New Orleans Getaway

Ahhh... (as I sit down in my desk chair)

We just got back from a great getaway to New Orleans for a few days. A few weeks ago we were asked by our printer (who is in New Orleans) if we'd like to come to their Christmas party. We thought about it a few days, I took off work and we headed South. Paul hadn't caught up on the podcast Serial, so we listened to podcasts the whole trip and passed the time.

Our hotel was pretty amazing. They are transitioning from the W to a different type of hotel, so we got a great rate. I contemplated how much they'd charge me if I took that lamp home with me.

We also got a great surprise when we came back from our Christmas party the first night. We had mentioned to the woman at check-in that our anniversary was just last week, so this was sort of an anniversary trip too. Come to find out, she sent up dessert and champagne for us to celebrate with. We were very impressed!

Of course, we ate great food (though I didn't take as many food shots as I thought I would). We agreed that this was going to be a "where the wind takes us" trip, not rushed and planned. I had heard great things about Elizabeth's in Bywater and I'm not a girl to turn down praline bacon. I'd definitely be back.

A friend of ours, Josh, was just accepted and moved into the Bywater Art Lofts, which is this amazing project in Bywater to renovate older buildings and create a commune of sorts for artists. Here's more info.

One of the things Josh said we didn't need to miss was Crescent City Park, since it was right up our alley and just down the street. This is a project that reminds me of a hybrid between Millennium Park's urban garden and the High Line in New York. The strip connects Bywater all the way to Marigny next to the tail end of the French Market. 

At the top of the arch is a beautiful view of downtown and the bend in the Mississippi River.

That day we walked around the French Quarter, visited one of our favorite burger joints - Company Burger - in Freret and almost decided to take up permanent residence in West Elm on Magazine. It's been a while since I've been in a physical store - I've always bought online. My favorite store in the world, hands down.

One of the suggestions we got at the Christmas party when we asked about Christmas lights was Celebration in the Oaks at City Park. We kept saying things while walking through like, "I wish we had our nephews" and "If we had kids, this would be really impressive." It was fun for us, but I could definitely see how it could be magical for a kid, especially with all of the rides they had open.

Cajun Christmas with gators as reindeer was certainly my favorite thing.

We woke up Saturday morning and it was time to head back. The weather was perfect!

Of course, no New Orleans trip is complete without a trip to District Donuts. We've gotten different flavors before, like maple and bacon, but this time we stuck with chocolate and cinnamon roll. We also sampled a sweet potato and chorizo breakfast taco that was pretty out of this world. I'm going to have to try to reconstruct it at home.

It was such a nice trip, but I'm happy to be home for a day of rest before back to my last work week of the year. I can't believe it's upon us. I've got some major gift shopping to do this week!