Today started with these fabulous fried green tomatoes and biscuits and gravy and praline bacon at Elizabeth's. Yeah, I need to get some exercise when I get back home. And let's hope there isn't a cholesterol test in my near future, eh?
After that amazing meal, we headed off to the aquarium, because we all know Leslie loves looking at fish, and it was cold here! Today it was only 2 degrees warmer than Minneapolis, and I know you guys are gonna mock me for saying this, but this is a damp cold! And these buildings? They are NOT properly insulated! So we wanted to stay in a big, warm institution, and the aquarium it was. We saw lion fish:
And itty bitty baby sea horses:
And regular, grown up (monogamous) seahorses. And by the by, if you didn't now, the men in this species are the ones who suffer through pregnancy. LOVE THE SEAHORSES.
And you know how I love me some jelly fish:
And then... sharks!
After the aquarium, we walked down to the French Quarter to get some coffee and see about getting tickets to tonight's show at Preservation Hall. Sadly, this is the only photo you will get because it was closed for a private party! And I wanted to go SOOOO BAD. I was very upset. Tears were almost shed. But later tonight I went back and peeped through a hole in the wall and listened to some of the music. Man, I wish I could have gotten in there. You know what else I wish? That their website had mentioned the private party so I would have gone on Wed. night instead.
I love haunted real estate!
And speaking of the spiritual world, several times on this trip I wished my mother was here with me. There are so many psychics and tarot card readers and tea leaf readers and voodoo queens. I know she would have had her fortune read with me. Jamie? Yeah, he's not standing for that. Next time I might bring my mother.Anyway, while wandering the Quarter today, I also stumbled into this phenomenal bookstore and bought a used copy of Interview With a Vampire. I read it in high school, but I wanted to read more about this city, so I couldn't resist.
And then we went and got some FRIED CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE WITH ICE CREAM. Omg, this was so fantastic, I cannot describe the decadence.
Yeah, we slaughtered that pie.Later this evening, we headed out to d.b.a. to hear some great jazz (and see more great dancing!) and then to a nice, "light" Italian dinner before strolling around the Quarter in the cold rain.
Oh New Orleans, you have been a damn good winter getaway.
This is how we started the day, and it was just as glorious as it looks. And? Those beignets there were only $2.42! Best deal around! And these beignets were WAY better than the ones we had yesterday. Cafe du Monde for the win.Next, we became Those People and signed up for a city tour. It was our first time while traveling that we completely acted like tourists, but it was a good way to see the full city. One thing that has surprised us about New Orleans is how un-walkable it is. We thought we would be just fine looking at the geography on a map, but things are a touch further than we thought. That, and we have found that this city is DARK and a lot of streets are very empty, and it's probably way safer to stick with the cabs. So a tour bus was a great way to get the geography down and see a variety of spots around town.
Our first stop on the tour was St. Louis No. 1 cemetery -- the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. It's where lots of famous people are buried, including Marie Laveau, most recently of American Horror Story fame. See those "xxx"s on her grave? People mark the graves when favors/prayers are asked or granted. It's illegal to desecrate a grave, but you can see it's still done.
And this grave was of a voodoo high priest -- lots of xs here as well.
And this monstrosity? This is the grave that Nicolas Cage has purchased and is waiting for him. Oh, the ego.
Look at that beautiful typography!
Next, we went to the Garden District and walked around exploring more cemeteries and looking at the homes. This right here is a typical home in the Garden District.
And this mansion is a single family home that is now being used for the filming of American Horror Story. I don't watch this show because the ads scare the crap out of me. But now I'm kinda curious...
Then we ended up back in the French Quarter and saw some fantastic street performers. Look at those CHEEKS! And after that we went back to the apartment and took a nap. It was glorious. And after the nap we grabbed some sandwiches and then went dancing at Rock'n'Bowl. It was Awesome!
It's a bowling alley with a restaurant and bar and huge dance floor. It was zydeco night, and we danced and people watched and had a fantastic time.
For today's internet share, I'm sending you to 
Welcome to New Orleans! We are SO FULL. The food here is AMAZING but hoooo boy, I only need a few bites of each thing before I'm just too dang stuffed. I think my favorite thing so far has been the po' boy sandwich. De-lish.Most of this afternoon we just mosied around, exploring the neighborhood and stopping to taste things like, um, beignets. Otherwise we took it pretty easy. We are contemplating a city tour tomorrow to check out the architecture and maybe a cemetery or two. In all of our travels we have *never* acted like a tourist and taken a city tour, but I feel like there is so much history here that I want to know more, and I'm willing to be the tourist for a few hours to learn some stuff.
For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to this 
Handsomest and best dog ever.So you know how Magda got out yesterday and ran for the hills? Last week I was snowblowing the driveway (where the plows had just dumped a huge pile of compacted ice, blocking me from the street) and it was super windy out. I couldn't hear much, because, well, snowblower, and I turn slightly to see Merlin is just standing next to me as I work.The wind had blown open the service door to the garage and Merlin, hanging out in the backyard, decided to come and keep me company. Did he run? No. Is he the best dog in the world? Yes.I know you guys are probably tired of photos of dogs and food and dogs and blah blah blah. But! Don't you worry! Because tomorrow? Tomorrow I am getting out of this cold weather and heading down to New Orleans (for the first time ever). I cannot wait to show you what I see there!For your internet share of the day, how about some 
This little twerp ran out the front door today as a house guest was arriving, and she just KEPT ON RUNNING. I tried to chase her for a bit in my slippers, but I could only get so far in the deep snow, so I had to run back to the house to throw on my boots. Luckily, as I was heading back out the door, she ran past the house IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. With the help of a bag of Tostitos, I was able to contain her to a neighbor's front porch before bringing her back into the house.This photo was taken before all of the excitement though. Because after that, she's been sulking around the house with a VERY guilty look on her face because she knows she's in trouble. Man!For today's internet share, how about a video of 
Today I'm gonna show you how I make my chicken tortilla soup. This is one of my very favorites because a) it's delicious b) it's FAST and EASY and c) it's freezing here and this warms me up.
Here's what you'll need:2 Tbsp olive oil2 cups shredded chicken (I get mine from a rotisserie chicken from the store)2 cloves garlic1 small onion1 can of crushed tomatoes (I like fire roasted)1 quart chicken stock1/4 tsp cumin (heaping full if you like it like I do)1/4 tsp some sort of red chili powder depending on your love of heat1 lime (optional)1 avocado (optional, but if you don't like avocado are you sure we are friends??)tortilla chips (optional)handful of cilantro (optional)
Begin by heating the olive oil in the pan while you dice the onions and garlic.
Then stir them into the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are soft.
Next, add your spices to the onion mix and let that cook for about one minute to infuse the onions with the flavor. I learned that trick from my dear mother.
Once the onions are soft and infused with yummy spices, add in the can of tomatoes, the chicken broth and the chicken meat.
Try not to knock over the cumin when you do this. Oops.
Stir it all up and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
While it's cooking, you should pet the dog. Or set the table. Or make your kids set the table.Also, if you are NOT using the tortilla chips, you should add salt to taste.
And viola! That's it! I dish it up, squeeze in some fresh lime juice, add some avocado and sprinkle with cilantro. If you want it thick and tortilla-like, you can crumble some chips into the soup here and stir them in, which is delicious. But don't mix them in the pot! Only the bowl! If you mix them in the pot and then you have leftovers it becomes a thick, goopy slop. Nobody wants that.
Without the chips, a bowl of this soup is about 194 calories. And yes, that includes the avocado (yay!).
Today I slept in until almost 9 (which was awesome) and then I woke up to the sound of Jamie snow-blowing the walk out front (which was even more awesome since it meant he was doing it all while I slept -- yes, I have won myself a keeper). We then later mosied on down to Lake Harriet for the annual kite festival, which you can see above.Isn't it crazy how Minnesotans embrace the winter like this? I love it. What you can't really tell from the photo is that a) we are all standing in the middle of a frozen lake (which I'm not sure I'll ever get used to) and b) because no one ever shovels the lake and the snow just keeps accumulating, it's *at least* a foot of snow that you're hiking through to get out there. You know how walking in wet sand can be a tad tough? Yeah, this is exhausting. And yes, I am a total wuss.Anyway, we took Mags and thank the lord she, too, found it to be exhausting and has been nothing but love and snuggles the rest of the day.For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to these 
Today after a fun lunch with the wonderful