Our First Halloween in New Orleans!

I heard on the news today that New Orleans is now the #1 Halloween destination in the entire country. I believe it. People come from miles and miles to hunt for ghosts, hear haunted tales, and drink "spirits" as well as see them. Of course, Halloween is probably the worst time for all that in New Orleans. The French Quarter is packed with costumed tourists and locals alike, music is blaring from every bar and pub, and beads are being thrown from the parade and random balcony. It would surely be hard to spot a ghost amongst all those shenanigans. Tonight it rained. Also not too conducive for ghost hunting. However, I do wonder what is going on out in the cemeteries tonight!! Our costumes were inspired by the city: Voodoo Queen and Voodoo Doll. Although I'm not sure it was clear to everyone what we were. Someone called Matt a "Pin Cushion" (close!) and someone else decided he was just a really scary scarecrow. Here are pictures of us and friends as well as shots from Molly's Annual Halloween Parade.

The Working Witch...

Too bad I can't wear a witch hat to work every day!

Fair Time!

It wasn't quite the same as the Tennessee Fairs we're used to but we did get cotton candy out of the deal!

A lazy afternoon...

We finally found the perfect spot for the hammock. I foresee many lazy afternoons reading (or napping) out here!!

Halloween Decorations!

Some people drive around looking at Christmas lights... we drive around looking at Halloween decorations! Look at this awesome house on St. Charles Avenue!

 

 



Halloween Comes Early! Saturday Night

Saturday night we dressed up in our 1920's costumes and headed to the Mahalia Jackson Theater on the edge of the French Quarter for a showing of the original Pyscho. The really cool part is that the Louisiana Orchestra was playing all the music for the movie!

Below are pictures of us in costume :)

Saturday Morning Swamp Walk

This weekend was a breath of fresh air... it has been a busy week! Ghost tours, anniversary celebrations, dinner with friends, walks in the French Quarter, and of course some work thrown in here and there... We decided to take it easy all day Saturday with a stroll through the swamplands. These pictures are from the Barataria Nature Preserve. We saw lots of cool creatures: 2 alligators, several turtles, a few monster crickets, a snake, giant spiders, and "whatever" was under the boardwalk!

Doesn't tree look like it's reaching out to pull you into the swamp??!
 

This is one of the giant crickets... one of many scary creatures in the swamp!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Can you believe that it's been 2 years since we were on the mountain in Cloudland Canyon saying our I do's? What an amazing 2 years it has been! In those 2 years we've traveled to Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Barbados, The Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Charleston & The Isle of Palms, Dollywood & The Smoky Mountains, the German Village of Helen, GA, we road tripped the entire coast of Florida, visited Washington DC, and took many a weekend trip to New Orleans. Of course, we're celebrating Anniversary #2 LIVING in New Orleans! In the past 2 years we've also had many adventures other than travels! We took flight lessons together, hosted a Mad Hatter Tea Party and a Luau, got new jobs, sold a house, ate dinner in a cave, hiked in the swamps, attended our first burlesque show, camped on a beach, and that's just a drop in the hat!

According to traditionalists, the second anniversary theme is "cotton". Mom and Dad brought us a beautiful cotton plant to say congratulations!

We enjoyed an Anniversary dinner at Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House. I had steak and corn & crab soup while Matt had BBQ shrimp. For dessert... Bananas Foster Torte. It was quite good!

We know the next year will hold yet another set of adventures and travels. New Orleans is a town full of new experiences and we are loving all the opportunities for trying different things and learning about different cultures, lifestyles, and people here. We have a long list of things we want to do like taking Lindy Hop Lessons, kayaking the swamplands, eating some King Cake during Mardi Gras, dining at the famous Commanders Palace, and even taking another cruise!

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans Update

So I kind of got a bit distracted with all sorts of happenings to keep up with what all we've done for our 31 days of Halloween. We've watched a bunch of scary movies, played dress up in so many costumes, made some yummy fall treats, and enjoyed some outdoor time. This past weekend mom and dad came to visit! We spent some time in the French Quarter, went to the Halloween Festival at the French Market, and even took a road trip! Here are some of the photos :)

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Days 11, 12, 13 & 14

The last few days have continued to be about costumes! We've been on the search for our many costume pieces and over the past few days we've managed to score pirate boots, vampire teeth, a pirate hat, an Effie Trinket dress, the pieces of my soon-to-be handmade voodoo staff, and today I got a hair wrap that I hope to wear with my voodoo queen garb. This weekend will be our first costume occasion and I can hardly wait! It's "Boo Carre" at the French Market. Stay tuned for pictures!

Louisiana Seafood Festival Time!!

After the NAMI Walk, and a nap, we headed to City Park for the annual Louisiana Seafood Festival. It's a FREE festival that is all about seafood! There was plenty of live music and the weather was great for an outdoor festival. Matt had Catfish, Creole Corn, and Cajun Rice. I had Corn & Crab Soup in a Bread Bowl with Watermelon Lemonade! Perfect :)

New Orleans NAMI Walk

I was so happy when my boss agreed to let our agency be a sponsor of the New Orleans NAMI Walk. I was even happier when over 40 people from my company showed up to walk! I spent a few days making signs for us all to carry and several weeks promoting the walk to get people excited. Regardless of my city or residence, where I work, or what my job title is, I will always be interested in recovery and wellness. I believe it is so important that mental illness, stigma, treatment, and recovery are topics we talk openly and publicly about and that people with mental illness are viewed the same way as someone with cancer or diabetes. I thought about my AIM Center friends many times today. I miss you guys! Here are a few pictures of our group!

Balcony Dining in the French Quarter

We have spent many hours in the French Quarter this week! We've had beignets, we've took leisurely strolls, we've had some of the best gelato ever, and last night we had our first "Balcony Dining" experience at Frank's Italian & Seafood Restaurant overlooking Decatur Street. The weather is amazing!

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 9 & 10

The last two days were all about costume shopping! I now have my Effie Trinket costume as well as my pirate outfit and pirate hat for the Renaissance Festival (I still need boots!) Just about one more week for all the costume shenanigans to begin!!!

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 8

Watching The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time tonight!

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 7

Today, I convinced our management team to approve costumes at work for Halloween!! Yay! I also kicked off trick-or-treating in my office! Every day new treats :)
Now I just have to decide what costume to wear to work....

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 6

The day started out with a two hour drive north to the Angola Prison Rodeo. Honestly, I can't believe this is real. Each year, the state prison's inmates participate in a real rodeo and people flock from all over the country to watch the action. The event is held 4 weekends in a row and draws over 40,000 people total. The prisoners, criminals I remind you, barrel race, ride bulls, run from bulls, and so on. The spectators do not seem phased at all as they watch as these guys are bucked and trampled. Then, just when you thought the show was over, a guy brings out his collection of tiny monkeys riding border collies and they literally "round up" a bunch of sheep. Real monkeys.You can't make this stuff up!

 

The day ended with some incredible pizza at Theo's Neighborhood Pizza. To fit a little Halloween into the day, I filled up treat bags for work! I am opening my office up to trick-or-treaters all month long!!

 

 

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 5

Today we embarked on a mission to find costumes for our various upcoming costume occasions! We went to three costume stores and I lucked up and found an awesome pirate costume AND the perfect Effie Trinket wig! It was so much fun trying different costumes on!

After costume shopping we headed to the French Quarter for some fun festivities. We ventured to the French Market for the annual Lindy Hop Swing Dance Festival. We wandered some of our favorite side streets, visiting some vintage clothing stores, an authentic voodoo store (creepy but cool!) and a few art galleries. Of course, depending on who you ask, there is a hurricane or tropical storm or tropical depression headed our way and it was a bit rainy and windy. The Quarter was still buzzing with activity though. A little rain isn't going to slow this city down. Here are some rainy day photos...

 

 

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 4

Scary Movies!! Tonight we are watching American Psycho.

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 3

Our first costume occasion!! Here we are dressed up for the 2013 Vintage Festival at the U.S. Mint in the French Quarter on October 3.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 2

Time to decorate the office!

31 Days of Halloween in New Orleans: Day 1

So...my favorite time of year is here!  A quick visit to Tennessee this past weekend really put me in the fall and Halloween mood. Back in New Orleans it is still a bit warm, but there is a slight breeze, less humidity, and an unexplainable "fall feeling" in the air. It does sadden me already that in only 30 days I'll have to wait a whole year before it's Halloween again. It really is my favorite holiday. I wish I could dress in costume every single day of the month! I decided to celebrate with a countdown. I may not be able to sport a witch hat everyday, but I can watch scary movies, go pumpkin hunting, make Halloween cards, and eat candy corn :)

Today, being the first day of my 31 day countdown, it seemed as though costume shopping was in order. Matt and I visited 5 costume stores looking for the perfect costumes! He had some luck and I got some ideas. We are well on our way. I have scheduled as many "costume occasions" as I could possibly find over the next couple months. As of right now we are dressing in vintage wear for a vintage festival this week, dressing as pirates for a renaissance festival, hitting the French Quarter on Halloween night as a voodoo queen and voodoo doll, and dressing in random other costumes for a few other events like parades and Halloween parties. What a fun season it is going to be :)

These pictures are from Mom's house this past weekend.... and to think it takes Martha Stewart a team of people to produce such creations! Mom always has the BEST decorations!