Family festivities

While Kenny was in a meeting all day yesterday in preparation for the International Workboat Show at the New Orleans Convention Center, I joined my Aunt Paula (a.k.a. QP) and Mom for lunch. We were celebrating Paula's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants in the Quarter: Mr. B's. Her work friend James was also able to meet us, and the four of us had a great lunch. Happy Birthday, QP.....hope you had a good one!

The birthday girl

Birthday balloons!

Mom and me

And, since Mom was already downtown, she decided to stay and take my brother and me to dinner at La Cote Brasserie. This worked out well for me since the restaurant is located in the hotel where Kenny and I are staying for the rest of the week. The charbroiled oysters and steamed mussels were fantastic! I was stuffed after all of that, but Kenny and a few of his coworkers were right down the street at Emeril's for a late dinner after their meeting, so I walked over and joined them. Ken picked out a great wine called Belle Glos pinot noir, and I was made to try a bit of both the calamari appetizer and the veal entree. And who can pass up a free creme brulee dessert, especially at Emeril's? Not I!

Me, Mom, and Jeff @ LCB

Mom and I found out later that my Uncle Johnny (a.k.a. UJ) surprised Paula by flying one of her best friends into town on her birthday night. Jenn is very special to our family, so it is such a treat to have her here for a couple of days! Today the five of us went to lunch at a place called The Country Club in the Bywater area. It was nothing special, but at least the company was good! After lunch we headed down to Magazine Street and walked around for a few hours, including getting dessert at Sucre. Their coconut fudge gelato is SO good. We stopped at 5 Happiness on our way back to the Quarter to pick up dinner and enjoyed a leisurely evening at the Chartres Street Guesthouse. Both the Hornets and the Tarheels won big tonight, and QP declared herself the night's Rummikub champion. All in all, a fantastic night!

Mom, QP, and Jenn @ Sucre

One year down...

Yesterday was Kenny's and my first wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been a whole year since we got married! It sure was a fun 12 months, so we decided to celebrate the occasion right. We came down to the place where our reception was held, the Omni Royal Orleans, and stayed two nights in the hotel. We were given a great room on the second floor overlooking Royal Street, complete with a big balcony! We were out there as much as we could stand the cold and the wind.

Our great balcony overlooking Royal Street

Sunday night we walked around the Quarter a bit and stopped at a little Creole restaurant for dinner. After trying both types of gumbo (seafood and chicken/sausage), crab balls, and shrimp creole, we were sufficiently stuffed. On the way back to our room we picked up a bottle of wine at a corner grocery store and braved the weather for a bit to drink it out on our balcony. A great way to end our anniversary eve!

Sunday dinner in the Quarter

Our anniversary morning dawned bright and sunny, but we took our time and enjoyed being lazy for a few hours. For lunch we went to Hipstix on Tchoupitoulas, which I've been wanting to try for a long time. It was good, but Pho Bang is better and cheaper! After lunch we had a couple of hours to kill before our next planned event, so I dragged Kenny to the Riverwalk. We found him a great khaki blazer at the Gap, which he needed since the weather was much cooler than he thought it was going to be! And of course, what visit to the RW would be complete without a trip to the Fudgery?? One word: YUM.

Lunch @ Hipstix

Our afternoon outing was taking a tour of the New Orleans Rum Distillery on Frenchman Street. Neither of us had ever been before, so it was the perfect chance to see how they make their delicious rum. Julie, the newest distiller, gave us a great tour of the small operation, which is owned by James Michaelopolous. We had such a wonderful time! Afterwards, since the day was so pretty, we walked around the Quarter for an hour or so to work off some of the rum we had tasted.

New Orleans Rum Distillery

St. Louis Cathedral

Trying to recreate my bridal portrait in Jackson Square!

A pretty New Orleans entryway

When we arrived back at the Omni we found a surprise waiting in front of our door! The Omni's catering manager, Celeste, had sent us a bottle of champagne and 4 huge chocolate covered strawberries. We worked very closely with her throughout the wedding planning last year, and it was so sweet of her to send us an anniversary treat. Thanks, Celeste!

Champagne and strawberries

For our anniversary dinner we decided to return to the place Kenny took me before he proposed two years ago. It's a great little place (now in a new location on North Peters) called Iris. Sunchoke and cauliflower soup and roasted duck for me; steamed mussels and bacon-wrapped rabbit for Ken. Throw in a great bottle of wine from Chile called Pinot Black and we had ourselves a fabulous meal.

In the lobby of the Omni, all decked out for Christmas

Dinner @ Iris

Dinner @ Iris

Before turning in upstairs we stopped at the Touche Bar in the Omni for dessert drinks. This is the place that our families apparently shut down after our wedding one year ago. The two of us had never been, so we couldn't think of a better way to end our night this year! Happy Anniversary, Baby...I love you!

Another fun wedding

Last night Kenny and I traveled to Gonzales for Mike and Kim's wedding. The ceremony was short and sweet, in a cute little chapel at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, and the reception followed at Elegant Affairs. A few of our friends made the drive to join in the celebration, and Mom and Dad S. were even there. The bride and groom looked very happy to have finally arrived at their big day. Congrats to you both, and have fun on your Caribbean cruise!

The happy couple

Brig, Ash, and me

Becky, Danny, Ann Marie, and Jason

Family photo

Kenny and Mike, practically lifelong friends!

It seems like just yesterday that we were gearing up for our own wedding, and here we are at our one year anniversary! We'll be spending it in the French Quarter, so look for updates later this week on where we decided to eat, drink, and play. :)

One year down, with many more to cherish

Thanks and giving and drinking our sorrows away

Despite being sick I had a great Thanksgiving this year. Kenny and I drove in from Lafayette on Thursday morning and went straight to my parents' house. We arrived early so there was plenty of time to play with Doug the puppy! Jeff is taking care of him while Erin is in Arkansas with her family, so there are currently 3 cats and 1 dog living together under one roof. It has certainly been interesting.

Me and Doug

Our Turkey Day group this year was on the small side (13 people); we only needed one table! The food was fantastic, as always, especially dessert. I love me some Mississippi mud pie, especially when my mom makes it. She even made a whole extra pie for me to take home! I am excited about that, but I know I'll end up eating the whole thing since Kenny doesn't like chocolate.....

Kenny, me, Jeff, Mom, Dad

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday, while Mom decorated the house for Christmas (which, as you may or may not know, is an ordeal....she has 12 big bins full of stuff), the rest of us watched LSU fall behind to Arkansas, then completely take control of the game, only to end up losing by one freaking point. We will not speak any more about this. Instead, a group of us went to Lager's to get some burgers and beer, a good solution for any time you're down. As I have said before, there's always next season!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday....only 26 more days until Christmas!

Ole Miss game

The game on Saturday certainly was not the way we wanted to end the season, but at least the weather was nice! The tailgate was a little bare, but the chicken and sausage pastalaya was yum. And scoring two free tickets to the game was great. Let's just hope next season will be ten times better than this one. :)

Ken and some pastalaya

Sean and Alan in their Ole Miss-like attire

Me with my "lettuce wrap"

Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium

Me and Kenny

Let there be Christmas lights

Even though it's really too early I had Ken put up our outside Christmas lights this afternoon. We weren't going to have another chance to do it until the second week in December, so today had to be it! If anything it was a good excuse for him to go to Lowe's and buy a ladder, which he's been needing. So the first stage of our Christmas decorating is done, and I hope to get a few more things to add to the outside of the house when I go to Sam's and Hobby Lobby tomorrow. I love the holidays!

Getting some use out his shiny new ladder!

"please stop taking my picture so I can finish this, woman!"

A surprise proposal!

On Friday night my brother finally proposed to his girlfriend of over 4 years. Kenny and I were so excited to hear the news! And the way Jeff did it was so great. The story's a little long, but let's just say a few of Erin's favorite foods, a cozy fire, and a new puppy were involved! See below for a pic of the happy couple, with their first new family addition: Doug the dachshund. Congrats you two; I already can't wait for the Big Day!

Latest book

I finally finished The Historian and am now on to The Clearing, by Tim Gautreaux. The novel is set in the swamps of Louisiana in the 1920s. The story is about the relationship between two brothers, one struggling with post-war trauma and the other just trying to bring him back home to Pennsylvania and his family. I'm almost halfway through, but this one has failed to truly capture my attention. Gautreaux devotes a good amount of time to describing the logging business, so at least I'll learn something new!

Apparently, real men DO eat quiche

I recently found a recipe for chicken, asparagus, and onion quiche and decided that it looked good enough to try making. Ken wasn't hugely excited about it, but he agreed to give it a chance. I made it last night and invited Bobby over for dinner and to watch the Hornets game. While the Hornets were a bust, my quiche was a hit! The three of us just about polished it off completely, and both boys are secure enough in their masculinity to admit they really enjoyed it. Like Bobby said, "if it tastes good, I'll eat it!"

Lunch with the parents

Mom and Dad are on their way from Houston to NOLA for the holidays, and they decided to stop off at my house for a late lunch today. And, since they're going to be in town for a number of weeks, they had the kitties with them! The two felines roamed the house and explored while the 3 of us ate. I was very close to having them leave Jem and Scout with me for the week, but I didn't think Ken would like it too much since he's allergic. Anyway, even though it was a short visit, I was glad they stopped!

Me with Scouty, who tolerates my affection, but only for a little while

Dad, probably on a very important call, on his day off

The Big Orange kitty: Jem