Life with Dee

Creating a beautiful life...

Dinner at Antoine’s

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David and I honeymooned in New Orleans 34 years ago. We bought a honeymoon package from a travel agent (remember those?) which included lodging at the Royal Orleans plus a few other things, including dinner at Antoine’s. We both grew up in families that ate in nice restaurants pretty often but Antoine’s was definitely a cut above. Opened in 1840, it is still owned and operated by the family of the original owners. It’s quite an institution.

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We ate lunch there with friends a couple of years ago but had not been back for dinner in all these years. We had decided to have one really nice dinner during our vacation last week. There were several choices up for consideration but we opted for Antoine’s, in part because we were staying at the Royal Orleans our second weekend and Antoine’s is only a couple hundred steps away.

White linen tablecloths, freshly baked bread, a nice bottle of wine, good food…definitely my idea of a good time. We finished our meal with an old-fashioned dessert – Cherries Jubilee or “Cerises Jubile” as the menu states. Yes, the menu is still in French but with English descriptions. Back when we were kids Cherries Jubilee was a dessert which was served fairly often in nice restaurants but I haven’t seen it in years.

Sweet, dark cherries flamed in brandy at the table and served over vanilla ice cream, not only is it tasty but it’s a bit of a show as well.

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David ordered Cafe au Lait to go with his dessert. The waiter brought out two small silver pitchers, one with hot coffee and the other with hot steamed milk. He then poured the two simultaneously into the cup. Nice presentation. I ordered tea, of course. I just love those little silver pots.

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The service was impeccable. At the end of our meal David asked the waiter if we could take a menu. They are often given as souvenirs. David told the waiter that we still have ours from our honeymoon (somewhere). He returned a few minutes later with a menu which he had taken to the chef to sign. Wasn’t that nice?

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The leisurely pace of the meal, the wine (a nice Beaujolais), and the formal setting all reminded us of meals in Paris. We decided that at least a couple of times a week we will make time for a more formal, slow-paced dinner at home.  Now I’m on the hunt for a French linen tablecloth. Oh, and one of those cute little silver tea pots.

La rentrée – or “welcome home”

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The French population generally takes off work and school for the month of August. I know! Wouldn’t that be awesome? They have a term for the return to “real life” in September – la rentrée. Children head off to school, adults return to work, routines are implemented and life generally regains its usual rhythm.

We returned from our visit to New Orleans late last night and after being away 11 days it feels a bit like la rentrée for us. David headed off to work this morning and I am trying to get back in the swing of things around here. There have been calls to return, suitcases to unpack, laundry to wash and all those little domestic tasks which call out for attention after time away.

Fortunately we came home to nice weather because this is what we had the entire 10 days in New Orleans:

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Blue skies…

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Warm, sunny days…

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Honestly, the weather could not have been better. In fact, I’m pretty sure I told David at least a couple or ten times that I could be happy with that weather year round. The days were sunny with highs in the 70s and 80s and overnight lows in the 60s. Perfect!

The other reason I am grateful for nice temperatures here at home is that I’ve been without heat or a/c today. I received a phone call at 7:30 a.m. this morning – yikes! – from our plumber. The part he had ordered for our unit had arrived and he was calling to see if he could send his guys out to install it. I put them off a little while because I had just woken up and wasn’t quite ready for unexpected “company”. After several hours of work, they just left. Unfortunately the part was defective, they had to put the old one back on and now we wait another couple of weeks for the new, new part. Which means I get to spend yet another day with workmen in the house. At least the guys were nice. In fact, one of them is a friend of our son’s and has been here numerous times for parties and such.

So that, and a mild sore throat have been my welcome home or la rentrée. Vive la Oklahoma…or something like that.

A little update from New Orleans

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I can’t believe we are past the half way mark on this vacation. So far there has been lots of live music, some good food, time with friends, a ride in an ambulance (more about that later), streetcar rides, and a bit of river watching.

There is still much I want to do before our time here in New Orleans draws to a close so I had better get dressed!

*Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Periscope for more about our trip.

Dee’s Week in Review

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Hello, friends. Here is it…Saturday again already. Where did this week go?? For me it evaporated in a swirl of frenzied activity as I tried to prepare for our trip to New Orleans. I knew that I wouldn’t want to spend my vacation tied to a computer but also didn’t want to leave you without any “Life With Dee”. I do have a few posts pre-written and scheduled to run this coming week. I wanted to have all the usual amount of content but you know what? I just couldn’t do it.

I’m actually writing this Thursday afternoon. We leave tomorrow morning and I don’t have all the blanks filled in. And I think it’s all going to be okay. I’ve tried hard to be consistent in my posting so you, my readers, could count on new content every morning and sometimes a second dose later in the day. I have also tried to post something on the Life With Dee Facebook page every couple of hours during the day. I’ve been scouring my usual sources plus some new ones in order to bring you interesting content and I so far I have 45 links scheduled to post on the Facebook page. I may fill in the rest of the blanks or I may run out of time. Who knows? What I *do* know is that there are more important things in life – such as this much needed vacation. And I also know that you won’t desert me over a few days of light content. It’s not like the Internet won’t still be there.

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So here’s the thing. There isn’t going to be the usual “week in review” post today and there won’t be one next Saturday because we will still be in New Orleans. But I do have a couple of good recipe posts for you next week and the next two Menu Monday posts are going to be really fun. I’m not sure if there will be a Timely Tunes post next Thursday because my son who writes them is sick today so it’s likely he won’t get it ready in time for me to format it. On the other hand, we will be enjoying so much wonderful music in New Orleans that I hope I will be able to share little bits of that with you on Instagram and maybe even on Periscope if I figure out how that works.

You can keep up with our adventures on Twitter, Instagram and the public posts on my personal Facebook page. There will certainly be stories to tell when we get home. And maybe a few I can’t.

Laissez le bon temps rouler!  (Let the good times roll!)

French Friday ~ New Orleans

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Over 34 years ago David and I took our first trip to New Orleans. It was our honeymoon and I chose the destination because it was within reasonable driving distance and I had a vague notion that there was a French influence in the city. I had taken French in junior high and high school and had been a Francophile for years. There was no way we could afford a trip to Paris so New Orleans seemed like a good option.

I instantly fell in love with the city. Looking out over the French Quarter from the observation deck of the Royal Orleans, I felt as though I had been transported to another country. It wasn’t Paris. But it sure wasn’t Oklahoma, either.

Settled by the French in 1780, the Gallic influence is evident in food, language, festivals, architecture, and music. Until 1830, most of the residents still spoke French. Like France, New Orleans is predominantly Catholic and that permeates the culture. There is a decided lack of puritanical influence.

The French were Catholic, not Protestant like the founders of most other New World settlements which eventually became American cities. The French Catholic did not share the unremittingly severe, sober view of life with the New England Puritans, for one. While religious, the French Catholics also enjoyed good food and sensual pleasures. Mardi Gras, the most famous and raucous of New Orleans festivals, is a Catholic holiday after all. And in French, Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” – a time of indulgence before the self-imposed austerity of Lent. The tension between the sacred and profane, the joyous and the mournful (as with jazz funerals, for example), has long formed an essential part of the Crescent City’s character. (source: New Orleans Official Guide)

We are on our way to New Orleans today and to say I’m excited would be an understatement. David and I have both been working like crazy lately and we need a break. Desperately. I need music, delicious food and wine, visits with friends, streetcar rides, people watching, an hour or two by the river, naps and most of all – time alone with David.

Posts here on Life With Dee will be a little on the light side for the next 10 days. I do have some written and scheduled to post during our vacation and I might write a short post or two while I’m there. But I probably won’t have a post every day. And while I do hope to have at least a few interesting articles and such to share each day on the Life With Dee Facebook page, it won’t be quite the usual quantity and I may not be able to respond to comments very often. If you aren’t already following me on Twitter and Instagram this would be a good time to do so. There will surely be interesting things to tweet about and I always take a lot of pictures while I’m there. However, I’m not going to be online as much as usual for I intend to be fully present and soak up our experiences in New Orleans. I need this. So much.