Treme Again

When HBO’s Treme started, the sets, decorations and character wardrobes were a reflection of having just survived a horrific flood. Walls were watermarked, photos were stained with black mold and clothes were utilitarian. Everything was about “making do.” In this season of Treme, which takes place in late 2007, much has changed. Homes are being rebuilt and businesses are growing but, for me, the clearest indicator that the city is on the mend is all the Saints merchandise everywhere.

NOLA in a Week (Mom’s Visit)

There’s nothing like having a visitor to push you to take advantage of the city as much as possible in a week. My mom  and stepdad came to town and we went to 2 festivals, a number of concerts, a bunch of restaurants and plenty of cool shops. We even visited the set of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. If you’re planning to visit New Orleans or if you’re a New Orleanian looking for some ideas of how to entertain your guests, here are some highlights from our week.

Second Line, Class Got Brass, Congo Square, Stooges and Rebirth (again)

After the perfect day we had Saturday, we finished the weekend with a perfect Sunday. Again, the weather was warm and sunny with a constant balmy breeze. Breakfast was Camellia Grill in the French Quarter. Gotta love those grits and the service (complete with fist-bumps) always puts a smile on my face. Then it was off to Armstrong Park for the Revolution Social Aid and Pleasure Club’s second line. We found Briana Edwards of Raintree Children and Family Services in the crowd of steppers and jumpers then followed along. Loved the snappy school kid costumes the paraders wore.

Favorite Things in NOLA 2011

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my second year favorites in a nutshell. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2010 is marked with an Asterix*. Though there are too many “ties,” revealing an inability to “just pick one,” I promise you there were so many more things I wanted to include, so many more people and places I felt deserved mentioning.

L.A. – A Nice Place to Visit… Vol. 2

My trip to Los Angeles was for a dinner with the cast of Django Unchained. With the dinner behind me, I could enjoy the friends I miss so much. Janell and I started the day with a decadent breakfast at The Farm. Though I miss her children too, it was nice to spend the morning just the 2 of us like old times. We talked about life and did a little shopping before picking the kids up for an audition. In L.A., even the kids might be on TV and the industry tends to find children as beautiful and personality-packed as Janell’s.

L.A. to N.O.LA’s Favorite Things (in NOLA) 2010

I can’t get you all of this stuff, Oprah-style, but every item has links to their site. If you’d like to know more about why each is my favorite, use the search window on the lower right to find photos, videos and stories.

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my first year favorites in a nutshell.

Caroling and great food

With Christmas approaching, there are fewer tourists and conventions, New Orleans is quieter. I thought I’d take advantage of being able to get a seat at a new popular bar/restaurant, Three Muses.

http://www.thethreemuses.com/

Sweet Home, Louisiana

After a week in Los Angeles, returning to New Orleans felt great. On the plane, I ran into a fellow L.A. to N.O.LA actor who I’d carpooled with to Baton Rouge. I met a woman who’d run major art museums, taught college and painted part of the Ernie K-Doe mural on the (just-shuttered) Mother in Law Lounge. She was beautiful, smart, talented, over 60 and dying of cancer. I liked knowing that we were heading to a town where being older and dying wouldn’t detract from how sexy-cool she is.

Refuel – What’s for Breakfast?

Once in awhile, there are things in New Orleans that remind me of L.A. There’s an area of Uptown where there’s a Pink Berry right across the street from a Whole Foods. That’s a one-two L.A. punch. But I was always a Trader Joe’s and Cantaloop girl, preferring cheaper food with more “character.”