Je voudrais faire du lèche-vitrines à Paris

From H prints

Also check out the Printemps virtual store windows here.

Mmm... Beer

The 11 Christmas (including 1 Hanukkah!) beers we sampled

 The beer class I took on Wednesday at Stein's Deli was one of my favorite things that I've done in New Orleans! Several times a year, Stein's opens up for a beer class taught by Derek Lintern, beer connoisseur and home brewer. Typically, the class takes a very instructional form, and you learn about the different ingredients in beer, how they change how the beer tastes, and then sample beers that highlight each style.


Dan Stein, owner, (left), and Derek Lintern, beer class instructor (right)



This class was a special holiday class where we sampled a variety of Christmas style beers. Some of my favorites were the Anchor Christmas Ale, Mikkeler From: and To:, and the HaandBryggeriet Bestefar. Derek described how each of the different beers were made, what styles they were, and the process how they get their distinct Christmas flavors. Dan provided insight into the business-side of brewing, like how beer distribution works here in the U.S. 

I found the class very interesting, and it was cool to learn about the different beers and their breweries. And we got to taste lots of great beers and had fantastic specialty meat and cheese trays from the deli! Overall, an excellent night and well worth the minimal fee ($17).

  

 

Derek describing how the different beers get their flavors



Stein's has a fantastic beer selection, and their sandwiches are delicious! Next time you are in New Orleans, go check them out!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

At least here it is; I've started decorating for Christmas! I realized the Friday after Thanksgiving that we only had 3 weekends to spend at home before we left to start traveling for the holidays, so this week, we got the tree, and I've been working on decorating it!

There's a store near our house on Magazine St. called Hazlenut, and they have the most fabulous gifts and home accessories. They have the store all decked out for Christmas, and going there gives me so much inspiration!  This week, I got the iced magnolias peeking out of the tree from there, and I also got a Bougainvillea candle in the Holiday scent. That plus some Christmas music has me in the Christmas spirit!

House Pics

I wanted to share some pictures of the house for those folks who haven't seen it yet! We are still definitely in the process of making it our own with furniture and stuff, but consider this the 'before', and the 'after' will come along, slowly but surely!



This is a new piece I just got. It's in the master bedroom

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