Homeward Unbound
I often daydream about how cool it would be to live and work in a new city every year or maybe even every few months. In the past, I’ve cobbled together about two weeks of working remotely from about…
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I often daydream about how cool it would be to live and work in a new city every year or maybe even every few months. In the past, I’ve cobbled together about two weeks of working remotely from about…
Bon Vivant is on a break this week to celebrate Easter. Whether you are celebrating one of the various religious holidays this week or simply reveling in the coming of Spring, enjoy. If you’d like something to read, catch…
What a difference a year and a new season makes. Last year, we were entering into the first stages of pandemic lockdown and now, we’re getting vaccinated and emerging back into some sense of normalcy. With that comes in-person…
This month, designer Whitney Jones of Whitney J Décor opened her Gretna-based brick and mortar design studio to the public. The boutique features Jones’ finds from all over the globe and skews heavily toward natural materials and vibrant colors,…
With the city’s tight parameters for curbside recycling in New Orleans and less than optimal (for convenience sake at least) glass recycling options, it’s likely that many readers of this blog aren’t that into it. Which is unfortunate, because…
On Monday, my husband I got a potentially life-changing text. Extra doses of the Moderna vaccine were set to expire in one hour and if we could get from our home Uptown to the clinic in Mid-City in time,…
It’s time for another Design Diary roundup! Events and workshops are a bit quiet lately, likely due to Zoom fatigue, but there are still a few fun and interesting announcements and happenings to enjoy in the home realm. Custom…
Sleep is eluding a lot of people. Even this writer, who has historically clocked 8 to 9 hours a night. Lately, I’m eking out about 6 or 7 on a good night, and I’m not alone. The Lancet reports…
A few weeks ago, I grabbed a bag of matcha at Whole Foods on Magazine Street, so I could craft my own matcha lattes, rather than picking it up at the coffee shops so many times throughout the week.…
Back in 2011, Pinterest was still in the beta stage and the visually driven social media platform was available to new users by invitation only. I was invited by a friend, instantaneously became addicted, lured other friends down the…
Raise your hand if you are finishing up Dry January this week. Chances are hardly any of you raised your hand as you read this, not because you think it’s weird to put your hand in the air for…
Each day our walks in Uptown get a little brighter and more whimsical and a lot more festive due to the “house floats,” popping up on people’s porches and in yards throughout the neighborhood. The Krewe of House Floats…
Welcome back to week two of 2021, in which various storylines continue where 2020 left off, by bringing us more political strife, additional pandemic back phasing (I just made that up, but it seems to work so I’m going…
For years, my “things to try” list has included attending a yoga and meditation retreat. Countless times I’ve found myself perusing the retreat schedule at Flowering Lotus Meditation Center in Magnolia, Mississippi, ultimately unable to make it work with…
Bon Vivant is on a break for the holidays and will return on Jan. 8. If you are on the hunt for something to read, catch up on missed posts or revisit favorites in the archives. Meanwhile, from my…
This year, more than any other year in my lifetime, my mind is on giving to those in need and gifting to or tipping the people who have kept us in touch with the rest of the world and…
As I near the finish line of my six-month alcohol-free adventure, which is Jan. 4 for those following along, the holidays — aka mulled beverage season — are upon us. Deprivation is not part of the Bon Vivant lifestyle,…
If like me, you aren’t fond of constantly getting up to forage around in your bag or medicine cabinet to find lip balm, this pro-tip is for you. Quick and dirty: Put them all over your house. Longer version:…
Happy Day After Thanksgiving. I’m off today, but wanted to post at least a little something, in case you dropped by the blog, to tell you how grateful I am to each of you who follows Bon Vivant. Thank…
We moved into a new place in October. It is a fabulous little double shotgun and I love countless things about it. The back of our front door is not one of those things. The plain, white expanse of…
There are certain made-up holidays I can get behind, including but not limited to National Taco Day, National Cat Day, International Yoga Day and, most recently, World Kindness Day. The latter didn’t even come on my radar until yesterday,…
This week I hit month four of my six-month alcohol-free challenge. (It’s going well, I don’t miss booze and I feel great, thanks for asking!) I celebrated by mixing up and hoisting an ice-cold Michelada. That is, an ice cold,…
Until a few days ago, our mask and hand sanitizer “station” was a one-gallon Ziplock bag hanging on a decorative clip near the door. We filled it as needed with the essential safety accouterments and, while a great visual…
A few weeks ago, my husband and I moved from the Victorian-era apartment in Uptown, where we’ve lived in for nearly seven years, to a charming circa-1900s shotgun not far away. What we gave up in turn of the…
I know what you are thinking: What’s the point of a zero proof French 75? It is said to have been created not long after World War I and named after a French 75mm field gun, precisely because of…
As New Orleans tiptoes into phase three, there are both in person and virtual events going on in the coming days and weeks. Here’s what’s up: Makin’ Bakin: Daniel Robert, curator of the meat science programs at the Southern…
Thanks for stopping by the Bon Vivant blog. I haven’t really gone fishing. But I am out for a long weekend and will be back next week with your regularly scheduled bloggery, so stop back Friday, Oct. 9. Meanwhile,…
Due to several past Bon Vivant posts about tea, many of you don’t realize I’m actually a fiend for coffee. It’s possible that I signed something early in my journalism career legally binding me to never turn down a…
My husband Mark and I lived in Texas for 12 years, and sometimes we are nostalgic for our favorite Austin barbecue joints, tacos and Tex-Mex from every corner of the state, Texas honky-tonks or lazy river floats. One recent…
In Sophia Coppola’s 2006 film “Marie Antoinette,” there is a scene in which the ill-fated queen is having tea with her brother, Emperor Joseph II. In it, she serves flowering or blooming tea, which is made by wrapping a…
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.