MR. & MRS. SAXON

My dear friend Anna got married this past weekend in Gulf Shores / Fort Morgan.  Remember I blogged about going to her bridal shower HERE?  She couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was beautiful the entire time.  J and I were so thankful to be included in the small and intimate wedding weekend.  So, congratulations on your nuptials Anna and Pete!  We had a blast celebrating with y'all!  May God bless you with much love and joy as you start this new chapter of your life.  XO

This was the cute little cottage we rented for the weekend.  Me, J, and my best buddy Kiersten stayed here.  It wasn't beach front but it was close enough.

And while J stayed inside most of the weekend "studying" for the CPA exam

(ie playing Plants vs. Zombies 2)....

...Kiersten and I wanted to take advantage of the GORGEOUS and PERFECT weather!

So the two of us hit the beach.  Kiersten, ever paranoid about shark attacks, calmed down a bit once we saw pods of dolphins swim by.

After some beach time we hit up the neighborhood pool.  It was huge and we had the whole thing to ourselves.  After getting way too much sun (the story of my life) it was time to get ready for the wedding.

The front of the beach house where the wedding reception was.

And the back of the beach house where the wedding reception was.

J walking down the seashell lined "aisle" to the ceremony.

Everything is ready to go.  As you can tell, we were first to arrive.

Bridesmaids from L to R: Jennifer, Caroline, Victoria, Stephanie

Mr. Rob walking the beautiful bride to the altar.

Anna and Pete exchanging vows.  Almost time to party as Mr. and Mrs. Saxon!

Loved the reception decor and centerpieces.  Anna did most of it herself.

Bride's cake.  Loved loved loved it!  Reminded me of Anna's wedding dress.

Groom's cake.

Will they be nice or mean?

Mean!

Kier and J

Me and J

Congratulatory kisses for Anna Banana!  Kier and I <3 you!

Lighting Chinese lanterns on the beach to end the magical day.

PICKET FENCE FISH

Happy Monday!  It's BEAUTIFUL in New Orleans today!  The AC is off for the first time in a long time and all our windows are open.  Really and truly a gorgeous day!  Unfortunately, I'm stuck inside working on a paper for school :(  At least I get to stare at these cute picket fence fish while I write away...

Don't you love them? They were a present from my Mom and Dad. An artist named Sharon K. Sharpe makes them.  I'd seen them for sale before on Cottage Coastal but my parents bought my set from Outer Banks Trading Group.  They're so bright and cheerful.  Thank you Mom and Dad!  I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately :)

Have a fantastic week everyone!  Hope you're able to get outside and enjoy this weather!

CITY PARK

Well, Karen never came.  Time to put away the Pop-Tarts and SpaghettiOs.  Maybe it rained some throughout the night while we were sleeping?  By the time we woke up though, it was nothing but sunshine and blue skies.  J and I decided to go on a quick bike ride through City Park before he started his CPA studying.  After the bike ride we stopped at Morning Call for beignets and iced cafe au lait.  The breakfast of champions!  It was great sitting outside with J and taking in the scenery.  Sounds like a lovely morning, right?  It was.  Up until the very end.  That's when I took a tumble on my bike at the intersection of Carrollton and Orleans.  A fairly busy intersection for you non New Orleanians.  The tumble wasn't that bad.  My skinny bike tire got stuck in the streetcar line groove and I kind of fell in slow motion.  In addition to the 15 or so cars stopped at the intersection, there happened to be a firetruck full of firemen right next to me.  Yes, the firemen witnessed it all.  They kindly stuck their heads out the windows to inquire whether or not I was okay.  Mortified, I nodded that I had survived the fall.  Apparently, there was also a homeless man who witnessed the incident.  He proceeded to follow me across the street and angrily yelled I was committing suicide by not using enough bike lube.  "My tire got stuck in the streetcar line," I tried to tell him.  But there was no arguing with the fella.  "Suicide," he kept yelling at me.  I smiled, thanked him for his advice, and kept on moving.  J was with me the whole time by the way.  I was never in any danger :)  And for his part, he did not laugh when I fell.  A difficult feat I imagine.  His main concern was that I didn't break anything.  I have a habit of doing that you know.  So, to sum it up... first 95% of the morning = awesome and last 5% = pretty embarrassing.  Time for some pictures...

J

This is where Brad Pitt dances with Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  Remember that scene from the movie?  It's the City Park Peristyle.  We've known 2 different couples that have gotten married here.

Thought this was a pretty cool reflection on the water.

Me

Morning Call

Hot beignets for breakfast!

Almost home....

TROPICAL STORM KAREN

J and I are ready to welcome Tropical Storm Karen to NOLA.  I broke out our emergency hurricane stash... 2 boxes of Pop-Tarts, 4 cans of SpaghettiOs, 8 gallons of water, and a huge heavy duty Maglite.  I figure the Maglite is dual purpose.  Light provider/weapon should any looters come around.  The National Hurricane Center reported that Karen's winds have dropped to 40 mph. That makes it barely a tropical storm. The rain is supposed to come tonight, last all day Sunday, and go into Monday. For now I'll enjoy the blue skies my pup Bayou and I saw on our walk this morning...

P.S. - See the black dot in the photograph?  What is THAT?  I stopped and took 3 pictures of the same cloud and the black dot is in a different spot in each time.  It was moving y'all!  Gotta be UFO, right?! Okay okay, possibly an oddly shaped airplane.

HOW TO BE A SOUTHERN BELLE

This spread is from Matchbook magazine.  Loved the article so much that I wanted to share.

ST. TAMMANY TRACE

Time for a bike ride on the St. Tammany Trace.  Here we go...

First, we had to head across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway towards Mandeville...

Husband and bikes in tow!

Also had to make a quick stop at the Bike Path before starting our ride.  The Raleigh needed a hub adjustment (?).  The staff were friendly and fast.  Thank you Bike Path!

"Used by the U.S. Postal Service for over 30 years."

We arrived at the Mandeville Trailhead and started to unpack the bikes.

Look at J...  so nice having my very own bike mechanic!

Halfway through the ride we stopped at the Lacombe Trailhead to admire the view and take some pics.

Beautiful Louisiana!

After biking 19 miles (yes, yours truly biked 19 miles!) we went to Barley Oak on the Mandeville lakefront and enjoyed some drinks, pretzels, and Cajun sausage.

We also stopped at Saia's Meat Market and bought some steaks to grill for dinner.  Then walked next door and bought some sweet treats from Krummel's Bake Shop.  It was finally time to head home.

The aforementioned sweet treats...

Thanks for such a fantastic Friday babe!  Loved spending the entire day with you on the Northshore!  Let's do it again soon :)  Maybe I'll be up for 25 miles next time?

WAIT WAIT DON'T TELL ME

J in front of the Baton Rouge River Center

J and I had the most fun night!  We had tickets to the Baton Rouge taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  Thank you Mom and Dad for the great present!  I love the show!  Love Peter Sagal!  Love Carl Kasell!  James Carville was the guest and Tom Bodett, Kyrie O'Connor, and Brian Babylon were the panelists.  I was hoping for Mo Rocca and J was hoping for Paula Poundstone but we don't always get what we want now do we.  The taping started at 7:30pm and finished shortly before 10:00pm.  2 1/2 hours of laughter!  Peter was nice enough to stay afterwards and answer any questions the audience may have.  Someone in the audience brilliantly asked, "what's your favorite color?"  Red was the answer in case you're curious.  When asked about where he dined in BR, Peter commented that Poor Boy Lloyd's deer sausage po'boy was a must.  J and I have never been to Lloyd's before so we'll have to try it next time we're up there.  Really and truly an awesome night!

We had dinner and drinks beforehand at Lucy's... The Lucy's in New Orleans is where J and I had our rehearsal dinner.  Neither of us had been to the Baton Rouge location before.

Louisiana's Old State Capitol

Downtown BR...

Downtown BR...

Downtown BR...

Look who we ran into outside the theater?!  Some LSU cheerleaders!  They were there to cheer Peter Sagal on before the taping.  Nice as could be.  They, along with the rest of the squad, looked SO young.  Like, not even old enough to be in college.  Did I really graduate that long ago?!

Mike the Tiger booty anyone?

"Geaux Peter Geaux!  Geaux Peter Geaux!"

I apologize for the horrible quality of this photo.  That's a blurry me and J if you can't tell.  I've asked Santa for a Canon EOS Rebel T3i for Christmas.  Let's hope he comes through....

NEW ORLEANS SCHOOL OF ART & CRAFT

I signed up for a few art classes today at The New Orleans School of Art & Craft. The school offers classes in mosaics, metalsmithing, jewelry making, sculpture, stained glass, mixed media, printmaking, puppet making, papermaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, drawing, watercolors, acrylics, and oil painting.  Whew!  That's a lot of stuff!  My two classes in October will be handwriting focused.  Anybody want to join me?  I'm taking the Introduction to Calligraphy: Copperplate class and the Playful Lettering/Neuland Hand class.  I'm really excited!  Both classes are taught by Eugenia Uhl.  The website says she is a calligrapher and photographer from New Orleans who has practiced the art of calligraphy for 12 years. She also served as President of the New Orleans Lettering Arts Association from 2008-2010.  I didn't even know there was such an organization.  I'd love to take a printmaking class as well but nothing is currently offered.  Perhaps down the line...  Anyway, here are some images from the school website about what I can expect to learn in the classes...