The Big Easy

New Orleans. Marshall and I spent last weekend in New Orleans without any children. I wish I had some pictures to post but I intentionally left my camera at home. Part of the vacation part for me was not having to haul a camera around and feel pressure to capture everything on camera like I do with 2 small children. You wouldn't believe how freeing it felt to walk through airport security with just a purse. (For the past 3 years I've traveled with strollers, dvd players, diaper bags, bjorns, and babies)

We went to New Orleans for JD's wedding, Marshall's friend from college. Marshall was a groomsman so we had some scheduled activities but also had some free time. It was also Marshall's birthday weekend. Marshall's brother and sister in law happened to be there that same weekend so we flew there together and stayed in the same hotel. Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street. Just a block away from Bourbon Street. It is an old historic hotel, with marble floors and beautiful detail. It is also rumored to be haunted and people come from all over to get a glimpse of a ghost. We didn't see any this weekend :) It has also been the hotel of or included in the books of many literary greats, including Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner.



The best part is the rotating Carousel Bar in the lobby. You literally turn around the bar while drinking. Pair that with a great piano man and you've got one heck of a bar.


I thought the bed was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in, but Marshall thinks that was because there were no children in it. The shower was amazing too but that could have been for the same reason as the beds :)

We had a yummy oyster lunch at Felix's and an AMAZING brunch at this little place we just stumbled upon while walking around on Saturday morning. Stanley on Jackson Square had such a fun menu and was absolutely delicious. It has been a long time since a place has won me over as much as Stanley. I plan to eat there multiple times on our next visit. Stanley is the brother restaurant to the well-known restaurant, Stella. Any A Streetcar Named Desire fans?



Marshall ate something that resembled this deliciousness. Great birthday breakfast!


We had a lot of high points from the weekend. The rehearsal dinner was amazing and served my absolute favorite wine all night long- La Crema Pinot Noir. Could I have been any happier?!? The Catholic church where they got married was gorgeous inside, built in 1840.


The reception band was so fun and the wedding cake was one of the prettiest I've seen. The best part of the wedding was the parade at the end. The band and all of the wedding guests marched JD and Stacy down Bourbon Street to the doors of their hotel. The bride and groom carried decorated umbrellas and we waved handkerchiefs, all while the band played fun music. It was awesome! And considering it was 12:30 on a Saturday night on Bourbon Street there were tons of fun onlookers :)

Marshall did rename my breast pump, the "Buzz Kill" because I had to manually pump about every 3-5 hours all weekend, even in the bathroom during his rehearsal dinner speech. We should only have a few more months of that though. And the best part was not worrying about my kids one second of the day. I knew they were in such good hands with Gigi, and Peyton spent lots of time with Bebe at her house too. Thank you for taking care of them!

Even the plane ride was a treat since I got to read a People magazine from cover to cover. We'd love to do another weekend in New Orleans, so let us know if you want to meet us out there! Of course we'll have to wait until Gigi has recovered from this weekend. :)