Spring Into Yum!

Spring has officially sprung! I always look forward to my favorite time of year. Spring always brings the flowers back to bloom, the birds back to my feeders and new recipes to my kitchen.

After struggling with trying to maintain a healthy diet for most of my adult life, I finally decided to just enjoy what I enjoy. I’ve never been one to keep up with restrictive diets, hitting the gym 5 times a week or cutting out my favorite munchies just to fit into that summertime bathing suit. But I have found a regimen that works for me. Mainly consisting of portion control, I just find what I like, and eat it! Sounds perfect right? I’ve learned that as I steadily climb the ladder to my 40th birthday, I just need to exercise the self control that I am constantly begging my kids to use. So what works for me is simple; eat what I want, when I want it....in small portions.

This Spring I have come across several quick and fairly easy recipes. Always on the go and seemingly rushed every minute of every day of my life, I look for tasty recipes with little ingredients, and lots of flavor. Here are a few of my most recent finds that I consume almost daily.

Pineapple Green Juice
Requires juicer
1 bundle spinach (substitute kale, romaine-any leafy green)
2 pears (substitute sweet apples)
1 half pineapple (substitute kiwi, mango)

Wash all ingredients and run through the juicer. Serve chilled for best taste.

Juicing can be done ahead of time. We make large batches on Sundays and then pour a large to-go cup each morning to have on the way to work. You’d be surprised how quickly you can down an entire pineapple, 2 pears and a half bag of kale. That’s more veggies and fruit than I would normally have in an entire week and it keeps me full until lunch time.

Green drinks aren’t pretty right? I have learned, after only 2 months of juicing, that once you find the right combination of fruits and vegetables, there ARE great tasting juices out there that will provide you with more nutrients and vitamins than you would likely consume if you ate a plate full of veggies for dinner. There are great websites, books and tools out there to help you get started. My favorite at the moment, is Best For Juicing. Daily posts include recipes, how to’s, support from other juicers. It’s a great tool, check them out.

Tuna Pepper
1 large red, yellow or orange pepper
1 can albacore tuna in water, drained
1 tsp Mayo
½ tsp Relish
Salt and pepper to taste

I mix the tuna up with mayo and relish. I pack it in my lunch with a bottle of water and a pepper. After splitting open the pepper and removing seeds, I spoon in the tuna and eat with a knife and fork. Believe it or not it fills me up when I add a bottle of water and a banana. Quickest lunch ever. Now if only I could get my kids to eat it....

Grilled Fish
This is a big one for me. Having a severe allergy to shellfish for most of my life, I have always shied away from all seafood. But one Saturday night, 2 glasses of wine and the smell of lemon and garlic changed my mind.

After my husband marinated, seasoned and grilled 5 pieces of mahi mahi, it looked too good to not try a small bite. That small bite turned into 2 pieces of fish quickly disappearing from my plate and a trip to Trader Joe's the next day to buy more mahi mahi.

With zero “fishy taste”, a soft texture similar to chicken and the great flavors of lemon and garlic mixed with the smokiness of being cooked on the grill on a wooden salmon plank, this has become my new favorite dinner. 20 minutes on the grill while some green veggies steam in the microwave and a couple pieces of garlic Texas toast (like I said; I eat what I like, in moderation) and this is one quick and easy weeknight recipe that I will continue to fall back on. All you non-seafood eaters should too!

What are some of your favorite spring and summer recipes? Email us here and share your recipes and photos for an upcoming blog post. We would love to hear from you!


~ Shay Ashcraft
National Director, LBDC

In The Spotlight - Lisa Dretchen

Spring has officially sprung in Nashville, TN and today we are giving a bright bouquet of spring flowers to a new member spotlight!

46 year old wife and mom Lisa Dretchen from our Nashville Chapter has been an LBDC member since the beginning of the Nashville chapters’ inception. Always a burst of energy, Lisa has a 23 year old son and a 14 year old daughter. Married to her husband since 1996, Lisa works for the Tennessee State Security Office.

Family time, to include a cat named Whiskey and a dog named Skippy, is really important to Lisa. She loves to write in her spare time or just curl up with a good Stephen King novel, but she is also not afraid to watch a few horror movies on a Friday night. She is also very active with the Girl Scouts of America helping out with her daughter’s troop activities. Lisa’s most recent and exciting extracurricular activity was being picked to star as an extra for the hit show Nashville. Who knew we had a celebrity in our midst?

Lisa also has travel plans on her calendar. A lover of white water rafting on the Ocoee, the Dretchen family is planning a trip to Michigan to visit family, followed by a summer vacay to Florida, supporting her daughters love of music by visiting a few music venues, celebrating her wedding anniversary in July and then squeezing in as many rafting trips as they can schedule. Sounds like Lisa is going to have a busy summer!

Lisa joined the Little Black Dress Club to make new friends and have an occasional adult night out. A great outlet away from her family, Lisa says she loves the clubs diversity and all though she has not attended many of our more adventurous excursions, she is adding one of those to her calendar as well.

Lisa says if she could reinvent herself, she would become a published author. Sounds like you are one busy woman, Lisa! Thanks for taking time out to be in our member spotlight!

 

~Shay Ashcraft

National Director, LBDC

 

 

 

Party In A Bottle

One of my favorite things about spring is being able to sit on my deck with a glass of chilled wine, feet propped up and nibbling on some cheese while I watch my downy woodpeckers and cardinals fight over their feeder.

Second, is being able to share a chilled glass of wine with my girlfriends. If you find yourself looking for a good excuse to plan a fun night at home and invite a few of the girls over, consider a wine tasting…of sorts!

Below we have listed some great starting points to planning and hosting your very own wine tasting from the comfort of your own home. Inviting a group of girlfriends over and setting out a few snacks can be a great way to relax on a Saturday afternoon and can be done at little or no cost.

In addition to LBDC, I also attend and host a few events per year with the Nashville Area Wine Enthusiast group. Nowadays it seems like celebrities are coming out with their own fragrances, pocket books, and WINE! So recently I hosted a Celebrity Wine Tasting in my home.  I asked each member to bring one bottle of a Celebrity Wine. I was shocked at all the different choices: Dave Matthews, Wayne Gretzsky, Paul Newman, Ed Hardy, Marilyn “Merlot”, Francis Ford Coppola...there were at least a dozen varieties! Line them up and do a taste testing of each one. The winning bottle wins a door prize. You could also suggest guests bring two bottles. The winning bottle gets to take home the collection!

Have oyster crackers and water on hand for palate clearing. Right before the last wine tasting I hosted, I came across these rubber ice cube trays perfect for freezing individual grapes. Grapes can be great to clear your palate or even try dropping a frozen grape in the bottom of your white wine. Delicious!

Instructions:

1. Have each woman bring 2 bottles of a celebrity wine.

2. Open the bottles and pour samples for each woman.

3. Taste the wines.

4. Sample the wines with the suggested foods (below).

5. Have each woman vote by silent ballot for her favorite.

6. Tally the votes. If you have a tie, draw from the two.

7. The woman who brought the first place wine gets to take the unopened wines (yes, all of them!) or you can offer a door prize or just have a raffle for the entire group.

Suggested Food Pairings:

Keep in mind this is merely to add dimension and variety to the tasting. While it’s important to serve something of reasonable quality, don’t feel the need to cook all afternoon or spend too much money.

Red

Chocolate

Cheese – Camembert, Brie, Manchego, Gorgonzola

Tomato or tomato-based pasta sauce

Pizza (a decent frozen one will suffice)

Chili or other hearty stew (a canned one will suffice)

White

Olives

Tomato

Green peppers

Apple

Cheese – Goat, Colby, Havarti

Rose

Pizza (a decent frozen one will suffice)

Pate or Sausage

Turkey

Cheese – Choose one from each of the red and white lists above

Variation:

If you have more than 7 participants, consider splitting the group in 2. Have women sign up for a color preference or assign colors. In this case, you may have the women that bring red, vote on the whites and the women that bring white vote on the reds. The woman that wins the white competition will take home the unopened whites and vice versa. You could also have a "Battle Of the Bottles" and vote on the best looking bottle. There are some very artistic wine labels out there!

We would love to hear some of your wine tasting party ideas and suggestions in our comments below. For more information on joining the Little Black Dress Club and attending fabulous events such as our very own Celebrity Wine tasting, visit our website by clicking here. And make sure you check out our friends the Nashville Area Wine Enthusiasts on Facebook!

Cheers!

~Shay Ashcraft

National Director, LBDC

In The Spotlight - Tonya Overstreet

One of our most popular features on the LBDC blog has quickly become the Member Spotlight. Highlighting our spectacular members from each of our many chapters, the spotlight shines this time on Tonya Overstreet from Nashville, TN. What better way to celebrate Tonya’s recent 36th birthday than by telling our readers what a great person, friend and LBDC member she has become?

Working as a Systems Support Coordinator at Vanderbilt, Tonya has many hobbies and interests. An avid reader of a variety of genres, such as mystery, memoir, chick lit, true crime, and some YA Lit, she also enjoys writing when she feels the need to be creative. Keeping up with a popular blog http://frogdiva.com, Tonya and her husband also enjoy discovering new restaurants, especially local, non-chain establishments. They also have a dog named Shelton who is quite a star on Facebook with his own Fan Page.

One of Tonya’s favorite activities has been mentoring a Little Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2009. She’s now 11 years old and Tonya said her lil’ sis has truly been a blessing in her life. A fun side note about Tonya: she is often known as being a huge fan of bacon, and she says she has no problem with that label!

Tonya has lots to look forward to in the coming months. Her husband has a conference in April that he attends every year in Las Vegas, and Tonya gets to go along with him as a vacation for herself. “We have friends who live in Las Vegas, so I always have plenty to do while there, including shopping and finding adventures,” she says.
Tonya and her husband were married on Leap Day (February 29th) 2012 and together they are planning a big trip every 4 years when there actually is a February 29th to celebrate their very special anniversary. Coming up in 2016, they are planning their Leap Day wedding anniversary to be in Hawaii.

Tonya became a member of the Little Black Dress Club in October of 2012. In discussing her LBDC membership Tonya says, “I looked into joining the LBDC a year prior to actually joining when I saw it on Meetup. There were several time conflicts for me, as well as general concern that I wouldn’t fit in or the group wouldn’t accept me. I kept talking myself out of going until Game Night in October was announced on the Meetup page, and I talked my co-worker into going with me so that I could escape if I felt uncomfortable. Needless to say, I was incredibly wrong in my assumptions about the group, and felt welcomed before the first event was over.” Tonya has enjoyed several outings with the LBDC since our first game night. She says she loves that even though we all have different ages, lives and backgrounds, we seem to all click when we’re together. “I couldn’t think of a more fabulous group of women I’d enjoy finding adventures with” she says.

“I tell many women about the LBDC and maybe it’s not for everyone, but I can’t help but feel like they are missing out by not joining” Tonya said. Her favorite quote happens to be one by Tom Petty; “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.”

I’m a huge Tom Petty fan too, Tonya. Great quote and so true. Thanks for being in our spotlight and thanks for bringing such fun to the Nashville Chapter. Our group would not be the same without you in it!

- Shay Ashcraft
National Director, LBDC

Blue Eye Shadow, Denim Mini Skirts and Other Mysteries of the Universe...

After turning 35 last year I soon realized that there were lots of things that I could no longer do. Mainly because I had lost interest, but also because, at some point during the last couple of years, I realized I had become a “grown up.”

On a Saturday night 15 years ago, you would have found me downtown, wearing blue eyeshadow and a denim mini skirt, effortlessly sliding off a barstool to sing Bon Jovi karaoke while trying not to slosh my beer on the guy next to me. True Story.

Yes, that would be me.

Nowadays, not so much. Last Saturday night I had a plate of cake and some Red Stag whiskey for dinner. I was in my stretchy pants by 6 p.m., and it was a struggle to pull myself off the couch at 9 o’clock and walk the 12 steps it took me to get to my bed. Also a true story. 

While the days of line dancing with strangers 'til 2 a.m. and the confidence of wearing short skirts are long gone, and these days I'm more likely to be found spending Saturday nights on the couch with my dog, there is a happy medium.

Fortunately my medium came in the form of the LBDC. Finding a group of girlfriends who still love to have a great time, whose husbands want them home at a decent hour, whose children need to have a good example set for them, or who are single and just want to enjoy a girls night out without being obligated to the bar scene has allowed me to experience some of the most fun and adventurous times of my life. I have made new friends, gone to new places and tried things I never thought I would be interested in.

Because I am the Type-A personality, which my friends and family love me for, I decided to make a list. I’m sharing some of these wonderful adventures in the hopes that there are other 30- and 40-somethings out there in their stretchy pants watching LMN, thinking about the 90s and wishing they could have a bit more fun, without the denim mini skirt and the late nights at the bar.

Set yourself a monthly goal. Once a month, decide that you will call up a girlfriend and randomly select from this list. Put on your sneakers, get a sitter for the kids, and go learn how to can some veggies, give manicures at your local nursing home or attend a fashion show. The possibilities are endless. If you find yourself wishing you had a partner in adventure or a group of girlfriends to meet for margaritas and bean dip, visit our siteand join the LBDC. Because as we say, finding friends is as easy as throwing on a little black dress, blue eye shadow optional.

~Shay Ashcraft
National Director, LBDC

Top 100 Things To Do That Don't Involve Going To A Club:

1. Cooking Classes
2. Pottery Classes
3. Painting Classes
4. Groupon, Big Deals, Living Social, Deal Chicken
5. Volunteer in your community
6. Glamping
7. Create a team of girlfriends to run in a marathon
8. Attend a happy hour
9. Snow tubing
10. Wine tasting
11. Attend a musical
12. Cooking demonstration
13. Visit a chocolate expo and market
14. Join a group of girlfriends at your local brewery pub
15. Learn to sail by taking a lesson at your local sailing club or showing up for a free social sail.  For example the Sailing Club of Washington offers Thursday evening Social Sails http://www.scow.org/faqs and Percy Priest Yacht Club in Nashville offers a Learning at the Helm program http://www.ppyc.org/membership/calendar.htm#LATH
16. Learn to ski- Water ski in the south and snow ski if you are up north
17. Pretzel yourself: lulu lemon stores hold free yoga classes both in store and in local studios. http://www.lululemon.com/community/giftofyoga?mnid=mn;community;gift-of-yoga
18. Bourbon Trail
19. Sushi night
20. Rock climbing

Read more »

What Happens In The Woods, Stays In The Woods

A group of women, all alone in the woods during the off-season when no one else is around for miles, all the local shops and restaurants are closed and its below freezing outside. Once the sun goes down, the cabin starts to creak, branches snap outside and everyone is very much aware of how isolated they really are. Scary right? We’ve all seen this movie before. We all know how it ends. Or do we?

If you are a member of the Little Black Dress Club, this past “Glamping” trip ended with 10 empty bottles of wine, a brief stint as trespassers, stomachaches from laughing so hard, and new friendships that will likely last a lifetime.

12 members from the Nashville Chapter along with one member from our Birmingham Chapter embarked on a 3 day trip to Dale Hollow Lake. Leaving Friday afternoon packed with hairspray, wine, a Magic Mike DVD, and lots of snacks, we spent the weekend in a remote cabin with the entire Eagle Cove Resort to ourselves. After getting settled in for the weekend, we noshed on some taco soup and turned in early, ready to start the next day.

Saturday morning started off with a tour of Highland Manor Winery. At the oldest winery in Tennessee, we enjoyed a hefty tasting from their entire wine list. The locals didn’t know quite what to think about such a large group of women all wearing “I heart Glamping” t-shirts and buying 3 or 4 bottles of wine. Each! While everyone was on their best behavior, we certainly left Highland Manor a little brighter than it was when we got there.

Driving on down the road to Muddy Pond, our group stopped to visit the local Mennonite community. Buying homemade goods from the General Store, enjoying a taste of several of their homemade cheeses, and posing for pictures with.....well.....lots of muddy ponds, turned out to be a tiring but great ending to a day full of new and interesting stops. 

Once we arrived back at the lake, half the girls laid down to rest, another handful started preparing dinner, and then there were the few that went rogue. As I have said, this is the off season and the resort and marina, including a dock full of houseboats, were empty. So while others were napping and preparing our dinner, we decided to go for a walk. Which turned into a hike. Which then lead to pictures on the dock with the sunset in the background. Which somehow ended up with us sitting on the top deck of a 180 foot houseboat laughing at each other for no apparent reason, taking ridiculous pictures, and completely oblivious of any “no trespassing” signs. But hey, you only live once right?

Finally realizing we needed to book it back to the cabin since it was getting dark and we had heard rumors of what happens during a full moon, we arrived back just in time to enjoy a great dinner (Thanks Bridget!), “better than sex” dessert, and the first viewing of Magic Mike.

As we changed into our pajamas, popped a few wine corks and began several inappropriate and borderline obscene conversations, it occurred to a few former girl scouts that camping in the woods would not be complete without s'mores. Of all varieties.

Because there were no tall, dark and handsome strangers to show us how to work the gas grill or build our own fire, we compromised. We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace using a fire starter log and we made smores shots! Whatever works right? While the fireplace s'mores were great and the whiskey shots were tasty, it did take a couple of tries before some of us learned how to complete the process without burning off our eyebrows. True Story.

 After a second viewing of Magic Mike, no more wine and the sadness of having to leave the next day started to register, it was time to turn in. While I never thought I would find myself sleeping on the floor in front of a romantic fire with a cabin full of women, it was the best ending to the best day. Ever.

Sunday proved to be no exception. Imagine the movie ‘Hangover.’ Waking up and checking our phones, we began seeing, some of us not remembering,  videos and pictures that we had taken the night before-we all made what we coined “A Full Moon Vow.”  We agreed to view these videos and pictures ONE TIME. Then never speak of them again. There were only a few that escaped the cut.

After realizing our chosen restaurant was closed and only open during summer months, we hit the road. Headed back to Nashville tired, partially hungover, and randomly laughing at something that someone said or did the day before, we ended our weekend with a walk of shame at the only place we could find that was open. Shoney's Breakfast Bar. It was the perfect ending to the Little Black Dress Club’s very first Glamping Trip, the beginning of some great friendships and memories, and the reality that Monday was just a few hours away.

Glamping Part Deux is already being planned. Hope to see you all there next time. You won’t be sorry.

~Shay Ashcraft

Social Media Director, LBDC

Better Than Sex?

The Nashville chapter recently hosted a V.I.P. Pajama Brunch. The ladies gathered on a Saturday morning, in their finest pj’s, and shared brunch while discussing the upcoming year and planning out events for their chapter. 

All the ladies brought a side dish, a brunch item or a finger food. It was a great way to start the new year, have a few laughs, plan our event calendar as a group and get new recipes! One of the highlights of this event for me was, as they say, “better than sex.” Nashville Director Amy Campoli brought her version of this popular cake. While a quick Google search for “Better Than Sex Cake” can return many interesting results, this recipe is tried and true and has received the LBDC stamp of approval!

Ingredients
1 box of German Chocolate cake mix
1-14 oz can sweet condensed milk 
Caramel ice cream topping 
1-8oz container of Cool whip 
Handful of milk chocolate chips 

Directions
Prepare cake as directed. 
Allow to cool to room temperature. 
Poke holes in the cooled cake and gently pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake allowing it to run into the holes. 
Pour caramel over the cake. 
Top with whipped cream and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. 
Add more caramel to the top of whipped cream. 

The results....

I hope you all enjoy this cake as much as we did! For more recipes from this event visit our event page! 

Shay Ashcraft 
Social Media Director, LBDC

The Year In Review

The Little Black Dress Club had a fantastic 2012. New friendships were formed, new experiences were had and this national organization that I have come to love has grown. The LBDC has chapters spanning the US from DC to Arizona, Alabama to California, from Nashville to Ohio and several in between. Here are just a few highlights from a few of our chapters.

Columbus - OH The Columbus ladies gathered at the Columbus Crew Stadium for the annual Buddy Walk. These LBDC members were thrilled to be a part of such a great cause while supporting great families. 

Louisville, KY/Nashville, TN/Chicago, IL/Deep Creek, MD - As one of the very first multi chapter events, members from these cities enjoyed a weekend road trip to Louisville, KY!  The weekend was full of activities such as exploring local caves, BINGO, distillery tours, and martini bars! Some of my favorite perks of LBDC membership are the once-in-a lifetime opportunities, the chance to make new friends, and the fun experiences that I have had. This multi chapter trip offered all of that and more!

Phoenix, Arizona - This past Thanksgiving the Phoenix chapter found a local family in need. The LBDC members were able to deliver a huge basket of goodies and treats to this family to ensure that they had a happy holiday. The mother was overcome with emotion and very grateful to the Little Black Dress Club. 

 

Tracy, California - Tracy Members found themselves making “Thyme for Tea” in Niles.
The ladies enjoyed  a Victorian Tea Service complete with scones, assorted tea sandwiches and pastries and of course pots of tea. This chapter also celebrated the holiday season with a White Elephant gift exchange. After the tea they spent the afternoon shopping at the local antique shops nearby.



And now...

Parties are winding down, vacations are coming to a close and resolutions are being made. A new year has quickly gotten under way. If you are excited about the year ahead, looking for a great new adventure, want to get off the couch and into a social life while making some great girlfriends along the way, join our club!

The LBDC in 2013 is going to be the place to be! Don’t miss out!

Shay Ashcraft
Social Media Director, LBDC

In The Spotlight - Sherry Tellier

It's that time again: Time for another great Member Spotlight! This time we are celebrating Sherry Tellier from our Nashville Chapter.

Sherry is a proud mother of two daughters and a grandmother to one grandson. She moved from upstate NY all the way down south nearly 20 years ago. Sherry is very much looking forward to returning home to NY next fall to attend her class reunion, see some of her old friends and enjoy the Adirondack experience.

Working as the Accounting Manager for Embassy Dental in Nashville with seven dental offices to maintain, Sherry stays very busy but loves the challenge of her job. When she finds herself with a day off or some time to spare she loves to go for a good hike, do some cooking, take in a good movie, or read a book.

Sherry joined LBDC 3 years ago and when asked for her thoughts on the club, she had this to say: “When I moved to a new area of Nashville to be closer to my job, I was hoping to make new friends and pursue new experiences. The Little Black Dress Club has enabled me to achieve those goals and so much more. I’ve made friendships that I know will last a lifetime and tried so many new things I’ve always wanted to do but never had a chance.”

While her dream trip would be taking a plane to Europe, Sherry is very much looking forward to the Glamping Trip that the Nashville Chapter has planned in January. There is definitely something appealing about packing a dozen high maintenance women in a cabin in the woods with a martini bar and a DVD player!

Thanks for being in our spotlight this month, Sherry! We are glad to have you!

 

 

 

 

In The Spotlight - Amy Campoli

Amy Campoli is a 36 year old, single lady in our Nashville chapter.

For the last 7 years Amy has worked as the Membership Coordinator at Tennessee Health Care Association. THCA is a non-profit organization specializing in providing education and lobbying for nursing homes and long term care facilities throughout Tennessee.

During her down time, Amy loves to read books. Thrillers, murder mysteries and suspense novels are her favorites. Amy is an admitted reality TV junkie, currently hooked on the Real Housewives and Keeping Up With the Kardashians! She has also learned to can her own fruits and veggies and has spent lots of time during the summer making her own sauces and jams.

Amy loves to travel and plans most of her road trips to see her family in her home town of Rochester, NY.

Amy has been an LBDC member for almost 2 years. In 2011 her New Year’s resolution was to try new things and meet new people, to break out of her comfort zone. She joined the LBDC and has made many new friends and attended events that she never would have otherwise. Amy’s favorite part of being a member are the free movie screenings and all the free swag that comes along with them! The occasional goodie bags stocked with all sorts of fun items are on the top of her favorites list as well!

Amy feels that it is important for her to recruit as many friends as she can to join the Little Black Dress Club. She recruited me (It’s me! Shay Ashcraft!) and has been spreading the word about LBDC every chance she gets. She feels that friendship among women is important and is something that we all value. It’s also a lot of fun, Amy, we have the pictures to prove it! When spreading the word about our organization, Amy tells people to take a chance. You only live once!

True words, Amy! Thanks for being in our spotlight this week!