NOLA Part Deux

After having a drink at The Carousel Bar we headed to Mr. B's Bistro. It's owned by the Brennan family which has a ton of restaurants in NOLA.

Allison & I wanted to try the Champagne Royale ("Champs" Royale for all you RHOOC fans!).

It's sparkling wine with a splash of Chambord. It was really good! We completely forgot to take pics of our food. We ended up ordering off of the appetizer menu & shared everything. We had a bowl of seafood gumbo, catfish fingers, crab cake & fried oysters. The gumbo was a dark roux. It was ok. I prefer a light roux. The oysters were good & the crab cake was really good & had a great sauce with it. However, $14 for 1 small crab cake was a bit much. The catfish to me was just ok. I think Dean's is a lot better. We weren't planning on dessert but they are known for their bread pudding so we sucked it up & ordered one to share. It had raisins which I don't like but I just didn't eat them. The bread pudding was sooooo good!

Our next stop was  Lafitte's Blacksmith. They're famous for a "purple drank". Basically, it's a grape daiquiri that has Everclear in it. Allison & I were the only one's that wanted to try it so we just got one & shared.

It was good. Wendy & Vicki wanted normal flavored daiquiri's that didn't have Everclear so we made another stop on Bourbon.

I had to laugh when I saw these tiny little daiquiri's. I didn't think they had something that size in New Orleans. Wendy said when she ordered a small the guy asked "are you sure you want a small?". Haha! We stopped at Fleurty Girl to do a little shopping. I bought a really cute bracelet.

Allison & I wanted to try a Mint Julep. Notice a trend here? Me & Allison are the ones that want to try all the drinks!! HAHA! We went to the Davenport Lounge that's inside The Ritz-Carlton.

We decided to sit on the patio since it was so pretty. The patio is actually part of the M Bistro.

I could've sat here all day. There was a nice breeze.

Allison decided instead of a Mint Julep she'd try a drink called an Audubon Tea.

It's Vodka, Ice Tea & Lemonade. It was really good! I

I broke out the wedding cake fudge for a snack! Sooo good!!

It's a good thing the weather was nice because it took forever for my Mint Julep to arrive. Vicki made the comment that the bartender must be picking the mint. The waitress came by & said that she was sorry for the delay but the bartender was "replenishing her mint supply". HAHA! It was ok.  A little strong but I loved the crushed ice! The Audubon Tea was better. We had to make another bathroom stop. It was very nice. Just as you would expect a bathroom at The Ritz to be.

Not a good pic but you get the idea.

Our last stop (supposedly) was Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

How good does that look?? We ordered frozen cafe au lait's but there was something wrong with the machine. I swear frozen drink machines gone awry is the story of my life. We ended up with iced coffee. It wasn't good. Not awful but really not good.  The beignets on the other hand were AMAZING! We all decided that we must have good coffee to make up for the bad stuff. Lucky for us I'd spotted a Starbucks right across from the parking lot we were in.

Yay for a caramel light frappuccino. It wasn't supposed to have the whip, just caramel drizzle but that's ok. It was delightful.

We had a wonderful day with a LOT of laughs & some good food. I enjoyed it all but I don't think anything was any better than what we can get in Baton  Rouge.

Toodles!

NOLA

Y'all may not know but that's the common abbreviation for New Orleans, LA. I went with my friends, Vicki, Allison & Wendy to spend the day in NOLA Saturday. We were on a self guided "Taste of New Orleans" as we called it. We just wanted to go around to some of the places that are well known for certain foods & try them. Allison did this with her aunts & sisters & since they had so much fun we decided to do it.  I'll divide this up into 2 post because there are so many pictures! Wendy & I had to grab a drink for the road.  Starbucks was perfect.

Caramel Light Frappuccino! Then we hit the road. Our first stop was Central Grocery "Home of the original Muffuletta! This place is a little grocery store that has a counter that sells muffuletta's with a couple of counters in the back of the store to sit & eat. We got there around 11:15 so there was no line & we were able to snag 4 stools.

We only got a half & we split it 4 ways. We had a lot of tasting to do.

It was DELICIOUS!!! My only real issue here was the fact that you could buy bottled Barq's Root Beer or there was a Coke machine. I don't drink out of cans or bottles. I need (yes need) a cup with ice & a straw then I'm happy to pour my drink from the can over the ice. I ended up with a Dr. Pepper & a straw. Not ideal but better than drinking directly from the can.

Wendy & Vicki. Vicki was the muffuletta slicer.

All of those people were in line outside when we left. Next up was Johnny's Po-boys.

At this stop we were trying their shrimp po-boy & their roast beef po-boy.

This is a deli/restaurant. There was a line here but we only had to wait about 10 minutes.

We were hoping to only buy half of each po-boy but they don't sell half's at Johnny's. I don't normally eat roast beef po-boys. Not that I don't like them, I just never eat them. This one was really good but it had gravy & that makes the bread get soggy fast & I don't like soggy bread. The shrimp po-boy was good but not as good as the "best shrimp po-boy ever" at Roberto's which is just a few miles away from my house!

Vicki & Allison ready for a taste.

Me & Wendy. Incidentally, do you see that door behind Wendy? That's the bathroom. The only problem with eating & drinking around the city is that at some point you'll need a potty. This is New Orleans, you know they're not known for their cleanliness. This bathroom wasn't awful, but I've certainly seen better.

When we left the line was out the door. How lovely for those people to have to stand in line for lunch alongside the trash cans. The next stop was dessert.

We tasted pralines & they were really good.

See that layer of orangey stuff? Well, the little pink slab that's next to it is Wedding Cake Fudge. O.M.G. Sooo good!!! It tasted like butter cream icing. I loved it!

I thought these were adorable. We bought a few things to nibble on later. We decided it was time for a drink. We went to The Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.

 It's so pretty! I loved the outside of the building.

I had a pomegranate martini & those are some "fun snacks" as our waitress called them. It was party mix which I love! I also had a little treat with my martini.

We bought a couple at Southern Candymakers. It totally puts Reeses to shame.

Look at the bar behind Vicki & Wendy. It looks like a carousel & the when you're sitting at the bar it moves in a circle just like one! BTW, the potty here was great!

Toodles!

I LOVE Friday!

I would love it more if I didn't have to work! In keeping with my love theme I thought I'd share some stuff that I'm loving right now.

First up is my new guacamole bowl.

Well, that's what I call it. Apparently, the correct name is a Mortar & Pestle. We've been wanting one since our cruise when we went to the guacamole & salsa making class. Notice I said "we". It's for the kitchen so Dean's interested in it. I saw this one on Open Sky last week. Do y'all know about Open Sky? It's one of those discounted shopping sites & this one has stuff that all sorts of people (stars, etc.) recommend. Some stuff is priced really well & there are some ridiculous things like $350 shirts. This was recommended by Guy Fieri. You know the Diners, Dives & Drive thru guy? It was $44 but Open Sky is always sending credits out. Normally, the credit is off of a $40 purchase. I had a $20 credit so I thought it was a deal. I'd shopped around & there were some less expensive but they didn't look that great.  I was so excited when it was delivered. It's SOOOO heavy. It probably weighs 10-15 lbs. I know that's not that heavy but for something like this it is. I love it so much I think I'm going to leave it out on the bar area. If you want to see what Open sky is about you can follow this link. I'll get credit for referrals.

Next up?

My Keurig. I still love this thing so much. When it eventually breaks I'll be RUNNING to the store for a new one. Dean asked me the other day if I was addicted to coffee now. I'm not. I don't have to have it. Some mornings I drink Chocolate milk or green tea. I just love the convenience of this thing.

Speaking of green tea, it's next on the list.

I was thrilled when I saw Tazo green tea K-cups. I'd bought another brand but Tazo is my fave! It's what they sell at Starbucks. When I walked in Starbucks & saw the iced green tea bags I didn't think I'd be able to contain myself! I know I'll be drinking more of it this summer because it's so refreshing. I can use these tea bags in my ice tea maker. So good. I've also discovered that apparently, this is one of those things that everyone doesn't like. My mom freaked out when she tasted it & talked about how awful it was. Sunday, Lydia had some & she didn't like it all either & she likes green tea. She likes the kind that is more citrusy. The Tazo has a spearmint flavor & that's what I love about it.

Next on the list are these.

I LOVE these socks! The fit my narrow feet perfectly. They don't move when I run. I don't have an extra wad of sock by my pinky toes either. I can't describe the greatness of these socks. I have 3 pair & I'm about to search the Internet to see if I can find them cheaper than $9.00 a pair.

Last but not least,

I LOVE chocolate milk. Always have. I'm not a fan of plain "white milk". Everyone used to laugh at me that I was having a little milk with my chocolate. I put HEAPING spoonfuls of Nesquik in the milk. It looked more like a shake than milk.  I stopped drinking it for a long time because of the calories. Well, then I read an article about how chocolate milk is wonderful for muscle recovery & lots of runners drink it after a run. Then they talked about "no sugar added nesquik". HUH??? I had no idea there was such a thing. They have in other flavors too. 2 tablespoons is only 35 calories. Believe it or not, 2 tbls is enough for me. Sometimes at night when I want a snack I have a glass.

What's everyone loving these days??

Toodles!

Weigh In Thursday

Thanks for all of the nice comments about our kitchen. It was hard work but I'm so happy I did it. I love how it turned out!

This week I had a gain. Only .4 though. This is really confusing me. Last week I only ran twice & didn't go to Yoglates at all & I lost over a pound. This week I've gone to Yoglates twice & I've ran twice & I gained. Who knows.

Speaking of Yoglates. Monday was the first time I'd been to class in 10 days because of the kitchen project. I've said it before & I'll say it again, I don't ever want to skip that long. Of course, I know it will end up happening because stuff just comes up. It was so hard. I just felt completely out of whack. It's the strangest thing. Tuesday was better. Still hard but not as bad as Monday. Today we'll have a new routine & I hope I'm back in the groove.

Yesterday, I had a hair appointment. I had to get rid of that grey hair that I found. I got a trim & I went with lighter highlights than the last couple of times. Here are a couple of pics of the back.

You can't really tell how the highlights look. I love the way the layers look. This is the 3rd time I've been to the new Stylist. I cannot say enough good things about her. I've loved my hair every time & I've even loved how she styles it. That was never the case with my old Stylist. I really liked her but I  never liked how she actually fixed my hair.

Yes, I only have pics of the back & sides because I was getting ready for bed & didn't have any make up on. HA!

I bought a product too.

It's Keratin oil by Global Keratin. The brush  that changed my life is the same brand.  It's supposed to be really good for your hair. It can be used on wet or dry hair. I plan to use it on dry hair to tame the fly aways. I hate those things & I have a lot. This stuff smells amazing! Kinda like cotton candy but better. I'll let you know how it works.

Toodles!

Guess What??

I interrupt this regularly scheduled Weigh In Wednesday for PICTURES!!! Pictures of what?? THE KITCHEN!! I know, it's taken forever but I've got them & there's a lot of them. They were taken with my iPhone &  the lighting isn't the best.

First up - the desk area. I mentioned before that I'm not using it as a desk but as a bar/butler's pantry. I have our crystal in these cabinets. (Well, currently it's all in the guest bedroom but it will be here eventually). My crystal that matches my china is in the china cabinet. The stuff in this area is the stuff we actually use. The  little cubbies are great for bottles. Here's the before picture.

 No granite & white paint. The after.

Sorry for the phone & internet stuff. That will be taken care of in the decorating process. It's REALLY hard to take a pic of this area because it's right off the kitchen in the hall. The cabinets are the same color as the island. Since it's meant to be a desk area there aren't cabinets below the granite but I would love to have the extra storage so I'm going to see about adding that. 

This is a before pic of the island & one side of the kitchen. The island had black granite tile & the counters had the same ceramic tile that's on the floor. That will be changed out as well but not anytime soon.Also the lovely wood trimmed fluorescent lights are on my to do list.

There are holes where the drawers belong because we'd already taken them out getting ready for the granite when I remembered to take pictures. Here's the after. Please excuse the area in the background that has tools on it. Dean had just finished putting all the cabinet pulls on. He wasn't overly thrilled with me for buying pulls that required him to measure & drill 2 holes for each one. I've said before he's very inventive & he made himself a templet & they all look great!

  

This is a more accurate picture of the color. The paint color is Valspar Golden Eagle. We bought new bar stools last weekend. The seats of the old ones were tearing up & they had nail head trim which I liked but they scratched up the wood on the island because they always got pushed up against it. The cushions are dark brown.

 Before of the sink area.

After - The kitchen gets A LOT of natural light so it's hard to get good pictures. I LOVE my new 60/40 deep sink.

I'm a really bad photographer. That pink thing on the left side is a cup. Obviously, I didn't want that in the pic!

Here's a close up of the paint & the cabinet hardware. After a ridiculous amount of time trying to decide what I wanted & also trying not to go broke at the same time I found these on Overstock. Knobs & pulls are expensive!

 

Here's the cook top area before paint but after granite & the back splash was installed.

The after

The new dishwasher

 It's so quiet!

There are still a few minor things left to do. I plan to get those taken care of soon. It's just really hard to get stuff done during the week between work & working out & all the regular stuff that needs to be done, like eating. I'm sure you noticed in the pictures the lack of face plates on all the outlets. That was something else that I put a ridiculous amount of thought & time into. I made a decision Sunday after getting a few opinions from the family. Now Dean just has to turn off the electricity & change everything out. I don't play with electricity. I could really hurt myself. HA! Also, the decorating isn't done. It's just a plain kitchen until I take the time to put everything back out. I'm just happy all the hard work is done!

Toodles!