I usually spend the Fourth of July at my brother's compound near the Louisiana/Mississippi border hanging out in the woods around a massive swimming pool, slurping frosty beverages and arguing politics while my sister-in-law's many siblings, their children and…
Thank you for stopping by New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles’ “Bon Vivant” blog. Writer Melanie Warner Spencer is enjoying the Independence Day holiday and will return on Monday, July 6 with a new, freshly pressed post. Meanwhile, if you are staying inside…
The city issued a press release on June 30 announcing the COVID-19 Mass Feeding program and I am happy to report that Chef’s Brigade is involved. You may ask yourself, “Chef’s Brigade? Isn’t that the thing that Robert was…
I usually spend the Fourth of July at my brother's compound near the Louisiana/Mississippi border hanging out in the woods around a massive swimming pool, slurping frosty beverages and arguing politics while my sister-in-law's many siblings, their children and…
It’s a lovely, although circuitous drive to Lorrain Parish Park, heading south from Welch and Interstate 10 and then west on rural West Niblett Road. You’ll pass bayous, cows and rows of ancient live oak trees until you reach…
In the most recent monthly WWLTV/WUPL “Morning Show” New Orleans Bride Magazine segment, editor Melanie Warner Spencer talks about the top COVID-19-related wedding etiquette questions she has received since the pandemic struck.
For the past couple of decades, I’ve been refining my morning routine. When I was in my 20s, I kicked off each day by slamming a cold, sugary Coke within a few minutes of waking up (I’m not proud…
Sweltering heat, you know what that means: we’ve reached midsummer in Acadiana. The highlight of midsummer celebrations, Independence Day, will reach us on Saturday, but the celebrations will begin on Friday in various places in and around Lafayette. Many…
The coronavirus pandemic is still a cloud over the wedding industry, as we all try to navigate rising numbers and ever-changing rules in regards to events and social distancing. One thing that can occupy your time while playing the waiting…
There are a few rare souls who, by their very essence, define this city. Those who – in their exaggeration, aggrandizement, ostentation and unequivocal embrace of a life in full – are physical manifestations of this pinwheel of a…
There are a lot of things that I think are fun to argue about. Some of them are incredibly low-stakes and yet still get me fired up. For instance, a couple of years ago, I was in a Facebook…
![Viareggio Mascot [1]](https://wpcdn.us-east-1.vip.tn-cloud.net/www.myneworleans.com/content/uploads/2020/06/VIAREGGIO-MASCOT-1.jpg)
Float builder Blaine Kern’s death last week, at 93, brought to mind the story of a former Rex Captain, Darwin Fanner, who in 1956 hired the 29-year-old Kern to build the Rex parade. Kern had been building the ALLA…
It seems that Major League Baseball is going to attempt to take the field and play a 60-game season. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know I’m not the biggest fan of Major League Baseball because…
