Cozy Cooking
By most accounts, we have a small kitchen. It measures just over 8-foot by just over 9-foot and, were it designed any other way, it might be too small. As it stands, we got lucky: it is already laid…
Author: Melanie Warner Spencer
Wediquette Wednesday: What do I do if I don’t like my engagement ring?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. This week we are republishing a question from January 2015.…
Happy Memorial Day
Bon Vivant is taking a break for Memorial Day. Please visit again on Wednesday, when we’ll be back to our regular blogging schedule.
Culinary Gifts: 4 Food Offerings to Keep You in Your loved One’s Hearts, While Staying Away from Their Homes
Perhaps it’s because I grew up on a farm or maybe due to so many of the home cooks in my family being connoisseurs of quality ingredients, but I feel most loved when someone gives me food. The saying…
Wediquette Wednesday: We decided to do a ‘tiny wedding’ rather than cancel, how do we tell those who already got save-the-dates?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
Margarita Monday: Melanie’s Honey Key Lime Margarita
A few weeks back, Cinco de Mayo and its joyous convergence with Taco Tuesday inspired most of us to mix up a batch of margaritas at home. It reminded me how much I love a good margarita and since…
Virtual Design: Webinars, podcasts and panel discussions by New Orleans preservation groups and design pros, plus stylish Zoom backgrounds
If there is any group well-suited to creative solutions to problems big and small, it’s the design community. New Orleans design pros are no exception and have continued to hum along amid COVID-19 shutdowns and mandates, finding resourceful ways…
Wediquette Wednesday: Do we have to meet with wedding vendors in person if we are uncomfortable with the loosened COVID-19 restrictions?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity. …
High and Low
At this stage of the COVID-19 crisis, my husband Mark and I are devising as many plans as possible to safely increase our time outdoors. Our daily walks or bike rides and frequent porch sits are getting longer and…
Go-To Go-Cups
With lockdown going into week 2,345 and the spring weather beckoning, most of us have been doing a lot more porch and patio sitting and taking and long walks in the neighborhood. The latter also means blowing through that…
Wediquette Wednesday: Should we send out our save the dates to our original guest list or should we wait?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
Bread Wars
The entire internet has seemingly been baking homemade bread for weeks, with the exception of those of us who weren’t prescient enough to buy yeast before the COVID-19 hoarding began in earnest. My husband Mark and I bake bread…
The Sentimental: A refreshing grapefruit cocktail to level up New Orleans porch season
Last week, our friend’s Ann and Bill texted us to share a new cocktail they were enjoying. It was a delightful spin on a greyhound. Traditionally, a greyhound is simply grapefruit juice and either vodka or gin. You really…
Wediquette Wednesday: Is it appropriate to throw our friend a virtual bridal shower during lockdown?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
Repotting 101: How to repot a plant for space or when it sprouts new growth
My snake plant — named Daniel Plainview after the character in “There Will be Blood,” because he was devious and, well, it’s a snake plant — had a baby. One day I looked over and there was this little…
Keep it Clean
Whether you live in a small downtown apartment, a little cottage in the Marigny or a sprawling and expansive St. Charles Avenue manse, keeping it clean can seem like a full-time job. Add to that the fact that some…
Wediquette Wednesday: Is it appropriate for us to celebrate our original wedding date?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
Work It
For those fortunate to have remote-capable jobs during the COVID-19 crisis, working from home is, perhaps, long-held #LifeGoals brought to fruition. Unfortunately, it happened in the most surreal and frightening way. It’s of course a blessing to be employed right…
Wediquette Wednesday: What do we do about gifts for a wedding postponed due to COVID?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
DIY: Champagne Cork Wall Hanger
For years, my husband Mark has worked from home full time, with me bringing work home a day or two throughout the week. Our shared worktable in the living room has always been sufficient and, for the most part,…
Bowl of Comfort
Comfort food is high on my list these days. But, I’m also keen to eat economically, nutritiously and — to paraphrase food journalist Michael Pollan’s advice in the 2009 PBS documentary "In Defense of Food," which was based on…
NOLA Mock-Tales: We are the Champions
On Sunday, the Eat Fit Alcohol Free for 40 Challenge (which is really 46 days) ends and I’m jogging across the finish line with a mixed bag of emotions. A lot has changed since those carefree days back in…
Wediquette Wednesday: Can we do virtual and remote wedding cake testing?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity. …
DIY: CDC-Approved Bleach Spray and Hand Sanitizer Recipes
(EDITOR’S NOTE): This article was updated on April 10 after a reader who is a former chemistry teacher alerted us to an error in the hand sanitizer recipe, cited as read on Healthline.Com. The formula we used is by Jagdish…
NOLA Mock-Tales: The Home Stretch
In 10 days, the Eat Fit Alcohol Free for 40 Challenge will end and I will toast with a crisp, fizzy French 75. Or perhaps a flavor-packed Bloody Mary with celery, pickled things, hot sauce and a little paprika…
Corona Diaries: Thursday, April 2, 2020
Until last week, we had a seemingly endless, ridiculous and seriously chaotic group text going with 18 of our friends. It began as a 12-person text after the social distancing order and then, once we hit the subsequent shelter…
Corona Diaries: Wednesday, April 1, 2020
My husband Mark and I traveled to Italy the year we got married. On that whirlwind, eight-day trip, we immersed ourselves in the culture and brought back more than one custom to incorporate into our day-to-day lives. I learned to…
Manicure 101
If you are used to regular visits with your favorite New Orleans manicurist, at this stage of the COVID-19 closures, stay at home mandates and pro-level handwashing, your poor hands are beyond wrecked. While it is certainly a quick pick-me-up…
Corona Diaries: Tuesday, March 31, 2020
For the past 15 years or so, I’ve worked to explore and create routines and rituals. Yesterday’s diary entry outlined a few of my routines — morning meditation, afternoon tea and an evening walk — but I didn’t go into…
Wediquette Wednesday: How do I handle emotions about canceling my wedding, when there are so many terrible things going on right now?
Each Wednesday, we tackle wedding etiquette. At times, it’s a reader question or one from a colleague, friend or family member and other times we’ll cover a popular issue. (Note: Questions may be edited for clarity and brevity.) …
Bon Vivant
Design, entertaining and good living with New Orleans Bride and Homes & Lifestyles editor Melanie Warner Spencer
about
For 20 years, Melanie Warner Spencer has covered news, lifestyle, design and entertainment at various publications, including as the design columnist at The Austin American-Statesman, a senior staff reporter at The Houston Chronicle and as the editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Houston Brides magazine. Her work also has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post and Reuters in the United States and across the globe. Melanie is also an award-winning fine art and editorial photographer. She has been honored by the Texas Press Association for her editorial photography, by the Press Club of New Orleans for writing and editing and by the International and Regional Magazine Association for writing, editing and photography. Melanie is currently serving as the President of Press Club of New Orleans. When not making magazines, Melanie enjoys cooking, trying out new restaurants and best happy hours and taking road trips. Click here to like Spencer's Facebook page and follow her on Instagram @MelanieWarnerSpencer.
