Where We've Lived: New Orleans

The next stop for us was New Orleans. We had to move there for my husband's job a mere 4 months after moving to Charleston. Neither of us really wanted to go but knew that it would only be for a short time. Remember that I'm now about 18 weeks pregnant with our first child so moving around a lot isn't exactly my cup of tea. I told S that I wasn't moving again until we had the baby!


We found a corporate apartment in the Warehouse District in downtown New Orleans. It was one of several old warehouses that had been made into apartments. They were really cool. I wish I could explain it better but we didn't have any outside windows. All of our windows opened up to an indoor atrium. Again, it's one of those things you just have to see. I'm not a very eloquent writer.

Most of what we loved about New Orleans was the food. Our apartment was literally one block from Emeril's restaurant. There were several other places we loved to go including Elizabeth's, Cafe Rani, Warehouse District Pizza, Teddy's (for the best po-boys you can eat), and Dick & Jenny's. One place we always wanted to try, but never got the chance, was The Chicken Box. It boasted that its chicken was "slap yo' mama good." Again, never got to eat there but I'm sure it's tasty. If you ever find yourself going to New Orleans, let me know because I'll be happy to supply a list of fabulous restaurants.

With S working and me at home by myself, I learned to wander around without getting too lost. Magazine Street is the best place for this. One of my favorite shops, Pippen Lane, is a children's shop. They have adorable clothes and a fabulous sale at the end of each season.

When my mom came for a visit, we took the trolley down St. Charles to look at all the old homes. It was absolutely gorgeous. Very much the old southern town I had heard about so often. We also explored the French Quarter but not for the reasons that most visitors do. We went in search of Blue Dog. I'm not much of an art person but if I were independently wealthy, I would own an original Blue Dog painting. They are fun, whimsical, down-right cute.

On July 7, we welcomed K into our family after a mere 20 hours of labor and only 11 minutes of pushing. We were so blessed to have her as a part of our family. And what a surprise to find that we had a little girl! Everyone had told me they thought it was a boy.

We left just a couple of months later for our next destination. As we drove out, we were just ahead of Hurricane Isidore. We left in pouring rain and high winds with a trailer attached to our truck and a brand new baby in the back seat. You should ask S about the white-knuckle driving he did on the Mississippi interstate. It was a tense 4 hours.

Our time in New Orleans was short, a mere 7 months but had experiences to last a lifetime. One of our last stops was Commander's Palace, a New Orleans landmark restaurant. They are famous for their Turtle Soup and their Bread Pudding Souffle with Bourbon Cream Sauce. OH MY WORD it is tasty stuff. They had, at the time, 25-cent martinis at lunch. And the ladies at the table next to us were taking full advantage of that!

New Orleans will always hold a special place in my heart because it's where my first child was born, even if I have no desire to live there again. We had a great time while we were there and have lots of fun memories to share!

Next Stop: Philadelphia