling at 7 p.m.

We've got two free tickets! Use the comment button below to share some motivational love and cheer the Roller Girls on to victory! I'll do a random drawing and get the tickets to the winner Thursday morning.

Roll on, Roller Girls!

Lemonade for Lourdes

Two of Paducah's youngest philanthropists, Grace Denton (daughter of Glenn and Heather) and Ashleigh Mast (daughter of David and Melisa), launched their Lemonade for Lourdes stand this weekend, raising a sweet $75 in cash for the Lourdes Foundation. That's the lovely Gina Leeper, cooling off with the girls' big cup of lemonade love.

It was Ashleigh's idea to do something good for someone else. She hopes other kids in the community will replicate her Lemonade for Lourdes business model throughout the summer. Will Denton and Harrison and Jack Kelly hosted a stand this weekend as well, raising another $15.

"Their proceeds will provide medications or transportation for eight patients who can’t afford what they need to get well," says Lourdes Foundation Executive Director Tara Miller. "I am impressed by the kids’ maturing charitable spirit.”

If your kiddos, too, would like to turn lemons into some very helpful Lourdes donations, just deliver or send their donations to the Lourdes Foundation office, along with digital photos of their efforts. Their names and photos will be featured on the Lourdes Web site!

Well poured, Ashleigh, Grace, Will, Harrison and Jack!

Lead On, Leadership Paducah!

Congratulations to Leadership Paducah Class 22! This group absolutely rocked, with members graduating last Thursday at the Chamber's Power in Partnership breakfast. Super cute — especially the gorgeous gal there in the front row, second from the right! (That's my niece, Sarah Bynum. Yay, Sarah!) Photo by the Carson Center's Bill Fox, by the way.

Here are some highlights of the group's extremely impressive accomplishments this past year, as shared by program leader Stacy Thomas:

• Collected about $550 and a tremendous amount of canned goods during Christmas in the Park.

• Created the Wall of Heroes as a fundraiser for the Child Watch organization. Folks can still purchase bricks.

• Collected individual donations with Karly O’Guinn raising the most at $1,000, Joni Goodman at $910, Brett Vandermeeden at $520, Brandon Clifton & Chris Sims raised $500 each and Mark Link at $350.

• Held a middle school dance at the SportsPlex attracting more than 270 youth and raising more than $2,400.

• Put together a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament event at the Carson Center with 60 players bringing in $7,000.

Grand total raised: a whopping $22,572.65 for Child Watch. Wow!

Leadership Paducah is open to individuals in the Paducah area. If you'd like to participate, give Stacy Thomas a call — 443.1746.

Kendra's Naughty Arabian Nights Party

So Robyn Shapiro...


...Laura K and I decided to have a little party for Kendra Thompson (on the right, in that darling dress) before she gets hitched to Kenn Gray in a few weeks.


So we picked a Middle Eastern theme and called our little shin-dig: Kendra's Naughty Arabian Nights party with great food (thanks Kirchhoff's and Laura Duff!)...


...goodie bags and Kendratinis served in logo'd glasses just for the event (Robyn put the bags and glasses together)...


...fun gal pals and...


...the amazingly wonderful surprise guests, the Zerdali Dancers!




These gals teach classes at Paducah Parks. Aren't they darling? We'll do a story about them soon on iList Paducah. So CUTE!





There's little Kendra with the dancers — Laura K created the photo backdrop. Cute, huh?

OK, prepare yourself. Here comes the naughty part:



Woo-Hoo!

And that was the siren sound that evidently brought on the boys — they were having their own little get together a block away but couldn't stand being away from Kendra:




Enter at your own risk, David Boggs!


Super cute. Tony Foo Yong was our impromptu bartender and DJ — thanks, Tony! And thanks to everyone for helping us put on such a great event for Mz Kendra!

New iList Paducah Sponsors

Louis Michelson ROCKS! We just brainstormed this advertisement the other day — and look how darling it is! It's in the top left spot on iList Paducah, and we'll change it each week to promote some awesome new bauble that every gal (and, in many cases, guy) must have! This week, we've got the ToyWatch, all the rage among celebrities. So get your lovely wrist down to Michelson's and see what Louis has to offer!


We also have this top banner spot for Murray State's Paducah Regional Campus. Murray offers all sorts of wonderful coursework and degrees right here in Paducah. So visit the Web site and sign up for those classes you've always wanted to take!


Then super cute Eric Romanak has a neato Tai Chi Workshop coming up in July, led by master level instructor George Bolger. For more info, send Eric an email or check it all out online!

Welcome aboard!

Twilight Time for Tweens & Teens!

UPDATE: I've just learned that the Paducah Regional SportsPlex is another new sponsor of this series! Right on, SportsPlex!

On the high heels of our very successful Chick Flicks series, and the male version, Guys Night Out — the young folk who are fans of Maiden Alley Cinema present the:


Yep, super cute Lily Shapiro, Anna Chambers, Ian Lewis, Molly Thompson and Shelby Overby got tired of being left out of the fun. So on Thursday, June 18, they're launching this new series for 10 to 15 year olds. NO PARENTS ALLOWED, except for a few chaperones.

Their first flick:


Twilight, of course!

The event, sponsored by Etcetera Coffeehouse, includes a 6 p.m. pre-party with unlimited bubble tea, food, giveaways, a costume contest and some awesome tunes by DJLJ (that's Lily). The movie starts at 7 p.m.

It's just $10 for a great cause: supporting Maiden Alley Cinema. For tickets, please email Landee Bryant.

As If We Were in Napa

It was another weekend of partying like rock stars, culminating with a fantastic afternoon of wine tasting and cheese pairing Sunday in Max's Courtyard. The event was put on by our friends and iList Paducah sponsors at Kirchhoff's. It was a great afternoon of really wonderful wines, cheeses and cheese nibblets prepared by Laura Duff.

I got a little too paired up with wine No. 2, so please visit Bizzyville where Suzanne Clinton (that's her photo of Aynex, above) offers a fun recap along notes about her infatuation with John Malkovich.

Speaking of infatuation, if you haven't read enough about Jon and Kate Plus 8, Suzanne also offers this insight into the premiere episode of the season. I think it's probably way more fun to read Suzanne's blog posts than to actually watch the show. So thank you, Suzanne, for doing this public service!

It Was AWESOME!

OK, I'm not gonna lie to you. Our Breaking the Ice Speed Dating and Singles Mixer event ROCKED. It was so much fun — even for a very happily married gal like me, on hand to help keep things moving.

You may know that we co-hosted this event last Saturday night with Harrah's Metropolis. We'd been promoting it for more than a month and were just BLOWN AWAY by the energy, enthusiasm, food, bar, music...

...and for all you single men out there who didn't think there's be hot, gorgeous women there, may I present to you...


Ines. Yeah. See? I TOLD YOU.

And single women who thought there'd be no cute guys?


Ah, HELLO??? Gabe Camacho!

And there were tons more just like 'em! We had about 60 really great folks — divided pretty evenly between men and women — with a wonderful diversity of ages and backgrounds. And one common theme: They just wanted to meet people and try something new.

And in my book, that just ROCKS.


There were so many great women that Boone Reed had to keep his own personal note card to keep track!


I bet Commissioner Gerald Watkins hopes he scored some good votes from Mindy Carroll and Heather Barnhill.


And DJ Mitch Myers and Emcee Laura K. kept the place hoppin'. We have lots more photos and lots more to report on iList Paducah. Keep a watch for it later this evening.

Thanks, everyone — and especially thanks to Harrah's Metropolis. It was extremely fun, and we'd DEFINITELY do it again!

An Evening of Performance

Friday night's An Evening of Performance was better than ever. This was the third year for this community talent show hosted by the City of Paducah and the Paducah Human Rights Commission. That's The Blood Brothers, above, and they ROCKED the Carson Center, no doubt about it. Patrick Saddler, Roderick Thomas, Joseph Horton III and Alex Walton began performing together in 2004 as a surprise to Pastor Anthony E. Walton. The surprise was such a success, they’ve continued to perform ever since.


That's the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Praise Choir — amazing.


The Grace Notes, beautiful as ever with their Southern gospel/bluegrass mix.


The Zerdali dancers wowed with a little hip action.


And the sweet Angels of Praise from First Missionary Baptist Church in Metropolis.

There were 17 performers in all — we featured them on iList Paducah. And more photos — these are from Bill Fox — are here. The event is intended to raise awareness for the Human Rights Commission. If you feel like your rights have been violated in any way, please contact Director Stan Beauchamp, 444.8643. And if you're interested in joining the commission, let Stan know.

Many thanks to Artisan Kitchen for the intermission desserts, and to the Ambassadors for ushering!

DJUK: Celebrity Bartender

Last Thursday, DJ Urban Kobbb (known around my house as my husband Bruce Brockenborough) was honored to be the celebrity bartender at The Pasta House. By the way, have you seen owner Bob Hoppmann recently? He's grown a goatee and looks EVEN CUTER! Oh lá lá!

Anyway, we had a great time last week, making new friends and tasting Bob's excellent selection of wines.

This Thursday's celebrity bartender is Elwood Hunt of the Country Club of Paducah.

Laura K., Robyn Shapiro, Nikki and I are on deck for Thursday, Aug. 6. The cork's start poppin' at 5:30 p.m., so please plan to stop in and say hello that night!

Catching Up With Little Black Dresses

Y'all? I've just been busy. So I'm just now getting around to sharing this super cute photo from Denese Peebles of her girl posse at Harrah's Little Black Dress party on May 15. From left to right we have the beautiful Kyla Parker (Denese's baby girl), Sandy Dailey, Denese, Joanna Dailey, Morgan Carr, Lea Tapp and Bonnie Grace.

iList Paducah was a publicity sponsor for the event. I was out of town that weekend, but I hear it was a huge success with about 300 women there, and a few very happy men. I love a good LBD and free-flowing wine party, so we'll definitely plan to be there next year with an iList Paducah table!

Look for Denese as an upcoming iDate of the Week!