Living La Vida NOLA

Long time no blog. I've been living it up in the big easy this week. Visiting family and friends. Eating at all the good restaurants. Relaxing and reading alot. Most likely I won't be home again in NOLA for over 3 months, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I've also been on a dial-up internet connection from my dad's apartment which has limited my online time and speed for trying to blog.

I spent a couple of days with my Aunt Rosie this weekend (my friend Ree calls her my "kind and wonderful Aunt Rosemary"!). We had a relaxing time chatting and catching up with each other, making plans for possible future travels, and generally enjoying spending time together. I also got to see my Uncle Candy who is currently running for Senate District 1 in Louisiana.

My dad took me to 3 of the city's best places to eat. Saturday night we went to Stella! I had Heirloom Creole Tomatoes with Jumbo Lump Crab and Gulf Shrimp Remoulade, Local Cucumber Salad, Three Heirloom Tomato Gazpachos and Wild Mexican Tomatoes; Followed by “Iron Chef Chili Prawns” ~ New Orleans Style and Caramelized Wild Burgundy Escargots with Fresh Thyme, Local Garlic, Lemon Zest, Basil Pistou and Lavender Meringue. It was all totally delicious!

Monday Night we went to Mr. B's Bistro, where we split Crabmeat Au Gratin Baked in a rich béchamel sauce, garnished with panko crusted Louisiana crab claws as an appetizer and I had one of my New Orleans favorites MR. B'S BARBEQUED SHRIMP - A Mr. B's signature dish! Gulf shrimp barbequed New Orleans style, served in the shells with peppery butter sauce and French bread for dipping, complete with paper bib! It was messy and delicious!

Tuesday night we went to K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, where I had the trio of soups (turtle soup with sherry, chicken and andouille gumbo, and onion soup); followed by a wonderful soft shell crab dish with a tasty sauce and stuffed potato. Again, as usual, it was delicious.

My poor digestive system is on overload for sure and will be glad to get back to more normal and healthy eating patterns again. We only had desert one night, at Stella! where we had some concoction of Banana's Foster French Toast which we split. Other than that I successfully avoided the sugar temptations.

I've been reading The Company: A Novel of the CIA which I picked up at Olsson's bookstore at Reagan Airport heading out of DC Friday afternoon. I enjoy reading on the plane when I travel, and I often will pick up a book at the airport specifically for each trip. My last two were complete duds which I stopped reading before finishing, something I rarely do. But this is an interesting historical fiction type book. Its a big one and I'm over halfway through it. So I'll have lots left to read on the trip back to DC on Sunday.

The rest of this week I will be attending Scrapfest with one of my best friends, Ann. 3 days, 45 hours of scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting. Oh, and lets not forget the all important shopping for scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting supplies! I will try to post some pictures of my layouts and the Scrapfest crop.

Well, its late and I need to be ready to play with my scrapbooking toys by 9 so I'll say goodbye for now. Til next time . . .