Witty Wednesdays - Lady Marmalade

Sometimes when I listen to songs - especially ones that tell specific stories, I'm left wondering exactly how certain things would go down:

Katrina - Time to Put the Old Girl to Rest

My thoughts and feelings on Katrina five years later are still all mixed up. While I gather my thoughts to better express them to you, here's a little on what I saw yesterday during the 5-year anniversary celebration.


Five years to the day, yesterday, Katrina made landfall here in New Orleans. Katrina began a new chapter for New Orleans, and for the United States. The impact of Katrina attracts worldwide attention - one of the film crews in Jackson Square yesterday was filming for Aljazeera!
Well, this year the people of New Orleans have decided it's finally time to close the Katrina chapter, and to leave painful memories of flood and ruin behind. This lead to many mock jazz funerals held around the city, including the one at the Hotel Monteleone, where blue tarps and packaged meals were symbolically buried along with the old girl herself. The ceremony we followed featured a live jazz ensemble, mourners, and a tap dancer:

It was quite the festive weekend, what with the presidential visits and memorial concerts, ecumenical masses and the like. It's absolutely incredible to think where New Orleans is today. Five years ago, in the wake of Katrina no one could have imagined the courage and dedication with which the residents of this city would Rebuild, Restore, and Renew.
It's exciting to be starting a new chapter in my life just as New Orleans is opening the door on a new era. The ghosts of Katrina may still come knocking at our doors, but we as New Orleanians have made a vow not to let them in anymore, and not to rest until we've driven them all out of this city once and for all.

You will definitely be hearing more about this, so stay tuned!
Nostalgically Yours

My New Room

As I mentioned last week, my family recently purchased a house in New Orleans. It is the coiziest little double shotgun cottage you have ever seen! For those of you that don't know, aShotgun Cottage is a house usually consisting of 3-5 rooms, arranged in a line from front to back with no hallways. One literally walks through every room in the house to go out the back door. A double shotgun (the now more popular variety) is simply two shotgun houses that share a wall. In many cases, like in that of the family we bought from, a single family will buy both sides of a double shotgun and open up certain rooms to create more space. You might think it's impractical, but maybe it's just the Southerner deep inside that sees these houses as cozy and very family oriented. Though I do agree that carrying food through your bedroom from the kitchen (traditionally at the back of the house) constantly would be a touch awkward, especially with guests over. Luckily our opened double is arranged so the bedrooms are not on the way to anything.

On to the point! I went to Pier 1 Imports with my family today in search of a set of cheap square dishes - my Nana is very partial to them - and found the perfect inspirational item for my new bedroom. It's exciting because this will be the first time I'll really get to decorate a new room in a new house. Even in all my travels as a foreign service brat, the walls always had to remain white because it was, after all a rental. The same thing happened last year at college, where a roommate meant the room stayed neutral all year. Here, though, it's anything goes for me! I get to pick a bed, drapes, everything! I can't wait to get started. The only thing holding me back right now is the fact that the washer, dryer, and water heater are all still in there. The old family used it as a laundry room/closet-for-the-whole-house-since-storage-is-sparse. The walls are also covered with wire shelving and clothes hangers, but that's perfect for storing not only my own clothes but also my sewing projects and such. My bed is already picked out: It's a beautiful chocolate brown twin sleeper loveseat (I never knew they made those until this week!), and from it I derived a color palate: tans and browns, with purple and fucsia accents. This was all fine and dandy, but the room still lacked decoration direction, so the trip to Pier 1 was great: I found a beautiful little metal Morrocan-style tealight candleholder with purple glass! This is going to be the jumping-off-point for my aesthetic: eclectic antiques meet modern simplicity.

I also found out how my room should smell. This might sound a bit odd, and I suppose it is, but smell is very important to me in creating and environment I can really feel at home in. Pier 1 had a great selection of scented candles, and I picked a refreshing water-themed multi-pack... It smelled like home to me. I really am a water person.

I'll be sure to post some pictures of my stuff as it comes up, and maybe some design concepts for my room!

More on this later,
Nostalgically Yours

PSA: New Orleans

Dear Readers:

I depart tomorrow afternoon for the fair port of New Orleans, my ancestral home for seven generations on my mother's side. My family recently acquired a new house and we're going to start getting some stuff ready this week - and also attend the running of the bulls! Unfortunately this means that I will likely have to rely on my smart phone to do my posting. This means that I'll have to post without pictures for the time being. So, I'll probably put projects like the Medieval Dress series on hold 'til I get back, seeing as they are better illustrated. However, it doesn't mean I will not be making any new posts, I will have plenty to talk about during my week-long stay. It should be quite a hoot! Now I just need to finish packing... Wish me luck!

WHO DAT
Nostalgically Yours