Author: Christi Wharton

  • What is Mardi Gras in New Orleans All About?

    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…

  • Superbowl Serendipity

    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…

  • More Carnival Ball!

    As promised, here are more pics from the Nyx Myx Masquerade Ball. First, let’s talk food.   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…

  • Carnival Dinner

    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! More decorations to come! Thanks Susan for hosting: Today’s Lagniappe: Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice Something warm…

  • Walk in the Hood

    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…

  • Masquerade Ball

    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…

  • Mardi Gras Centerpiece

    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…

  • Mardi Gras Pink!

      As we get closer to Mardi Gras, Krewes are busy attending their Mardi Gras balls, gathering throws and making plans for their parades and parties. I am a member of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx. We parade at night on the Wednesday before Mardi Gras. We recently had a membership meeting/party to hear the…

  • Winter Gardens

    In late December, my husband and I took a walk around a garden district neighborhood in New Orleans. We took pictures of a lot of the Christmas decorations, but I also enjoyed seeing all of the things that were in bloom here in New Orleans. The things that bloom change from month to month and…

  • Mardi Gras Gumbo

    It’s been pretty rainy around here for the past week. The perfect time for gumbo. Okay, really any time is the perfect time, but today, it chased away the gloominess from the sky and helped restore the Mardi Gras mood. Okay, so I took a few shortcuts on the gumbo. Don’t judge me for being…

  • Epiphany Brunch

    Last Sunday, January 6th, we had an Epiphany brunch here with people from our church and friends. Church members provided food and it was great fun. My contribution was a king cake and a sausage and hash brown egg casserole (see the recipe in today’s lagniappe). Here is the table: The tradition of the king…

  • Mardi Gras Time!

    It’s official – the Mardi Gras or Carnival season has begun here in New Orleans. As Cindy said in the earlier post, the Mardi Gras season officially kicks off with Twelfth Night or the Epiphany. All of the Christmas decorations are now put away and it is time to start the celebrations leading up to…

  • Happy New Year

    2013 Hope everyone is having a wonderful time on this first day of 2013. I am looking forward to all that 2013 will bring. As most of the country is winding down from the holidays, New Orleans is just taking a bit of a breather to gear up for the upcoming Mardi Gras season. This…

  • Merry Christmas!

    Merry Christmas from A Southern Life in New Orleans.

  • Caroling in the Park

    Beautiful music abound here in New Orleans. You may be familiar with the beautiful caroling that takes place at Jackson Square. What you may not know about is the smaller caroling events that take place in neighborhood parks around the city. We had one of these in our neighborhood recently at Palmer Park. Our crowd…