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Perfect Moment Monday: Big Easy

I spent much of December* channeling Maria von Trapp (or, rather, Julie Andrew’s version of her). So many of my favorite things came together I wanted to burst into song as if on top of a mountain at several points during the month.

One weekend in particular, I enjoyed a convergence of some my favorite things: time with with my husband, time to myself, and travel to a place that’s new to me. A place that has good food and good music, to boot!

Roger and I had a chance to travel to New Orleans, just the two of us, for a long weekend. The afternoon we arrived we walked through the French Quarter and had a late lunch at a venerable Bourbon Street restaurant. We returned to a different restaurant the next evening for dinner. My handsome husband started the meal with a Sazerac, a New Orleans cocktail, while I indulged in a Lavender Champagne. Superbly matched to my senses. Dinner was divine.

champagne cocktail

My husband was in New Orleans for a conference, so while he worked the rest of the weekend, I walked. I visited the National WWII Museum downtown and leisurely explored the French Quarter, delighting in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes.

Perhaps the peak moment of perfection for me was brunch alone at the Courtyard of Two Sisters. A huge buffet yielded bacon, the best grits I’d ever had, spinach and bread pudding, all with Creole accents (sadly, I had to stay away from shellfish). I was seated outdoors in the courtyard, right in front of a three-piece New Orleans jazz band. Just me and my very-pleased senses, augmented by perfect weather and a good book on my Kindle.

Jazz brunch in New Orleans

A blast of bliss. So glad I noticed it.

* Yes, December was also a tragic month, collectively, and a pall was cast. Still, perfect moments exist for each of us, ready to be noticed.

~~~~~

Perfect Moment Monday is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between.

On the last Monday of each month we engage in mindfulness about something that is right with our world. Everyone is welcome to join.

To participate in Perfect Moment Monday:

  • Follow Write Mind Open Heart.
  • Write up your own Perfect Moment and post it on your blog (or other site).
  • Use LinkyTools below to enter your name (or blog name), the URL of your Perfect Moment post, and a thumbnail image if desired.
  • Visit the Perfect Moments of others and let the writers know you were there with some comment currency.

Once you make a Perfect Moment post , you may place this button on your blog.What Perfect Moment have you recently been aware of? Visit these moments of others and share your comment love.

The next Perfect Moment Monday event will begin January 28.

(Cross-posted on BlogHer.)


30 Responses

  1. New Orleans can be magical, can’t it? I was there for work 3 years ago. I went to an oyster house for dinner and, as I sometimes do while on my own, sat at the bar so I could chat with whoever would join in.
    I had a great evening and posted something about it on Facebook later that night. It turned out that a good friend from N.J. had been in the same restaurant that night. I probably could have seen him dining with his wife if I knew to look in the mirror behind the bar.
    Sounds like you had a great time. Very nice.

  2. Awesome Lori! That sounds like a wonderful weekend for you and your husband, as well as to have that time to yourself. I have had a few opportunities to tag along with Bob on business trips to NYC, DC and Vegas and we had such a great time together and I also loved the time on my own.

    I have only been to New Orleans once, on a trip in late Deceber 1996, not long after I met Bob, with my sorority sisters to play in a national flag football championship tournament down there. Our team had won the women’s intramural league that year in college! It was my senior year and Bob, being one of our coaches, came with us. We got to ring in the new year (1997) there and it was so much fun! I don’t remember much about the trip now, but hope to make it back someday.

    Thanks for sharing and hosting Perfect Moment Monday again this month! I just finished writing my post and will be linking up momentarily. 🙂

  3. That sounds like a great trip. New Orleans is one of the places I want to see someday. I’m contemplating walking at my own graduation should I ever finish my BSN just so I can go to Louisiana and make a side try to New Orleans which is like the other side of the state practically from Lafayette but still.

  4. You had just the kind of day I love. How lucky you were to be able to do that! I love New Orleans and hope that it’s come back since Katrina. Best wishes for a wonderful new year, and thanks for all the inspiration! oxo

  5. LOVE New Orleans! Ooooh, that brunch looks yummy. I can eat my way from one end of the Quarter to the other.

    Posting my Perfect Moment shortly. 🙂

  6. I’ve never been to New Orleans, but those are some of my favorite things, too. I love imagining your brunch alone … it sounds like so many of your senses were filled at once!

  7. I only live 90 miles away and every time I go I fall more in love with New Orleans. I’ve never been to the classic Court of Two Sisters, another reason to go back soon! Lots of perfect moments in that great city.

  8. Lori,

    A “blast of bliss”, I love this quote! I really related to your bliss. I to really enjoy those rare times alone to explore. Especially a place with delicious food. I felt (or wished) I was at brunch with you.

    Yes, there was a pall caste on this month. A sad, dark cloud amongst humanity. Was important to take the time to see the moments that were blissful, especially moments created with your husband.

  9. Sounds like a lovely weekend! I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans. I hope that 2013 brings you many more happy memories.

    (Unrelated, but I just wanted to mention that my husband and I have contacted social services and we’re getting back on the path to adoption. We were on this path before, but an out-of-province move threw things out of whack, and now we’re starting over. We’re not 100% sure yet, and we still have a lot of things to discuss and consider, but it’s exciting to take the first step!)

  10. I don’t have a Perfect Moment post but my December was just jammed packed with them. From the Christmas miracle of my mother’s health to my son’s wedding to Christmas where every family member could be there. PERFECTION. Thanks for reminding all of us every month to recall that!

  11. Love the idea of finding a silver lining–or perfect moment. I have never been to NOLA–and truthfully though I feel like I should go, I am not sure that I am a New Orleans type of gal. Granted, the food and wine alone would probably be enough to make me happy.

  12. Fun! Last year we had a blast in New Orleans too, our first time there. I wonder about the venerable restaurant on the street. Did it happen to start with a G? And did it happen to have some pretty entertaining upper echelon people-watching? I’m looking forward to going back someday. I had no idea I would like it so much.

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