Some of our favorite activities around town are going down in new ways! This week, Acadiana has moved some events online – like a trivia night that benefits future events, and even an online exhibition at the Hilliard. Some…
I am presently away from New Orleans, engaged in an annual summer tradition, a 4th of July gathering of my partner's extended family in the faraway idylls of central Minnesota. Her parents live in Staples, two and a half…
When Ruby left to spend the summer with her dad five weeks ago, Georgia and I spent about an hour moping around the house. Then, to cheer ourselves up, we got drive-thru Taco Bell and took a walk at…
To write a wedding-related blog five times a week, as well as produce a semi-annual bridal magazine, you can imagine we are a little obsessed with weddings. So, when Netflix announced the release of a new series all about…
Last year, I ran a half-marathon. Along with, “have you seen my pink tutu?” and “how many King Cakes do we need to buy for next week’s parades?” are all words I never thought I’d say or write, but…
A few times a month, New Orleans Bride Magazine travel editor Becca Hensley is offering “Let Them Eat Cake” readers a chance to escape with glamourous trips everywhere from Africa to Colorado. Though the world is still dealing with…
My pick of the buzz phrase for wicked 2020 is “New Normal.” It is used often to describe the way things are going to be different as we make our way through COVID-19. Offices spaces will change; so will…
It seems like the sports world is one big waiting game at this point. Hockey is trying to come back. Baseball is trying to come back. The Pelicans and NBA are doing the same. It could get interesting at…
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…
Since sometime in 2019, I’ve been living in the middle ages. Well, that is, literarily speaking. I’ve been reading every book I can get my hands on by Elizabeth Chadwick, foremost author of medieval tales, so thankfully I’m living…
Surely Karen Blixen won’t mind. With apologies to her, I borrow from her most oft-quoted "Out of Africa" words, changing them with cavalier abandon. “I have a garden in Africa,” I sing, as I dance along the labyrinthine paths…
The past half-decade has proven eventful for the wedding industry, which for centuries was steeped in seemingly unmovable traditions. Today, June 26, 2015, marks the landmark decision five years ago, by the Supreme Court which ruled 5-4 that the…
With more than 20 years of culinary experience, Chef Phillip Lopez is now at the helm of one of New Orleans’ best known and most prestigious restaurants. As executive chef of Galatoire’s, as well as Galatoire’s “33” Bar &…
A lot of events in New Orleans revolve around drinking and revelry. But when the summer months hit, besides a cold beer, sometimes certain alcohols just aren’t what you want to reach for while celebrating. It’s also nice, when…
Our neighbors and friends returned from a brief trip out of town today, and the first thing my friend Joe said to me was – paraphrasing – that the hot sauce I’d given him was quite nice. I have…
Our previous column, The Joys of Rum, Part 1, seems to have hit a responsive chord among readers and so we are pleased to continue the thread. Besides, rum is such a broad topic and close to our lives…
Western St. Tammany Parish was first settled by Choctaw, Tchefuncte, Acolapissa and Houma Indian tribes, which were drawn to the northern shores of Lake Pontchartrain for the area's dense oxygen-rich pine forests, abundant natural beauty, and "curative" spring waters.…
I’m still skittish about moving into society — and with good reason, of course. But, a recent getaway to Monroe-West Monroe for rest and relaxation, plus a little antique shopping and good eating, allowed me a road trip fix without…
We could all use a vacation right about now. In fact, many of us had vacations scheduled, but had to COVID cancel or reschedule for much later in the year or for 2021. So, where does that leave you…
