A Girl Hunter Weekend

You may have heard the chatter on Twitter (see #GirlHunter if you haven’t) but two weeks ago, some beautiful ladies joined me in Hill Country, Texas for a weekend of girl bonding, good food, outdoorsy adventures, and togetherness. It was a weekend I’ll never forget and far surpassed my expectations for just how much fun we would have.

We were hosted by the beautiful Joshua Creek Ranch which is one of a handful of Beretta trident ranches in the country (think “the Michelin Guide” for hunting), and we ate and played and laughed around the campfire and ate s’mores.

Below are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend and some links to what the other ladies have posted about their adventure.

What I love about these photos are that they are a reflection of what each person was experiencing in various moments, with each other. You can almost see the girl bonding come to life over the weekend. Just what it was all about.

(Photo by Deliciously Organic)

Scenes from Joshua Creek Ranch… the weather was stormy at times with a spattering of blue skies which made for a dramatic and wonderful light.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

The view of the trees from high on the hill…

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

And Joshua Creek herself in all of its drama and beauty.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

I love the scraggly trees in Texas… they’re so stunning.

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

This is the area where we did some fly fishing.

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

Another view of the creek…

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

And another. You can see how the water sparkles when the light comes through the clouds.

(Photo by Bakerella)

And the colors… at a certain time in fall, all of the cypress trees turn red and reflect in the water below. Everything is red.

(Photo by TidyMom)

Sporting Clays Time:

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

From left to right were: Carrie from Deliciously Organic, Amy from She Wears Many Hats, Erika from Ivory Hut, Dara from Cookin Canuck, Wendy from Wenderly, Angie from Bakerella, Me, Cheryl from Tidy Mom, Marla from Family Fresh Cooking, Elana from Elana’s Pantry, and Lori from Recipe Girl.

Three girls were inside getting the cookies ready and joined us later: Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Bridget from Bake at 350, and Shelly from Cookies & Cups.

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

I did a little intro for starters. I just love this particular shotgun, it’s like butter. It’s called a Beretta 28 gauge silver pigeon grade 5. Say that 10 times fast.

(Photo by Deliciously Organic)

Look at Marla try her hand at it for the very first time. The best line of the weekend was hers: “Woa. This is not yoga!”

(Photo by Bakerella)

There is Bridget, visualizing where the clays will fall before she tries to aim. Doesn’t she look graceful?

(Photo by Bakerella)

And Bakerella… I love that we went from her cake pop book signing the night before to a little clay shooting in the morning! See? Girls are so versatile.

(Photo by Bakerella)

I just love this woman. And I’ll have you know Amy is an amazing shot… a natural.

(Photo by Bakerella)

And Wendy! I love her too. Her dad is a great outdoorsman, so she already knew a lot.

(Photo by TidyMom)

I talked to the ladies a bit about form. But they didn’t need my help very much.

(Photo by She Wears Many Hats)

Women are very good shots.

(Photo by She Wears Many Hats)

We’re patient and precise with many things.

(Photo by Bakerella)

Look at that perfect shot! Can you see the clay break in the distance?

(Photo by Bakerella)

This is my Girl Hunter bling. Amy gave it to me as a gift and now I’m obsessed with it. I wear it every day. Can you tell what it is made out of?

(Photo by Bakerella)

Me and Cheryl! Her husband had taken her for a practice outing before she came, isn’t that sweet? But her arm was a little sore so we were going easy on her.

(Photo by Bakerella)

Kristan, representing for one of my favorite states, Arkansas.

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

Carrie in that fabulous shirt and hat!

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

And Dara, also a great shot.

(Photo by Bakerella)

When you get a bunch of great photographers in one place, there is equal parts camera shooting to gun shooting.

(Photo by Bakerella)

And laughter too. There was lots of that.

Next up, was fly fishing instruction!

Fly Fishing:

(Photo by Dan Fox of Citizen Pictures)

Dara and I had some bonding time by the creek. The water wasn’t rushing so we talked more than we fished but it was still fun.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

There’s Bridget, getting instruction on her form.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

And Dara, casting her fly reel.

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

The girls practicing.

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

Bakerella mastering yet another skill.

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

And of course Marla. Would you expect anything less from the most athletic person I know?

Girl Hunter Cookies and Cake Pop Time:

(Photo by Bakeralla)

This is one of my favorite photos from the weekend. The elements in the photo encapsulate it all perfectly.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

Angie getting the cake ready for the cake pops. Red velvet baby!

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

The most impressive array of icings and sprinkles I’ve ever seen. All thanks to Bridget, Kristan and Shelly, who were masterful icing technicians.

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

And this is Erika’s very first cookie she decorated. Amazing. Scroll down to see her very first s’more, prepared by Bakerella.

(Photo by Deliciously Organic) 

The state of Texas and a couple of shotguns.

(Photo by Deliciously Organic)

I think Angie is the most photogenic person I know.

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

Look at that wood technique on the icing! And I love the red boots.

(Photo by Bakerella)

Look how intent and crafty they are.

(Photo by Bake at 350)

Kristan’s apron killed me. A branded apron = awesome.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

The fun and girliness abounded.

In The Field:

(Photo by Bakerella)

They wanted to see a little action in the field so we all went out together.

(Photo by Georgia)

Their mode of transportation was a hay truck!

(Photo by Bakerella)

Such fun. I love a good hay truck.

(Photo by She Wears Many Hats)

I’m not sure where I’m going here but I’m on some sort of mission.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

Here, I’m doing a dance with the quail.

(Photo by TidyMom)

I love this picture of Marla. She’s such an amazing photographer… a woman and her camera.

(Photo by Bakerella)

There she is in the distance snapping away.

(Photo by Bake at 350)

Girl bonding on the hay truck.

(Photo by Bakerella)

Amy bonding with Boogie the English Cocker.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

Now I’m really on a mission here. Or else I really had to find the restroom.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

One of the beautiful pointers at the ranch. You should see them in action, they turn to statues when they point at a bird.

(Photo by Bakerella)

This is us all piled into the hay truck together. Eric had never dealt with this many women on the ranch so it was quite an event.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

Group shot in the field.

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

And the obligatory funny face in the field.

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

This picture is just to show what an amazing photographer Erika is.

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

And the skies at Joshua Creek with that stormy weather were so magical.

EVENING:

(Photo by Bakerella)

We did a little more clay shooting as night fell. I love this picture for how blurry it is and the fact that they were now playing a game where they shot three at a time. The girls were really getting into their groove.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

And then there was cocktails followed by dinner at a very long table.

(Photo by Georgia)

We ate very well, the chef there is quite the cook.

(Photo by Georgia)

We chatted and sipped for hours.

(Photo by Tidy Mom)

Then we sat around the campfire and chatted some more.

(Photo by Georgia)

And Erika ate her very first s’more, assembled by Bakerella. Not bad, eh?

(Photo by Bakerella)

These were our complicated s’more ingredients.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

And this is me with a giant pair of hot tongs, manning the fire. In my camo-sequin dress. Yes, strange, but I decided if there were ever an occasion to wear this dress, it was here.

TOGETHER TIME:

(Photo by Recipe Girl)

Then on Sunday morning I did a cooking demo after breakfast and the girls went on strolls and hung out. This is a photo Lori took on her walk with Marla and Elana.

(Photo by Cookies & Cups)

And these are besties, Kristan and Shelly. It’s so nice they got to see each other here.

(Photo by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen)

I particularly love Kristan’s bling.

Cooking Segment:

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

These ladies tried my quail en papillote, a traditional French way of cooking food in a parchment package with aromatics, such that when you open the package in front of the diner, all of the lovely aromas waft up into their nostrils.

Oh the French… they’re so good at theater.

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

Dara and Angie

(Photo by Cookin Canuck)

Bridget and Cheryl

(Photo by Bakerella)

Elana and Wendy

(Photo by Bakerella)

Quail!

(Photo by Bakerella)

Me feeding Lori her lunch!

(Photo by Bakerella)

Marla and Elana!

(Photo by Georgia)

And of course, the fearless camera crew from Citizen Pictures who I sent away with proper Girl Hunter hats.

(Photo by Georgia)

And Eric, our fearless leader who took a bunch of gals around the fields for the weekend.

(Photo by Ivory Hut)

It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone, it went by so darn fast. But I’m so very glad we did it and so honored that thess ladies joined me on a Girl Hunter adventure. It was girl bonding at its best.

Here are some of the wonderful posts the ladies have done about their experiences, I’ll be sure to add to this as more pop up:

• “Girl Hunter” the Girl, the Book, the Hunt & a Giveaway by Family Fresh Cooking
• A Girl Hunter Weekend & Coming Full Circle by Cookin Canuck
• Girl Hunter by She Wears Many Hats
• Girl Hunter by Wenderly
• Saturday Stuff by Cookies & Cups
• Friday Fun!! Friday Fun!! by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
• Favorite Gifts for Christmas by Bake at 350
• Giveaway: Holiday Goodies by Elana’s Pantry
• Girl Hunter Book Review & A Visit to Joshua Creek Ranch by Recipe Girl
• Girl Hunter Weekend & A Giveaway! by Tidy Mom
• Girl Hunter Weekend by Deliciously Organic

Here are some other wonderful Girl Hunter posts and recipes from across the web:

• Girl Hunter & Moroccan Stew by Tickled Red
• A Cookbook Review & Moroccan Elk Stew from Girl Hunter by Miss In The Kitchen
• Moroccan Elk or Venison Stew from Girl Hunter by The Girls Guide to Guns & Butter
• Cookbooks for Christmas by The Pioneer Woman
• Girl Hunter by A Reel Lady
• This Guy Is Loving ‘Girl Hunter’ by Sole Adventure
• Girl Hunter Book Report by AZ Wanderings
• Girl Hunter by Foggy Mountain Meanderings
• Girl Hunter Promo Video & Buttermilk Fried Rabbit by White On Rice
• Girl Hunter Giveaway by Cashmere & Camo
• Favorite Non-Fiction Books of the Year by Gluten Free Girl
• Favorite Cookbooks of 2011 by David Lebovitz
• Book Review: Girl Hunter by WNC Women On the Fly
• Bigos, or Polish Hunter’s Stew by What Julia Ate
• Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbooks! by What’s Gaby Cooking
• Girl Hunter by Add A Pinch
• Buttermilk Fried Chicken by Dishing Up Delights
• Girl Hunter Interview & Giveaway by Good Life Eats
• Girl Hunter: Reconnecting with our food by Z’s Cup of Tea
• Tales from the Trenches by The Naptime Chef