FRESHEST FINDS
New Orleans Day 2 - The Best Coffee Shops!
Day 2 is usually my ritual day. Whenever/wherever I land if it’s too late the first day on the second day I schedule some sort of self care. A massage is my go to especially after being tense from a long, dehydrating flight. But with regulations in the city places were slow to open so I opted for a pedi! Across the street from our apt is a spot called Nail Bar Nola and I called the night before to schedule an appt at 10 am when they opened. I opted for the opulence pedicure that included a signature essential oils scent.
New Orleans Day 1 - Places to stay
went to NOLA for the first time 2 years ago in January for a conference and absolutely fell in love! It has the charm and character and diversity of my home city of Baltimore but PLUS Jazz, cajun food and a touch more spookiness.
Adrian surprised me with a birthday trip here and we left Thursday morning and landed Thursday afternoon.
Removing Chalk Paint
Years ago, a hot new interior decor trend took the market by storm. Chalk paint seemed to be a cure all for all of our drab, outdated furniture pieces and made even the most inexperienced home DIYer feel like they were worthy of their own HGTV show.
I have to admit that I was one of those people and when I initially picked up this beautiful vintage piece from Goodwill for $70. I decided the best way to fix it up, get rid of the smoky odor and cover up the slight blemishes without completely sanding down and refinishing was, you betcha: chalk paint.
Living Room Refresh - Featured on Apartment Therapy!
What you might not know about my current place is that I almost signed a lease elsewhere before begrudgingly deciding it was worth my effort to visit this place even if it was 99% probably not where I wanted to live based off of the photos online.
What happened when I walked in, however, was the old world charm and the exact location - steps from the downtown walking mall - all reeled me in immediately and I said to the property manager as i walked through the yellow walls “I think this is the place”.
When I signed the lease I didn’t end up moving for another 2+ weeks but as soon as I did I immediately painted as many of the rooms I was immediately using in Valspars creme fraiche to freshen things up a bit but keep that warmth and coziness. I knew the living room was going to be the place I spent most of my time between working from the couch, entertaining friends or watching netflix.
Southern Comfort Supper Club
Halloween of 2017 I was planning a night in with wine and creepy makeovers with 2 of my favorite spooky chicks, Kir and Cece. We ended up inviting a few other gals we knew and loved and decided to decorate and order in some pizza while watching scary movies. Still to date one of my favorite supper clubs since I made the girls watch The Exorcism of Jane Doe and nothing quite fills my heart with wicked joy like scaring the people I love.
Fast forward almost a year and supper club had become a regular occurence. We began to meet up once a month where I would host and decorate and everyone would bring a dish to share. While the group itself has evolved over the months, the same general concept of gathering for drinks and light hors d’oeuvres/snacks, followed by dinner and then some sort of activity which often includes a movie, card game or sometimes just drinking.
