Her Side Project

On Friday I boarded a plane bound for New Orleans. I couldn’t wait to meet up with my friends and family for a weekend of all things Mardis Gras, tourism and culinary crusading (seriously, some people in the group had three full meals in the span of 5 hours on Saturday… that’s commitment). In the weeks leading up to the trip, I was torn: should I take my camera or not take my camera? I knew I was going to spend time in places that weren’t ideal conditions for carrying around my professional equipment; but I also knew I’d be inspired and want to take pictures. For the sake of protecting it, I left my Canon at home and headed to NOLA with my trusty iPhone in hand, hoping I wouldn’t have any regrets.

The weekend was amazing. Up until now, I had only visited this city as a child. As an adult, it was a completely different – and better – experience. I loved so many things about my time there, but I’ll summarize with the highlights from the trip:

1. Black tie dinner at Galatoires, complete with masks, live music, excellent food, great company and an American flag that doubled as a cape at some point in the night.
2. High tea at the hotel. Gorgeous flower arrangements, tiny sandwiches, scones, desserts and good old fashioned Earl Grey.
3. Parades: particularly screaming for, catching and collecting the bright beads.
4. Experiencing Bourbon St. Enough said.
5. Incredible brunch feast at Surreys. The bananas foster french toast and shrimp bisque were definitely menu items to write home about.
6. Walking down and exploring the old city streets.
7. Admiring and photographing the beautiful architecture.
8. The perfect weather. I was a little concerned about humidity (for my hair’s sake) but it couldn’t have been better!
9. Getting dressed up and spending time with wonderful friends: both new and old.

Essentially it was a lot of food, fun and adventure. Thanks to my cousin William for organizing the entire trip and bringing fantastic people together for a weekend away. I’m very much looking forward to the next time!

The quality of cell phone pictures can drive me crazy sometimes, but you have to admit: if you want to capture a fun-filled weekend on-the-go, the iPhone does a pretty good job! The following is a compilation of what I found beautiful, interesting, funny or simply wanted to remember.

Sigh. I want to go back!

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