Christmas in New Orleans

I really can't believe it's Monday already. Such a busy weekend. Which is why I wish we had a couple more weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas. Our weekend started with 2 Christmas parties Friday night. Both were a lot of fun. 

My friend Allison & I have a little tradition where we go to brunch every year for Christmas. This year we decided to head to New Orleans. We wanted to eat somewhere different & there are several hotels that go all out for Christmas so we decided to make a day  of it. 

We started with brunch at The Ruby Slipper. 

There was a 40 minute wait so we had a drink. 

I went with a bloody mary & Allison had their brandy milk punch. I wasn't a fan of the punch but I think if you like egg nog you would enjoy it. 

For my meal I had the Catfish St. Peter. It's Pan-seared Mississippi farm-raised catfish over cheesy grit cakes, topped with poached eggs, sauteed spinach, tomatoes, a skewer of grilled shrimp, finished with a Creole mustard hollandaise. The Creole mustard hollandaise was so good.

The whole thing was amazing. It may be one of the best meals I've ever had. Once brunch was finished we headed to The Roosevelt hotel. 

It was so pretty! The Teddy Bear Tea was going on along with a wedding reception & the bowl game had just finished so there were people EVERYWHERE! It was fun to see all the little kids dressed up in their Christmas outfits for the tea. It was also fun watching an adorable little girl about a year old dressed in her beautiful white smocked dress with a gorgeous white faux fur shrug screaming her little head off while rolling around on the floor of The Roosevelt! It was a lot like Disney World. You know, the happiest place on earth isn't so happy & over stimulated kids are having melt downs everywhere! 

These trees were lining the lobby. They were gorgeous. 

Next up was the Fountain Lounge for a Christmas drink.

This was called Mrs. Claus' Cookie. It was vanilla vodka, brown sugar syrup, cream, vanilla extract & sprinkles! It was so good! Definitely have to think about recreating it.

The next stop was the hotel at Harrah's Casino.They always have a gingerbread house & it's something different every year. It's been a  Mardi Gras float & all sorts of things.

This year it was St. Louis Cathedral. That's the big, beautiful Church in Jackson Square.

The Christmas tree at Harrah's

Fulton Street had some decorations. They have snow & stuff at night.

This was the tree at Fulton Street

We went to the Windsor Court next. They were having Christmas tea so there were a ton of people there too. I loved the tree.

In case you're wondering that's not a real Santa. The tree was so fat & I love FAT trees. I hate this skinny tree trend. I have a skinny tree now because I couldn't find a fat one. It's not nearly as pretty. 

We decided we needed some sort of coffee treat so we went to The Shops at Canal Place to Starbucks. I had my first Peppermint Mocha. It was good!

They also had a huge tree. 

By this time we were ready to head home but Allison's sister & her friend were just getting to New Orleans so met them at The Delachaise for a glass of wine.  I'd never been there before & it was a cute little place. They have tons of wine by the glass along with all sorts of other drinks & small plates. 

Contrary to how this post sounds we are not alcoholics & our drinks were spread out over the course of  8 hours! 

It was a really fun day! 

Are y'all ready for Christmas?

Toodles!