A Lovely Getaway...

I can't believe it's almost the end of February. This has been a busy month. We have been celebrating my birthday, as well as, my son, who just turned 5. Oh my, I have a five year old! How does time fly so quickly? I'm also taking on a new out reach ministry through Trey's school called Ministerium. I'll share more on that at a later date. It blesses my heart that the Lord opened and closed doors in leading us to this school, and I am so proud to be involved with a school that is not merely a Christian school in name only.

Hugh and I also had the opportunity to spend the weekend before Valentine's down in New Orleans together. Demetria was running her first half marathon and we wanted to be there to cheer her on. We originally planned to take the kids with us, but, our sweet friends Shelia and Ashley offered to keep them for us. They have three of their own, so we were like are you sure?! -but they insisted. In fact, they called us during our trip just to tell us how much they were enjoying our sweet babies, and they were proud of us for taking a little time for ourselves. (Thank you God for such great friends! ) We had a blast! I was a little nervous about leaving them for the weekend, but, knowing we were leaving them in good hands with people we trust made all the difference in the world. It was nice to get away and reconnect with my husband too.


I never knew what a romantic place New Orleans could be, but let me tell you I can't wait to go back. We got into NOLA around eight o'clock Friday evening just in time to freshen up and make our dinner reservations at The Bombay Club. This was by far my favorite place we found down in New Orleans.

The ambiance, music, and food was perfection, very dark and quaint, some where you feel like you might run into Frank Sinatra. It had an old supper club kind of feel to it.

I love the dark wood and over stuffed leather. It was very relaxing.
This was our table right next to the court yard.

It's known as the best martini bar in town, but I'd go back again and again for the jazz. In fact we did. After dinner on Saturday night, we went back just to listen to Leroy Jones. Here is a sample of his music I found on YouTube. (Please feel free to pause my music player, so you can listen.)

We walked every where the entire weekend. Only once or twice did we take a cab, but, if you stay in the french quarter, as we did, you can get just about any where a lot quicker by walking. Besides, what could be more romantic than strolling hand in hand through a new city together. Saturday morning, we met our friends Jason and Capri at Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets. Everyone goes to to Cafe Du Monde for the beignets, but, I have to say that as a true coffee lover it was the cafe au lait that was my start to a perfect day there. After an hour or so we decided to walk around Jackson Square and The French Market. The center of Jackson Square was filled with art and artists, and the outside is lined with shops and boutiques. We also walked through St. Louis Cathedral.

The French market offered everything from a farmers market of fresh fruits and vegetables to local artists and vendors. Here is a little treasure I found there.Isn't it perfect with our colors here in the guest bathroom?

After spending the morning walking the French Quarter with our friends, we made our way to Commander's Palace for a two o'clock brunch. We sat in the garden room surrounded by windows, over looking a large oak. I tried turtle soup for the first time. It was not for me, even with the drizzle of sherry added, but I wanted to try something new, and now I know. Hugh and I enjoyed our brunch and spent the afternoon walking through the garden district, looking at all the ridiculously gorgeous houses. We snapped a few pictures with our iphones. I think his (Above) takes better pictures than mine (Below.)
Then we met Demetria,Kevin and the boys back at the hotel to visit. They met friends for dinner, and we decided to walk Magazine Street. We went into a few antique shops and jewelry stores, and Hugh took me to Sucre, a sweet boutique.Seriously people, this place is like Tiffany's for chocolate lovers. We bought a small box to take home for later, and I got a bag of their marshmallows, as well. We were still full from brunch at 8:30pm, and decided to cancel our nine o'clock reservation at Brennan's. It was highly recommended by a few friends. We will just have to try it next time. We decided on a light dinner and headed back to the Bombay Club, for a little more jazz. We left there close to midnight, and walked down Bourbon Street on our way back to our hotel. We caught a few minutes of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing and a dueling piano show. We haven't stayed out that late in years, but it was fun, kinda like we were dating again.

We were up and cheering Demetria on early the next morning. I am so proud of her, so proud. She started running a little over a year ago and this was her first half marathon. She was a rock star, breaking even her best time. Kevin and their boys made signs and we were all cheering for her when she passed the nine mile marker. Then we raced to get to the finish line in time to see her cross it. It was awesome!
We spent the rest of the day having lunch and taking a carriage ride all together down at Jackson square. Hugh and I went to a few shops on Royal street before picking up the kids and driving back home. I was able to find a beautiful dress I'm going to save for Easter. We really had a wonderful time and have a list of places we want to visit, when we go back. Hugh and I have never taken a vacation since our honeymoon ten years ago. This was our first ever weekend away, and it was so wonderful. Worth the wait.