Birthday Weekend Recap

New Orleans was fabulous as always. I had a wonderful birthday weekend thanks to the hubby.  We didn't leave GA til 10am Friday so we got to Nola about 4pm (3pm their time).

We arrived at the W Hotel New Orleans and I was immediately annoyed when we pulled in and they told us parking was $35 per day...even for guests. I really think they should put this information on their website or at least tell you this when you book the room. So luckily one of the valets let us know that we could park across the street at Harrah's Casino and they would validate our parking if we gambled for at least 30 minutes per day. *whew* So we saved $105 by doing this. 

The second thing that annoyed me was that we had to put down a $150 cash deposit. Again, something they should tell you. When I booked the room, I gave my credit card and was told no pre-authorization or deposit was needed because the room was free (due to my comps from Vegas). But they said it would be used for incidentals. Again, they should have told us this UP FRONT. 

Third, they asked us if we wanted a non-smoking room. I said smoking, then she said this is a non-smoking hotel. Ok, so why'd you ask me to begin with?

The room itself...well it wasn't horrid but the pictures on their website were obviously taken after the hotel was built because you could definitely see everything was old. It still looked nice and the room was clean but it was just aged.

The bathroom was decent but small.

 Bed was comfy

 at least it was clean!

And this what was in the fridge...

a plastic lid for a cup and a bottled water that had already been opened. 

EWWW.

They had a bar & lounge downstairs in the "living room" aka lobby which was cool. We didn't spend time there but lots of people were coming to the hotel to hang out there.

After we got settled in we headed directly to French Quarter for dinner. Initially I was thinking I wanted to do something fancy & get all dolled up but after being on the road for 6 hours and being pissed off by the hotel I was just tired & hungry. We found a great little restaurant on Bourbon St and had dinner. Hubby surprised me with a Michael Kors watch. I didn't realized how HUGE it really was. He said he saw the site pulled up one day to the watch but I had NO idea he knew I wanted it. 

He also got me some eye make up. It looks super glittery but it goes on VERY light. It's like a gel and ads a little sparkle. At first I was thinking, "Lord I'm gonna look Lady Gaga with this!" Ha! But it's actually very subtle & I love it.

After dinner we stopped in a little jazz bar and had some drinks and listened to a band. I love old cover bands and they were belting out tunes like "My Girl," "When a Man Loves a Woman," etc. New Orleans has such an awesome vibe for music & art. 

Saturday we rode the street car down St Charles. It was our first time on a street car and we got to see a lot of New Orleans this way.

 I loved all the homes on St Charles St

 Many of the homes had porches with ceilings painted
"haint blue"!

We decided to have lunch at The Camellia Grille.

I am sorry to report the food was TERRIBLE. I have no idea what all the rave is about or why the lines are so long. But if anyone thinks their food is super good, you must eat bland food on a regular basis. I would NEVER go back to this place.

After lunch we hopped back on the street car...

And went to Cafe Du Monde. You HAVE to go to Cafe Du Monde when in New Orleans. OMG their beignets were the best thing I ate while there. 

We even went back Sunday for seconds! lol

 Heavenly!

We had a full day exploring the art and shops of New Orleans. We drove around and played at Harrah's Casino which was fun.  I won a few dollars but not enough to retire on, Ha!

On the way home Sunday we stopped by the Prime Outlet Mall in Gulport, MS & I scored a new Coach bag. My mom gave me some birthday money so this is really from her.

It's really funky & not what I would typically buy...but since it was 70% off I figured why not!

Although I think it would be perfect without all the colorful graphics.

 I love the green color on the inside!

 

 We had a fabulousss weekend & I can't wait to go back!

In other exciting news...

Have you ever participated in a Blog Swap? 

They are SO fun! 

And I am so thrilled that Star over at Star's pink World is hosting a Halloween Blog swap!

I'd love for any readers to sign up!

New Orleans Bound

I'm off to New Orleans with the hubby for my birthday weekend!

It's the 5th anniversary of my 29th birthday! (wink wink)

Birthday Dinner

Tonight the hubby & I went to dinner with my mom & brother to celebrate my birthday a little early since we'll be out of town this weekend. I chose Texas Roadhouse because I was craving their chicken salad for some reason.  

After dinner we came home, I watched all the coverage on the Troy Davis case.

I have to admit,  I am disgusted with the way things turned out. No one knows the truth besides GOD, Troy, & the victim. But one thing I thought this country stood by was "proof beyond a reasonable doubt." And if there is any doubt, then how can we kill someone? It's not about race. It's about justice.

To the people celebrating Troy's death, I say this...

If it were your son, brother, or dad in this situation & there was even a slight possibility that he could be innocent, what would you do?

An eye for an eye leaves both eyes blind...

4 more days

And the hubby & I will be headed to New Orleans to celebrate my birthday! 

CAN'T WAIT!

As an early birthday gift, my brother got my windows tinted for me. We have a running joke about him giving me gifts for my car. Apparently each time he decides to gift me anything to do with my car, it breaks down & I have to get a new one. One time he got me brand new tires for my expedition, a few months later it gets hit by lightening & fries the engine. Another time he got the windows tinted on my benz, a few months later the engine head cracked.

I'm not superstitious, but this has me a bit nervous. 

At least this car is brand new so hopefully it will last several years.

Here's a pic I found the net of my exact car with tinted windows. It's been raining here so I haven't been able to take the pic myself. But this is exactly what it looks like...minus the rims.

 Looks good huh?
Thanks brother!

Hubby & I caught the end of this show last night about things to eat while in New Orleans.
One suggestion was taffy. I've never been a big fan of taffy but I am determined to find this:

The Roman Chewing Candy truck.
This is the original truck built in 1915!

I've never eaten at Emeril's but I heard it's really good. So we're debating on whether or not we're going to try it.  The show featured his famous banana pie & it looked SO good!

Does anyone have any suggestions for New Orleans must-sees?

Weekend Recap

Friday I did some random shopping at TJ Maxx. I picked up a little of this & a little of that. I decided we need new spatulas and other utensils, and since all of the Kitchen Aid utensils were $3.99 I picked up a few random tools. I also bought a table runner with fall leaves on them for $9.99.  I was in the mood to shop for Fall decor.

 I love these colors!

 I'm embarrassed to admit this, however I do want to document it so I'm gonna post it here anyways....but I finally bought a new brush after having the same one for 17 years. I know, what the hell took so long right? LOL! I loved that brush. It was a cheap plastic brush I got in high school but it works for my naturally curly hair. Last week while cleaning it I realized there were hardly any bristles left. I was d@mn near using a flat piece of plastic! I also got a Tortoga Rum cake. If you have never had this cake you are missing out!  It is SO good! I got it for $4.99 at TJ Maxx (& it was vacuumed sealed & fresh)! If you order it from the website it's at least $33. And finally I picked up a Witch snowglobe to add to my Halloween decor! 

For some reason, that night I couldn't sleep and I stayed up til 5 am watching random old movies. Have you ever had those nights where you're just UP and can't sleep? And then of course for some reason I woke up early which annoyed me.

Saturday I shot a wedding and when we got home hubby decided to throw an impromptu fight party. Mayweather & Ortiz were fighting so we had a house full of people. Did anyone else watch that fight? Ortiz was so wrong for headbutting Mayweather and Mayweather was wrong for his sucker punch. But I was so mad to hear Mayweather cuss the old guy out during the interview. But I literally LMAO when the old guy said "If I was 50 years younger I'd kick your @ss!" WOW! Mayweather is so arrogant to me. He is a good fighter, but he doesn't have to be so cocky about it. 

We had some friends stay over & when we woke up the next day we were pleasantly surprised to find they had made breakfast for us. Yummy egg sandwiches, fruit, & banana fruit smoothies. So delicious! (Thanks Lisa & Brandell!)

I should have take a pic after everything & everyone was at the table though.

Sunday I had another photo session. A family session for my friends. While at the session my camera kept freezing. Thank god that didn't happen at the wedding the day before and thank god I was with friends when it happened. UGHH! I am sending my camera off to be cleaned & looked at this week. I am so upset because I wanted to get some good pics while in New Orleans but I guess that's not an option. I have a wedding next weekend so I need it back by then. :(

Anyways, Sunday night the Falcons played the Eagles so once again we had a houseful of men over to watch the game. As you can tell by all of my posts, we almost always have a houseful of friends & family over. If anyone watched the game, you know Atlanta won so of course we were HAPPY to say the least. Now we're deciding on which game we want to go to. It will be my first NFL game so I am excited.

Pic of us eating during the game.

I love having such diverse friends!

 

Good Times!

YouTube Saturdays

Happy Saturday!

This may be old to a lot of you, but I never get tired of watching Karmin!

What have you found on YouTube that you'd like to share?

TGIF

I have a busy weekend ahead of me. I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow & a family portraits on Sunday.

And then next weekend is 'Nawlins, and the weekend after that is another wedding.

*whew*

Last night I ordered this:

I can't wait to get it & hang it! :)

Hope yall have a great weekend!