A lovely New Orleans weekend

What can I say beside the fact that this weekend was absolutely lovely. For the first time this year, it actually felt like springtime in New Orleans instead of the miserable cold we've been having.

And! It just so happened that the nicest weather we've had coincided with Bryan coming to visit me. So Friday night, we went to Restaurant Iris in the Bienville House hotel. It was delicious, and I recommend it for when you feel like splurging on a fancy meal. Then, my friend Regen was having a (belated) birthday party, so we went out with her to celebrate.

Looking pretty before dancing the night away

(It was supposed to be a girls' night, but she was kind of enough to let Bryan tag along since he was visiting.)

Saturday was spent being lazy. And then Sunday before he left, Bryan and I went to the zoo! I have never been to the Audobon Zoo before. So after brunch at Oak Street Cafe (also highly recommended), we took a stroll in the beautiful weather through the park and went to the zoo. And let me just say that the zoo is pretty awesome.

Waiting in line to buy tickets

Obviously there were lots of animals, and we saw some from every part of the globe. I had trouble deciding which one I wanted to take home most (I tried chasing a bird around in the aviary to put in my purse, but it ran away) and decided on a bobcat. So, if anyone wants to get me a graduation present and doesn't know what to get, the answer, my friend, is a bobcat. Good times. Also, did I mention there were lots of animals? Below were some of my other favorites...

Bryan left early Sunday evening.

And then, tragically, it was cold and raining again today. Go figure.

In-Exchange Ethical Fashion Show

Hey all,

Sorry it's been a while, but it's been really hectic around here with midterms.

But last weekend, I got to take a break and went to the In-Exchange Ethical Fashion Show. In-Exchange is the fair trade store that we have right here on campus at the LBC. It's a pretty cool place, and there are lots of great fair trade items to buy like clothes, jewelry, and other accessories.

Anyways, they had a fashion show to show off some of their cool and ethical fashions. It was at the Republic, a night club downtown, and there were a couple of live bands and plenty of dancing. But of course, the stars were the models walking down the walkway! Here are some pictures from the night of...

Holly, me, Maeve, and Amanda before heading out

A view of the band from the upstairs balcony

A few of the models take the runway

All in all, a good night. But now back to do more work. Hopefully it gets warmer here, by the way. It's been consistently around 50 or so, and if could get like twenty degrees warmer, I would be quite content. All I want is to wear a springtime dress!

Mardi Gras Madness

My favorite time of year is Mardi Gras. Simple as that.

For me, it has always been a five-day weekend of just fun. We go to various parades, catch some pretty awesome throws (beads, stuffed animals, light up toys, dubloons), and just dance in the street (if you're lucky enough to find a spot near Superior Grill, of course)

So what does a typical Mardi Gras look like?

Well, St. Charles Ave. looks something like this...


Parade floats look something like this...


Reveling Tulane students (and a couple of my friends from California who came to visit) look something like this...
And visiting Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait looks like this...


Another great Mardi Gras. Can't wait till next year!!

Who Dat??

Okay. So I know I said I'd post about Krewe du Vieux, but this post takes precedent. I swear I'll post all about Mardi Gras after this weekend! But this post is all about the madness that's been the Saints winning the Superbowl!

Important Disclaimer #1: I love football. I watch it every Sunday and have been known by roommates to shout loudly at the TV screen in our living room. I blame my father's influence.

Important Disclaimer #2: I have been, am, and always will be a devoted Green Bay Packers fan. However, after being eliminated by the Cardinals, I put away the Rodgers jersey till next season and put on some black and gold to root for the home team. Great life decision.

So on Sunday for the game, a few of my friends and I headed out to a local bar and grill, Friar Tuck's, because of their promise of free food (yes, there was free food, and it was delicious). Not only was the game a nail-biter (I had my doubts in the first quarter) but in the end, the Saints pulled through in dramatic fashion (and come on, that Porter interception was really exciting).

The place erupted. Like literally erupted. I have never high fived/hugged so many people in my life, and we danced along to "Black and Gold" for the rest of the night. It was so much fun.

And then, on top of that, the university shut down on Tuesday afternoon (thanks Pres. Cowen!) so that we could hit the parade on what the city was calling "Lombardi Gras". And boy was that exciting. All the players were on floats (the little boy standing in front of my was so excited he caught beads from Drew Brees... I was so jealous.) And I even saw the Lombardi Trophy. It was definitely worth enduring the cold.

Ah, how great it is to be in New Orleans!

Anyways, this weekend is Mardi Gras weekend. We have Monday and Tuesday off of school. One of my best friends from home is flying in from California this afternoon, and another is flying in on Saturday. Can it get any better than this?

MLK Day of Service

So I have a lot to cover in this post because I've been slacking on blogging. Let's see. First order of business - WHO DAT?! Ever since my beloved Green Bay Packers lost in the playoffs, I've been rooting for the hometeam, and they're headed to the Superbowl on Sunday! Like the rest of this city, I am really excited! Can't wait!!

And then on top of that, the first Mardi Gras parade of the season, Krewe du Vieux, was this past Saturday. Pictures and stories to be put up later this week (hopefully). Also, I'm so excited about Mardi Gras!! It's the best time of the year!!

But today's post is all about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. It was on MLK day that we had off from school on the 18th. The MLK Day of Service was a collaborative effort with Tulane and three other local universities (Dillard, Loyola, and Dillard). I was on the planning committee for the event. It was a full day event and sent about 1000 volunteers to about thirty sites. We sent volunteers to do everything from weeding and planting City Park and repainting the Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center.

Below are few pictures from the day:


And here's a picture of yours truly signing the canvas that we had for volunteers to leave their mark:


It's always great to see so many get together to do a little bit of good. As Martin Luther King, Jr, himself, once said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

First week of school

Hey everyone,

So the title may be a little deceiving since it's not actually the first week of school anymore, but I'll write all about the first week of school. I got back to New Orleans on Sunday night and have been overwhelmed by all my new classes and the Martin Luther King Day of Service I helped to plan (I'll write more about it my next blog post when I have pictures to share!) that I haven't had the chance to write though. However, I am resolved to write more frequently this semester.

Anyways, one of my roommates/best friends Arielle (who has been featured on this blog many a time) got her gall bladder removed a couple of weeks ago and because she was in recovery, she did not make it back to Tulane till this past Saturday. So Amanda made her a carrot cake:

She seemed to enjoy it. (And we all enjoyed it because Amanda makes very tasty things in our kitchen)

And I'm taking some pretty cool classes this semester which I am really excited about. I am taking a couple of graduate level sociology seminars which look like they're going to be great! One is Issues in the Sociology of the Family in which we're focusing all about marriage and its place as a social institution and another about Sociology of Childhood where attitudes about children and childhood will be examined. I'm kind of a dork about these things, so I'm excited. I'm also taking an Intro to Gender and Sexuality Studies class which looks like it's going to be awesome, so I'm really excited about my classes!

Also, the construction that has been happening on McAlister Place (formerly McAlister Drive) got finished at the end of last week and I'm so excited! Not only do I think it's very pretty, but we now don't have to navigate around those construction fences to get through to the academic quad.

Okay. That's all I got for y'all. Got to get make some headway on my classes now! Only a few more weeks till Mardi Gras!

Winter Break

Happy New Years, all!

It's a little less than a week before school starts again, and I thought that I would take the time to post about my winter break. It's been a really great break so far! After taking all of my finals, I flew out to Phoenix, AZ on my way home to California to spend time with a couple of my cousins, Kathleen and Tina, who live out there. It was a lot of fun. Below is a picture of me shopping with my cousin Tina. She's an '05 Tulane alum who now goes to pharmacy school in Arizona. We talked about how much Tulane has changed/stayed the same since she went to school here (we also mourned the death of Tulane icon, Granny Cart Lady)


Then, I went back home to California, spent a little bit of time working at the chocolate store I usually work at when I'm at home, and hung out with my family and some friends from high school. This is a picture from Christmas with two of my little cousins (aren't they cute?) I


Then, I payed a surprise visit to Bryan in Pittsburgh for New Years Eve (which is actually where I'm typing from now). It was cute. One of his friends, Amanda, convinced him to go to the airport with her to "pick up her friend Jake." I walked towards him and bumped into him, he did a double take, and couldn't believe that I was there. But I've been hanging out here on the East Coast ever since. Below is the picture of us before heading out to a 1920s themed New Years Party.


Anyways, that's all from my end. I should be studying for the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) so that I could possibly get into graduate school in the fall! But hope everyone had a great new years. Next time you hear from me will be from New Orleans!