and the award for the coolest thing i've ever done in new orleans goes to...

a few weeks ago, marty and i had the pleasure of getting an invite to a tiny courtyard concert. it all started with an email from my friend cheryl, who is a huge fan of pearl and the beard. the band played sxsw in austin and they were supposed to stop in new orleans on their way back up north (they're originally from brooklyn). when suddenly new orleans disappeared from their website, cheryl emailed them to ask why?! apparently the venue had fallen through, so cheryl offered to find them a place to play. what she found, through her incredible network of friends, was the most beautiful, dreamy courtyard on tchopitoulas street. chef aron made red beans and rice, collard greens and rosemary cornbread (!!!), and the gals and guy of pearl and the beard shared their talent and music. neither marty nor i had ever heard of pearl and the beard, but as soon as i heard key words such as "intimate outdoor concert" and "our chef friend will cater" and "new york times-acclaimed band...," i was sold and so was mart. we were thrilled. it was, as the title of this post suggests, the coolest thing i've ever gotten to do in new orleans, if not my life (yes, i went there).

check out pearl and the beard on their website, facebook, youtube, and see their sleepover shows here, here and here.

one day at horrorland

this past weekend, becky, liz and i decided to be a little adventurous and a lot illegal and visit the abandoned six flags just outside of new orleans, which has been closed since hurricane katrina. it was unlike anything we'd ever seen - creepy, empty, terrifying - even in broad daylight.

it was the real-life version of r.l. stine's above-referenced goosebumps book, which haunted me so that i still remember its number in the series.

the entrance is scattered with debris, office equipment, old computers, and graffiti'ed admonitions, discouraging one's entrance into the park. further in we found defunct amusement rides with the cars still stuck up top and stuffed animals that had floated out of the carnival game booths and into the middle of the park. the "guest relations" office boasted a water line of approximately 4 feet. after our bravery ran out (which didn't take long), we were happy to leave this amusement park graveyard.

dining chair update: before and after

i recently purchased a mid-century dining set (finally! 8 months without a table has been kind of annoying). i instantly fell in love with the chairs but they needed a little love. aside from the fact that the padding was so thin it was like sitting on the floor, the upholstery was torn, covered in cat hair and hideous. ok, maybe needing only a "little" love is an understatement.

re-upholstering the chairs was pretty easy, but time-consuming and frustrating. frustrating because whoever re-upholstered the chairs 30 years ago went the lazy route and covered the original upholstery instead of removing it first and starting clean. SO it was time-consuming because it took me twice as long to get down to the seat. after that, all i did was add a layer of 1-inch foam, wrapped the seat in batting and stapled down the fabric. it took a while to figure out the best technique, but about halfway through i declared i'd become a professional (i think the corner, pictured below, proves my point).

the old upholstery. "ew" doesn't even begin to describe it.

pizza delicious!

too. full. to. blog.*

marty and i finally had the chance to join the secret society known as the pizza delicious following. the premise is as follows: every sunday (and now thursday!) a few friends in the restaurant business get together and make pizza. they start taking phone orders about 5 hours before they start cooking, make only a few "flavors" of their choice (today's were puttanesca with pepperoni, sausage, peppers & onions, and margherita), and cook until they run out. the whole operation takes place in a small, single-oven kitchen in the bywater, and delivery is available by bike only - of course. simple business model, simple post. simply pizza delicious.

p.s. they also make rolls, which is basically pizza dough and fillings, similar to a cinnamon roll. marty and i tried the broccoli and cauliflower flavors - yum! those didn't make it longer than the car ride home.

i need to stock up on car napkins, btdubs.

*all i have to say is: thank god i worked out today

yes, we're from new orleans

don't worry, natives. by "from" i only mean that am a resident, am employed, pay taxes and generally fulfill all the more mundane requirements of being "from" a place (i.e., grocery shopping at breaux mart, enjoying coffee from cc's, listening to wwoz, decorating my house with throws, etc) - AND i eat crawfish on newspaper (the gambit, to be exact) in my living room (while watching anthony bourdain's "no reservations" in new orleans, no less) on tuesdays with my roommate.

AND we suck the heads.

but don't worry, i know where i'm from.

carnage.

ps - speaking of crawfish, remember this?!

mardi gras!

wow this is late. forgive me? with my computer having bitten the dust and our internet on the fritz, blogging has not been in the cards. in addition i had to allot time for mardi gras celebration and recovery and many, many guests in the past few weeks - with more to come! i just wanted to quickly share a little series of photographs i did in order to memorialize the countless parades i went to during carnival. the first three photos are roommate, me and our friend liz after pontchartrain.

following pygmalion

marty and i after carrollton and king arthur

after muses - with my shoe! (confused? read this)

following iris and tucks

marty and i after proteus and orpheus on lundi gras