People who know me, know I’m not fond of meetings. In light of that, it is funny how often I find myself attending meetings. However, if you must you must and, when you must, you may as well make it as pleasant as possible, right? On a recent evening, a meeting was held in my home. We extended out the dining table to make a long “conference” table and then added some food and flowers in order to create a friendly, relaxed environment. Here is how it turned out.
Sometimes, there are just things about New Orleans that make me smile. Running errands in New Orleans is unlike running errands in many places. For instance, on the way to the grocery store, this is just one of the sites you might see:
Beads hang from tree like this giving them beautiful purple, green, gold and pink colors. They also adorn the live oaks along the parade routes. The evidence of beads that were caught by the trees instead of the people lining the streets. It doesn’t matter what time of year you are here. Read More→
Whew, we made it through Christmas, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day. Now, I feel like “resting” my eyes (and body) for a few weeks before Easter and the festival season. The Carnival/Mardi Gras decorations are all down (although, I did find a bit of tinsel that I missed this morning).
You may remember how the mantel looked for Mardi Gras:
All tinsel, glitter, lights and sparkle. I loved seeing this every day. However, now it is a bit more serene:
Green plants, the doves that have appeared in so many places in my home (and on my table and porch . . .) and a couple of colored candles. I did opt to leave the “JOY” letters in place that were added at Christmas. I just really like them there. Read More→
Rex (or the School of Design as it is officially named) is the big parade on Mardi Gras day. Its monarch serves as the King of Carnival. The organization is quite civic in nature, with its Pro Bono Publico foundation donating over two million dollars to local public school initiatives since its inception. Over the years we have collected a variety of Rex memorabilia.
Each year the organization issues a ducal badge to its members. There is a corresponding ladies’ pin, which members may purchase for wives and female friends or relatives. Here are the ones for 2013, reflecting the theme “All Creatures Great and Small”. It is inspired by the gauntlets worn by the 1886 Rex.
If you’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, you might find things a bit confusing. Since moving to New Orleans, I know, I have found myself explaining to friends all over the country about Mardi Gras and Carnival and Krewes and parades and well, the whole mystical, magical, crazy, fun season.
The Carnival season begins on January 6th which is known as Twelfth Night or The Epiphany. You can read more about Twelfth Night here and here. This is traditionally when the Christmas season ends. Carnival is celebrated by many with parties and balls. In New Orleans, it is often “Krewes” that lead the celebrations. While the celebrations are ongoing throughout the Carnival season, they all culminate on Mardi Gras day Read More→
Getting around in New Orleans during all of the Superbowl and Mardi Gras festivities can be challenging. My husband and I headed down to the French Quarter yesterday and opted to ride the very busy streetcar. This was a great way to avoid the traffic and parking challenges in the city.
Heading back home, we got back on the streetcar and enjoyed a surprise performance on board. This was the drivers brother-in-law. Ha – what a fun ride. Only in New Orleans. Enjoy!
As promised, here are more pics from the Nyx Myx Masquerade Ball. First, let’s talk food.
Here is the menu from the dinner portion of the ball. – YUM!
The dessert was a work of art. See the little Nyx candy in the whipped cream in the middle. Beautiful and edible! Everything was deeee-licious.
Did you notice the hot pepper jelly vinaigrette mentioned for the salad. It was incredible, so I had to find a recipe for it. I found this recipe online and it was very good. I made it with Tabasco Hot Pepper Jelly and put it over butter lettuce with blue cheese and toasted pecans. Easy and yummy – I highly recommend this.
Okay, back to the ball. Read More→
Since we are taking a timeout for the Superbowl, I thought I’d take a look back at a Carnival table from the past. Even if you aren’t in New Orleans, you can create Carnival wherever you are!
Let the Carnival begin!
The beads, the masks . . .
all the Carnival colors.
Add a little candlelight.
The fun and frivolity
Ready for the fun.
Who is that behind the mask?
Baubles and beads.
And, the Mardi Gras tree.
More decorations to come! Thanks Susan for hosting:
with Between Naps on the Porch
Today’s Lagniappe: Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice
Something warm and yummy to start the celebration.
In a slow cooker, combine the onion, garlic and sausage. Stir in the beans and water and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat until the beans are tender, about 7 1/2 hours (on high it takes between 3 1/2 to 4 hours). Remove 1/4 cup of beans from slow cooker. Mash until smooth, then sir them stir back into slow cooker. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes on low or 15 minutes on high. Remove the beans from the cooker to a serving bowl. Serve over cooked rice and enjoy!
The weather has been gorgeous lately. The first weekend of Carnival parades was beautiful and now we are getting a brief break before the big Superbowl weekend before resuming with Carnival. Stay tuned for more posts about that. In the meantime, it was nice to just get out in the beautiful weather and enjoy. Here are a few things that visitors to New Orleans might see if they get out of the Superbowl “zone” and on to a streetcar and come up to the wonderful neighborhoods here.
Beautiful blooming tulip magnolia trees . . .
that roll out, or rather drop a lovely pink carpet, just for you.
And . . . that is just the beginning.
Click for larger images and captions.
Welcome to New Orleans!
Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer
Carnival parades start in earnest this weekend, so I figured it was about time to decorate the house. Purple, green and gold (especially purple) tends to clash with my décor, so the challenge is to achieve a festive look that you can live with for a couple of weeks.
Here is the dining room centerpiece, using ceramic masks that were favors at a formal dinner we attended, and beads in a cut glass bowl. The gold “dubloons” are parade throws that typically reflect the year’s theme. These are from Rex.
I did the pillow years ago to display pins given as “krewe favors” by maskers after a “callout” dance at a carnival ball. Now, every king sends his lady friends a custom designed pin to mark his reign, and I have a whole drawer full of memories of various big nights.
Music is the essence of Mardi Gras – you can’t have a parade, a carnival ball, or even a party without it. Our carnival music reflects our joie de vivre spirit, our desire to let the good times roll. The classic hits range from funk to R&B to brass band, but they have one thing in common – they make you want to dance. To get you in the mood, I’m going to let you listen to some of them.
Perhaps the epitome of Mardi Gras songs is Professor Longhair’s “Go to the Mardi Gras”. Can you hear the parade coming down the street?
Next, try Al Johnson’s “Carnival Time”. His one hit was big enough to propel him into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Here’s “Mardi Gras Mambo”, by the Hawkettes. This little known group would evolve into the Meters, the standard bearer for New Orleans music. The lyrics are great.
Finally, there is “Second Line” by Stop, Inc. If you’re actually part of a parade, you’re the first line; if you’re just dancing behind it, you’re in the second line.
There are many other classics, such as the Meters “Hey Pocky A-Way”, “Iko Iko” (originally by Sugar Boy Crawford but popularized by the Dixie Cups), and, “Big Chief, Pt. 2“, also by Professor Longhair.
Are you dancing?
Carnival Season in New Orleans is a wonderful time. Then entire season assaults your senses with colors and sound. One of the most sensational events, for me, is the Nyx Myx Masquarade Ball. It is invitation only and formal tux and floor length gowns and masks are required.
I have lots and lots of pictures to share, but in this post, I’m going to concentrate on the tables and atmosphere of the room.
The colors, the lights (notice the stars on the ceiling and the colored uplights on the walls) everything sparkled and glittered, including the people.
This ball was held at the Hilton Riverside in their grand ballroom and, grand it was. Read More→
The central command post for the Rex parade is housed in a nondescript industrial building. For most of the year it just serves as a workshop for float construction, but really comes alive with activity as Mardi Gras day approaches. I recently attended “Ladies Day at the Den”, and wanted to share some photos with you.
The theme for this year is “All Creatures Great and Small”, a line taken from an 1848 poem by Cecil Alexander. I can’t show you the floats for this year, but they always beautifully and artistically develop the chosen theme. Since they are built on the chassis of old cotton wagons, they shimmy down the street, adding to the magic of the presentation. Tractors now replace the mules that originally pulled the floats.
Invitations to old line Carnival balls invariably contain the phrase “costume de rigueur”. You may know the attire for men under such terms as “full dress”, “white tie”, or “tails”. For ladies it means a floor length evening gown – no tea length or dressy pants permitted.
Ladies have it easy, but the process of getting dressed for men can be a bit daunting. I’m going to walk you through it. Here is the end result that you are after. (The mask is normally not a part of the attire, but my model is shy.)
Some people have asked about the centerpieces that I used at the recent Epiphany brunch.
These were very easy to put together and you can use the same idea with materials that you have available for whatever holiday you are celebrating.
Here is what I used:
Greenery from my yard (you can use whatever is available in your area), a pile of Mardi Gras beads, a large glass hurricane (I have a set of 6 of these that I’ve had for years and use all the time), a brass charger, a vase that is more narrow than the hurricane and some leftover ornaments that are in Mardi Gras colors. Read More→
