After we got engaged, my fiancé, John, and I decided to start house hunting. Since we only had a six-month engagement, we were looking for something “move-in ready.” Since I was preoccupied with wedding planning, John sort of took the reins on the home search. We saw house after house and nothing seemed to work out. Finally, one of our friends looked at us and said, “You know this is New Orleans, right? Nothing here is move-in ready!” She was so right; the youngest house we looked at was 98 years old. We were most definitely going to have to renovate.
So our search continued and we found the perfect house! Now the house I grew up in was built in 1838, so to me a house built in 1912 seems new. I thought I was used to old houses, but when we sat down with the general inspector I thought I was going to faint! The house had sunk two inches, I had no idea what “knob and tube wiring” meant and the slate roof was 75 years old. The inspector laughed at me as he saw the worry on my face. It turns out sinking two inches is fantastic, as most Uptown homes he has seen have sunk eight to 10 inches. Also, most old houses have knob and tube, and it’s easy to replace. But most importantly, the roof still has 10 more years before we have to replace it!
I walked out of the meeting really happy that this would be my home. It is 2013, and where else but New Orleans would it be a good thing to move into a sinking house with a 75 year old roof? As they say, “They certainly don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Young Aspirations/Young Artists, or YAYA, is an organization that helps empower creative young people to become successful adults by providing educational experiences in the arts and entrepreneurship in the New Orleans area. This year they threw a preview party for their annual fundraiser, “Just Say YAYA!”, which will be held November 15. The preview party was to help raise awareness about the young new artists and the event itself. It was held at Reyn Lambert’s yoga studio, Reyn Studios, and had many of the YAYA members and artists in attendance. Betsy Foster did a wonderful job catering the event with a menu of watermelon gazpacho, peach slices wrapped in prosciutto and pimento cheese sandwiches. For more information on YAYA or to buy tickets to “Just Say YAYA!”, please visit, YayaInc.com.
More than 600 supporters of Louisiana’s coast joined the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) at “Party for the Coast,” held at Generations Hall. The event marked the 25 anniversary of CRCL and raised more than $10,000 for its mission of restoring and protecting the Louisiana coast. The Honey Island Swamp Band kept the party jumping and guests enjoyed Deanie’s Seafood, Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine and Abita Beer. When attendees weren’t dancing they bid on auction items that included a seaplane fishing adventure to the Chandelier Islands and a Kajun Custom Fishing Kayak.
Heard something interesting for “cruisin’ the crescent?”
If so, please send it to:
St. Charles Avenue
110 Veterans Blvd., Ste. 123, Metairie, La. 70005
or email: Shelby@MyNewOrleans.com
