Mardi Gras Is Coming!

Every year, just as the rest of the nation is winding down after the 1-2-3 punch of Thanksgiving-Christmas/Hanukkah-New Year’s, we in New Orleans are just getting started. The festivities begin on Twelfth Night with the Phunny Phorty Phellows riding the streetcar down St. Charles, heralding the start of Carnival season. The night is also Joan of Arc’s birthday which is celebrated with a parade through the French Quarter. Though not everyone attends events that day, most offices (and many homes) commemorate the season with King Cake. In the last few years, King Cake has become the focus of parties with people bringing cakes from their favorite bakeries and sampling them all.

In our home, Twelfth Night’s passing means turning the Saints’ Who Dat wreath into a Mardi Gras wreath and switching the tree decorations from Christmas to Carnival.

Mardi Gras Tree 2015

Mardi Gras is early this year with Krewe du Vieux kicking things off on January 31st. I’m still eating treats from my Christmas stocking but it’s already time for King Cake. I had my first slice at Sucre on the afternoon of Twelfth Night. Throughout the rest of the country, people are taking tinsel of trees and setting them by the curb while here in New Orleans, many of us convert Christmas trees to Mardi Gras trees.

Christmas Tree 2013

Another year is coming to a close. Thanks to all of you who enjoy my blog. This blog is a labor of love for me and I’m so grateful for my readers, subscribers and those who love my love of New Orleans. I will be working on my Favorite Things list for 2013 over the Christmas break. Feel free to make suggestions here or on Facebook or Twitter.

In the meantime, enjoy these handmade ornaments on my tree. When I lived in Los Angeles, my friend Angela and I would get together on Sundays during the holiday season and make ornaments from Sculpey clay or beads.

Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade 2013

This is my 4th year celebrating St. Patrick’s in New Orleans. I don’t say St. Patrick’s “Day” because it goes on for longer, up to a week. I’m not Irish but I’ve really caught the St. Pat’s fever beading my fence line, decorating a wreath and wearing wig-to-petticoats green. There are many parades and events but my favorite thus far is the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Over 1400 (often drunk) walkers in black suits and green accessories (many in kilts) exchange silk flowers for kisses from the women and children on the route. Then floats pass tossing cabbage, carrots, Oodles of Noodles, pickles, Moon Pies,  Lucky Charms and Irish Spring soap in addition to the traditional throws of beads, toys and cups.

Mardi Gras Decorations (with a Django twist)

Though I love donating my Mardi Gras beads to Arc of Greater New Orleans and Stephan Wanger‘s Guinness-record-breaking mural, my favorite use of parade throws is decorating my home for the season. Though the NFL tried to create a “clean zone” where they could tell us what to decorate our houses with, what signs we could carry and what clothes we could wear (!!!) , the ACLU has stepped in to protect our right to party our way  (I, for one, will be wearing Saints gear every chance I get!). So, I’ve beaded my fence, wreathed my door and redecorated my Christmas tree as a Mardi Gras tree.

Saints Season Starts!

Preseason is the time of year where football teams try out their new players to see who will make the cut. Normally, rookies take turns showing off while diehard fans cheer on new favorites. But, the Saints almost never do things “normally.” First, there was the much ballyhooed bounty scandal followed by an eternally long negotiation for quarterback Drew Brees’ contract. The team has lost its head coach, Sean Payton, for the entire season and acting head coach, Joe Vitt, will sit out for 6 games. While everyone else is testing out players, we’re testing out coaches. So why is the Who Dat Nation so excited?

Mardi Gras Decorating

Last year, I was introduced to the fabulous idea that I could redecorate my Christmas tree for Mardi Gras. This year, as I realized how long the Carnival season was going to run, I bought a fake tree in anticipation of my second annual Mardi Gras tree. The Saints fell out of the playoffs just before Twelfth Night, so I didn’t have to wonder when to redecorate my Who Dat wreath

2 Dat!

Time for a new wreath. I haven’t changed my door wreath since the Spring floral wreath, having forgone 4th of July (I’m having trouble celebrating our independence from the British as BP continues to crap all over our Gulf region). It hit me Wednesday that this is my first full football season here and I couldn’t be more excited to watch our world champions play and our city come alive for it. I love my first ever Who Dat wreath! (photo below)

Spring has sprung (but it’s still chilly)

It’s late March and we’re still in hats and coats, but we’ve had many sunny days. The flowers are blooming, birds are migrating back through here on their northward journeys home, and festival season is about to explode into a non-stop overlapping calendar of food, music, crafts and costumes.

Saints Fever and free samples

The Saints have never played in the Super Bowl. Ever. The Vikings have played in 4 Super Bowls, but they haven’t ever won. Viking fans have started pouring into town for the game this Sunday.