New Orleans

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We went to New Orleans over the weekend so that my crazy husband could run his seventh (eighth?) marathon. I haven’t been to New Orleans in over ten years and obviously it’s changed. I took the photo above in the Lower 9th Ward. The devastation from Katrina was vast and although my aunt lost her home in Slidell, I could not have fathomed the scope of this disaster in its present day state until I saw it — miles and miles of homes still damaged or destroyed (satellite images). Yet the history of the city remains with the French Quarter, St. Charles Avenue, and Audubon Park relatively unscathed. The spirit and energy of this cultural intersection are still there in its eclectic mix of people and in the outstanding food, drink and music. If you’d like to see some more of my photos, you can view them here.

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Trying to stay on-topic here on the blog (and desperately trying to avoid the obvious question about why New Orleans still looks like this), here is a link to a café au lait recipe! The beignets were yummy too, but who wants to do all that frying in their kitchen? The café au lait recipe is from Emeril and since he’s from New Orleans I suppose it’s a good recipe, though there seems to be something about chicory in the coffee which is not included.

Vintage Etsy

I am sort of having a problem with self-control when it comes to the vintage finds on Etsy. Doesn’t it seem like a good way to recycle? Many of the Etsy shops feature only high-quality vintage finds so you don’t have to sift through all the junk that you find on ebay or at a flea market. Here are some of the things I’ve been looking at:

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Katrina Kaye cushion cover made with vintage fabrics, $25.

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Majolica Bird Box from blue bell bazaar, $28. This is totally something that my grandmother would have owned.

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Pyrex bowl from a touch of vintage. Set of 2, $24. My mother still uses her gold set of Pyrex mixing bowls.

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And these Holly Hobbie colorforms from the happydashery. Remember these? For some reason I have been feeling the need to force my nostalgia onto my children. Check out Holly’s updated style:

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Aaaarrh! What have they done to you, Holly? Where has the high Victorian neckline gone? The patchwork? And what about the bonnet for goodness’ sake??? Did they even change her hair color? I guess we should be thankful that she’s not showing her midriff and wearing thongs.

Spring Crafts

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The first day of spring is March 20, so get busy crafting! I have created a new page with links to some lovely spring crafts. Please feel free to send me more links as I’ll be updating regularly. Find the pattern for these sweet bunnies at the purl bee.

The Toymaker

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We made some sweet little paper toys from The Toymaker site yesterday. Artist Marilyn Scott-Waters creates beautiful drawings for these free and downloadable paper toys.  There are many others available including animals, fairies, gift boxes, pinwheels, mini-books and more. If you haven’t seen this site, go check it out. I think these would be great to take on a trip. Just print them out, pack them up with scissors and a glue stick, and you have instant toys. As you can see, my kids couldn’t keep their hands off of them!