8 posts from March 2008

I was in Target the other day, shopping for a greeting card, when I came across these headers. Is it wrong that I found them so amusing?

Birthday After Difficult Year

Long-Term Illness

No, this post isn't about my a$$. Sorry. This post is about the 2008 International Home and Housewares show, which Rob and I attended. He'd gone last year and had had a good time, and also got a lot of free swag. He encouraged me to tag along this year.

Reusable Water Bottles

One booth was handing out these free water bottles. I love them! I've been trying to move away from disposable bottles (even though I recycle) but the problem is, whenever I put a glass of water by my bed, the cat sticks his furry face in it. I'd been considering using a sports water bottle, but those are ugly, and my God, I don't love the environment THAT much.

You can find more info on these cute bottles here. Unfortunately, I have no idea where you can buy them.

Wing-Time Barbecue Sauce

I stopped by the Wing-Time Barbecue booth several times and sort of flirted with the guys there. I really loved the Hot sauce, but when I went back at the end of the day, they only had Garlic left. I haven't tried it yet, but I did find a bottle of the Hot sauce a few days later at Cost Plus World Market. It's soooo good.

Room Freshener and Mr. Clean Eraser

I've been curious to try the Mr. Clean Eraser. Also, I got two free jars of the Evercare room freshener. Score!

Other bootie included a free cooking magazine and some barbecue skewers.

P.S. Yes, it is 5:33 a.m. Insomnia, people. It's a beautiful thing.

Sunday, Rob and I took the streetcar to Loyola University New Orleans just to walk around.

Loyola New Orleans

Loyola New Orleans II

Loyola New Orleans III

Loyola New Orleans IV

Statue in New Orleans Airport

On Saturday, Rob and I went walking along Rue Royal (Royal Street) to check out the antique shops and art galleries. At one point, we even stumbled onto a gallery party, and got free wine and appetizers in the middle of the day. Score!

Rob Walks Rue Royal

A View of the Street

As we were walking past the police station, I remembered that the last time we were in NOLA, there were a bunch of stray cats in the courtyard. I'd completely forgotten about them until then. We checked and sure enough, the kitties were still there.

Street Kittehs

We saw several street bands playing. I love the following picture (if I say so myself) because it's so "New Orleans." One thing I noticed, the buskers really like to dress like hobos. I don't think they really were hobos, though, because they all looked like college-age kids.

Street Band

Next, we went back to Cafe du Monde, so I could get my parents some beignet mix. Here's a shot of the outside.

Cafe du Monde!

After that, we went to Jackson Square. In the background, you can see St. Louis Cathedral.

Jackson Square

Rob and April in Jackson Square

Later that evening, we met up with Rob's friend Jason (who used to live in Chicago) and his girlfriend Johanna. They took us to a local bar in a nearby suburb, and then we got really great Cajun food. I had Red Fish, potatoes, and beans.

I saw this graffiti in the bar's bathroom. I snapped a photo of it, and then realized Johanna was two stalls away and was probably wondering why I was taking flash photos in the bathroom. I had to explain later.

Katrina Happens

After dinner, we went back to Jason's "shotgun" style house (basically, there are no hallways, and you have to walk through one room to get to another). He'd remodeled it recently and was showing us what he did. He also showed us where Hurricane Katrina had done damage to the roof. He'd actually weathered the storm and then headed to Houston two days later.

New Orleans is such an amazing city, and has been through such a rough time.  I know the re-building still has a long way to go, but New Orleans residents really love their city, and they're bringing it back to life.

Rob had a trade show in New Orleans, so he tacked on a few extra days, I flew down, and we had a little vacation.

Bourbon Street Sign

When I checked into our first hotel, Rob was still at his show, so I decided to amuse myself by walking along Bourbon Street. I'd been to New Orleans before, but I still experienced a little culture shock. Bourbon Street is so loud, and colorful, and there are SO many bars and pizza places and tourist shops, and porn, and strip clubs. My head was spinning. I stopped in a tourist shop to buy some postcards, and then randomly chose a pizza-by-the-slice place to get a snack.

Pizza Place

After eating a slice of pizza and drinking a Red Bull, I headed back to the hotel. On my way, I passed a courtyard my mom, Rob and I had stopped in on our last trip to NOLA. The same old-time jazz band was playing, which was really fortuitous, because I'd wished I'd bought one of their CDs. I stopped to listen to them play for a while, and when the band paused to let a marching jazz group pass by, I walked up to the front and asked the lead singer if I could buy a CD. We got to talking and he asked where I was from, and when I told him, he asked if he could play, "Chicago" for me. I was flattered. The band played "Chicago" as promised and then took a break. The singer came over to sit with me and we chatted some more. I asked how long he'd lived in New Orleans, etc. At one point, he told me to tell Rob that he's a lucky man. Haha! (I did.) I left with a promise to come back and see him, but unfortunately we ran out of time, and I never did. :(

New Orleans Courtyard

I got back to the hotel, and Rob showed up not soon after. We got changed, and went to a nice seafood restaurant with his boss, two co-workers, and one of their German customers. It was really nice. I tried "Gator Bites," which really do taste like chicken (only chewier)! On our way back, it started to rain, so we stopped at a bar on Bourbon Street for another drink. By the way, you can walk down Bourbon Street while you drink. It's pretty cool.

Rob in a Tie