NOLA Bucket List

Post Mardi Gras I was able to check a few things off of my New Orleans Bucket List! 

I have ridden the street car from Joseph Street to downtown, but never anything further uptown from my house. So I wanted to ride the entire Carrolton/St. Charles line both ways. It was a gorgeous day to entertain this task! And with most of the Mardi Gras crowd departed, it wasn't too packed.

Cori & I waiting to roll!

Sara got off work early and with a little bit of effort was able to join us on the street car. At one point she was driving beside us trying to get far enough in front that she could park and be at a stop by the time we got there!

The infamous bead tree in front of The Delachaise. It gets so weighted down during parades!

Cori took an awesome time-lapse video of the ride down the entire line! 

After riding down to the end of the line we meandered through the French Quarter, peaking in art galleries and shops along the way. We stopped for happy hour drinks and snacks at Tableau right outside of Jackson Square. Pimms Cup, Dark & Stormy, French 75: all delicious!

Another item on my list was to get my palm read in Jackson Square. Readers are always out, set up and ready to trap tourists so it was only a matter of picking one! 

I was told that I will have two children, whether they are mine, step-kids or adopted, but she made it clear that pets did not count (bummer). I will own my own business at some point in life and will likely experience reproductive issues (I did not let on or help out in any way and did not tell her that I have had an ovary removed, so I am not sure if that is what she is referring to, or if there will be complications should I ever try to have kids). My life line indicates that I will be "nursing home" old. So I guess I have plenty of time to figure out what business I will run! She hit the nail on the head when she said that I tend to decide quickly whether I like someone or not. Haha! The one thing that didn't jive was a comment about me being lucky to be alive, that I experienced something that should have taken my life. I do not know of anything that has happened to me that has put me at serious risk of dying: mom, do I not know something? I mean, everything could be considered a risk. Walking out of the house I could get struck by lightening, staying in my house, someone could crash their car through the house. Who knows. Otherwise, the reading was kind of fun. I don't put much stock into these types of things, but it was an experience :)

She drew some random things on my hands as she explained what they meant. I should have recorded her because of course I don't remember half of it!

Cori did a Tarot card reading with the same lady.

Set up beside the palm/card reader was a lady doing henna. Going with the spirit of playing tourist in my own town, I figured "why not?" and had a geometric print done on my hand! While it wasn't on my bucket list, it was a first.

Cori did a more elaborate floral design. I really liked hers!

The next day we were both sporting ombre burnt orange designs :)

I am typing this a day short of a week later and mine is still holding strong. The part closest to my fingernail is starting to come off. We were advised that it will last a week or two depending on how much scrubbing you do at it.  

So there are a few things ticked off my list. There are a few more to go...

Mardi Gras #6

My first Mardi Gras without having to balance work and fun!!! Woo hoo! It was a constant rallying of energy as usual, but this year I was not dependent on Redbull to pull me through! Cori, Sara and I wore and rotated multiple wigs, we had festive tights, glittery tulle skirts, head bands, and lots of carnival shirts! I felt the most prepared this year: from outfits to footwear to beverages, we had our shit together!

Moonshine in all its flavored glory! Margarita & Blackberry mix very well, and the soaked peaches complimented our champagne wonderfully!

Purple & green wigs for the win!

Sara, Me, Tyler, Brie, and Cori at Thoth

Thoth rolled on Sunday with perfect weather. | Confetti & lights at a night parade

Ribbon fun & lots of costumes on Mardi Gras day downtown

Solange Knowles was the honorary Muse this year. Unfortunately she threw her wedding ring off with beads along the route. I doubt it will ever be recovered. 

Rows & rows of ladders for the kiddies. | A float poking fun at the super slow construction progress occurring all across town!

King Cake daiquiri! | The three amigas ready for Muses!

A group of dominos being knocked down by a car!

Me, Tyler (ready to root for his Panthers in the Super Bowl) & Brie at Thoth

A float in Morpheus. | Clean up post parade. Still amazes me how quickly things return to "clean" after the fun! 

A time-lapse of clean up after Thoth.

More wigged shenanigans :)

AV with his tambourine

Me & Brie on Canal Street catching the tail of Rex

Sara, Jen & Jackie at Morpheus. | Purple suits Sara!

610 Stompers doing their thing!

Anthony Mackie chucked cups at us during Bacchus! 

The annual ground photos of the wreckage.

Another Carnival Season in the books :)

LaPlace

While Cori was here, she, Sara and I took a break from the carnival celebrations and escaped north to LaPlace for pounds and pounds of crawfish! We majorly lucked out with the scenery upon arriving at The Crab Trap. Located a few miles off the interstate and down a country road that ends on the western shores of Lake Pontchartrain, we wandered around outside for a bit as the sun was setting.

Some photos are mine, some are Cori's. We did a massive photo-sharing moment before she left, so they are all mixed up, but they are all beautiful!

The Crab Trap & 3 lbs. of the finest crawfish I've ever had!!

I am really glad that we opted out of parades and crowds that evening. Very much worth it!

More King Cake

Here are the King Cakes I tried this year...

District Donut: Matcha, Satsuma, and Ube... unique and tasty: all of the flavors were subtle! Gave Sara a slice of satsuma and ube, she isn't a matcha fan.

Whole Foods: Pecan Praline... not too heavy on the pecan flavor: I liked it. Shared this one with Sara as well. Figured mom would like it, so I mailed one home!

Rouses: Cream Cheese... soooo much cream cheese, too much in my opinion. I couldn't stomach all of it. Glad I only bought a "small" version.

Shake Sugary: Apple, Cheddar & Rosemary. Fun in concept, but I was not digging it. Too much dried rosemary for me.  One slice was all I could do. Others liked it, especially when slightly warmed up.

O'Delice: Cream Cheese... my all time favorite :) I had two of these this season!! It is the only one out of all of the cakes I bought that I actually finished. I know it is a lot of waste, but I am glad I got to try a bunch of different kinds.

I can definitely stand to do without King Cake for a few months. Very much over all of the sugar!!

See my other King Cake adventures here and here!

30: Good Grief

February 2nd, Groundhog's Day: Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring, and I turned 30 years old. Woo hoo! I received many texts, cards, Facebook posts, and calls wishing my a happy birthday. I am not one to make a fuss out of birthdays but I'll admit that it is nice to feel the love!

I was lucky enough to get to celebrate the milestone with some friends at Tracey's! Sara, Brie, Tyler, Averill, Amy, Eller, Jason, and Kenneth (and his girlfriend, whose name I can't remember...hey...I'm getting old and forgetful) all came out to drink, eat and play trivia as their schedules permitted. Our trivia team won, putting the proverbial icing on the cake for the evening! Sara and Brie were in cahoots and surprised me with a cake from Debbie Does Doberge along with fun birthday decorations!

Post Tracey's Sara, Brie and I met up with AV at St. Joe's for a drink.

I'm not going to get into all of the thoughts that have ping-ponged around in my head about what this birthday means, I am just going to take it as it is and keep doing my thing. Age is just a number :)

King Cake Festival

Ochsner held their third annual King Cake Festival at Champion Square outside the Superdome on Sunday. The proceeds from the event benefit the children's hospital. There were over two dozen vendors and food trucks cranking out samples of their version of a king cake while bands played on the stage. Each sample cost a ticket ($1) and you were given two doubloons upon entering the festival to use for casting your vote for People's Choice. 

 

Sara and I each had 10 tickets to gobble up. I was feeling adventurous and tried Kingfish's "Mardi Foie King Cake" made with foie gras (fattened goose liver) and a duck fat icing. It was the only savory slice I had, all others were laden with sugar. I can't remember all of the bakeries we tried, but after 9 samples I was DONE! I couldn't force a 10th down. 

Most bakeries served tiny samples in little plastic cups. Maurice's French Pastries had a strawberry shortcake like option. One I tried was apple fritter and another was sweet potato. Some were like doughnuts, others brioche. There was something for everyone.

The Hyatt Regency's bakery, Pain Frais, did a fried dough filled with chocolate curry sauce with toasted coconut. They had the longest line of any vendor and their portion was huge compared to everyone else's! It was unique and very tasty: worth the 20 minute wait!

The creepy King Cake Baby was wandering around taking picture with everyone. Curtis (Sara's brother), Sara and I took our turn as her parents watched!

I left the festival feeling glad to have gone and participated but sick from all of that sugar. Despite the fact that while working at Sucre I was surrounded by sweets and king cakes, this year, without working there, I have tried a bunch of other cakes and feel 10x worse. I have less than a week more of temptation then they'll be gone from bakeries and grocery stores until next year. Just typing this makes me want to go eat a handful of lettuce to counteract the sugar.