Nola, Wrap Up

So needless to say we did not get off to an early start on Sunday. We had a pact to sleep until noon, but I was the only one to come close. I forced myself to stay in bed until elevenish. Once showered, we went in search of food. I wanted a po-boy and some more gumbo, so I led the girls to Mother's which was just a few blocks away. There was a line out the door, but it moved really quickly. Our table didn't have very good lighting so I have no food pictures for you. But I will say that we totally pigged out. We had a hard time fitting everything on the table! (By "we" I mean me, Launa, & Aimee. After noticing that Mary ordered an omelet, I got her to confess that she doesn't actually like New Orleans food!)

Once sated, we headed back to the Quarter in search of shoes for Launa. I'm not much of a shoe shopper, but this trip wasn't all about me. There was plenty of street entertainment and other shops (like the popsicle one!) to keep me happy though. We were especially impressed by this band of musicians, who Aimee says she's seen before. In college I would have referred to a group like this as trust fund hippies. Not sure what the current terminology would be.



Like most street performers we saw in Nola they had their own CD for sale. We paid for a photo, but not the CD.

My most favorite street performer was this grown up super-hero. He had some handmade puppets that were both fascinating and disturbing. They included rocks, baby doll parts, and even some skeletal parts. I kind of loved him. His afghan cape was totally awesome too.



He gave me his card with a link to his website. He may be a modern day trust fund hippie too.

After shopping and taking in the sights--and popsicles--we headed over to Cafe du Monde since we desperately needed coffee and more sugar. Plus, beignets were the only special request that Mary had.



Next our intentions were to ride across the river to Algiers on the ferry, but it was a little too chilly. So, we decided to ride the St. Charles trolley somewhere fun for dinner then catch a movie at the fancy new Canal theater. (We were told they had reclining chairs and waitstaff.)



Our streetcar ride turned into quite an adventure and we didn't end up eating dinner until almost 10pm. Most places were closed, but he happily landed at Lucy's Retired Surfer's Restaurant and Bar. They had cold drinks and fresh baja inspired food. And mermaids!



After dinner and drinks, we headed to bed since we hoped to be on the road by noon the next day. Aimee needed to make one more stop in the Quarter for perfume she forgot the first time, and I needed one last popsicle. Since most shops didn't open til 10am, I promised Launa I'd get up early and ride the streetcar with her in the daylight. We didn't have enough time to do the full ride, but we did squeeze in a quick stop at a Garden District cemetery.



We met back up with Aimee and Mary and went--you guessed it--in search of breakfast. I'd noticed a lovely courtyard the day before, so we headed over to check it out.



What Royal Blend lacks in service and selection, they more than make up for in ambiance.



We did our final shopping and said goodbye to New Orleans, full and happy.

Nola, Solo

Yesterday's column was about the kids' reaction my leaving town without them--Weekend getaway not easy to get away with. I went to New Orleans with three of my girlfriends from roller derby--Mary, Aimee, and Launa. We had a great time! Here's a peek at our weekend activities.

We stayed at my cousin's "dorm" in the Central Business District. We were about two blocks from the French Quarter, and walking distance to the Warehouse District and streetcar system. We took a cab or two and rode the St. Charles streetcar a couple of times, but for the most part we walked everywhere. It was pretty awesome.

Our first order of business was breakfast at the Old Coffee Pot in the Quarter. It's one of Aimee's favorites mainly due to the Bloody Mary's. I had never been, but it reminded me a lot of the Gumbo Shop. There was some discussion about them possibly having the same owner. I really liked this place because it had a sweet courtyard, we arrived just in time to not have to stand in a line of 50 to get in, and our waitress (who was sassy!) let me have gumbo for breakfast.

Once sated, we went to Aimee's favorite perfume store, Hove. Next, we hit a few other fun shops in the Quarter, like Red Lantern, and anxiously waited for the Popsicle store to open. (On my lats visit, I discovered Meltdown, and I had been counting down the days until I could return.) It was a big hit with everyone, and I had no problem working in a visit each day that we were there. Over three days, I ate seven Popsicles (six of which came from Meltdown!) The flavors change daily, but a few of my favorites are Wheatgrass Pineapple, Pineapple Chili, Vietnamese Coffee, and Salted Caramel.

After spending the morning in the Quarter, we decided to head to Magazine Street for more shopping...and eating...and drinking. We totally lucked into finding a Mediterranean restaurant called Byblos. There are several locations in the city and I can see why. We split 4-5 appetizers and they were all fantastic. The drunken haloumy was the stand out--because of the flavor and the garlic burps we all had later! We also really, really enjoyed the mango berry mojitos.



In fact, we enjoyed the mojitos so much so that we decided to go ahead and make our way to the highly recommended Coquette Bistro and Wine Bar for a really fancy cocktail. This is a place that infuses their own liquors (Benton bacon infused bourbon, anyone?) and mixes some amazing drinks. The service was also stellar. Sadly, even though I took a picture of the menu, I can't remember what I ordered!

We easily could have sat on the sidewalk drinking all night, but all of the locals insisted we go to the Marigny and watch the Krewe du Vieux parade which satirizes local and national politics. We planned to take a taxi to Frenchman street once we freshened up at the dorm, but the Quarter was already so crowded, we hoofed it over on foot. We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the start at Elysian Fields.

While we waited for the parade to make it's way back around to Frenchman Street, we stopped at Yuki Izakaya for more food and refreshments. The lighting was really low so I will spare you pictures of what we ate (edamame, gyoza, shrimp crackers with crab salad, and lemongrass beef salsa). It was good, but Ben Smith of Tsunami set the bar really high with his Izakaya menu, so everything completely pales in comparison. Once we were done there, we headed over to the Spotted Cat to listen to some local music while we continued to wait. After an hour or so, the full parade passed and Launa and I ran out on to the street to watch.

Before, during, and after the parade we had no smart phone service. Then eventually most of our smart phones ran out of juice because we'd been using them (or attempting to use them) all day. I did capture a few last shots. I was very happy to get to see my friend, Amy, for a few minutes. I last saw her at her wedding in September and now she's working on a baby! I was also happy to see this nice young man selling Popsicles on the street out of a cart! His flavors weren't as exciting as Meltdown's, but he had a food cart!

Then, believe it or not, we went to the Clover Grill in the Quarter to eat. Again. In our defense, this was a 15 hour day, so it certainly warranted a fourth meal! With my phone dying, I only managed to snap a picture of the menu and not the food. It was your standard greasy spoon, but with an attitude.



After eating we were all more than ready to hit the sack. We had a very loooooong walk home.

More to come!

Public Art

So what do you call uncommissioned public art? On our ride back to Midtown from Downtown last week, I noticed an awesome installation along Union. Anyone know anything about it?

FAI

On Friday, I had the day off of work and the kids had the day off of school. It gave us the opportunity to check out the International Folk Alliance conference downtown. They advertised an instrument petting zoo and a special performance with children's music.

With over 1800 participants in town for the conference, downtown was bustling. It was pretty easy to spot the folksters, and I enjoyed doing so. I even saw a busker outside Walgreen's!



There was a lot going on at the conference, and I was happy that they thought to include some family action.



The instrument petting zoo was quite impressive. They had a large assortment of instruments--some familiar, some not--laid out for the kids to handle and play at will.



Satchel was having a case of "I'm shy," but Jiro had a good time.




We could have spent several hours in the zoo, but we arrived late and were soon ushered into the performance space. Turns out the show was being filmed for a PBS show. (I didn't catch the name!) The bright lights on the stage pretty much made taking pictures pointless.



There were several acts who came on--a woman from Canada, a man from Australia, and several locals including Andy Cohen, Valerie June, and Wild Willy. It was nice for me to see the what the locals had to offer. All of the acts were really good about getting the kids involved and there was lots of opportunity for them to jump, stomp, scream, shout, dance, and sing.

Most of the crowd was moms and their pre-schoolers, which I attribute mostly to the Friday morning time slot. I'd say the show is definitely worth playing hooky for if you get the chance next year.

Valentines

Oh I had big plans for Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, most of the plans didn't pan out.

I bought some organic lollipops at Whole Foods for the kids to hand out at school. I hoped to copy this idea, but ran out of time. (It was the printing of actual photos that messed me up.) I ended up with a cute picture of the monkeys though, so it wasn't a total loss.



I did, however, successfully steal this idea for my gift to Warren. He actually seemed pleased when I presented him with a large bowl of fruit. When he noticed the personalized stickers, he was REALLY impressed.



Pretty cute, huh?



Of course now the challenge is to eat all of the fruit before it rots!

Warren wins the (unofficial) Valentine's Day Gift Challenge though. He made me a really awesome dinner consisting of steak, roasted veggies, a spicy crawfish roll, and kombucha.



Wanna guess which plate is mine? Yep, the one missing a piece of sushi. I couldn't wait! After dinner, we watched Howl, which we'd been trying to see for months, and ate brownies with milk. Jiro fell asleep at 7pm, and Satchel stopped talking long enough for us to enjoy the movie. What else could I ask for?

I am happy to report that I had enough steak (and fruit!) left over to make this awesome salad for lunch.



I hope y'all are still feeling the love today, too.

Jamboree!

Yesterday we had our fourth CPOP Jamboree at the fabulous Hi-Tone Cafe. After soaking up some much needed sun, our treehuggin friends and neighbors came by to enjoy some good music, good food, and good times--all for a good cause!

First up, we had Gasoline Grace.



They totally rocked the house! Plus they gave out chocolates and free CDs!



I loved having the Hi-Tone all to ourselves! I had been seriously Jonesing for some Hi-Tone Hot Wing pizza, and finally got my fix.



By the time the Lorax Posse took the stage, we pretty much had a packed house. Woohoo! They are seriously fun.



The kids were having as much fun as the grown-ups. They were dancing, mingling, playing hide and go seek, and generally having a great time. Unfortunately Jiro, who can now read, took an interest in the graffiti all around him, and expanded his vocabulary quite a bit! Naomi was nice enough to "modify" the scrawl that was drawing the most attention.



I mostly saw Satchel when he stopped by the front desk for a sip of water.



Snowglobe closed out the show for us, which was a super awesome treat. Those guys rule, and Jeff Hulett is my BFF.



I was especially happy to get to enjoy a whole afternoon hanging out with my Valentine.



We topped off our evening with a beautiful moonlit walk home through the forest. It was amazing.

Pokemon Convention

Last week, I got an email from a PR Firm telling me about the Pokemon Black and White Tour at Wolfchase Galleria this weekend. I was told that there'd be a free Pokemon movie, kids could play the new games, and that there would be fun and prizes. It sounded like something the monkeys would love enough for me to suck it up and spend a nice, sunny day at the mall. I was right.

We got there a little after 11am, and although I thought it seemed pretty crowded it just got more and more crowded as the day progressed. At the first check in station, we got our free movie tickets and each monkey got a guide book. We were told to go to four more stations and collect stamps. At each station, there was something "cool" going on.

One of the stamp stops was conveniently set up next to a giant merch shack. Suddenly the point of the convention became clear. "You guys are just trying to get us to spend tons of money on merch, right?" I asked one of the Pokemon guides. She giggled and said, "Yep, and it's working." Everywhere I looked I saw kids, and sometimes entire families, in new Pokemon shirts carrying new Pokemon plushes and action figures.



Another stop was at the Game Stop. Here the boys could "catch" a new Pokemon--Celebi. Somehow the monkeys knew to bring their DSi systems with them and their Pokemon games, so that they could do this. Satchel was really cute. He helped Jiro get his and then he even went around and actually talked to some kids he didn't know!



The third station was a huge room with video screens showing a special Pokemon Black & White promo and then inside there were about 50 DSes set up to for the kids to try out the new games.



There was no time limit and I had a moment of panic. "Am I going to have to drag them out of here?" I asked another one of the Pokemon guides. "Pretty much," she said. However, I later learned that there was only one level, or part of a level, loaded so it did eventually get boring. Thankfully, there was no dragging required.

When we left the game cube, each monkey had his choice of a Pokemon Black or White pin. Then there were a few photo ops.





At the final station, each monkey got to spin a prize wheel. They both won three Pokemon patches.



Then Jiro had his picture taken with a REAL Pokemon!



We managed to finish everything by noon-thirty, but our movie tickets were for 2:00pm. Believe me, I tried to get the monkeys to call it a day, but they refused. "This is OUR day," Satchel informed me. So, we went back to Game Stop to look at, but not purchase, games. They did a little more socializing, then we went back to the merch stop. I was somehow convinced to let them each spend $10. I know. I'm weak.

After that Warren called and decided he'd join us for the movie. We went upstairs to wait for him, and then I got "roped" into letting them do the Bungee Jumping. It was totally worth the $7 each, though. They loved it.






Warren arrived in time to see Jiro jump, and then we all had a pretzel. (The mall food offerings were pretty slim.) By 1:30pm, the mall was packed and it was getting very interesting. People young and old were decked out in their Pokemon gear and it was nearing total geekfest levels.

After our snack, we went in to see the movie--Zoroark: Master of illusions. The monkeys reported that they had seen it once or twice on TV already, but they really wanted to see it on the big screen. Going in, Satchel said, "Don't fall asleep, Mommy. If you watch it'll be cool and you'll better understand what Pokemon is all about." How cute is that? It was hard, but I did make it through 95% of the movie without dozing off. (Warren made it through about 5%!)

When the movie was over, we all got a giant Pokemon card on our way out. The kids were finally sated and agreed that it was one of the best days ever. Their happiness lasted long enough for us to fight the heinous traffic home, too.

The convention is going on all day today too for those of you who didn't make it yesterday!

SNO.M.G!

It's been a snowy winter here in Memphis! Normally, I am all about the snow because Warren handles early pick up and entertainment on snow days. However, Warren has been working out of town ALL year. (Yes, all six weeks of it.) Considering my office doesn't close for snow, it's pretty been hard on me and my limited vacation days. It's made me pretty annoyed by the few fake outs we've had that have resulted in no school and no snow or danger. (I complained about the City School's snow policy in my column this week, Snow policy leaves mom questioning.)

However, thanks to one of my fellow parents/friends at school, Carlos, I was able to stay at work yesterday so I would only have to take today off. While I worked, the boys went sledding at the Levitt Shell with their friends.




By the time I left the office at 4pm, things were pretty scary outside. I was really nervous about driving, and impressed by MCS's decision to close at noon. After a pep talk from my coworkers and Facebook friends, I managed to get us all home safe and sound.



I had dressed the boys for school, not sledding, so they were pretty frozen when we got home. I tried to get them in a warm bath, but due to an incident involving Jiro, tickling, copious amounts of Cocoa Puffs, and vomit the night before, the tub is being snubbed by the monkeys. They settled for dry clothes, the kotatsu and some hot cocoa.



Things looked really scary this morning, so I was happy to cash in a vacation day and play hookie with the kids. Around 1:30pm, we got invited to go sledding with our friends again and headed to the bluffs for some added excitement. (When I saw how clear the streets were I was pretty embarrassed by my request to carpool.)




The snow was pretty much melted on the bluffs too, but the kids were happy to slide down anyway. The bluffs are so steep, snow isn't technically necessary. I was too scared/smart to go down, but the kids and Carlos had a great time.



We topped off the afternoon with some hot cocoa and sweet treats at Cafe Eclectic.




Now we're all home--most of us under the kotatsu--wondering what tomorrow will bring.