Heading east and west this week.

My friend Wayne likes to tease me that I take a trip every Tuesday.  Well this week he is correct but I also took a trip on Monday.  Yesterday I traveled back to New Iberia, Louisiana to pay my respects to my Great Uncle Don who I consider my surrogate grandfather since mine passed away when I was six.  I use the term "great" not only in the genealogy sense but from the bottom of my heart this was a GREAT man. My relatives are the salt sugar-of-the-earth. They were sugarcane farmers; and honest, hardworking, devout men. Nothing is more comforting than to walk into a room and hear "now that's a Rodrigue!" as the hugs and kisses are poured on.  I love feeling like I am a part of a pack.  As time goes on and our families disperse across the country, I am going to try and remember that there is never enough time to let someone know how much you love them...remember your mortality.  As the priest said yesterday in the beautiful service, "we are sad, we are joyous, and we are thankful."  I am so lucky to have so many graceful relatives on both sides of my family.

Today I am heading west to Marfa, Texas.   Where hopefully I can get tons of drafting and blog reading done.  Promise that you will be seeing more of me this week. 

Sorry for such a sappy post, but I just can't get yesterday out of my mind!

Love Meter

Happy Friday everyone!  Below are some pictures that I took of a little heart I left on the mirror for Will during his birthday week.  We picked up the water meter at an art market in New Orleans' City Park a few years back [yep we dove right in to that craze].  The casting looks so real that my aunt once exclaimed we could be arrested for owning it.  Have a great weekend!

"The Saints are Coming"

I don't think that the NFL will ever produce a better pre-game show.  From the first game back in the Superdome, this soulful performance by Green Day and U2 with special guests Rebirth Brass Band, New  Birth, Trombone Shorty, Big Sam, and Allen Toussaint feels like our team and our city's fight song.  The video is near 10 minutes long so set some time aside and wait for Bono and the brass to appear.  What a montage!  Who's ready for football season to start?  Geaux Saints.

Sorry for the low video quality.  

[Disclaimer: I am a biased football fan who enjoys a good pre-game salute]

Kyle Bravo: House Conglomerations

This week I will most likely be posting only on our beloved New Orleans.  With the five year anniversary approaching it is just on my mind.  But I intend to only post/celebrate what I perceive as the beautiful.   Even though we have all seen the ample press footage of all the dilapidated houses it is still impossible to wrap my mind around the scenes played out over and over again.  [Yes it is like a dagger to the heart every time those images are replayed.]  I love how local artist Kyle Bravo was able to turn those images into such quiet and beautiful pieces of art in 2006.  The compositions are simple, beautiful, and contemplative.  

Mexico on the geaux

Here are the "on the geaux" photos that I was intending to upload last week had a storm not taken down the internet.  So we did have one adventure our last night in Mexico.  We chartered a boat to the nearby town of Bucerias.  It was a beautiful sunset ride on our last evening in this lush tropical location.  Have a great weekend!

Punta de Mita

Not a whole lot to report from Mexico since we spent pretty much all our time pool side reading and imbibing, so in many ways it was more of a stay-cation than a vacation.  It was a lush paradise setting right in the middle of the rainy season.  I must admit that our evenings spent splashing around in the pool during the showers were some of my favorite.  That probably has something to do with the childhood desire to disobey my parents.  All in all this little fishing town was very good to us.  The pelicans were constant entertainment as they flew so close to the pool and glided harmoniously overhead. And Luis was also very good to us, always playfully chiding us to make up our minds and tell him what we needed.  He even made me an impromptu birthday cake just before our departure.  So sweet.

Beach or Bust!

What a week we are about to have... I am about to jump on a plane for my first ever trip to Mexico!  {I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family, thanks Jacq!}  I am going to attempt a little iPhone blogging while I am away so please bear with me as I try to send you a few images from paradise.  In the mean time, here is where I will be spending all my time.  See you in a week my friends!

Ode to DEET

So sick of dealing cohabiting with summer insects; ants, mosquitos, and flies your days are numbered!  I love this little card that was in our room a few months ago at the San Jose in Austin, so I decided to make it a memento in our guest bedroom. I have been toying around in Photoshop with clip art of mosquitos creating patterns.  I went through several variations (white then red as you can see) before I ultimately scrapped the whole thing and decided on my bingo paper as the backdrop.  I know it doesn't make as much sense, I just like the way it looks.  Since it is not framed yet, what's your opinion?  I can always be swayed.

Are you taking Liz Lambert's advice and wearing light colored clothing? Will you be donning white linen on Saturday night in the Heights?  If so drop me a line an maybe we can bump into each other on the street. Have a great weekend!

Royal Good Time

We definitely put on the Ritz this weekend.  It was a classic summer wedding weekend in Nola with visions of summer suits in seersucker and linen, sounds of brass, and scents of gardenia.  Isn't it amazing that you can tell just how lively a party was by how it wraps up?  All the pictures in this post were taken within a 30 minute time frame between Latrobe's and Hotel Monteleone.  It truly was a great Second Line and a regal good time on Royal Street.  Congrats Beth and Josh!