Television Zombie

I am pretty sure that I am going to turn into a television zombie this fall! I have fallen in love with a ton of new shows that just came out and of course I have my old favs too! Pan Am, The New Girl, and Up All Night are the latest additions to my list of must-watch shows. Next week Dexter kicks off, then there is every Saints game to consider (though that is not a "show" per se, it is me sitting in front of a large screen for hours), plus my recently mentioned auction/antique shows! Goodness, I better remember to take time to read and be social too! What shows are you into this fall?

Learning My History

Thanks to "Free Museum Day" put on by the Smithsonian Institute I went to the World War II Museum on Saturday. I have been wanting to go, but the $19 ticket price has held me back.

Streetcar to the museum: $1.25

Ticket to the museum: $0.00

Trinkets in the museum shop: $17.70

4+ hours of wholesome/educational entertainment for $18.95, not too shabby!

Due to the free ticket deal, and the fact that it was the weekend, it was pretty crowded, but not unbearable. I took my time meandering through the exhibits, reading lots of the signs and plaques, and watching tons of videos. They have a lot of cool visual aids and artifacts from both the American side of the war as well as the axis powers.

My favorite parts were the exhibit on how Americans helped troops by collecting tin, aluminum, oil/fat, rubber, etc. to recycle, and the section on D-Day, which I somehow, did not realize involved the British and Canadians too. Somewhere along the line my public education has failed me!

I am very glad that I got to go check it out and if there was any way possible, I would love to take my Paw-paw there to see it, but being 86 and living in Virginia may not allow that to happen. Guess the postcard I am mailing him from there will have to do.

Pumpkin Dip

Since tomorrow marks the official beginning of fall I whipped up some pumpkin dip to take to work for the manager's meeting we have every Thursday. I acquired the recipe from my Aunt Judy and have made it many times over the years. It is super easy and tasty but I was slightly concerned as to whether Tariq, our chef, would enjoy it. But one taste and his response said it all "well that's a fucking delight!" (pardon the language, but that is his favorite word.)

I have always used ginger snaps to dip into this sweet treat, but this time I also offered honey graham cracker sticks, and granny Smith apple slices. Yum!!

Katie Goes to the Superdome

On Sunday I finally made my way into the Superdome! Brie and I watched the Saints pulverise the Chicago Bears (30-13).

It was a lot bigger inside than I had imagined. There does not appear to be a "bad" seat in the place. While we were up top, it was great because you could see everything that was going on!

That is 73,000+ fans screaming "Who Dat"!

That's us. Inside the dome!

What A Weekend

Things I did this weekend:

• Helped Brie clean and re-arrange the living room to accommodate a new couch
• Finished reading Breaking Dawn (I have now read the series twice and feel fully prepared for the first part of the last movie that is coming out in November)
• Cleaned my bathroom
• Ordered a super cute clutch from Express
• Painted my fingernails black and gold twice before giving up and removing all of my efforts
• Went to my first Saints game at the Superdome!!
• Enjoyed an awesome Duck Confit Club sandwich at a great little restaurant, Capdeville
• Watched my crap-tastic Netflix movie (Red Riding Hood...don't rent it. I gave it two stars because 1 just seems mean.)
• Used my 30 cents off per gallon to fill up my gas tank for less than $50. YAY!
• Killed approximately 34 mosquitoes that were chowing down on my flesh/blood
• Saw Dwayne-The Rock-Johnson while waiting for the streetcar
• Received a card in the mail from my Maw-maw
• Watched Dexter get robbed of multiple Emmy's (2 weeks til the season premiere!)

Now it is time to hit the hay before starting another week at work!

Antiques & Auctions

Lately I have been OBSESSED with TV shows about antiques and auctions. Some of my favorites include: American Pickers, Auction Kings, Picker Sisters, and Auction Hunters. I have always been drawn to vintage items and greatly enjoy perusing garage sales and antique shops eyeing things from years passed.

All of the shows I have been wrapped up in recently have a common theme of hunting and/or discovering treasures all over the country. The guys on American Pickers meet the coolest folks as they rummage through their old barns and sheds. Same for the Picker Sisters, and I love that they are searching for items to transform into modern furniture at their store.

The auction shows are slightly different because they do not always include super old pieces. Auction Kings usually focuses on a few folks who bring things into the gallery to be auctioned off. It is fun to see how the operation is set up, how they attract buyers, and of course the bidding wars that happen can be quite comical! Auction Hunters is exciting because the premise of the show is about buying abandoned storage units at the lowest possible price then re-selling whatever they find inside! There is no poking around in the units prior to the auction so sometimes they stumble across awesome finds!

Perhaps my next career hop will be to this type of world! One filled with scavenger hunts for old-timey gems!

LB's Birthday

Today most Americans across the country are focusing their thoughts on the 10th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. And while I certainly have reflected on the events that occurred a decade ago, I wanted to write a HAPPY BIRTHDAY post for my LB (little brother) who turns 22 today! For almost half of his life his birthday has been overshadowed by solemn feelings, but I think he should be able to celebrate his entrance into the world like everyone else. So here's to you, Bryan, I hope you have had a fabulous birthday :)

School Day Dilemma

My morning commute is usually a tolerable 10-15 minutes across town, but recently things have changed. It seems like no matter which route I take I end up in school traffic. Every main street seems to have at least one school on it. The 20mph school zones are killing me! I was trying to remember how I dealt with this dilemma in previous months then I realized, the last time school was in session I was going to work around 9:00/9:30am therefore missing all the little kiddies skipping off to learn their ABC's. Now that I am going in around 8:00/8:30 I guess I am going to have to deal with all of the backpack-wielding youngsters. More time to catch up on my NPR news I suppose.

After the Rain Comes the Sun

After a long weekend full of rain, dark clouds, and generally yucky weather the city has been rewarded with a few days of absolutely gorgeous conditions! Sunny, cloudless skies, and temperatures in the upper 70's/low 80's. Heaven! I hope it lasts!

Cabin Fever

I have been pretty cooped up this rainy holiday weekend. I have left the house some, but not enough! To attempt to stave off boredom I have done the following:

• Watched Zodiac (a DVD I have had for a long time that I have been meaning to watch)
• Read multiple chapters in Breaking Dawn (yes, I am re-reading the Twilight Saga before the movie comes out in November)
• Did a few loads of laundry
• Dyed my hair (damn grays)
• Cleaned the bathroom
• Wrote some postcards
• Went to the theater with Brie to see Rise of the Planets of the Apes
• Stopped by Creole Creamery for some treats with Brie
• Caught up with Kardashians
• Mixed up a little cocktail of Fruit Punch and Malibu
• Put in a few hours at work to get ahead for tomorrow
• Caught up on a ton of sleep

The rain is over, the weather is cooler, and tomorrow starts a short work week :) Yay!

Cars Can't Swim

Any time a large amount of rain is in the forecast folks start moving their cars to higher ground. The most elevated areas tend to be the neutral ground between the streets so these fill up with vehicles quickly! When Brie and I were out and about yesterday I snapped this picture of a row of cars parked between the lanes.

Bring It On TS Lee!

Tropical Storm Lee can bring it on! Like every other person in town I headed to the grocery store Friday evening to see what I needed before I buckled down for the rain. The bread and toilet paper isles were pretty bare, but I didn't hit those items up. I decided I needed the following: simple snacks (in case the electricity goes out), bottled water (I can't be without my agua!), a trashy magazine (gotta keep up with the latest celebrity gossip), and some Malibu Black plus mixers (to keep things fun).

Of course in seriousness, I do have a flashlight, batteries, toilet paper, candles, a lighter, gas in the car, important documents gathered together, and I am following the weather closely via TV & my phone. Thus far the rain has not been that bad where I am, though I know other areas not far from me are getting pounded. For me all of this rain has induced lots of sleeping and reading!

Back to the Market

I finally made it back to the Hollygrove Market the other day. The market's limited hours of operation and my crazy work schedule has made getting there difficult so I was glad to have the chance to stop by this week.

I ended up with mushrooms, peppers, rice, cucumbers, 2 types of pears, peanuts, butter beans, sprouts, limes, herbs, and a bag of okra (I forgot to include that in my picture).

It was cool to see the different types of things they were offering as opposed to earlier in the summer. They had sugar cane rods available but I wouldn't have a clue what to do with it so I did not purchase one! I don't know what to do with the butter beans--I have never had them before so I will look up some recipes unless anyone has any suggestions?