The Beginnings of a Dining Room...

Today's been an excellent day for our house! Someone finally came and bought our sectional, and our new table and dining room chairs were delivered!

Here are some sneak peaks - the room still needs to be painted/wallpapered (I haven't decided which one, yet!), an area rug, and accessories, but I wanted to share our lovely table!

I love tha patina on the table and chairs - both look a bit antiqued and rustic, but they are different shades. The table is more gray and the chairs are more brown. I can't wait until we get more done!

At the very least, I am so thankful that these came in time for Thanksgiving!

NOPD Traffic Tickets

I totally love New Orleans, but can I just say that the NOPD traffic ticket system is a joke?!

I got a ticket for running a stop sign, when there was a police officer standing literally directly in front of me, so I thought he was directing traffic. Nope, he was standing there waving me over because I didn't fully stop at the stop sign. Aside from that, I tried to pay my ticket online and by phone this morning. My ticket says that I am supposed to pay it by 11/18 - 20 days after I received the ticket on 10/28, so I thought I would be responsible and pay it today.

The phone was the best part - I called, entered my ticket number, and waited. The ticket is not yet registered in the system, and it takes up to 20 days for it to register. Awesome. That would be 11/18, right?

Then I pressed 2 to speak to an operator. After the phone rang about 30 times, I got a voice message that said the NOPD traffic department can not answer the phone. And then there was no spot to leave a message! Ugh... sometimes I miss Madison. :)

Helluva Homecoming

This past weekend I went to New Orleans for my 5 year class reunion. Everytime I visit, I get more excited about moving back! There are so many great things about New Orleans, like Tulane, the food, the music, the fun, did I mention the food?

Tulane held a great reception on Friday evening for all of the alumni at the new Lavin-Bernick Center (the L.B.C.), and it was a pleasure to see so many old friends!

Saturday morning, I had a fantastic brunch at Commander's Palace, a quintessential New Orleans brunch spot. They have live jazz, delicious brunch options, and who doesn't love a mimosa or a brandy milk punch?!

Saturday afternoon we tailgated (for about 30 minutes... but it still counted!) And then we went into the Tulane-Army game at the Superdome. I was pleasantly surprised to find more people than normal! We didn't stay for the whole game; it was a bit of a buzz-kill, so instead we wandered through the quarter and met up with some other friends. We ended the night at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, a great little bar past the 'end' of Bourbon street, where we ran into many of our 2005 classmates!

Then on Sunday we had brunch at the Marigny Brasserie on Frenchmen and watched as much of the Saints game as we could before heading to the airport. All in all, a lovely weekend, and I can't wait for y'all to come visit, so I can show you around!

Danny and me at Jackson Square

Fall in Madison

Jon and I were able to spend this past weekend in Madison, WI. It still feels like summer here in Richmond and down in New Orleans, but Madison in September has the perfect feeling of fall.

On Saturday, we got to tailgate for the Wisconsin Badger game! I know all the conferences and schools think their tailgates are the best, but tailgating for the Badger games is one of my favorite things in fall. They don't just use one gigantic parking lot or one area of campus; an entire section of the city is devoted to tailgating! Every business on Regent street gets into the spirit, which includes several bars, but it also inclues some medical office buildings where you can tailgate, the bicycle stores, and even the Indie Coffee store sells beer!

On Regent Street, near Camp Randall

In the Stadium Bar, just across the street from Camp Randall

Then yesterday, I went to one of my favorite markets, Brennans. They have a great selection of local, fresh produce and the BEST selection of Wisconsin cheese.





Wisconsin aged cheddar

 

What would a Wisconsin market be without a fantastic beer selection where you can make your own 6-pack!?



Describe your perfect date...

"Well, I'd have to say April 23. It's not too hot, but it's not too cold. You just need a light sweater!"
- ??? Who knows this movie reference?

If I had to describe my perfect date, it might very well be September 14 in Richmond. :)  It's absolutely gorgeous outside with so much sunshine and a little breeze in the shade.  Perfect!

New Orleans this past weekend was excellent, but it was not very healthy. Although I did bring a vegetable tray to our friends' house during football on Saturday. It's just that we also brough many beers, brats, and chips too. So it evens out?

We went to a great restaurant by John Besh on Friday evening - Lüke on St. Charles (across the street from the Intercontinental.)  It's a franco-german brasserie that specializes in lots of seafood. We had delicious gulf oysters and I also had drum from the gulf! (I am, of course, still eating the seafood. I figure people are probably checking the seafood more than they normally do anyways.)

I especially loved the wood floors that they had throughout the restaurant.

Detox officially over

Well, it's official. We went out to dinner last night, where I ate pork and had a glass of wine. The detox is officially over. Even though we didn't make it 2 weeks, we did make it through 7 days, and I felt great! We went to Kuba Kuba, this great cuban restaurant in Richmond, and I couldn't resist.

In other news, today I found the cutest little store in Carytown - Roan. I have been wanting to see the fall/winter collection from Céline, and I thought I was going to have to go to New York. Lo and behold - Roan, just 10 minutes away from my apartment! Well, they don't have entire collections, but they have a great selection of current pieces from so many designers!  Today I got a camel cashmere short-sleeve sweater by Brunello Cucinelli for 70% off (because I think it was part of the summer collection), but it will be fabulous for fall in the south! I'm so excited about it, I'm going to wear it with my Saints gear for tonight!!!

Day 7 - Oops...

Day 7 started out great, toast and coffee for breakfast, fruit for lunch, but then... one of our good friends was in town for a few days, so we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Richmond - Bouchon.
http://www.bistrobouchon.com/

And it was there that I had an assorted meat and cheese plate, monkfish, and a couple glasses of red wine. Not exactly part of the detox, but totally worth it!