Adieu to 2022!

This week we have been reflecting on the year 2022: the highs, the lows, and the mostly in-betweens. By all accounts, 2022 has been a pretty good year for the KY Taste Buds! We want to take stock of the year and share some of the highlights with you.

Food: We are the KY Taste Buds after all, so let’s look back at some of our fav places to eat this year!

Asuka

Josie’s

Winchell’s

Big Kahuna

Bourbon N’ Toulouse

El Patio

Ky Native Café

Lexington Diner

New places we tried this year that we loved: Parlor Doughnuts, Mama Tequila, Biscuit Belly, Creature’s Cauldron, Olive’s Apron and Monos Coffee Crafters (Nicholasville).

Places: Need some adventure in your life? We had a terrific time in the Adventure Capital of KY…Hart County! At KY Down Under we had the unique experience of petting a kangaroo, holding a snake, seeing lemurs up close and personal and feeding lorikeets. Leigh faced a fear by crossing the world’s largest underground suspension bridge at Hidden River Caves and I went rappelling! We spent the night in a treehouse at the KOA Campground and ate delicious food at Hart County’s finest eateries: Farmwald’s, Two Broke Girls and The Feeder Restaurant. Read all about our experience by clicking here.

We spend a lot of time exploring Kentucky, but this year we also made some out of state trips, including a couple of bucket list destinations. Leigh got in the aloha spirit when she traveled to Hawaii this summer. She got out of her comfort zone by doing all kinds of outdoor adventures like waterfall chasing and snorkeling. I always wanted to see New York at Christmas, so when I received an invitation to attend a wedding at the world-famous Bryant Park Grill, I jumped on the chance. There is nothing like seeing the Rockettes in Radio City Music Hall, the Rockefeller Christmas tree and all the dazzling light displays in one of the world’s biggest cities at the most magical time of the year.

Fashionable Events: Undoubtedly, the world has become a more casual place since Covid, and with us being on the radio, there have only been a few occasions for us to get all gussied up this year. The most fashionable event we attended this year must be the KY Derby. It was our second year going (this time with no rain) and it was outstanding. We witnessed Rich Strike, the second-biggest long shot in KY Derby history, win the 148th run for the roses. If only we had put money on him! Other notable fashion moments included attending the Shelbyville Horse Show which had returned to Shelby Co after a two-year hiatus, the UK Fashion Show where we met Carson Kressley, and the Fashionable Fillies event as part of the Breeders’ Cup Festival. I was fortunate enough to attend both days of the Breeders’ Cup races, and for me it was a fashion bonanza.

Honorable Mentions: Other events we don’t want to forget from this year include Leigh attending her first professional football game when she traveled to Cincy to watch the Bengals play. The sports girl in her was going crazy! Who Dey! There was also our first foray into improv. Central KY Improv was kind enough (or crazy enough) to invite us to participate in one of their shows, and it was an absolute blast! They make it look easy, but it’s not easy. I’m so glad we didn’t let our fear of being complete buffoons keep us from this experience as it was truly one of the best things we’ve done to date.

By far, what brings us the most joy as we reflect on 2022 are the opportunities we have had to get out and meet people. After two years of “social distancing”, it has been a thrill to see faces up close and unmasked. One of our favorite interactions we had this year was being asked to speak to the Henry Clay High School Girls Athletics Teams. We shared with these young athletes our story of friendship and entrepreneurial spirit and maybe dropped some wisdom on them. Seeing their youthful exuberance took us back to our time at Henry Clay. Could that really have been 33 years ago? Crazy!

With our radio show on KISS96.9 FM, we attended lots of events downtown including Thursday Night Live, where it’s always a good time. Hearing live music, eating delicious Kettle Korn and interacting with our listeners was a wonderful way to spend the summer and early fall. Back in June, we took a bunch of fun ladies down to a concert at EKU Center for the Arts as one of our radio promotions, and Leigh had a night she won’t forget. Also this summer, we got to hang out and put together a fun promotional video for Picnic with the Pops with our friend and favorite weatherman, Bill Meck. We made a TV appearance when our friends, Doug and Lyssa High, had us on their show “High Noon” to talk about all things KY Taste Buds, and in the fall, we were honored to be invited to emcee the “Yes, Mamm” brunch put on by CHI Saint Joseph Health and Lexus. Hearing inspirational stories from women who have fought and beat breast cancer was definitely a highlight of our interactions this year. In December, we had the privilege of ushering in the holiday season by emceeing the Luminate Lexington event along with Mayor Gorton and the man himself...Santa! The weather was cold and windy, but there was such excitement in the air that we didn't really care.

To sum it up, 2022 was an outstanding year for us as we celebrated 5 years of Kentucky Taste Buds! When we started this blog, we wanted to have fun, and we certainly did that this year. We look forward to what lies in store for us in 2023! Be sure to follow our shenanigans at KY Taste Buds on all our social media platforms. Thank you for being a part of our year and we wish you a wonderful, happy, and healthy New Year!