Clutter My World: Clutter My World...in New Orleans!

Hi everyone! I just returned from a very fun and crazy trip to New Orleans where my daughter goes to school at Tulane! I have been very fortunate to be able to visit New Orleans many times since Katrina and every time I visit some old, tried and true places and I also usually find something new to see or taste or smell ( trust me, there are a lot of smells in New Orleans...from the oyster houses that we have run by to the stale beer smell of Bourbon street to the fresh rain smell wafting through the open windows of the streetcar as we are heading to the French Quarter. My daughter, Kelly, is now in her graduate year getting a Masters in Environmental Biology, but she was part of the Katrina class...the class that moved into Tulane just days before Katrina hit and didn't go back for almost 6 months. It has been quite amazing to see New Orleans come back to life...from that first joyful Mardi Gras post Katrina where the parades and crowds were scaled down to the reopening of schools, the fading of the "bathtub" lines on the houses and buildings, the return of the artists to Jackson Square and the French Market, and even the rebuilding of the 9th ward thanks to Brad Pitt and his Make it Right Foundation.

As with every other trip that Ted and I have taken to New Orleans in the past 4+ years, there are some things that we NEVER miss. We always head straight to the Cafe du Monde for a Frozen Cafe au Lait and the best beignets in the world! We also ALWAYS have a po-boy, oyster for me, fully dressed and totally yummy! We have tried a number of po-boy restaurants...my favorite is Frankie and Johnny's but we have also tried Parasol's, Felix's and Domilese's and this time, we tried Mother's ( on a recommendation of my seatmate in the airplane!). Next time we'll try Mahoney's on Magazine Street. And you can't visit New Orleans without getting a snoball...the only problem is there is a season for snoballs and usually the snoball shops/stands all close in or by October. We lucked out as Kelly's favorite snoball place (Plum Street Snoballs had set up a stand at a neighborhood art fair so we high tailed it over there after touring the Abita (beer) brewery and I had a delicious chocolate cream and coconut cream snoball...yum! Finally, we have added another must-do to our list of things to do in NOLA and that is going to the Piano Bar at Pat O's ( O'Briens...a Bourbon street mainstay!). They have dueling pianos and people line up for hours to get in. We lucked out this time, we went rather early ( 9 PM) and after waiting for about 30 minutes we were taken to a front row table...where we stayed for 4 hours, sang many songs, and consumed a few too many Hurricanes ( not me but others in my party who I won't name...like my husband!).

The highlight of this trip however, was walking down Bourbon street on Halloween. I compare it to that scene in Star Wars where Hans Solo is sitting at the bar and there are so many strange "people" walking around and sitting at the tables...that was Bourbon Street on Halloween! You should have seen the costumes...some of them rather tame but many of them pretty bizarre...check below for some pictures.

Before I sign out, I want to mention one of my favorite artists in New Orleans...his name is Oscar C. Donahue, III and he makes jewelry and whimsical, colorful wall art from fish to fleur-de-lis to self-portraits of himself ( at least I think it's a self portrait!). You can find his work at the French Market Flea Market and if you are lucky, you can find Oscar there as well. Check out his website at www.oscarofneworleans.com. Having something that Oscar made is a great way to Clutter Your World!!

So, for all of you who have been trying to figure out where next to go...give New Orleans a try...you will love it!