BURGER JOINT JOURNEY

We are HOME SWEET HOME from our trip to Tennessee.  We got a lot accomplished and it was wonderful seeing J's side of the family.  Hopefully our next trip will be longer so we have more quality hangout time and don't have to feel so rushed to fit in the errands.  J's parents made sure we left with lots of goodies... homemade tomato sauce, jams, smoked sausage and wine.  We can't wait to dig in!  And speaking of food...

My youngest brother, Kyle, thinks I blog about food too much. But how can I not when living in a food mecca like New Orleans?!? So here I go...

Hamburgers come in all shapes and sizes...

cakes

beds

turtles

gummys

hats

motorcycles

And of course the tried and true form, my personal favorite...

"Why all this talk of hamburgers," you ask?  Well, Brett Anderson, the Times Picayune restaurant critic, recently wrote an article titled "5 new burger joints bring New Orleans closer to patty perfection."  He goes on to say "the culinary establishment's warm embrace of the synonymously American dish has given the hamburger something that seemed impossible a decade ago: increased ubiquity. Now, it no longer is necessary to settle for anything less than a hamburger made with quality beef surrounded by ingredients of similar stature. The latest phase of the hamburger revolution has made this true even at the lowest end of the price spectrum, as upper-echelon restaurateurs have seen the value of becoming hamburger specialists."

The 5 NOLA burgers Mr. Anderson recommends...

Company Burger
4600 Freret Street

Cowbell
8801 Oak Street

Juicy Lucy's
133 North Carrollton Avenue

Tru Burger
8115 Oak Street

Five Guys
70415 Louisiana 21

J and I are going to try each and every one!  Actually, we are leaving Five Guys off the "to try" list because we have eaten there before (the Pensacola, Florida & Huntsville, Alabama locations) and the Five Guys Mr. Anderson is referring to is actually in Covington, Louisiana which is 40 miles North of New Orleans.

First up, in no particular order, Tru Burger.  Possibly for date night this Friday?  I'll keep y'all posted as we move through the list.

STEAL OF A DEAL

J and I ran into Sears tonight so he could pick up a Craftsman wire crimper/stripper thingamajig. On our way to the tools department we walked past the Lands' End section. Josh spotted the "additional 70% off already reduced price" sign and his eyes lit up. The man lives for good deals. "Wow! You have to get something," he excitedly told me. I picked out 2 really cute striped cardigans. Originally $49.50... bought them for $8.99 each! Yes ladies and gentlemen, we saved $81.02. That is by far one of the best deals I have ever received so I just had to share. The iPhone photo (below) doesn't really do the colors justice.  The orangey looking sweater is actually bright pink in person.

J and I are off to the Volunteer state tomorrow. It's going to be an exhausting weekend. An 8 hour drive tomorrow with 2 dogs in the car, Saturday will be filled with TCB (holla back Elvis fans), and then an 8 hour drive back home to NOLA on Sunday. Tennessee here we come!

LATELY

I told myself I wouldn't do those “I’m sorry I haven’t posted recently” posts but here I am! I haven’t posted lately! I feel terrible about it. Top 2 reasons I've been a horrible blogger...

#1
As my man Daniel Tosh would say... "Dolla, dolla bills y’all." J and I both have jobs that have required 110% of our time lately. No if ands or buts about it. J's busy season at the accounting firm started so it has been a lot of early mornings and late nights. My busy season at Audubon hasn't been quite so rough, but demanding nonetheless. I've been working an extra 8 hours each week which sounds small but has made a big impact on what I'm able to accomplish academically, socially and choresally***... What's the word I'm looking for there? Not having enough time to cook, clean, do laundry. You get the point.

#2

SCHOOL.  You're not surprised? J and I both did summer semester. J took a class and I had 2. We found this doormat at Walmart that was pretty fitting...

There you have it! 2 reasons I have been an awful blogger of late. But honestly, J and I have been pretty great offline people :)

Proof of our offline greatness...

WED - JULY 21
I chopped all my hair off folks. Well, not alllllllllllllll of it. I didn't go Britney Spears crazy or anything...

Scary! Anyway... I had 6 inches cutoff. Lisa Marquette at Salon M (http://salonmno.com/) is amazing! I highly recommend her if you live in the NOLA area. My thick head of hair feels so much lighter now. Perfect timing for this horrendous humidity we have been experiencing. Raise your hand if you like my new do!



MON - JULY 25
J had his final for his summer semester class. Poor thing came home and wanted to celebrate but I was still in serious study mode. My finals weren't until the following week. He quietly played some Call of Duty and then crashed on the couch until I was ready to go to bed.



WED - JULY 27
Spontaneous date night at Nonna Mia (http://www.nonnamia.net/). J and I do date night every Friday but last week I got 2 date nights! Wednesday and Friday! It was very unexpected and very sweet. We had wine, flat bread, and lobster ravioli. Yum yum.



J also did laundry for me last week. He cooks dinner and I do the laundry. That was our agreement when we got married. J loves to cook and has a real talent for it. He prepares really amazing meals. I don't love to wash and dry clothes, but it was the lesser of 2 evils in my mind. So yeah, he gave me a break last week and did the laundry. But that wasn't the best part. He correctly put all the clean clothes away according to my color coded system (obsessive compulsive much)! When I noticed I got the biggest smile on my face :)



WED - AUGUST 3
I had worked 8:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Half the day was spent at the zoo and the rest of my time at the aquarium for our member party, Sealebration! My feet were throbbing by the time J picked me up from downtown. I hopped in the car and to my surprise; Bayou and Walnut were there to greet me too! When your husband and puppies are overly excited to see you after a long day, it’s easy to forget how tired, sweaty and gross you are.



THUR - AUGUST 4
J and I babysat beautiful baby Jude last night so her Mommy & Daddy (Megan & Chase) could get out of the house for a bit and grab dinner. She was born June 17th so she's a little more than a month old now. She was a little bit fussy in the beginning (must have missed the parentals) but was smiley and happy the rest of the evening. J wouldn't let me photograph it, but he and Jude looked adorable in the baby wrap/baby carrier thing. "Feels just like a book bag," he remarked.



So there you have it. When we aren't rocking online it's because we're rocking offline. Have a great weekend y'all.


*** Domestically was the word I was looking for.  Thanks Dan Day! :)  08/18/11 ***