Every trip to New Orleans feels so profound and formative to me and this trip, with just my mom and my sister, missing my babies so much, but also feeling so grateful for some time on my own, was no exception. We had three days of wind, rain and cool weather, followed by two days sunshine and blue skies and just a desire to maybe stay three more days 😋 But that’s April in New Orleans for you. And honestly, I don’t mind because even when it’s rainy, there’s crawfish to be eaten, book shops to be visited, houses to be admired, cemeteries that feel even spookier than usual and just time to sit and chat with your family 🤍

Shrimp po boys from Domilise’s — I don’t think I can eat a po boy without hot sauce ever again! / A stroll around Audobon Park / Dinner at Pizza Domenica

Took a chance walking to District Donuts for breakfast then ran home in the rain / Found a book shop and convinced my sister to get The Secret History / Said hi to a cemetery cat / Crawfish and a beer at Port Orleans 🤤 / Maybe ate ice cream for dinner

My favorite breakfast at Surrey’s / Coffee at French Truck / A looooong walk from one end of Magazine to the other, including a stop for drinks and hummus at Shaya / Maybe left my purse at a different coffee shop and only realized once we were back home 😱 / My uncle’s red beans for dinner 🤩

Kolache for breakfast / Took the streetcar to the Quarter / Walked along the river / Ate a muffaletta at Central Grocery / Walked down Royal — all the charm of the architecture, none of the noise or smell of Bourbon Street / Ate a snowball on Plum Street / Had the best onion rings and just a laughably large open-face roast beef sandwich at Mandina’s / Looked at family photos / Had such a stomachache that night and I can’t imagine why 😅😅

Breakfast at Molly’s Rise & Shine / A walk through the Garden District with my own little tour guide 🤍 / A quick shopping trip / One last shrimp sandwich (our best one!) at Francesca’s and then some goodbye hugs with my uncle at the airport before heading home / Left a little piece of my heart there, as always, but I’ll be back soon to visit it 😚

In other news, I got the biggest hugs from my babies when I got home and I was only gone four days, but my son just gets himself ready in the morning on his own now 🥺🥺🥺

It’s the last day of March and I am already so excited for April, one of my favorite months because: birthdays for my favorite people, baseball (LOL at me pretending I’ve paid attention to anything Rockies-related since Dempsey was born), warmer weather 🤞, Easter celebrations and a girls trip to New Orleans 🎉 I’m so ready for all of it!

We had a good weekend of dinner and ice cream on Tennyson on Friday, a day at home playing, cleaning and cooking on Saturday and then a really fun Sunday that started with breakfast with Grandpa Steve and Lorna and ended with a birthday dinner for Joey with my family. In between, we took Dempsey to the symphony and had the best time. Whew, a full and happy weekend!

Friday was Opening Day for the Rockies, so we all donned our Rockies gear before heading out to work/school/Grandma’s. I had a morning manicure and had to go with purple, of course! I’m hoping they survive all the crawfish I’m going to peel and eat while I’m in New Orleans with my mom and sister next week 😉 Once everyone was home, we headed to Beau Thai for dinner then walked down the street for ice cream. Two blocks felt like an eternity herding our two tiny humans back to the car, but I think they had fun 😅 Got them home and into bed before watching Top Chef from two weeks ago.

Saturday had a rainy gloomy start but made it feel like a good day to stay at home and get our chores done. I made us the most flavorless dense pancakes then snuck our for a pedicure at 10. We finished up salads and laundry and Lydi’s nap battle then headed outside for a bit once the sun was finally out. Joey made us the most amazing dinner! Creamy Lemon Pepper Chicken from Simple Home Edit, with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Mashed potatoes feel like such a luxury to me and these were delicious. Dempsey crushed two servings of this meal! That’s when you know it’s good 😋 After bath and bedtime for the kids, we watched another episode of Top Chef. We’re all caught up now.

Sunday started with breakfast at Sassafras. We hadn’t seen Grandpa Steve and Lorna in too long and it was so nice to catch up. Had to warm our hands over the fire outside afterward, obviously 😂 Back at home, chores were done and the kids wanted to watch a movie. Say no more. I’m afforded ZERO personal space during though 😂 Lydia actually went down for her nap and then my parents came over to stay with her so we could take our boy to the symphony! We won tickets through his school and it was the first time for all of us. It was also a family-friendly performance, featuring animals from the zoo! We took the picture out front beforehand and he was hugging our necks so tight 🥺🤍 I think he had a fun time! He was dancing, observing, asking questions, recognizing songs and only once told me he was bored 😂 Afterward, we stood in line to hold/take a picture with Flavio the snake. So cool that he wanted to do that. I’m so glad it was a fun time for all of us and it felt so nice to do something just us three! Back at home, we all hung out and ate dinner from Brider, then presents for Joey and red velvet cake for everyone. Got those kiddos to bed and watched The White Lotus.

Happy Monday to you all!