girls-es take new orleans

girls trip 2011 had lofty aspirations of new york part two, chicago, atlanta, etc.

but after considering time, money, my kids, etc etc we decided new orleans is an easy, convenient alternative.  it did not disappoint.
it never does.

my sister covered the trip here.

...we ate lots of food



we even ate outside for lunch on friday despite the summer heat, but there just wasnt a way to justify NOT sitting in this picturesque courtyard

{cafe amelie}


new tradition, visit to stanley:


there are no words to do justice to the masterpiece presented before you.
you must just go and experience these eggs in all their poached glory.

...and shopped lots of stores.  we visited town and country, where my sister rachel knocked it out of the park in the purchasing of wedding-related-attire...i remember shopping and shopping and shopping for rehearsal dinner/engagement party/shower dresses and she found them all in one trip.  no fair!

i tried on a couple dresses just for fun but i enjoyed resting me toesies in the dressing room and the official dress-holder/hanger-upper.

ok guys, this weather.  i mean GAH.  it was HOTT-T-T-T-TUH.  and while i surprisingly was never terribly melting, i might or might not have felt my plastic old navy flip flops adhere to the skillet i mean sidewalk a time or two.

we shopped canal place friday and visited typical chain stores, gawked our way through saks {that store always makes me a little claustrophobic} and anthropologie of course. {so expensive but i always find something i cannot live without in that store}

saturday we took on magazine street...and covered from the 2000's blocks all the way down to a few stores in the 5000's blocks.

i saw lots of fun things, but didnt really buy much. of course looking back at my camera phone i wish i had!
either of these rugs would look great in a kitchen {as in MINE}:



bush antiques is always one of my favorite stops {where i also found both rugs above}.  they have a nice range of antiques at a nice range of prices {...refreshing...}


one of my favorite stops this trip was dunn and sonnier.
orchids,

parrots, moss, pottery, fabulous candles {bought the crepe myrtle scent}, and ZINC

please notice the floor!  as rachel said all weekend: PHE-NOM-E-NAL

i could write a whole post on zinc.
maybe i will :)
we also stopped in piranesi, which some of you might recognize if you are a 1st dibs peruser {i am}.  not only did we run into a chair bought by harry winston inc, but my mom saw two lamps she loved and lo and behold they were already purchased...


yes by mr nate berkus.

i WISH i could have purchased these

they were HUGE and copper and fabulous.

on the way to dinner saturday night we drove past the french market, and in my twenty-odd years of frequent visits i have NEVER seen it like this:

was a little eerie and a lot cool.

but one thing i didnt even hesitate to purchase was this perfecto high chair from a magazine street thrift store....straight out of my baby gear high chair dreams.
perfect condition, all working parts, safety belt, wooden, high chair perfection
as exhibited by its current occupant {yogurt melts dripping down chin and all}

speaking of the children, they of course didnt even know i was gone...

and now some parting shots from the only child who will actually sit "still" for portraits:



till next year girls! yall are PHE-NOM-E-NAL {had to throw that in again rach}

highjacked from sistas blog