Return to L.A.

Though Louisiana has always felt like home to me, I never actually lived here until 2009. And though I spent nearly 18 years in Los Angeles, I never actually felt truly home there. That said, I’ve made sure I return at least once a year to see friends, take care of business and have a meal at Mel’s Drive-In on Sunset. This time, I was headed to L.A. to participate in the Courts Celebrity Fan Fest. It seemed funny somehow to return to L.A. to sign autographs. The city is as packed to the gills with celebrities as New Orleans is with Grammy winners so I hardly feel like I stand out in a crowd. But it all made sense when I spoke to the students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) at their Industry Insight Series.

I’m So New Orleans #ImSoNewOrleans

The Twitter-verse and Facebook have been buzzing for the last couple days with all things New Orleans. No one seems to know who started the #ImSoNewOrleans trend but it’s brought the city together in a way usually reserved for football season. People are sharing childhood memories, old photos of long-gone places and jokes and trends so inside, only someone who grew up here could truly get them. I didn’t. I wasn’t born here and I don’t have a good answer to, “Where’d you go to school?” (meaning which local high school), but I’m so New Orleans that my family owned property on St. Charles in the 1700’s. Okay, that doesn’t help me decipher some of the local references or share some of the memories, but it does make me feel like I’m home. 

Favorite Things in NOLA 2013

The categories are: Food & Beverage, Music & Entertainment, Culture, Shopping and Giving & More. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2012 is marked with an Asterix*. Most items have links to their site, but if you’d like to know more, use the search window on the right to find photos, videos, history and stories.

This year, I’ve added a gallery of photos. The first photos are of items listed and the last half are of stuff I love in New Orleans from Creole tomatoes to Ashley the Traffic Tranny.

I’m also revealing Your Favorite Posts of 2013.

3 – Saints Soundtrack Vol. 2

2 – Street Musicians – Tanya and Dorise

1 – Endymion Extravaganza – My First Ball! – which is also your favorite post of all time.

Krewes of Nyx and Ancient Druids

Though the last 2 weeks have been a very big adventure, I’ll admit I’ve missed the simple joy of hanging out with neighbors, dancing to marching bands and collecting a haul of plastic treasure. After a break to host the Super Bowl, Carnival began again last night and the city turned out despite the constant rain. First up was Krewe of Ancient Druids. Founded in 1998, the krewe honors the Celtic priests who acted as mediators between the people and their gods and nature. Their krewe is fairly small with never more than 200 members and secrecy shrouds their membership.

L.A. – A Nice Place to Visit…

I think that when most people think of New Orleans, they think of food, music and lots of drinking. It may be true that Bourbon Street is the Disneyland of drinking, but it’s just one street. When people think of Los Angeles, I suppose they think of movie stars and premieres and there are plenty of both, though I doubt the average tourist would have access to either. Having lived in Los Angeles for nearly 18 years, going to L.A. is more than a vacation for me, it’s a return to my former home and the friends I left when I moved to the Big Easy.

Knights of Chaos

The Knights of Chaos is one of the city’s newer krewes. Founded in 2000, their satirical floats are fashioned by fantastic float makers – Royal Artists. Their name comes from the Greek word meaning, “A great confusion out of which a supreme being created all life.” This year’s theme was, “Chaos Eats Out, No Reservations” and though much of the humor is bawdy, the krewe is very family-centered. 

A perfect New Year’s Eve

Every year, I look forward to/dread New Year’s Eve. I look forward to fresh starts and new attitudes and celebrations and fireworks and gatherings. I dread parking and crowds and the sinking feeling that I might have no one to kiss at midnight.

Once in a while, a perfect day comes along, a day even better than the one in your imagination. New Year’s Eve 2010 was such a day.

From N.O.LA to L.A.

One year ago, after nearly 18 years in Los Angeles, I packed up a rental truck and moved my life to New Orleans. It was a leap of faith. I knew how to make a living in Los Angeles. I’d met friends there and 2 friends I’d known since high school moved there over a decade ago. I knew how to get around, where I liked to eat, and which doctors I trusted. I knew what to wear and what the cultural expectations were and I knew how dating worked there. About New Orleans, all I was certain of was that it was, and had always been, my favorite city in the world.

Street Legal and the French Quarter

First, I got a Louisiana State driver’s license and registered to vote. Then, I registered my car in the state. But, I wasn’t done yet. In L.A., we had to get a smog check once a year. In New Orleans, you’re not road ready until you get a “brake tag.” People take the brake tag very seriously. So seriously that the woman at the DMV told me not to put on my new plate until I had the brake tag. Everyone made it sound like a very serious test. Many had pointers.

Harvest the Music (lots of photos)

Before I moved here, my favorite places here would have been restaurants and bars in the French Quarter that my cousins and I frequented over the years. Another would have to be Jackson Square, including Cafe du Monde and the stairs down to the river. I’ve added many more reasons to love Jackson Square but I’d have to say my new favorite place in New Orleans is Lafayette Square. I fell in love last Spring during the Wednesday at the Square concert series benefitting the Young Leadership council. The Square is a beautiful town center surrounded by regal buildings with a streetcar line rolling past.