In My Closet of Old

Here is a look into the closet of my past. I think it's much more interesting than my current status quot "adult" wardrobe. Some of you will probably wonder if I actually wore this stuff. Yes, I did. Very proudly. One of my recent posts "Adolescence" inspired me to do this one.

The dress above is one that I got in a store in Soho, in NYC, when I was 16. It only cost $10 bucks, which is an amazing bargain if you've ever been shopping in the Soho! If I would've met my husband in the days when I wore this dress, black knee high boots and fishnets required, I believe he would have instantly fallen for me. (Shh! He still reads comic books.)

This wrinkled and stained little number was once a lot cleaner looking. Don't know how or when the stains happened. I got it in New Orleans, when I lived there, at my favorite thrift store on Magazine St. called The Fuzzy Monkey. Man, I have some great memories of the times I wore this dress. Concerts, parties, that time I had too much to drink at the Flogging Molly show and got sick all over Toulouse St. Um, yeah, I digress.


Lastly, but not least, is my patchwork hippie skirt. This thing was made with lots of love. It's in the details. I got it in Ruston, LA. when I was going to the university there, La Tech. There was this little hole in the wall thrift store off the main drag, Trenton St. Don't remember what it was called, but the little old lady there was so nice. My boyfriend at the time, Gary, and I helped her to clean her store for free. She just had a lot on her plate, and we liked her so much. I wonder what happened to her.

Disclaimer: The clothing you have just seen look a whole lot better when worn by the little, short artist girl who owns them. That mannequin is just too darn perfect!

Cool Crafter Alert!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow blogger and Etsy crafter, Amie, from A Punkin Card Company. She made this lovely sage green butterfly card which I thought would be perfect for Mother's Day. It was so exciting to receive more than just the card that I was expecting. In Louisiana, we call this Lagniappe, which in Cajun speak means "a little something extra". Amie presented this bag to me full of fun stuff such as a little bar of yummy smelling soap, and a hand made Thank You card. You can check her out at http://APunkinCardCompany.etsy.com

Now, I have to cut this short because I woke up today feeling awful. Though I have already been to the doctor and back, I can't muster the energy to go pick up my script, and it's only two minutes up the road. Ugh! To make matters worse, I am not allowed to have any caffeine for a couple days. Now, I feel awful like when I woke up, plus I have a pounding headache from the lack of my precious life giving coffee. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep now...possibly for days. Trey, wake me up when it's over.

Vino A Go Go

If you've been following my blog for the past month or so, you know that last month I had a wine tasting party. Well, the party was such a hit that my friend, Jeffery, decided we should do it every month. This time, he played host to all at his uncle's home where we had the buffet d' vino.
I was absolutely fascinated by this guy's home. A man after my own heart. Feast your eyes on the many photos that I just had to take. In every corner, there were eye catching vignettes.


The gent's massive clock collection had to be divided between two walls! You know how much I like clocks, and want a collection of my own. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I walked into that room. The Egyptian in the corner is fashioned after a sarcophagus. What is in it? I cannot divulge.


I really enjoyed the clash of cultural objects found in this home. There were African, Egyptian, French, Indian, Asian, and more all thrown together and the effect is really quite stunning.

This smorgasbord of all things yummy (above) was put together by Jeffery. He is quite talented in the culinary arts. Chocolate covered pineapples (my favorite), grapes, and strawberries, oh swoon! For this, pray you get invited next time.


The wine tasting party part deux was a hit, so Trey and I will be hosting the next one. I hope to see all of you there, those whom have come before, and those whom we have not yet met. Adieu.

What I Love About the South

I was born and raised in Louisiana, and though I have lived in many cities and states, I have never moved away from the south. I realize that the south is quite different from the rest of the states and I'd like to share some local color with you that Hollywood has just never quite captured correctly.


First of all, the majority of the people who live in Louisiana are not dumb, inbred, hicks who get around in a kayak. We too have malls, paved streets, universities, culture, and history. The following is a list of some of our charming and sometimes laughable local color:

*All brands of soda, such as Sprite, Dr. Pepper etc., are referred to as Coke. (ie: What kind of Coke do you want?)
*Shopping carts are referred to as "buggies".
*When one is about to do something, we say, "fixin' to..."


In my opinion, actors never quite get the southern accent down. For example: Any word with a long I sound will be pronounced as an A. (ie: Tire is pronounced "tar". Fire becomes "far") I'm sure you get the picture. The food here in the south is absolutely delicious. You just can't beat it. If you're a guest, you'll always receive a heaping serving of "Lagniappe" (pronounced Lan-yapp), meaning a little something extra. We're a bunch of Crayfish (pronounced Crawfish) eattin', backwards talkin', friendly folks, and that is....


....what I love about the south....

Shopping Day

I actually went grocery shopping today. It's one of my most loathed chores, but once I did it, I felt unexpectedly good. Hopefully, it will have that same strange effect on me next time too.

While at the store, I looked for the fixings for homemade pizza, sans homemade crust. That's not my specialty. It's Trey's. There, I found a jar of Monjunis pizza sauce to use. If you don't live in Louisiana, the chances are great that you've never heard of Monjunis. What a shame! They are a statewide chain of Italian Restaurants specializing in the typical Italian fare such as pastas, and muffalletas. (Are muffalletas typical, or is that just a southern thing?) Their sauce is to die for. It's a little sweet and quite flavorful. They have an online grocery where you can buy a jar of their sauce among other things. Check it out. You won't regret it.

The pizza turned out to be delicious. I used focaccia bread as the crust, added minced garlic, the Monjuni Sauce, of course, diced onions, and three cheeses including feta. Mmmm...C'est Si Bon!

Other than grocery shopping, I went looking for nick-nacks to fill some of the empty space on our new favorite piece of furniture. There was no where else that I wanted to go but Paul Michael Co., a local and eclectic import store. What a massive treasure chest that place is! My dad was quite impressed with the outcome of my decorating frenzy, and asked what I thought Trey would say when he saw it. My answer: How much did that cost?!

How right I was. It was the first thing he said! Do I know my guy or what?

Moveable Feast

Oh, man! Things got really hectic for me just before the guests arrived for our party last night, and before I knew it I had six people in my living room. I hadn't even finished getting dressed! My camera was nowhere near handy, and I didn't get to take one single photo, nor did it even cross my mind. Of course, it was when everyone had gone and I finally got to bed that I remembered.

We had a good turn out, and I got to see friends that I haven't seen in a long time. Everyone brought a bottle of wine , and a few people brought food. There was organic King Cake, Wookie Cookies (without the hair), baked Brie, sugared grapes, and a meat and cheese platter. We ate and drank well.

Only an hour before the party, my Dad and I were brainstorming on a fun party activity. Since everyone was to bring wine, he suggested that we grade them, so he typed up a paper for everyone to list their favorite vino on a scale of 1 to 5. I took the idea a step further and decided to have everyone vote anonymously on their favorite drink. Whomever brought the beverage with the most votes would win a prize. The prize was a bottle of Chianti, and the winners of the bottle were Brandi and Fred. Congrats and enjoy!

Trey and I thoroughly reveled in the good time, and it seems that our guests did as well. I believe some new friendships were made, and Trey and I hope to see everyone again very soon.

Tea Time!

Lately, I have been pining for a proper tea set. I've looked for a vintage set in Antique Alley, a quaint shopping village of sorts just three minutes up the road from my house, but I did not find any that I just had to have. The tea cup and saucer in the photo were found in Antique Alley, but there were only two cups, and It did not have a tea pot or any other accessories. So, my search continues.

Of all places, I found an entire tea set that I really want in the St. Francis Hospital gift shop, only another five minutes from my house. The only thing is, it's going to cost about $120.00 or so for the whole set. I guess you can't expect to have a proper, lovely, and cohesive tea set for cheap. Still, a girl can dream.

Now that I brought the most local hospital up, I have to tell you that I am sooo excited that they are getting a Starbucks in their cafeteria! We, in the Twin Cities have only just been fortunate enough to get our first two Starbucks a mere few months ago. So far, there hasn't been one close enough to my house that I could just pop on over and quickly pick one up. In this town, if it takes more than 15 minutes to get there, it's far. Now, I'll be one of the hospital groupies that will be seen weekly coming to get a fix. No, not that kind. Coffee. Now, I must go and make a pot.

Talk of The Big Easy

I'm no football fan, but I think I would be remiss if I didn't say that it's too bad the Saints lost the finals. I think I speak for most of us Louisianians when I say that we're all pretty proud of the boys for making it so far as they did. My hubby says,"It's a shame the 'Aints' showed up last night rather than the Saints."

While we're on the subject of New Orleans iconography, I must say that I would love to take credit for such a nice composition as the matted painting above. Sadly, I cannot. I like the colors as well as the fact that it has quintessential New Orleans style with the bag of Cafe' Du Monde beignets in the corner and mention of the French Market (where artisans sell their wares and you can also buy fresh produce).

If you're not familiar with beignets, they are French styled doughnuts (pronounced: ben-yays) sprinkled with a dusting of powdered sugar. Very, yummy. If you're interested in trying these little delights, click on the link above to order the mix straight from the original source.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the artists name because he didn't sign it. Trey won the original watercolor painting when he entered his name in a drawing at a local craft show. What luck! I had inteded to buy that very painting before we left the show! If anyone has any idea who the artist is, please do share.