About four years ago, I interviewed up and coming Rhode Island-born transplant and self-taught interior designer Holly Owen for my Spaces & Design column in New Orleans Living Magazine. Armed with a good eye for stylish (and affordable) design and a vivacious, can-do attitude, Owen went from staging real estate […]
Review: The Southern Po’ Boy Cookbook
Before I moved to New Orleans, I had never even heard of a po’ boy. There were sandwiches, hoagies, subs, clubs and heroes…but no po’ boy. My first po’ boy was devoured at a restaurant on Bourbon Street whose name I unfortunately cannot recall. It was my first day in […]
Cookbook: Taste of Tremé
A couple of months ago, author Todd-Michael St. Pierre sent me a copy of his brand new cookbook, Taste of Tremé. What with the holidays and work, I have been so busy, but I finally got a chance to check out the cookbook and try several of the recipes. This is the […]
Taking a ride on “A Streetcar Named Delicious”
While reading the recipes in A Streetcar Named Delicious by Todd-Michael St. Pierre, I couldn’t help but sense the author’s whimsical, childlike nature from the titles of his recipes to the interspersed poetry about New Orleans. I suppose it makes sense considering that St. Pierre also writes children’s books, but […]
I don’t speak Cajun!
Recently, I sent some gifts with a distinctly local flair to my 5-year-old niece and laughed uproariously when my brother-in-law called back screaming “How am I supposed to read this to her? I don’t speak Cajun!” I’m sure he’ll figure it out. If not, I’m positive my incredibly intelligent niece […]
Wish it was my New Orleans story: The House on First Street
Let me begin by being completely straightforward…I hate books about the 2005 levee failures a.k.a. Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps I am too emotional or too sensitive, but I just can’t stand them. I’ve gotten about halfway through most of them (forcing myself the rest of the way, page by miserable page), […]
Support your local bookseller! Visit Blue Cypress Books
On my way back home, I had a two-hour layover in LAX and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Stretching, eating, roaming around and chatting on the phone only managed to burn about 45 minutes and I began feeling anxious. Wandering into one of the many bookstores, I […]
Books: The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish
In the premiere episode of HBO’s Treme, there is a scene where John Goodman’s character is ranting about the levee failures to a British television crew. At one point, the journalist questions the reality behind the rumors that local city officials blew up part of the levees in an attempt […]
Arcadian Books & Prints: A dream come true
Ever since I was a young girl falling in love with the written word for the first time, I formulated this image in my head of the perfect bookstore. This fantasy locale would have a large bell over the door that jangled noisily when anyone ventured inside and the overwhelming […]
Books: Historic Photos of Louisiana
This weekend on Saturday, May 15th, Dean Shapiro will be signing his latest book, Historic Photos of Louisiana, at Blue Cypress Books on Oak Street. For this particular edition, Shapiro put his vast historical knowledge and research capabilities to the test in order to properly caption each and every image […]