Tuesday, August 31, 2010

diy of the day: doily wreath

so my mom is a bit of doily hoarder. sets of matching doilies seem to be a favorite go-to gift my grandma gives to my mom, so mom has come to own a few hundred over the years. i found a great way to make use of our doily stockpile on making chicken salad. it was pretty time-consuming but i was in no rush and it gave me something to do with my hands while i killed brain cells watching the new seasons of jersey shore and the real world. now it's hanging on my bedroom door!

Friday, August 27, 2010

dad in the big easy

are you sick of being inundated with photos from my cross-country road trip? well, there's more. if you're not interested in seeing photos of random things to do in new orleans with your dad, skip today's post and come back tomorrow.
my dad's (and my) favorite thing to eat in new orleans: bbq shrimp at deanie's!
surprisingly, i found some unexpected treasures in this magazine street garage
it seems that every store you walk into in new orleans, there is a pet of some sort
in honor of the 5-year anniversary of hurricane katrina, we went to the opening of a photography exhibit at the ogden museum entitled "telling their stories: the lingering legacy of katrina"
afterward, we ambled around the ogden
of course, there was musical entertainment to accompany the opening of the exhibit
the next day, we went to irvin mayfield's jazz playhouse in the royal sonestra hotel on bourbon street to see leon "kid chocolate" brown
the two men in my life
the night ended with a burlesque show (none of us had ever seen one! i have to say, watching scantily-clad ladies with my dad and boyfriend was a little awkward at first)
we did a short stint on bourbon before my dad left town

memphis beat

some photos from around town, once the sun went down
beale street in the background
a beale street cover band

touristy

on our way from chicago to new orleans last week, my dad and i stopped in memphis for the night. we arrived at our hotel (the doubletree, pictured above), scarfed the chocolate-chip cookies we got at check in, and set out to do and see everything there was to do and see in memphis in four hours. we walked the streets like dutiful tourists, fighting over camera privileges the whole way.
i immediately brought our walking caravan to a halt when i spotted this little guy.
first stop: charles vergos' rendezvous, a google maps for iphone suggestion. thank you, iphone. you have impeccable taste.
two orders of dry-rubbed ribs and a pitcher of beer really hit the spot after 10 hours on the highway in a truck with no cd player (yes, i'm still bitter)
even the cole slaw had barbecue in it!
afterward, we rolled ourselves to beale street but decided it was still too light out to partake
next stop: the site of martin luther king, jr's assassination
according to this woman's sign, she's been protesting in front of the lorraine motel for 22 years
an obligatory trolley ride was next on the agenda
as luck would have it, we ended up by the federal district court.
perhaps someday i will torture my children by making them visit every federal district court in the country.