ornaments

i've been collecting blown-glass ornaments for ages, but this is the first christmas that i've actually used them all at once. so it'd been quite a while since i saw most of them, buried as they were in layers of years of collecting. each one is more unique than the last, so i took pictures of my [new] old favorites to share :)

i got this little louisiana crab when marty and i visited new orleans for the first time ever in june 2008. and yes, you can buy ornaments year-round here. why do you think i moved?

oh, christmas tree

this being my first christmas in new orleans, i decided to go with a non-traditional tree to compliment my collection of blown-glass ornaments. and by tree, i mean trees. given that there is no snow, few leaves on the ground (after all, palm trees don't go bare for the winter) and temperatures holding pretty steadily in the 60s, i figured that the only way to properly get into the christmas spirit would be to turn my apartment into the north pole. so, i bought two trees, the largest, longest strands of lights i could find, and a rustic wreath that becky covered in glittery cupcakes. we settled into our north faces (this continues to excite becky, the floridian), brewed some tea and caramel hot chocolate, and blasted n'sync's christmas album while we decorated our little home.

where to drink in new orleans

this new orleans drinking guide is kind of amazing. for a better look, check it out here.

holidays! they're here!

behold, an influx of photographs because i have been neglecting my blogging responsibilities for so long. honestly it's only because being an attorney doesn't leave me with much time or desire to sit in front of my computer and blog.

for the record, i do realize that was a shameless plug of my profession. oh well. it still shocks me sometimes, and as long as it does, i will have to repeat it aloud to make it true.

i kicked off this holiday season with one of my favorite events of the year: the 4th annual white family door county thanksgiving trip! it was, as expected, a weekend full of beers, board games, cheese curds (oh, wisconsin), hiking, and laziness. in other words, HEAVEN. my dad outfitted us with some of his homemade moonshine and we had a ball!

meet & greet

so you know how famous people love new orleans? well, it's true. where else would one be able to show up late* to a gogol bordello show, only to stay while the bar emptied of gypsy punk fans and suddenly see the lead singer, eugene hutz, hanging around and drinking bottled water? the republic in NEW ORLEANS, that's where!

i got to speak in polish with eugene, a native of the ukraine.

marty was incredibly starstruck and kept telling eugene that america loved him, and, in the alternative, that he was a premium dancer (if you don't know what he was referring to, then you must rent this movie).

eugene said that he loved new orleans because it was dirty and grimy in a way that reminded him of rio, moreso than any other city in the world. i took that to be an enormous compliment.

all in all, showing up late turned out to be incredibly serendipitous. from now on, i will always find out i passed the bar, day-drink too many 25 cent martinis, and pass out for a 3 hour nap before every gogol show i attend.

*like, pitifully late. as in, we saw 2.5 songs, all the time wondering why the band and the crowd were already so jazzed up and sweaty

this is how you carve a pumpkin

roommate's boyfriend surprised us last sunday night with 4 personal pumpkins he'd gone on a trek to find (apparently, pumpkins are incredibly hard to find in new orleans). we each spent an inordinate amount of time on the internet, searching for images and inspiration. in the end, the results were unique and amazingly dignified*.

jack skellington by yours truly

jackie o. lantern by becky

gene simmons by clinton

murderous kool-aid guy by marty

*ok, not really