A Southern Life

A Southern Life: my take on traditions, food, sights and more.

  • Sugar Bowl 2016

    Lots of people visit New Orleans for various reasons. One of those reasons is to watch your favorite team compete in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. This year, we will be welcoming fans of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the Ole Miss Rebels. It looks like the weather will be a bit…

  • Christmas Around the House

    It seems that I never “finish” decorating for any holiday. I am constantly moving things around and adding and taking away. Do you do that? I’ll probably be doing that until it is time to take everything down. Oh well, I am definitely feeling the Christmas season! We have had beautiful weather here. With the…

  • New Orleans “French” Bread

    New Orleans French Bread …served at fine dining establishments and hole-in-the-wall poboy spots… is crispy on the outside and soft as air on the inside. For home, I love the version that the local grocery store, Robert’s (pronounced Roe-bears), makes. Leidenheimer’s bakery is famous for their version. Driving by their bakery when they are baking…

  • New Orleans Halloween

    New Orleans is a city that embraces the macabre. Not just on Halloween, but all year long. Our cemeteries are tourists attractions. Any day (or night) of the week, you can take a haunted history tour or a ghost tour or a vampire tour. Some of the properties for sale even feature “Haunted” or “Not…

  • Rosemary for Remembrance

    Shakespeare said, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember.” The saying “rosemary for remembrance” is obviously taken from this quote, but interestingly enough, science shows us that rosemary and memory do have a connection. Several studies show that rosemary actually stimulates memory and may preserve some cognitive function. Who knew? I love rosemary. One…

  • Another Happy Anniversary

    Another year, another wedding anniversary. This one makes 18 years! It is fun to reflect back on the years – the good times and bad. When I look through my wedding album, I enjoy seeing pictures of friends and remembering those that have passed. This year, we stayed home and had a quiet dinner together.…

  • What Is Really Important?

    Twenty-three years ago, I lost my dad to cancer. He was 54 years old. I’ve been thinking a lot about Daddy lately. I remember when he had his first chemo treatment after he was diagnosed. Everyone else was gone, and he and I had a great visit. We sat on his hospital bed, and he…

  • French Quarter Fest

    The French Quarter Festival is the intro to New Orleans’ jam packed spring season, and of course we were there!  In its 30th year, it’s the largest free music festival in the southeast.  We hit the event rather late on its Saturday afternoon.  With rain the day before and more predicted, a whopping 303,000 people…

  • How to Boil Crawfish

    Crawfish boils are a rite of spring in New Orleans.  They combine two of our favorite activities – eating good food and visiting with friends.  We recently spent a picture perfect Saturday afternoon in a beautiful setting eating to our heart’s content.  Here’s the star of the show. We are lucky here to have boiled…

  • Caring For A Dining Table

    I have always enjoyed entertaining. It is a great way to get together with friends and family and show them how much you care with a beautiful table setting and wonderful food. However, occasionally, when you entertain, a dish gets broken or a water ring or heat ring is left on your beautiful wood dining…

  • Let’s Go Fly A Kite

    This beautiful spring day with its gorgeous blue sky and soft Southern breeze was screaming for us to get out and enjoy, so . . . we did. We grabbed our kite and string and headed out to the Mississippi river levee area in New Orleans called “The Fly” which is located at the river…

  • Spring on the Porch

    The weather in New Orleans tends to be mild, year-round. However, this past winter brought many cool/cold days (though no frost or freezing – it’s all relative). Now that Spring is officially here, it is wonderful to get outside and enjoy the front porch. We spend so much time on the porch that I am…

  • City of the Dead

    As Easter approaches our thoughts turn to loved ones who are no longer with us.  I made a trip recently to Metairie Cemetery, where my family is buried, to place flowers on the tombs.  While newer than a number of the city’s cemeteries, it is one of the largest and most historic. It was previously…

  • Fish on Friday

    New Orleans is a very Catholic city.  I’m not Catholic, but I heartily endorse one of the faith’s tenets – the “sacrifice” of eating seafood as opposed to meat.  On a recent Friday during Lent, I decided to honor the occasion by featuring Louisiana specialties from the sea. For starters, we had Crawfish Bisque.  I…

  • Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon

    On a recent Sunday morning 16,000 runners from all 50 states and 23 foreign countries took to the New Orleans streets.  My running days are over, but I can’t resist going to cheer them on, and sympathize with their pain.  It was a perfect, cool winter day, with the sun peeking over the oak trees…