Wedding favors have transformed over the years into wedding guest gift bags for many types of weddings, especially for destination weddings where guests will enjoy activities before the wedding. Whether you’re giving gift bags to your destination wedding guests or simply thanking guests for sharing your one special day, uncover a few ideas to help you put together wedding gift bags your guests will never forget.

First think of a theme for the bags.  If it is a beach wedding consider using a beach bag with your initials and fill the contents with sunscreen lotion, aloe lotion, lip sunscreen and bottled water.  Or if the event is in the mountains, hiking or waterfall maps, bug repellant or granola bars for a hiking trip.  Many brides try to personalize the contents of the bag to represent their likes or hometown.  Recently a bride from Maryland had crab seasoned potato chips and Goo Goo Bars from her fiancé’s hometown of Nashville.  Regional products that represent the area are also a nice touch.  If your wedding is in Ohio, or you or your fiancé are from Ohio, consider using a Longaberger basket (www.longaberger.com).  Coca Cola is a popular item for Atlanta, peaches for South Carolina or maple syrup for Vermont.  Now is your time to get creative and create a welcome bag that  will show your guest how much you appreciate them taking the time and money to come to the wedding.

It’s nice to always include an itinerary for the weekend for easy reference as well as maps of the area and local attractions for their perusal.  Include items that will come in handy during the current season. Include a pair of cheap flip flops or sunglasses if you are getting married during the summer on the beach. Include lip balm or a pair of gloves for a winter wedding. Include a small umbrella for a spring wedding. Include a rain poncho for a fall wedding.

Hugh is a five-time James Beard nominee for Best Chef Southeast and was named Best Chef by Food & Wine.  His restaurant Five and Ten was named by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the best Atlanta restaurant.  Hugh has also been featured in Bon Appétit, Garden & Gun, the New York Times, and Gourmet and competed in Bravo’s Top Chef Masters: Season 3.

It’s remarkable how a few humble ingredients can be transformed into such an extraordinary dish but not if you are Hugh Acheson.  Hugh is a five-time James Beard nominee for Best Chef Southeast and was named Best Chef by Food & Wine.  His restaurant Five and Ten was named by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the best Atlanta restaurant.  Hugh has also been featured in Bon Appétit, Garden & Gun, the New York Times, and Gourmet and competed in Bravo’s Top Chef Masters: Season 3. 

Recently I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon in the kitchen with the team at Five and Ten.  They were in the middle of preparing items for their new bar menu, which pairs sandwich items or small plates with beers.  Dean Neff, Executive Sous Chef was busy putting the final touches to Cauliflower Soup and I decided to try my hand making chicken liver pate with Sous Chef Ryan Sims.  It was like a dance routine and no one missed a step, except for me.  Periodically Hugh does teach a cooking class or two and I plan on registering pronto.  In the meantime Hugh has just launched a cookbook, A New Turn In The South.  An exciting new collection of recipes and illustrations designed for home cooks, featuring a modern take on classic Southern fare, emphasizing local flavors and French inspiration.  Filled with plenty of kitchen tips, shortcuts, and plain old-fashioned know-how, I was assured that my dishes would taste just as good as Hugh’s. 

There is another option for those who are not able to travel to Athens or Atlanta, Old Edwards Inn is hosting a book signing and dinner prepared by Hugh Acheson and the culinary team at The Farm at Old Edwards Inn on December 16, 2011. This will be a dinner not to miss.  Not only will you partake in a wonderful culinary experience but you will also receive an autographed copy of Hugh’s new cookbook.  For more information call (828) 787-2625 or visit www.oldedwardsinn.com/HughAcheson.  The dinner is $160 per person exclusive of taxes and gratuities.  Dinner price includes wine and signed cookbook. 

For those who are not lucky enough to obtain a ticket, you can join Hugh for a cup of coffee and still get his autographed cookbook on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at Mountain Fresh Grocery. 

Get a sneak peak of one of Hugh’s “A New Turn In The South” recipes by downloading Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Brown Butter Breadcrumbs, Capers, and Dilled Whipped Cream recipe at www.thelaurelmagazine.com/extra.php.

Window shopping is a fun and inexpensive pastime enjoyed by people all over the world. 

The process involves walking through a shopping district or mall with the express purpose of looking at the window displays for each retail store in the area.  People may choose to window shop as a way to pass the time, get ideas for displays that can be used at home, or to collect some inspiration for future gift giving. 

I remember my Grandmother wearing a hat and strolling around the town square looking in all the storefront windows before lunch.  It was what you did in those days.  It was no-cost entertaining. 

A stroll through Highlands peering in all the windows is still a pleasant afternoon diversion.  McCulley’s is a huge draw for me and I can just stand outside and peer in the windows enjoying the wide array of color and how they are assembled together. 

Main Street is a Highlands landmark, but a walk up any city’s shopping avenue makes for an entertaining and easy on the pocket book afternoon. 

Take your out-of-town visitors on a walking tour of Highlands’ shopping district.  Or pack your bags and bring your hubby or best friend for a stroll down one of these: Newbury Street in Boston; Maiden Lane in San Francisco; Worth Avenue in Palm Beach; Lincoln Road in Miami; North Michigan Avenue “Magnificent Mile” in Chicago; Fifth Avenue in New York City; And Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles. 

There’s also my personal favorite street for window shopping — Fifth Avenue in New York City.  Try to arrange a trip during Fashion Week the windows feature miniature runways inspired by the Fashion Weeks themed shows.  If that does not fit into your calendar, Christmas is the next best option. 

As a veteran practitioner of Retail Therapy, I’ve assembled five tips for a power shop.  Have a strategy, make a list of your favorite stores or the stores that you would like to visit and set a time limit.

1)     Clothes Shopping?  Wear something easy to slip on and off and the proper undergarments.

2)     If you’re Interior Shopping, bring fabric swatches and take photos of your current room and try to imagine the new item in your home.

3)     Bring along a camera (if your cell phone doesn’t have one, slip a digital camera in your purse).

4)     Make sure your purse is small and lightweight but be sure to include your wallet.

5)     Carefully pick out your shoes – comfort wins out over style when you have a day of power shopping ahead of you.

End your power window shopping with a well-deserved R&R.  Enjoy a nice tea at Hummingbirds.  Over tea discuss which of the many treasures you’ve seen that really calls to you.  Then go back and buy just that one thing.

After all, you deserve it.

As the weather cools and the light changes to autumn gold, take your family out to discover the beauty of a just-picked apple. 

Fall is upon us and that means that apples are being harvested.  Apples are America’s favorite fruit, and North Carolina ranks seventh in apple production in the United States.  Apples need a certain climate and Western North Carolina has the perfect temperatures for growing crisp juicy apples — warm days and cool nights, as well as cool foggy August mornings which bring the blush to the apples. 

Living in the mountains, people are steeped in the tradition and apples are certainly a tradition.  Apple orchards are a way to get back to your roots and Cashiers is proud to say that one of the original apple orchards is located at the Aladdin Kit House built in 1920 for Dr. Van Epp. 

Dr. Epp, of West Palm Beach, Florida, came annually to Cashiers to be a summer physician at the High Hampton Inn.  When the McKee family purchased High Hampton Inn, Dr. Epp bought the Aladdin Kit House and used it for his practice. 

The Aladdin Kit House stayed in the family, and today, Lynn Monday, Dr. Epp’s great-great granddaughter, has transformed it into Monday’s House of Design.  The apple orchard still exists at the house and still produces fruit. 

If you visit, be sure to ask Lynn for an apple martini.  The recipe’s been passed down by Monday’s Great Aunt Skeet Law, the second owner of Aladdin Kit House.  Aunt Skeet changed the name of the house to Law & Disorder and was known for her apple martini parties.  If you’re lucky, Lynn may just share the recipe.

It seems appropriate that the High Hampton Inn is hosting an Apple Festival on September 24th.  Apple martinis won’t be on the menu for the festival but apple cider, caramel apples, apple slushies, and sack races are all part of the fun.  Dawn Creasman, president of the Blue Ridge Farm Direct Market Association, and who along with her husband owns Creasman Farms, will be at the apple festival at High Hampton Inn. 

“Come to an apple festival not only to get quality fruit but to meet your grower and to talk to the grower to find out what it takes to produce your food, where it comes from and, most importantly, a way to support your local economy,” says Dawn. 

Creasman Farms will have on hand ten varieties of apples and homemade apple cake – a recipe that’s been passed down in her family for seventy-five years.  With food, music, and activities to suit all ages and tastes, the festival has something for everyone (even the testiest of teenagers will find something to enjoy). 

If you can’t get by to see Lynn Monday for her apple martini recipe, Chef Sean of High Hampton Inn has graciously shared his Waldorf Salad recipe.

Chef Sean’s Waldorf Salad

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients:

• 3 Red Apples (cored and diced with skin on)*
• 3 Green Apples (cored and diced with skin on)*
• ½ Cup Mayonnaise (cold)
• ¼ Cup Sour Cream (cold)
• ¼ Cup Celery (diced)
• 2 oz. Walnuts (roasted and chopped)
• ¼ Cup Raisins
• ¼ Cup Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 pinch Salt and Pepper mix

Method:

Mix all of the ingredients together and serve chilled the same day.

*Keep diced apples in water with a small amount of lemon juice until ready to mix.  Make sure they are drained completely.