All the Way (New Orleans 2010)

It's time for part two of my New Orleans weekend recaps!  When I left off, we were leaving Jazz Fest and heading back to our hotel.  We changed clothes quickly and then headed to Muriel's, where we had dinner reservations.

J-Dawg has badass connections, and she managed to get us reservations at a packed restaurant.  The food was incredible.

They offered a three-course, prix fixe menu.  I started with the alligator.  It was lightly fried and served on top of a spicy and sweet coleslaw.  Yum.

Then I had the puppy drum as my entree.  It was basically a flaky white fish topped with chopped pecans.  I had bread pudding for dessert but was so stuffed that I didn't even take a photo.  I didn't even finish it!

After dinner we headed toward Bourbon Street.  On our way, we saw these two musicians.  They were amazing!  I wish I could remember what they were playing.

Then we peeked into a window, and saw these guys doing a kick-ass rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In." 

We stopped into a couple souvenir shops.

And then it was on to Bourbon Street!

I started to take a photo of the guy with the giant cross, when J-Dawg positioned the Dude like so.  Teehee.

Since it was my first time in New Orleans, the Dude and J-Dawg humored me--we went to Pat O'Brien's for some Hurricanes.  I loved the flaming water fountain!

Then we stopped into the Dungeon, which is a heavy metal bar where no one is allowed to take photos.  One of J-Dawg's friends famously got into a fight with his own reflection at the Dungeon several years ago, so we had to see it.  It was actually a really fun place; I'd definitely go back.

Here are a couple more things we ran into on the streets that night.

We were almost back to our hotel, when J-Dawg was drawn into a bar called Dominic's by this sweet little dog.  We hung out for a couple hours while J-Dawg made friends with all the locals.  The highlight for me was getting hit on by this guy who was part of a bachelor party.  After bragging about how he used to be a kicker for Ole Miss, he asked me a couple questions, followed by, "Who are you here with?"  The look on his face when I said "my husband" and pointed to the Dude (who was like ten feet away at the jukebox) was priceless. 

Needless to say, we got a late start the next day.  J-Dawg had to leave early to catch her flight, but the Dude and I slept off our night until 11am.  We weren't quite ready to leave yet, so we checked out a restaurant that was recommended to us by a local at Dominic's.  The place was called Citron Bistro, and it was out kind of in a more residential area.  Our waiter told us that it was the oldest building above Canal--it was supposedly built in the 1700s when Louisiana was under French rule.

But instead of enjoying the beautiful old building, for some dumb reason we decided to sit outside.

There were big fat bumblebees buzzing around, and these flowers smelled incredible.

I had fried shrimp, grits, and eggs.  Yum.

Citron Bistro was really close to this old factory, which is really my last visual of the city before we headed back  West on I-10.

I already can't wait to go back.

Wild at Heart (New Orleans 2010)

This past weekend the Dude and I went to New Orleans to meet up with J-Dawg for Jazz Fest. It was my first time there, and I fell in love. We took soooo many photos, so I thought I'd share.

On the road in rural Texas.

We got in super late that night but J-Dawg stayed up waiting for us and took us to the Sazerac bar at the Roosevelt for fancy cocktails.

And thus the weekend of debauchery began.  (Yes, I am getting ready to do the "suck it," made famous by professional wrestling in the 90s.)

 Beautiful Canal Street at night.

The next morning we got up and headed to Cafe du Monde for the famous beignets and cafe au lait.

Pretty sure I'm saying "yum."

On the way we noticed this leaning stoplight, most likely a remnant of Katrina.

Then time for some cocktails to go, as we geared up for Jazz Fest!

Waiting for the street car.

Jazz Fest!



Here's a video of Simon and Garfunkel playing "Sound of Silence." Art's voice was shot, and you can hear it cracking at the end. It was incredible that he was able to perform at all--the crowd totally lifted him up. Amazing show all around.

 As night began to fall in New Orleans, our adventure was only beginning...

The Harsh Light of Day

The other day I was flipping through a magazine when I came across an article on skin cancer.  Glamour always does an annual skin cancer article to raise awareness in young women to take care of their skin, check their moles, etc.  I have subscribed to Glamour for about five years now, and I always read the skin cancer article.  But this time I read a description that sounded a little familiar.  "Actinic Keratosis:  These flaky, scaly patches are caused by sun damage and indicate an increased risk of skin cancer. Untreated AKs can sometimes develop into cancer."

I've had a red, sensitive (but not painful) patch of skin on my torso for about the past four years or so, but I never really thought much of it.  Even though my patch didn't look a lot like the photo, I was a little worried.  I made an appointment with my dermatologist and had it checked out today.  Luckily it turns out it's not AK--it's just a fungus, a totally normal one that is easily treated with pills.  I might post some before-and-after photos in ten days if I decide it isn't too gross.  Would any of you be interested in seeing them?

The whole experience was a little scary, and it made stuff that I already know about the sun and skin cancer really sink in for me.  Wearing sunscreen is not optional.  Not just on your face, but on all exposed skin.  Tanning is not cool, whether it comes from the sun or a tanning bed.  I'm not a tanner--haven't been for years, but I know that when I was younger I had a few sunburns.  And it terrifies me that choices I made when I was a dumb teenager could come back to haunt me down the road.  For anyone out there who still goes to tanning beds or skimps on the SPF:  it's not worth risking your health.  Just say no!

Here's a link to the Glamour article:  Exactly What Cancer Looks Like Health & Fitness: glamour.com

Gingerbread

I saw these flower hair pins from Handle & Spout on Weddingbee yesterday. (Thanks, Miss Dolphin!)

I'm in love with this color combo.  And oh my, the packaging.  It's so inspiring!

It makes me want to come up with a packaging design so simple and yet professional looking for my products.

I totally would've worn a flower like this at my wedding.  That blush pink color is perfect.

The company also makes beautiful, unique jewelry out of soft leather.  I'd totally wear this necklace.

And these earrings!  Not only are they totally original--they come with mustache packaging!  So cute.

A New Man

The Dude and I got to babysit the cutest dog ever this weekend.  Meet Oliver, my doggy nephew.  He belongs to my brother, Daniel and his girlfriend, Jessa.

We got to watch the little pooch for a few hours on Saturday, and we decided to bring him to one of our favorite East Side bars, Rio Rita.

He pretty much chilled the whole time we were there.  He loves people, so he was in someone's lap at all times.

Here he is with our friend Ben.  Oliver got passed around the table, so that everyone could get a little puppy time.

He was pretty tuckered when we got back home, so I stayed on the couch with him.  He snored for three hours or so while I watched Buffy.  Unfortunately there was a little incident with our cat.  Oddibe got scared and scratched little Oliver in the head.  It was really sad. 

Now I really want to adopt a little black pug puppy for Oliver to be friends with.  I don't think we have the time right now to take care of a puppy, though.  What do you do with them while you're at work all day?

Doppelgangland

Sometimes I think the reason I love my cat Oddibe so much is because he's reincarnated from my favorite childhood pet, Yoshi.  I'll let you be the judge.

Me and Yoshi, circa 1996

Me and Oddibe

Mainly they're both laid back alpha male cats, large and white.  But I've got a soft spot for cats like them.

Bad Eggs

Today was a crap day.

It started with my three-block walk from the parking garage to my office:  normally a nice, peaceful walk through the Capital grounds. But today I was wearing shoes that hadn't been worn in years, so by the time I got to my cube, I had a GIANT blister on my ankle.

I checked my work email, and there was a message from HR telling me when I have to attend new employee orientation.  And (wait for it)...it's next Thursday and Friday.  I had already asked off for next Friday in order to drive to New Orleans for Jazz Fest.  Tickets are bought, hotel room is booked.  But now I have to sit around and twiddle my thumbs for six to eight hours while people talk about policies that I could just as easily look up on the Internet.

A little later I got an email about the freelance project I did last month.  Apparently I forgot to send an invoice, so now I'm going to have to wait even longer than I originally thought to get paid.  And I was really looking forward to using that money for some new clothes.  Damn.

I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so I left work for a couple of hours.  On my way back, I parked in the garage again, but this time it was raining and I had no umbrella.  So I had to quickly walk in heels with a blistered ankle in the rain, simultaneously trying not to slip and fall (like I did in Vegas last month!) and not to get my shirt wet to the point where it was see-through.  When I got back to my desk, I looked like a drowned rat.  Luckily I only had to be there for an hour before time to punch out.

And I know this is a cliche thing to complain about, but I had to sit in traffic for an extra 20 minutes because of the rain. 

But after all of that, it's amazing how watching Buffy on DVD, eating Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint Ice Cream from Amy's, and snuggling with my kitties makes it all better.  Thursday=kind of all right.