New Orleans and 30a Update

New Orleans and 30a Update

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This summer we went to our usual haunt for a week away. We had been planning a big trip to an exciting destination, but we had a busy travel schedule this spring and a kitchen remodel that took a lot longer than expected. Dan made reservations for us to stay in Rosemary Beach and we headed down to the 30a. The whole beach was more crowded than ever and this made escaping to less crazy areas more appealing. We were really close to Alys Beach and the architecture in Alys is amazing and so is the landscaping.

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I am always amazed and the different kind of plants that thrive in this climate. I always ogle the olive trees and rosemary that is so abundant. This espaliered pear tree is super fantastic. I would love to grow one of these some day!

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Taking an early morning bike ride to Alys is something that Dan and I really enjoy. The Alys Beach Nature Trail is lovely and partially shaded. You can see really interesting plants one the trail. The pitcher plant that you see below is carnivorous and uses its tube like neck to ingest insects. An interesting tidbit of info…

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After riding on the nature trail I love to head to Fonville Press for an iced tea and Dan adores the coffee there. We love to head there when they have concerts or movie nights. George’s now serves ice cream and the kids grabbed a scoop while Dan and I enjoyed a cocktail at Neat. They always have interesting cocktail ingredients there. I love the amarena wild cherries that garnish some of the drinks.

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We love grabbing popsicles from Grove Bros. The pomegranate and grapefruit one was especially refreshing on a hot and humid afternoon. We had dinner at Great Southern in seaside and as always it was fantastic. We love the pineapple mojitos and fried shrimp. What really makes my mouth water there is the hot sauce. Did you know they sell it by the bottle? Neither did I! It makes me so happy.

I love to go to Deja Vu in Seaside for fun summer cover ups and cute shorts. They are adorable and on trend and don’t break the bank. Harper and Jackson got their summer reading books at Sundog too!

There were also our favorite places to enjoy in Rosemary. The Cowgirl Kitchen is our favorite for movie night and Amavida is a perfect place for a morning coffee. Dan loves to bring some coffee home too! The view from the Havana Beach rooftop is pretty great. The happy hour there is really good and it is also open to families too! I love the giant ice cubes that they serve with the cocktails.

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I love all of the books by Babe Walker and now there is White Girl Rose. It isn’t available in Kentucky, so I snagged some while on the 30a. Too cute!

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We originally wanted to extend our beach vacation a couple of days, but everything within a 50 mile radius was booked solid. So, Dan offered to drive over to New Orleans for the weekend. Since the first day of school landed on my birthday and our anniversary landed on meet your teacher night, I took him up on his offer.

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We stayed at the Ritz, which is always a treat. The flowers in the lobby are super lovely.

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We always enjoy listening to jazz and relaxing for a date night. The vibe is fun and a little fancy too.

After window shopping on Royal Street, we were hungry for dinner. We didn’t have reservations and were hoping for the best. We had gone to Galatoire’s for a leisurely lunch the last time we were in town and absolutely loved it. This time we were thrilled to find an open table at Galatoire’s 33. The atmosphere is elegant and lovely and jazz standards set a fun mood. We had a fantastic meal! We shared the crab cake and the shrimp boil with remoulade and had a side of the most amazing creamed spinach ever!

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The next day we wanted to do a little exploring before meeting my aunt and uncle at a late brunch at Brennan’s. It was pretty steamy, so we did a little driving tour of the Garden District. The houses are amazing and the iron work is really cool.

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After seeing the sights in the Garden District we headed over to Uptown to check out some shops on Magazine Street. I wish a had a whole day to check out all of the amazing shops i saw. I am especially smitten with Shaun Smith Home. We stopped in La Boulangerie for a coffee and Harper and Jackson loved the red velvet cake. This place is as cute as can be and I would love to come back for lunch!

The highlight of our day was brunch at Brennan’s. The interior is so beautiful and the service is flawless. I started with a Sparkling Watermelon which was as refreshing as it sounds. I loved my lunch. I had the creole spiced shrimp salad with hearts of palm, avocado, cherry tomatoes and lime dressing. Dan had the vanilla scented french toast and the kids were elated when they ordered the chocolate pave! Yum!

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After a walk around the quarter, we stopped in for some dessert at Sucre. We are so in love with this place! We ordered gelato and some macarons to take home. We also got some pecan praline coffee!

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We finished our trip with a visit to the Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. It was a beautiful day and the garden was so interesting!

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There was the Blue Dog of course!

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All of the sculptures were interesting and the garden is beautiful. The live oaks with spanish moss were so pretty.

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We dropped by Stumptown Coffee in the new Ace Hotel for a cold brew and then scooted out of town. It was a nice end to our summer vacation!

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