October 28, 2008
NOLA in the Fall
I've had to come to terms that fall in New Orleans is not like fall in Utah. I keep seeing photos of gorgeous fall colors in the canyons while for the past month I've continued to wear shorts and flip flops and felt like the temperature would never cool down. Luckily, last week it dropped from the high 80s to lower 70s. I can wear long-sleeves and jackets and actually enjoy the park.
Peter enjoyed splashing in the fountain.
And then we went across the street and played ball for a while. Afterward, Amanda and I both whipped out the camera and kept taking photos of Pete (it's so hard not to). At first he was smiling and having fun.
But after a while, he wearied of the cameras and started to get grumpy. Poor kid. Must be hard to have people fawning all over you.
October 27, 2008
Minor Celebrity, Major Awesome
A new Macy's opened up at a mall in a suburb of New Orleans. I happened to be at the mall on Saturday looking for something in particular, but though I would drop by Macy's to see if there were any grand opening deals. Turns out, there was something even better. Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not to Wear! I just about squealed with delight.
I almost waited in line for his autograph but then realized I wasn't dressed appropriately for meeting Clinton Kelly. On second though, that could only have worked to my advantage. I could use a wardrobe makeover.
October 22, 2008
Poladroid
Just discovered the poladroid application and now I want to turn all of my photos into old polaroids. You can save it mid-development for varying exposures.
October 20, 2008
This Boy
I can't get over how adorable he is. Amanda took this photo back in July, and he just gets cuter and cuter. I would warn you against visiting their blog, though. You just might OD on cute, and I don't want to be held responsible.
October 17, 2008
October 15, 2008
it was the leather jacket and eyeliner
I find myself listening to Francoise Hardy quite a bit lately. My parents had a record collection when I was growing up from which I would play three records: The Fantasticks, Camelot, and a Francoise Hardy album my dad brought home from France on one of his trips there. I didn't understand anything she said, but I knew she was cool from the album cover. It was the leather jacket and eyeliner. My first trip to Chicago, when I was 19, I bought a double disc CD of her music that came up missing while I was on my mission and have still never found. I recently decided that I needed to fill that gap in my collection again. I mean, look at these album covers:
She's just cool. And it makes me feel cool to listen to her while I drive around at night in the French Quarter (or thereabouts). Here's a favorite:
It's a nostalgic song about the house she grew up in that is no longer there. And for a more modern look at Francoise Hardy, a collaboration with Air.
One last thing, a video I found while searching for pictures. I always forget to check youtube.
That song, "tous les garcons et les filles," was one of the first songs I loved from her. Even at 14, especially at 14, I loved music, movies, and books about unrequited love.
October 14, 2008
How to Clean the House
The best way to clean the house is wait for everyone to leave, pull out your old tape player, stick in your old musicals and belt it out. It doesn't matter how many dishes need to be done or floors need to be mopped. The grime stuck in little crevices is no match for me when I'm lost in the emotions of Florence from Chess or Kim and Ellen from Miss Saigon (my musicals are way out of date, as you might suspect from the reference to tapes). I guess there's a part of me that still wants to be a Broadway star, so why not pretend when no one else is around?
Here are some songs to help you be a Broadway star and a cleaning machine, too.
From Miss Saigon:
From Chess:
October 11, 2008
Audubon Park in the Fall
A couple of weekends ago, we attended a birthday party at Audubon Park. It was a perfect evening as far as the weather was concerned. Fall in New Orleans is very different from the fall I would be experiencing in Utah. Case in point, it's cooled down to 80 degrees here for the most part. We can all go outside again. But I still get to wear shorts and flip flops.
I love the trees here. They seem primordial.
Walking through Tulane's campus on our way to and from made me ache to be back in school. I love college campuses.
October 06, 2008
This Past Weekend
I spent a little time....
Wandering around this library:
Staring up at buildings like these:
Taking advantage of bathrooms wherever they were found. Some of them cooler (and nicer) than others, such as this one at a little cafe:
Exploring this cemetery tucked quietly away:
Paying tribute to the falling stock market, aptly draped in a flag like any proper casket:
Ferrying past this:
Catching up with this fellow:
Inspecting the Fragonards at this museum:
Feeling sophisticated while trying to keep my eyes open at one of these events:
And aimlessly wandering through this park:
Today, I spent a lot of time wishing the weekend had never ended.
October 05, 2008
NOLA through the Fish-eye
The day we moved to our new apartment, I got the arduous task of distracting Peter by taking him for a walk. I also took my fish-eye camera and snapped a few photos of the area. Here are some that I liked:
