Valley Girls do dinner

On Friday night, I was invited to a Valley Girl gathering at a neighbor's house.  So over the river and through the woods I went with my bff (and neighbor).  The idea was to get a bunch women together who live a short crow's fly apart under one roof to get to know each other and hopefully get this bonding thing started.   Most of us do our socializing "in town" so it is nice to meet people who live around you!

Check out this beautiful little cabin.  Elsa greeted us with a squeal and a glass of Firefly Iced Tea (Firefly vodka with sparkling lemonade).   Check out this woman's porch.  Seriously folks, she needs to be featured in a magazine or something.  Candles and strings of lights, claw foot bathtub, hanging bed, fireplace... porch heaven.  

The cool thing about Valley Girls is they can cook your socks off.  Seriously.  The grocery store is not a quick ride away, so you learn to make do and you do from scratch.  

We had brie, asparagus soup, fresh garden grown salads, kale chips...

scratch made croissants, bread and biscuits with jam and honey and amazing shrimp (obviously not grown in the garden)... 

Well this is exciting: Cheryl Kraus was there!  She and her husband are opening Upcountry Previsions in downtown Travelers Rest.  I go out of my way to drive by this place in anticipation of the opening date.  For real.  She was so much fun and I got a preview of her wicked baking skills.

After we filled our bellies and talked ourselves silly, we walked out to a hillside and sent off paper lanterns into the night sky.  It was surreal to meet so many very smart, and amazing women my age who live so very close.  We talked books and husbands, environmental preservation, gardening, food, and music.  It was truly joyful!  A big thanks to Elsa (probably Gap Creek Gourmet's most excited fan) and her buddy Andie for pulling this off!