Medical Spa 7: Keepin' Us Super Cute!

Click to enlarge and check out all these fun things from iList Paducah sponsor Medical Spa 7!

Sunday, Nov. 22: Save 20 Percent!

One-day only! Save 20 percent on a variety of in-stock pieces at Michelson Jewelers! Be sure to mention iList Paducah — it's our way of saying thanks to our readers!

New Banner Ads

We love new banner ads at iList Paducah, and this week we have some super-cute ones! We added a little holiday flair to beautiful Laura Duff's top banner — it's not too late to hire her for holiday catering! Give her a call at 270.556.2015.


No need to stress over holiday cooking this season. Just head over to Harrah's, 1-4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 22, and get some great tips from local chefs! It's free!


Medical Spa Seven invites everyone for what's sure to be a very lovely Open House, 4-7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 3, 3651 James Sanders Blvd. Stop by and be entered into a drawing for $100 gift cards!


And our friends at Green Turtle Bay have some fun things planned over Thanksgiving weekend! Reserve three nights for the price of two in a luxury condo! 800.498.0428. And check out Laura K's special tour (with Nikki May's photos!), and our iDate of the Week, hunky Harbormaster Bill Gary IV!

New iList Paducah Promos

Click any of the images to enlarge!


We have several new promos on iList Paducah this week, including this VERY FUN open house at Bello Capelli, 1-3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 21, 2355 New Holt Rd. Lots of great products, and the first 25 folks who arrive receive a special discount!


Tim Whitaker of True North Yoga welcomes new instructor Shannon McGee and offers several new classes. Definitely a good time of year to meditate and stretch that stress away!


Rosewood Inn Bed and Breakfast has several events planned for December, including an Open House, 2-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 20. Plan to stop by and see this beautiful property!


Beautiful Tammi Halvorson had such great luck with finding a new home for the very handsome "Buck" that she's now advertising 4.5-month-old "Bella." If you're interested in adding a super-cute shepherd to your home, contact Tammi, 270.841.0904.


The Cartridge Shoppe has a great new location, 4793 Village Square Dr. (behind Walmart), and is ready to help you recycle your used ink and print cartridges, earn cash for charity and purchase replacements at a discount! So stop by and learn more about how recycling ink/cartridges is a win-win-win for everyone!


There's another awesome Holiday Open House, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Echo Bridge Club, 1731 Kentucky Ave. Find great items from Mary Kay Cosmetics, iList Paducah sponsor You Name It Printing, Jewelry by Kim and more!


And last but not least, it's not at all too late to order gifts for your customers, suppliers and employees. Gorgeous Robyn Shapiro of iList Paducah sponsor René Advertising can put your logo on just about anything, including these great fleece pullovers. Send her an email and check out her Web site. 270.441.0050.

Burgers as Big as Your Head

Four pounds of beef and all the fixins! If you can eat it all in an hour, it's free! The Mother Duncan Burger — photo by Brian Steffen. Oh, PS, you have to eat the fries, too!

Holiday Paducah Life, Available Now!

The holiday edition of Paducah Life is on newsstands and in mailboxes now, featuring Clark Elementary cover girls Analeigh Claxton and Caroline Noneman! These first-graders are modeling fa la la fashions from Dillard's in a fun photo shoot at Lamon's Antiques!

The guys and gals at Paducah Life also bring us features on Guys, Girls and Guns, the souls of old houses getting new life in LowerTown and the harmony of the healing practices of Dr. Christi Bonds plus a whole lot more!

Check out Pam Whinnery's Favorite Recipes of Kentucky Celebrities in the iLove Paducah Life column on iList Paducah!

Latest WOW!

Speaking of Paducah Bank, I stumbled upon the bank's collection of WOW! magazines — looks like this is the latest one! It features William Sledd and Paducah Bank's social media outreach, SUPER CUTE photographer Brad Rankin, a piece on Jessiann McCarthy and her lovely Lela's Boutique and Allison Hart and her fab Occasions Unlimited, a big ol' piece on Bob Hoppmann of Pasta House and more! Download it here!

All the back issues are here!

Get Some Paducah Bank Money!

Our fab Paducah Bank has a big ol' stash of money, ready to donate to local groups and good causes. Want some? Find out more scoop here, including a downloadable application form! Deadline: Dec. 15.

Valet Parking at Martin Fierro!

Oh yeah, we're big city-fied. Paducah's Martin Fierro Argentinean Grill (314 Broadway) is the first to offer complimentary valet service for dinner guests starting Saturday! And we can even use when visiting other downtown businesses for a $10 fee!

Muy bueno! And happy one-year anniversary, Martin Fierro!

LowerTown Is Semifinalist for Great American Main Street Award!

Woo-Hoo! Congrats to Paducah Renaissance Alliance and to my little neighborhood of LowerTown in Paducah! LowerTown is one of 10 semifinalists in the 2010 Great American Main Street Awards! The awards are given for exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing the nation’s historic and traditional Main Street commercial districts by using the proven Main Street Four-Point Approach.

LowerTown now moves to the final round for consideration. The rest of semifinalists are:

• Downtown Aledo, Aledo, Ill.
• Main Street Columbus, Columbus, Miss.
• Downtown Fairmont, Fairmont, W.Va.
• Farmland Downtown Historic District, Farmland, Ind.
• Downtown Ferndale, Ferndale, Mich.
• Downtown Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce, Fla.
• Downtown Lee's Summit, Lee's Summit, Mo.
• Pontiac P.R.O.U.D., Pontiac, Ill.
• Downtown Rochester, Rochester, Mich.

Five winners will be selected by a national jury composed of former award winners, community development professionals, representatives from government and foundations and journalists who are active in community economic development and historic preservation.

GAMSA semifinalists and winners demonstrate exemplary achievement in the process of strengthening their downtowns and commercial districts based on the following selection criteria:

• Active involvement of the public and private sectors
• Broad-based community support for the revitalization effort
• Quality of achievements over time
• Innovative solutions to significant problems
• Commitment to historic preservation
• Evolving track record of successful commercial district revitalization
• Comprehensive revitalization effort: activity in all four points of the Main Street
• Four-Point Approach to commercial district revitalization
• Economic impact of the revitalization program
• Successful small business development

The National Trust for Historic Preservation will name and present this year’s five winners at the Main Street Awards Ceremony during the National Main Streets Conference in Oklahoma City on May 4, 2010.

Congratulations PRA and LowerTown!

Two More Holiday Open Houses!

Jennifer Wyatt and friends are hosting a Holiday Open House tonight, 6-9 p.m. and again Sunday, 2-6 p.m. It's at 235 Wildcat Trave, off Starhill Road in Lone Oak. Super cute!


And in Murray, the Vintage Rose Emporium hosts an open house on Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Save 20 percent on almost anything! And Fan 'em on Facebook!

Featuring Buck!

So Tammi Halvorson, who apparently doesn't sleep because she's about the busiest person I know, has a new venture — Halvorson Shepherds. Look how cute they are! She's got a 3 month old shepherd named Buck for sale. And if he's coming from Tammi, you know he's going to be gorgeous! If you're interested in taking Buck home, contact Tammi, 270.841.0904.

Speaking of Harrah's

Join Mike Rich, Chris Volle, Kyle Shepley and Chad Barnhill of Harrah's Metropolis — they're the Pasta House celebrity bartenders tonight! The wine tastings benefit iList Paducah sponsor St. Nicholas Family Clinic. $5 buys you five tickets, one for each glass of wine that you choose to sample. Plus, half-priced appetizers!

Our Harrah's friends will invite everyone to spin the prize wheel — you're guaranteed to win! Drawings every hour for cash, food and hotel vouchers!

Hot Holiday Events at Harrah's

I love Harrah's Metropolis. The good folks there are one of our biggest iList Paducah sponsors — which helps make it possible for Nikki and me to keep doing the site. Girls gotta shop and eat!

Speaking of which — two hot events are coming up at Harrah's: the Sunday, Nov. 15 Holiday Bazaar and the Sunday, Nov. 22 Holiday Cooking Tips and Tasting. Click the links for more info on each! Just in time to make the holidays a little less stressful and WAY more fun!

Were CBS Execs at the Rotary Meeting?

Many thanks to my Twitter friends @WPSD_VPNews, @bevans59 and @circulating for calling my attention to this bit of news:

The very Twitter feed that popped up during my live demo to the Rotary Club last week and caused me a bit of red-faced embarrassment will soon become a CBS TV show.

So there you go. It's a crazy, crazy Web world where the simplest of ideas — posting sh*t your cranky dad says — can result in book and TV deals. It's the power of social media.

Star-Studded Weekend!

Stop by the Carson Center any time between 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday and you'll hear some amazing music — plus you'll help raise money for the Easter Seals West Kentucky! It's the 53rd Telethon of Stars, and it promises to be a star-studded weekend. On tap: Diamond Rio, Eric Horner, Jaimee English, Lew Jetton, Ball in the House and more.

We've got all the details on iList Paducah.


Speaking of star studs, we also have an iDate of the Week interview with Aaron Loveland of Ball in the House! So check it out and plan to meet him in person this weekend!

For more info, contact the lovely Sarah Bynum Roman, 444.9687.

Thursday, Nov. 12: Dillard's Scentsational Evening

Woo-Hoo! Head to Dillard's cosmetics this Thursday, Nov. 12, for the oh la la Scentsational Evening event! Tons of great giveaways, makeovers, mini massages and a grand prize drawing for a $500 in-store shopping spree! It's 5-9 p.m. Tix are limited, so give a call to 442.3200 and reserve your spot! We've got all the details!

Oh, Mandee!

3 Months to Energy Fit winner Mandee Coursey continues to make the most of her makeover opportunity at Energy Fitness. We'll be featuring her and Sharla McGee, the other winner, in a few weeks again on iList Paducah. But in the meantime, you can see Mandee's progress each Tuesday at 10 p.m. on WPSD. Here she is with trainer Debbie George at Energy Fitness Bootcamp.


And keep up with all sorts of Energy Fitness news and special offers in our iFit column on iList Paducah. This week, we're featuring the Energy Fitness Midtown pool and aquatics program — perfect for when that cold weather starts heating up.

And, if you're on Facebook, leave a comment on the Energy Fitness fan page. Tell EF why you love the gym so much and you'll be entered to win one month's membership fee free!

Four of My Fave Events

Planning is under way for four of my very favorite fundraisers for next year:


First up: Desserts First, a very fun event where celebrity chefs cook up fantastic concoctions with Girl Scout cookies. The event, set for Jan. 30, raises money for the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. For more info, or to get involved, contact Aretta Terry, 443.8704. (Here are some Brian Steffen photos from the January 2009 event!)


Then, on March 27, it's Dancing With Our Stars, which raises money for Lourdes Hospital. Modeled after my favorite TV show of a very similar name, this event features 10 local folk paired with 10 professional dancers — and it's huge fun. I believe all the dancers are lined up for next year, but to get involved, become a sponsor or buy the fast-selling tix, contact Rita Bailey. (Here are some Jill Tanner pix from earlier this year.)


Mary Foley and her Purchase Area Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center team are just starting to plan Men Who Cook, an event I totally love. Bruce has participated in it two or three times — and we had several iList Paducah friends cooking this year. The date hasn't been set yet, but last year it was in March. Mary's team is always looking for chefs — so to sign up, send an email, and to become a sponsor, contact Mary. (Here are my not nearly as good as Brian and Jill photos from earlier this year.)


And last but not least — the 2nd Annual Feast for St. Nick, benefiting iList Paducah sponsor St. Nicholas Clinic. Love, love, love this! The idea here is that St. Nicholas provides the main course — in fact, volunteers bring it right to you. All you do is open your home, take care of appetizers and drinkys and invite folks over for dinner. Your guests pay $75 apiece, with all the funds going to the clinic.

I was a host for this year's first feast, and it was great fun. I've already signed up to do it again next year. If you'd like to do the same — or you'd like to purchase a ticket for dinner at any of the host homes — please contact Peggy Culbertson. (Here's a little more info about the event.)

So there you go. If you're involved in any other big fundraisers next year, please be sure we know about them for iList Paducah! Just go to our home page and click the submit an event button at the top, and we'll take it from there!

Reenacting Laura

Our beautiful iDate of the Week Laura Edwards was featured on page 2 of Sunday's Paducah Sun — she was part of this past weekend's Grand Rivers Civil War Encampment. (Photo by John Wright.) Find out more about this history-loving beauty in our interview with her! Super cute, Laura!

It's a Wrap Party!

Everyone's invited! Bring a toy for Toys for Tots, while you're at it. And check out the films playing at Maiden Alley Cinema today and tomorrow!

Speaking of Houses

iList Paducah sponsor Laura Petrie has this one for sale at 219 North 9th! It's GORGEOUS! Take the visual tour, call Laura at 217.2170 and buy it! (Tell her you saw it on iList Paducah!)

Open House Paid Listings

It's Open House time! And we have four really nice ones advertised on that sweet, sweet Web site, iList Paducah, with one going on right now! So go out, Buy Local and contribute to Paducah's economy:

My New Best (and Most Embarrassing) Social Media Tip EVER

This past Wednesday, Laura K, Patience Renzulli and I were the featured speakers at the Rotary Club of Paducah. That's us above, with Rotary President LV McGinty. Our topic: social media. And given the excessive amount of time that all three of us spend on our Web sites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and all the rest, it's likely that we've learned a thing or two.

Laura K, for example, talked about how she uses social media to help promote her clients — Michelson Jewelers, Martin Fierro, the Paducah Chamber, etc... She offered great suggestions on how other businesses can get started, and key pitfalls to avoid. And, of course, she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Patience Renzulli was funny as always. Patience vowed she'd NEVER start a blog. But after a little prodding (a-hem), she finally broke down and launched Patience-please two years ago. Today, it's not only one of the most popular dog blogs in the world, Patience has sold TONS of copies of her wonderful Mama Pajama Tells a Story book through the blog — she even sold one at the Rotary meeting.

I, who absolutely hate speaking in public anytime before cocktail hour, quickly clicked through what we do with iList Paducah, this blog, our Facebook and MySpace pages, our Flickr and a bunch of other things that I don't quite remember because about halfway through I suffered a silent death while at the podium.

Which is why now I have this very, very important tip to offer involving the use of social media:

Careful when doing a live demo of Twitter to the local Rotary Club.

Because there it was, big as life, posted just SECONDS before I opened my Twitter page was this handy little Tweet:


Yes, I am one of the 692,003 followers of @shitmydadsays, from 29-year-old Justin, who lives with his 73-year-old dad. Every day or two Justin posts some sage little tidbit that his dad says. Which I usually find very funny, but was a little shocked to see it there, projected 50-feet-high, in front of a room full of very lovely Rotarians including bank presidents, corporate CEOs, prominent doctors, lawyers and even a former mayor.

And you'd think I'd just apologize and move on. But NOOO. I had to then click the link and show everyone the whole entire @shitmydadsays Twitter page. As if that would make everything all OK and all better.

So let me take this opportunity now to apologize to any offended Rotarians for my incredible goof.

And Justin, if you notice an influx of new followers from Paducah, Ky., you're welcome.

For more on our presentation, here's Laura's quick recap and a very sweet recap from Patience who, perhaps, offers the best social media tip of all:

Hug your Rotarians.

C U @ Rotary!

Patience, Laura K and I TELL ALL! Everything we know (and don't) about gettin' social with our media, today at Rotary!

New iList Paducah Sponsors

This week we welcome two new iList Paducah sponsors! Yippee!


Dr. Stephen B. Story (D.P.T., M.P.T.) and his lovely wife Karen recently opened Story Physical Therapy to provide those of us with aches and pains with the highest standard of individualized care so we can get back to whatever we enjoy doing as quickly as possible. He and his team use the most up-to-date evidence-based evaluations and treatments, including state-of-the-art equipment.


So check 'em out at 125 South 20th St., 408.1324. Or send an email!


We've also got Mother Duncan's, which opened this week in the old Jeremiah's, 225 Broadway. SO CUTE! Love Pat Duncan! She was a long-time Jeremiah's bartender and is now running the show with a great team.


Mother Duncan's is open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Friday, and from 3 p.m.-3 a.m. on Saturdays. A blue plate special lunch is served Monday-Friday, starting at 11 a.m. The whole menu is served until 10 p.m. weekdays, and until midnight Friday and Saturday. So be sure to arrive early and stay late! 441.8458.

Congratulations to the Storys and to the Mother Duncan's team! I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot of you both!

Another Reason to Advertise!

Check it out! Each month, SNL Detail, one of our iList Paducah sponsors, will give away a free car wash to another randomly selected iList Paducah sponsor! Woo-Hoo! Congratulations, Kirchhoff's! You've won this month's giveaway! Thanks, SNL!

New Banner Ads

You know we love the banner ads over here at iList Paducah! We're thrilled to have beautiful Laura Duff back on top with her Laura Duff's Pampered Palate. Everyone loves Laura's cooking, so please consider her for your next event! The holidays are fast-approaching, so call her now, 556.2015, before she's all booked!


The River's Edge Film Festival is coming this weekend. Lots and lots of great films. Here's a link to the complete schedule.


It's almost time for the very fun Scentsational Evening at Dillard's — tons of great giveaways, makeovers, mini massages and a grand prize drawing for a $500 in-store shopping spree!


And Paducah Renaissance Alliance has put together a great list of holiday-related events going on in Downtown and LowerTown, including art shows, open houses and even the Paducah Ice Rink hours. We've got it all here!

FRESH Aiiiirreeee

WKMS was sweet enough to ask me to record a commentary about why I love the station so much. I couldn't help but write about Terry Gross, one of my favorite interviewers ever. She's been on NPR for quite a long time, and now we have her on WKMS from 11 a.m.-noon, Monday-Friday.

You can listen to my commentary here, and I'm pasting it below:


I'm Mary Thorsby of iListPaducah.com, a community calendar Web site for our region's hottest events. We have fun feature stories, too, like our very popular iDate of the Week column where I interview lovely single people and I get to say: "So and so, you're just cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it."

I love my job.

I love it so much that there's only one person whose job I'd trade with my own. And that's Terry Gross and her gig on NPR's Fresh Air.

Just imagine. A career built on interviewing actors, writers, musicians, politicians — and asking them anything she wants to know. And they ANSWER. How fun is that?

I first heard Terry Gross when I was a young corporate freelance writer in San Francisco. I asked people questions too…but we talked about product brochures, annual reports and newsletters...not about ideas and the arts. I was about 23 when I discovered Terry Gross on San Francisco's KQED, and I was hooked.

I spent close to 20 years listening to her warm, friendly and curious conversations with the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve Martin, Gene Wilder and even a very cranky Rosanne Barr. I'd marvel at how a guest could throw out some off-the-wall reference to some obscure jazz album or something, and Terry could pick up on it. HOW DID SHE DO THAT? THIS WAS BEFORE THE INTERNET!

I began to fantasize about her. Did she spend the weekend pouring over books, magazines, videotapes and albums, sipping green tea and listening to obscure jazz while preparing for the next week's interviews? I imagined she had cats.

I don't know about the cats, but I do know that Terry Gross does her homework. You hear it in her questions and how she listens to the answers and nails a follow up every time. And that's why people seek her out on more than 450 public radio stations across the country.

When I moved to Paducah four years ago to marry the love of my life, Bruce Brockenborough, I wasn't sad to give up the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the fancy shopping at Union Square or the half-caf half-decaf cappacinos at every corner.

I was sad to give up Terry Gross. Even after discovering her Podcasts on iTunes — it just wasn't the same.

The day I heard her unmistakable voice and the Fresh Air theme song on our very own WKMS, I about fell out of my seat. She's back! My long-lost friend is back! And now I can listen to her again, Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Terry Gross and Fresh Air come with a pricetag so it's taken a while for WKMS to snag her show. WKMS depends on those of us who listen to the station to invest in the station. So today I proudly wrote my check to WKMS. It is, in part, for Terry Gross.

In fact, I'm dying to interview Terry Gross for iListPaducah.com. I’d ask her how she met her husband Francis Davis, the jazz critic for the Village Voice. Ah, maybe THAT'S how she knows all that jazz! What did she ask him when they met and which of his answers made her fall in love?

After 25 plus years of Fresh Air, is there anyone left who she's dying to interview but hasn't yet?

Does she have cats?

And then I'd ask if we could swap jobs for a day. She can use my cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it phrase, and then I can say: I'm Mary Thorsby and this is FRESH Aiiiirreeee.

Atticus, Jem, Scout and the GTGs

Join us tonight for a free showing of To Kill a Mockingbird! The GTGs will be on hand to greet, treat and serve up a little trivia. 6 p.m., Maiden Alley Cinema!

Web 2.0, the Laura K Way

PR/Marketing/Style/All-Around-Gorgeous-Gal Laura K has released her newest newsletter, filled with great tips on how best to use social media. I don't know how she has time for it all, with a growing client list that includes the Chamber, Michelson Jewelers, Gallery 5, The Cartridge Shoppe, Grand Rivers Tourism Commission, Harrah's Metropolis and, celebrating their one-year anniversary this month, our very good amigos at Martin Fierro Argentinean Grill. But she does, and still manages to write for iList Paducah, which makes me very, very happy.

To hear her social media suggestions firsthand, plan to join us at Rotary tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 4, where Laura K, Tony Foo Yong and I will talk more about how and why we use social media, what we've learned and how anyone can get started. We'll likely throw in some last-minute surprises, as well. Because we like last-minute surprises. It's at noon at the Carson Center.

A great way to get started with social media is to sign up for Laura K's newsletter. Just visit her blog and click the cute green box with the L in it on the right-hand side!

Boo Bash Party Pix!

Quilt Man, Devil Wears Prada, Austin Powers, Lady Gaga, Uruguayan Funky Chickens, Cruella Deville — they were all there, and more, at the 20/30 Boo Bash, held at The Bar at Martin Fierro. VERY fun! See Keith Ford's fab photos! And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson!

Now Open!

The fabulous bar formerly known as Jeremiah's reopens today as the fabulous NEW bar owned by the very lovely Pat Duncan! Stop in — there's plenty of time! Mother Duncan's (our newest iList Paducah sponsor) is open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Friday, and from 3 p.m.-3 a.m. on Saturdays. Woo-Hoo! 225 Broadway! 441.8458.

A blue plate special lunch is served Monday-Friday, starting at 11 a.m. They sold out of the meatloaf Monday, and so many people wanted to take their menus back to work that the team had to print more!

The whole menu is served until 10 p.m. weekdays, and until midnight Friday and Saturday. So be sure to arrive early and stay late!

Congratulations, everyone!

Halloween Bash Party Pix!

Keith Ford's done it again! Check out all the great photos from our Harrah's, iList Paducah and Electric 96.9 Halloween Bash! Thanks everyone for coming! More than 300 people were there! LOVED ALL THE COSTUMES!