The Crescent City

New Orleans is one of my favorite US cities - the music, the history, the food, the cultures! The Crescent City is beyond compare. Luckily, last fall, I had a work thing in New Orleans (NOLA), and we decided to make it a working vacation. We tacked on a few extra days and stayed through the weekend.

Why?

• He loves NOLA (as do I*)
• We really needed a break

*Someone in our household may have done several college term papers on the New Orleans quadroon society. Because, hello, fascinating culture!

It just so happened that "through the weekend" included the male human's favorite holiday - Halloween. Of course, we decided to embrace the spirit of the holiday.

IN PREPARATION

 

The first image was for Thursday and the Krewe of Boo parade. This is the human male, in a NOLA courtyard having his face done by Tiffany Vollmer (actual actress, who is also a make-up artist and lives in NOLA.)

The second image (right) is actually for Halloween proper and was done by Buff Beauty Bar.

People asked if I did it. Uhm, no. I make people pretty, not scary. Although, I think Tiffany managed both.

AFTER

I went low-key. Great dress, a cape, a mask and Magazine Street by Strange Invisible Perfumes, my splurge perfume and the only NOLA appropriate scent. (Picture is courtesy of a bar patron who nominated us for "couple of the year" as we were fully done up a DAY before Halloween. But in NOLA, it's a big holiday and starts early.)

The second day, for me was more of the same. A different dress. A different mask. The same cape. For him, new face and different shirt.

We made a good "show" walking out of our hotel. Enough so that we caught a local reporter's eye and were interviewed on the local TV station. Watch....

FUNNY

He actually tried to sleep in the make-up the first night. He was convinced he could lay perfectly still and not smudge the make-up.

At 2 am - he woke me to ask how to take the itchy make-up off. 

The doll was #67 of a limited edition of 100 handed out to the coolest costumes at the Krewe of Boo parade. Of course he won one!

ONLY in NOLA
We stumbled into a  pop-up art fair on Frenchman Street as we followed the music. (PS - the music is phenomenal on Frenchman Street.)

It was a warm fall evening. After 9pm. Art, jewelry and music. Plus a variety of seating areas. I loved the southern-ness of this fabulous converted bathtub and glammed out lighting. (right) A very modern lighted chair on a bit of outdoor patio carpet anchored a seating area with fresh cut flowers in a crystal vase. (below, I had the human male pose there) Yet another seating areas was comprised of a cheap card table on an antique oriental rug lit by a Tiffany lamp. (I checked. It was real.) A uniquely combination of funk, function and history. It just went together. Kind of like jambalaya.

Take-away - Revel in where you are.You may never be there again. This minute is not replaceable.

PS - I picked up a book. (Suprise!) I'm hoping to get to it before October 2015. Perhaps on a beach, in Mexico, away from all this snow.....

We shopped at a few places:
- Boutique du Vampyre (where I got the book)
- Maskarade (where I got the masks)


Update 2015 (below) -  He had the NOLA make-up re-done for this year and added accessories.

Regular day at the office....

He also put this on our door....