Wedding Planning: No rest for the weary

Nearly two and a half months have flown by since the last post, and I can honestly say that this is literally the first moment I’ve had to even think about blogging.

We’ve become hermits, deeply entrenched in work and wedding plans, but here is a brief snapshot into the small highlights of life in Shreveport from the past two months.

1. Getting to work before dawn sometimes means a lot of grumbling (and dark eye circles that have inspired Halloween masks) , but it also means I get to see stunning sunrises everyday.

2. I have become obsessed with the slow cooker we received as a wedding present. It is the reason we haven’t become fixtures at the Chick-Fil-A takeout window. Below: Butternut Squash Risotto.

3. I discovered an organic delivery service in Shreveport. After a year of incessant squawking about a lack of Whole Foods, this has been such a treat. Thank you,  Off the Vine.

4. On a recent date night we went to Shreveport’s latest retail addition, Cavender’s. I put up a lot of resistance, but I was eventually coerced into getting a pair of authentic cowgirl boots. How do we feel about boots and wedding dresses?

One more week!

Swamp Snakes

My second biggest fear came to fruition today. While running along a back road, I was stopped in my tracks by a  snake. First on the fear list would be an actual snake bite.

Who can tell me if this was poisonous?

I couldn’t actually bring myself to get this close for the picture; the camera had a decent zoom.

Stranded in Atlanta

There was one unexpected add-on to my weekend visit to New Jersey. I was supposed to connect in Atlanta, but weather delays out of Newark resulted in me missing the last flight out to Shreveport.

Now, if you know my family at all then you know we are prone to travel mishaps. Lost luggage, cancellations, overbooked hotels, car wrecks, airplane mechanical malfunctions, tsunami warnings, earthquakes, missed flights, missing persons, and extreme emotional meltdowns are all par for the course.

So my point is that  I should have known this was coming.

I had no choice but to stay the night in Atlanta and the next morning I even had plenty of time to tour the World of Coca-Cola, Atlanta’s claim to fame.

Vintage soda machines.

“Always Coca-Cola” — even across the globe.

The iconic Santa posters.

Every child’s dream come true: The tasting room. Unregulated sugar and caffeine consumption spanning 100+ flavors.

Some of the Coca-Cola products available in Africa. This picture was nearly impossible to take because every dispenser in the room had 5+ people hooked up to it at all times. It was the thirstiest group of people I’ve ever seen.

The finale of the tour, this is where the phrase “road soda” originated. 

Clearly this travel mishap epitomized the classic saying, “When life gives you lemons, have a coke.” Or something like that.

The Golden Age: My 27th Birthday

Yesterday I turned 27 on the 27th. I think this means good luck despite the fact that I had a fleeting moment where I felt like an ancient relic.

We celebrated with a low-key celebration and of course, a slice of some southern chocolate pie from the very famous Strawn’s Eat Shop (in 2009 it was featured in Southern Living as one of the top diners in the South).

P.S. Strawn’s is famous for their Strawberry Pie but I am a firm believer that if a dessert is filled with fruit, then it is not a dessert.

Mudbug Madness Festival

While everyone back home celebrated the start of Memorial Day weekend by lounging on the beach, we embraced the balmy, 95° Saturday by attending Mudbug Madness, a street festival that is basically a 4-day crawfish boil. We were laughing reminiscing on the fact that a year ago I thought “mudbug” meant “roach.”

One of several vendors at the festival boiling large quantities of mudbugs.

Crawfish close up.

Leave it to me to attend a crawfish boil and seek out the standard chicken dish. Note that this is fried chicken, thus proving that after a year in the Deep South, even the healthiest of food snobs will adjust their eating habits.

 (But I really just ordered this for the sweet potato chips).

Souvenir cup!

 

Road trip: Lake Conroe, TX

Sometimes you just need to get away. Or in our case, take advantage of Rich’s weekend off (this never happens) and relax on Lake Conroe.

It was no Jersey Shore, but it felt far enough away from Shreveport that it was a true mini-vacation.

Bird’s eye view of La Torretta Lake Resort.

Sunset over Lake Conroe. Lovely.

While we were there, an antique car show was occurring. It was called “Cowboys & Cars.”

The “Super Moon” over the marina.

Aside from the poolside lounging and piano bar, the second best part about the trip was the unintentional sightseeing that occurred during the 4.5 hour drive.

Somewhere near the Louisiana and Texas border.

And then there was this place (below). I’m not sure if it’s open for regular business, but if it had been taking customers, I guarantee we would have stopped for dinner.

This was a true gem to drive by and I loved it mainly because of the yellow sign.

The Big Easy, Jazz Fest, and Bruce Springsteen

Last weekend we drove to New Orleans for Jazz Fest, a week-long music and heritage festival. It was my first time visiting the Big Easy.

Driving over Lake Pontchatrain, about an hour from New Orleans.

Before visiting New Orleans, I had this image in my head that it would be full of beautiful victorian architecture and lots of loud jazz bands in the streets. I was surprised to discover that I was right. This never happens.

Street car on Canal Street.

One of the many groups of jazz street performers on the corner of Bourbon Street.

And of course, there’s Bourbon Street, a very touristy section but something you have to experience. I think locals probably view it the way New Yorkers view Times Square: necessary for out-of-towners to visit, but best in small doses.

Bourbon Street crowd.

The next day we went to Jazz Fest.

Trombone Shorty on the Acura Stage.

We arrived just in time to see Trombone Shorty finish his set. Then we killed some time eating and sightseeing until Bruce took the stage.

Some of the many food offerings. Everything was a traditional Louisiana dish. No hot dogs or hamburgers here.

I was almost brave enough to try the Alligator Pie but then I chickened out and ordered a grilled veggie pita.

This was still an exotic choice because the sauce and the veggies were largely unfamiliar. It was delicious.

Some of the tents had historic items and were setup like mini museums. This is a photo of Mardi Gras Indian costumes.

One tent offered an arts and crafts project to make your own Mardi Gras shoes.

Traditional Cajun accordions.

Waiting for The Boss.

A mini Jazz parade offered an impromptu performance (click play to watch):

 

Finally, it was time for Bruce!

Friends of ours had special access passes that allowed us to be up close. I am forever grateful for their generosity. This was a Jersey Girl’s dream come true.

I may not have been in Jersey, but for those 2 1/2 hours, I was home.

At the gas pump in Shreveport

The spring time always flies by in a blur of weddings, graduations, and other social functions that it leaves little time for tending to other essential duties such as blogging.

I’ve been a poor reporter in recent weeks of happenings about town (we missed the Barksdale Airforce Air Show and a weeklong festival called Holiday in Dixie!) but there is one newsworthy item to share and that is the local price of gasoline.

When the morning news reports daily on the grim details of the ever-rising cost of oil, I am feeling very fortunate that Shreveport’s gas prices have hovered around $3.60 most of the time we’ve been here. While this is by no means any sort of bargain, it is significantly less expensive than when I was living in Washington, D.C.

I feel grateful to be able to fill my tank for less than $50 each week.

Do I sound old when I mention that I remember when I first got my license and gas was $1.24 per gallon?

I hate living in Tornado Alley

My childhood fear of thunderstorms has fully re-emerged thanks to springtime in Shreveport. This is the current homepage of Weather.com:

Keeping fingers crossed we don’t get swept away Wizard of Oz style.

3 things that I didn’t think were possible

Happy Friday the 13th!

It has been one of those bizarre weeks where it feels like everyone has lost their mind. Or maybe that’s just me.

So in light of today’s date, it’s only fitting that I post about the weird things that have happened recently:

1. My dog has turned into a cat.

Lying in the windowsill is a new development. I know that this isn't comfortable... or normal.

 

2. “Yeah, I got two pet gators. One’s named Billy. The other’s named Bob. I also got a armadillo, too. I got ’em all in my backyard,” — overheard at the grocery store. I wish I was making this up.

 

3. I have accidentally said “ya’ll” twice this week. It is so unthinkable and so disturbing that I felt the need to share, but be let it be known that we will never talk about this again and we’ll pretend it never happened. Jersey Girls do not say “ya’ll.”