A Sassy Lifestyle Blog

Blogging

Blogging, a Blog About a Blog.

I am working on a really fun blog post, but it’s not ready to be posted yet. So in the meantime, I thought I would share a bit of what goes on behind the scenes and what my blogging process is.

Not that anyone has ever asked me to share my process, but hey if I waited for invitations before doing stuff, I’d be pretty bored.

Everything I’ve read about blogging says that you should have a content calendar and follow it. I don’t really do that. I do list things out when I have lots of ideas, like leading up to Halloween and Christmas.

But some months, when I am not traveling, I just free ball it and wait for ideas to pop up. I try to post every Sunday. This week, I had nothing until Wednesday night. And then I came up with a really fun idea, that will be ready to share in a few weeks. But that didn’t help me for this weeks post. I had nothing, until I had the brilliant idea to blog about blogging, so here we are…you’re welcome, lol.

Inspiration

I am a visual person, so I often get blog ideas from photos. I also tend to come up with my best ideas late at night when I can’t sleep. For a morning person, I actually do my best writing late at night in bed.

I may start posting mini posts on Wednesday’s? And I would like to share more videos; and there is no time like the present. Someone asked me to post more pictures of my place here in Vegas, so here you go.

For those who don’t know me personally, I’ll share that the past 6 months have been rough for my family and I. My father is dying, there, I said it, it’s out there. It’s something that we are preparing ourselves for. It’s unbelievable how something that seems unimaginable, becomes something that you learn to accept.

Wow! That took a dark turn! Lol, I am sorry, I wanted to share that because but I wanted you all to know that my little blog has been a life saver for me these past few months. It has given me something creative to do and it has kept my mind busy.

Sharing can be scary

My two most popular posts were also the two posts that I was the most nervous to publish.

My second oui-liette blog post ever, “New Brunswick, You’re Going to Hate It”, got close to 50,000 views; I am pretty sure that was my 15 minutes of fame and now I am a has been, lol. But I think it’s better to be a has been than a never have been…right?

Before posting, I was worried that people wouldn’t get the tongue and cheekiness of it. But they did! And I was shocked by how people connected with it!

Fun Fact the feature image of this post was taking while tubing down the Miramichi River, but my blurb about how much people would hate tubing while watching bald eagles flying overhead, was cut out, because the post was getting too long.

https://oui-liette.org/2018/07/15/new-brunswick-canada-youre-going-to-hate-it/

The other post that I was afraid that no one would read was Senior Living. It was supposed to be funny, but it didn’t turn out that way. I considered deleting it because it wasn’t sassy or fun, but I guess life isn’t always sassy and fun. It’s harder to share real feelings than hints on how to throw a fabulous party.

Thanks for reading both the light and fluffy posts and the more serious ones. I love and appreciate all your comments, please keep them coming.

https://oui-liette.org/2019/04/12/senior-living/

Ok changing the tone a bit, but this also falls in the scary category. Guess what happens when thousands of people read your posts? You get lots of creepy messages from men! All the comments I’ve gotten directly on my blog have been great and respectful, both from men and woman, thank you! But man I have gotten some creepy messages on Facebook messager,ugh! Thankfully I know how to use the block button.

Fun Facts

99.9% of the photos in my blogs are photos that I’ve taken; I am pretty proud of that. A lot of bloggers use stock photographs; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Fun Fact, here’s where the blogging magic happens, in my bed!

I took photography in University for two years. I have a fancy camera that I never use; most of my pics are taken on my phone. I am not a great technician, but I think I have an eye for styling and knowing what will look cool.

My fancy photo shoot pics are taken by my friends Barney or Sean; a few were taken by my nephew Jack. If I use someone else’s photo, I will give them a shout out.

Some people have made comments like; “oh you take a lot of pictures of yourself”. To that I say, yes, yes I do. I really enjoy the process of coming up with a creative idea and then making it happen. It’s not as easy as it looks, if it was, their profile pictures would be much better…oh snap!!

This one below is for those people, I was going for an old Hollywood feel. Not sure if I like the black and white or the color better? What do you think?

The stronger or interesting the feature image, the more views the post will get. I think my marketing background has certainly helped me make my little blog look fancy.

I don’t consider myself a great writer. I just try to write the way I speak. I am fairly certain, I have way too many “lol’s”, in my posts, but what are you gonna do?

I also make words up, on purpose. Example, in last week’s post, I wrote that I was “patio lantering my way down Main St”. I know that lantering is not a real word, but I don’t really care, “lol”.

Thank You Next!

So what’s next? As mentioned above, I have an interesting post coming up. The post is pretty much written, I just need a few cool pictures so I have a fun photo shoot planned for this week. It could be really cool or an awesome disaster; I will share either way.

I am also working on another fun project. My part is done, but others are working on finishing it. I hope to have it back in my hands to share around the end of June ish.

On the travel front, I have a huge work event here in Las Vegas soon. Then in June and July I will be going to Edmonton, Moncton then back to Vegas; then Tulsa Oklahoma, Moncton and back to Vegas for a bit.

I am also going to start submitting some of my blog posts to different publications and sites to see if they get picked up; hey the worst thing they can say is no right? I am also learning how to better partner with companies.

So this was a different kind of post, did you like it? lol

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there and thinking of all the people who have lost their moms. If anyone runs into my mom tomorrow, please give her a hug for me!

Muah!

Liette

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo

Full disclosure and this may be shocking to some, but I am not Mexican…I know, it’s hard to believe, lol. But I have uncovered similarities between Mexican Americans and Acadians (first Canadian French settlers); both groups are all about family… big families. And we tend to travel in packs, aunts, uncles, cousins…so many cousins, lol.

I love travelling and learning about different cultures so here are a few ways that we can all celebrate our neighbors to the south.

But before we get started can we acknowledge the fact that Mexico is part of North America? It’s a pet peeve of mine when people forget that tidbit and think it’s just Canada and the US.

738AE477-FB6B-440F-825F-8B100040BDBC — See, I am not making this shit up!

History Alert

Before we get to the food and tequila we should also do a quickie history recap. Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico’s independence day, which is September 16. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the May 5th, 1862 battle of Puebla; where Mexico fought France and was victorious! The victory was short lived as France did occupy Mexico for a few years after that.

May 5th is still celebrated in Puebla, Mexico, but Cinco de Mayo is actually more celebrated in the US by Mexican Americans than it is in Mexico.

The Food

When I think of Mexico, I think of awesome food. Growing up in Atlantic Canada, there were no Mexican restaurants; now Moncton has one…I guess that’s progress???

The first time I had real Mexican food was in New Mexico and I loved it. The tortillas were freshly made and warm, mmmm, it was so good; it all seemed so exotic to me.

I have since been to Mexico a few times and now live in Vegas where there are Mexican restaurants pretty much everywhere.

When my work peeps and I go out for lunch, we usually alternate between Thai and Mexican. One of the places we like to go is Frijoles. My big life lesson has been that authentic Mexican places serve corn tortillas, not flour…got it and I am down with that.

This was our Cinco de Mayo lunch; fresh fish tacos, street tacos and ceviche.

Ceviche is a seafood dish typically made with fresh raw seafood cured in citrus juices, such as limes and lemons, and spices.

I’ve had ceviche before, but I had never seen anything like what the man next to us was eating! It was a huge beer mug of ceviche. I had to ask if I could take a picture of his lunch, he seemed proud to show it off. And btw he ate the whole thing!!

They also have juices that I had never had before, like watermelon; I mean it makes total sense, watermelon is naturally watery, I mean it has water right in the name, lol. It’s very refreshing on a hot day.

Tasty Tequilas!

Can you have Mexican food without tequila? Probably? But will you have more fun with tequila? Yes! Tequila makes everything way more fun. Ok, more fun to a point, then tequila can get you in a bit of trouble; it’s a fine line.

One of my friends is a super tequila lover, I’ll call him Pete Post, because that’s his name, lol. I asked him if he could recommend 3 tequilas for this post; here are his recommendations.

His first suggestion is Don Julio, Resposado (rested) or Anejo (aged longer). Don Julio is a good tequila and easily found. It’s a great tequila starter.

The next is Cabo Wabo, it’s one is his favs, it’s really smooth and reasonably priced. It was originally owned by Sammy Hagar, but has since been sold.

Cabo Wabo sounds like it would be fun to say after a few tequila shots; Cabo Wabo, Cabo Wabo…lol.

Rounding up the top 3 is Avion. The goal of its creator was to make a tequila that his wife could drink without making that “tequila face”. I can attest that it is pretty smoooth.

Now I am not a big tequila “connaisseur” and what I am about to suggest may be a sacrilege to die hard tequila drinkers? But I like a shot of tequila with an orange slice instead of a lime, try it!!

So how cute are these small Patron bottles below! What a great idea and guaranteed, to make your party great!

Decor

The party planner in me can’t not share a few decorations ideas. Whether you are hosting a Cinco de Mayo party or Taco Tuesday, I love the idea and simplicity of decorating with lemons and limes. It’s easy, classy and inexpensive.

I think a Mexican theme has so many options, the colors are so vibrant, so you can go wild or a bit more restraint. You don’t need to decorate with sombreros and pinatas to pull off a Mexican theme. I think this look below gives you that Mexican vibe.

5CD0ED12-1187-4B93-B367-F02FCB9053FB — The table setting is from Fashionable Hostess.

I am thinking of hosting a brunch soon and I am totally going to use the citrus table above as my inspiration. I also love the ideas of slicing lemons and limes and adding them in a glass vase with candles or flowers.

635A2305-B39A-40DB-8600-2BEC8B6FC527 — This centerpiece is from Wedding Chicks, sooo pretty.

Pink, orange, green and yellow make a beautiful color pallet. Used together it may seem like it’s going to be too much, but it’s super chic and pretty!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope you try one of the tequilas in this post, if you do, let me know what you think? Also, next time you have Taco Tuesday, pick up a bag of lemons and limes from Cosco and make your dining table fancy.

Life is short, so please make each day count; use your fine crystal, buy yourself fresh flowers, enjoy good, fresh food without feeling guilty! And as always, be kind to others, no one wants to hang out with an asshole.

CDC2B41C-8B5F-4926-B11B-1D0E9FC32784 — So this is what happens when someone gives me a dozen roses, I put them on my head, lol. Some made it into a vase.

muah! Adios!

Liette

9C648DBC-7B57-49F5-921A-255C88ADDBF0 — I tried to drown my sorrows in alcohol but the bastards learned how to swim – Frida Kahlo

Funny Things a Maritimer Misses When They Leave.

Funny things a Maritimer misses when they move away.

There are lots of things that you miss when you leave the Maritimes; most are normal things, like your friends and your favorite restaurant… But then there are weird things that you never think twice about when you live here, but as soon as you move away and come back, you feel all nostalgic about them.

(For my American friends, the Maritimes are the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, also know as the island).

Here are my top 5 weird things

#1: Accents

None of us think we have an accent, but it turns out we all do! And guess what? There are lots of different accents in the Maritimes…who knew??

The first time I noticed this was when I was in Vegas watching the Golden Knights play hockey, they were robbed by the way, but that’s another story. At the end of the game, they interviewed the head coach, Gerald Gallant, who is from PEI. As soon as I heard him speak, I thought, OMG! He sounds like home!! There it was a Maritime accent and I love it!!

There are a bunch of Maritimers who work for my company who live in Reno. One of them, I’ll call him Pete Post…ok that’s his name, lol. Anyway Pete was in Vegas on a day that I was feeling a bit homesick. I told him that I missed people who talk English with thick, or like my dad would say, tick, French accents. He then proceeded to talk to me in English, but with a variety of Acadian regional accents. He did Moncton, Shediac and Bouctouche. He had me laughing so hard I was crying. Now when I see him, I ask him to talk fake French English to me. I am pretty sure the people we work with think we are weirdos; they don’t get the joke. But whatever la, we think c’est right funny, pis ont rie. Ok that was Chiac, but you get the drift, if you are a Maritimer.

#2. Canadian Content Music

Growing up radio stations needed to play a certain percentage of Canadian Artists on the radio; not sure if they still do? This meant that even though we listened to all the popular music from the US, we also listened to Canadian bands that my American friends have probably never heard of? Bands like Platinum Blonde, Haywire, Toronto, Headpines…

During university I worked as a banquet waitress, so I worked a lot of weddings. I swear to god that every DJ in the 90’s played the same 40 songs from the 80’s! Tom Cochran’s Life is a Highway, and similar songs, were enough to send me over the edge.

A few days ago, as I was driving and dodging potholes, I found myself signing at the top of my lungs to Patio Lanterns. Yes, Patio Lanterns, from Kim Mitchell; and if you are in my age bracket and Canadian, I know that you know it; and I know that you know every word! I never would have guessed that one of these old songs would make me crank the radio up and sing along, but there I was, patio lanterning my way down Main Street Moncton.

#3. Potholes

I think it’s safe to say that no one, I mean no one has potholes like the ones in these parts. Seriously, WTF?? Lol. Living in Vegas, where things don’t freeze and thaw, and freeze and thaw, then freeze and thaw some more has spoiled me. So I am shocked by the state of the roads when I come home for a visit.

While I don’t miss potholes, there is a weird sense of accomplishment that comes from driving to work and navigating the roads like a freaking gold metal Olympic solemn skier, that is more than a little satisfying. It’s like, damn, I am awesome! It’s 8:30am and I’ve made it to work without scraping the bottom of my car! I’ve never pulled off the 215 in Vegas on my way to work and felt like a rock star for just surviving my commute.

I am adding this picture, above, so my Vegas friends can see what I am talking about. This is typical and by no means, is I t the worst road. When they have a sign that says bump ahead, that’s when you worry, you brace yourself for dear life! This small section, didn’t merit a sign lol.

DA5630E6-A892-422E-9DEF-8AD3850B9DAB — Just a Canada Goose in its natural Canadian habitat!

#4. Snacks

There are lots of food that you miss when you move away from home. My number one thing I miss is lobster, fresh lobster. I usually have one waiting for me at my parents when I land. Fun Fact, Maritimers eat their lobster cold 99% of the time; my American friends are always surprised by that.

So missing yummy lobster is not weird, but missing Roasted Chicken Chips is a bit weird…right?? First of all, they aren’t that good, lol. I thought these were a Canadian thing, but in all my travels across Canada, I have never found them anywhere else but in the Maritimes; and I have looked.

The weird thing is that when I lived here, I maybe ate them once or twice a year, but now when I visit, they make me happy, lol.

Another snack that I took for granted is Cherry Blossoms! These are good, but when was the last time you bought a Cherry Blossom?? I am bringing a bunch back to Vegas with me for my friends to try. (Ok, full disclosure, I landed back in Vegas yesterday and sadly no Cherry Blossoms survived the almost 7 hour flight time…sorry. I did save the boxes though, lol).

#5 Cousins

The thing that I miss the most is my family, nothing abnormal there right? But on this trip home, I am realizing how much I miss and appreciate my cousins.

Now if you are of Acadian decent and in your forties or older, chances are that you have lots of cousins; I have 24 first cousins.

Growing up I couldn’t escape them, they were everywhere! I had 3 cousins living next door, 3 cousins living across the street, one cousin living in the apartment below us and my brother and I. That is 9 cousins on the same street! We all went to the same school and we all took the same bus. I always thought we were sort of like the Kennedy’s, but poorer, lol.

Cousins tease you, they boss you around, they bite, they kick you, give you black eyes and they tattletale on you; so they aren’t always your favorite people growing up. But as you mature you come to realize that apart from being pain in the ass they also looked out for you and stood up for you; they were allowed to bully you, but no one else was, lol.

Now that we are all grown, there is something comforting about having such a crazy extended family with lots of cousins. You don’t see all of them that often, but you know they are there, ready to back you up or hold you up when you need them. I love you all!!…ok most of you…jk, all!

6786986F-2747-45FF-9F12-02BCBEC3A31C — Just a few of my « cousines », Brigitte, Maneau, me, Tania & Katelyn. Growing up people mixed Brigitte and I up all the time. One of the pit falls of being one of so many, lol.

This picture above is just a few of my cousins on my dad’s side, all grown up.

F8F89565-3BA1-400C-8307-283E637776F7 — We are a family! I am top row, last one on the right.

Flash back to the 70’s!! Here is the cousin crew on my dad’s side. We have 3 cousins who weren’t born yet, Julien, Katelyn and Curtis.

Here’s a more candid shot, notice my huge smile, even though I am missing teeth, lol. Also, fun fact, my mom had to put makeup on me to hide a black eye given to me by my cousin Sonya, she’s the one right behind me. It was an accident, but I am totally over it…ish, lol.

Ok, I needed to blow this one up to show my missing teeth. I have to admire the fact that teeth or no teeth, I am giving the camera my biggest smile! I am also happy that I grew into my big mouth, lol.

CFD6CF1D-4BE0-4EB6-82F1-75D0324487B0 — Les filles à Neri; my cousins Nicole and Genevieve.

I can’t ignore my cousins on my moms side, here are two of them. If you were an older cousin, you actually made money off the younger cousins by babysitting. My brother and I were Nicole’s cash cows for years! And I made a small fortune babysitting Genevieve and her brother during my high school years.

I hope you enjoyed this fun post. If you live away, what weird thing do you miss most?

Follow me on Insta or Facebook @ oui-liette.

Thanks for reading!! Working on a super fun project, can’t wait to share.

muah!

Liette

Happy Easter!

Sooo I am not exactly the Easter Bunny, lol, but I did want to wish you all a great Easter Sunday. I hope you get to spend some time with friends and family.

896B7FA5-4250-4696-8E93-070FDA6FFCD2 — I am certainly getting a lot of mileage out of last years Halloween Costume! Lol 🐰

This is what I put in my Easter baskets for my mother and fake sister, she’s actually my cousine, but we are close like sisters; her name even matches ours. My mom’s name is Jeannette, she is Ginette and I am Liette, cute right?? My grandfather didn’t think so, he would mix up our names all the time, lol.

I bought us all a pair of I ❤️ LV pajamas, omg they are so soft. A funky silver rabbit from Pottery Barn, some fluffy chicks with rabbit ears, they chirp; and a few chocolates.

I “hop” the Easter Bunny found you!! Thank you for reading. I will be back in Las Vegas soon and have a few fun activities planned that I will blog about.

Muah!!

Liette

Hoppy Birthday!!

Hoppy Birthday! – How to throw bunny themed party.

This post will show you how to throw a fun Bunny themed party, you’re welcome; for a young child or a late forty something grown woman…whatever.

I understand that as we get older some may not want to make a big deal about their birthdays and some may not want a party; but I am not some people, lol.

(My last post generated a lot of new subscribers, thank you and welcome. Full disclosure, this a full on fluff piece, but it doesn’t have an underlying deeper meaning, so keep reading).

I throw parties and events for a living and for most of those events, sadly, I don’t have full and complete free reign; and it turns out that I love full and complete free reign! Lol. So when it’s my birthday I want a party and I want to plan it myself!!

I am not talking about a huge party, I prefer small intimate gatherings, but there needs to be a theme, formal invitations, some sort of decorations, a cake and swag bags for my guests to take home, like when we were kids.

Last year I had a co-party with my friend Claudia who’s birthday is the day after mine. We went to a fancy hotel’s tea room and had a tea party with tiny yummy sandwiches and sweets with 20 of our friends. It was so much fun even though I don’t actually like tea! Lol

For our swag bags last year, we had antique china cups filled with colorful macaroons with a thank you note. The thank you note matched the invitation, naturally.

BTW a tea party theme is great for wedding showers and baby showers too. Feel free to steal any of these ideas. If you want more tea party ideas, here is my tea party post. It was called Girls Gone Wild, but no girls actually went wild in the post, lol: https://oui-liette.org/2018/08/02/girls-gone-wild/

That was last year; this year my birthday falls on Easter Sunday. I took this as a sign that it should be a bunny theme.

Full disclosure, I am a corny person; dorky puns are my jam, as you will see below.

I usually find a cool image that speaks to me and build my theme around it. Last year I found the picture of the three ladies pouring tea with fabulous flowers in their hair.

This year I fell in love with this bunny; his face and his butt!

My best friend, who is an amazing hostess, offered to host my birthday dinner. Not wanting to impose too much, I offered to buy my own cake. She loves baking and quickly turned my offer down. She asked if I had any requests, I told her it needed to be chocolate and have eggs or bunnies on it. And to be bratty, I sent her elaborate cake pictures leading up to the big night for “inspiration”. We have been friends for over 30 years, so she knows my bratty ways and didn’t reply to any of my texts, which made me send her more, just because I thought it was funny. I was trying to break her and make her reply with a, knock it off, but her will and resolve are strong, lol.

She is a designer and has a beautiful home, I am very fortunate to have her as my bff!! For anyone in the Moncton area looking for a designer with impeccable taste, contact me and I will hook you up with her.

Her table setting is a perfect example that a little goes a long way. She had all white dinnerware with pale blue linen napkins and a white tulip centerpiece. I love her vintage water glasses, they added a bit of sparkle. And in keeping with my Easter theme, I sprinkled colorful chocolate eggs.

E24AEEDD-E39C-40EF-A246-9C61F4191C36 — Our hostess and bff Guylaine (pronounced guy as in gee…oh never mind, lol)

No birthday of mine would be complete without a headband, lol. I brought bunny ears for my party guests, why? Why not!

I celebrated my birthday last year in Las Vegas with my beautiful and amazing new friends. This year I was lucky enough to celebrate with my childhood friends in Canada.

I feel that the red head on the right would want me to explain her wearing a hat at a party. She was having some eye issues and couldn’t wear any makeup, she thought a hat would be a good camouflage, lol. We stuck a set of big ears on her and called her Elmer Fudd, lol. She is normally the glamest one at the party.

For dinner we had gourmet pizzas, ordered in from our fav restaurant. Ordering in is a great way to free up the hostess so she can have fun and not be stuck in the kitchen all night.

689F4533-058A-4A00-AB70-A9F288208AC6 — Turns out a few drinks helps with your creativity. Stacey and I thought our mirror image pic was brilliant last night. Mmm… I still think it’s cute this morning, lol.

I am happy to report that my cake did not disappoint! It was chocolaty and delicious!! And it had mini eggs on it.

Only 4 candles to avoid a fire hazard, lol. The cake was made from scratch with love, it was soooo good!

I want to thank all my bunnies for helping me celebrate in style! People say, you only turn 40, 30, 50… once; we’ll guess what? You only turn, 41, 37, 49…once too! My point is every year is a milestone and for those who are freaked out by getting older, the alternative is even more freaky.

Each year we are blessed to celebrate another notch in our belts, some people don’t get the chance to grow old. We need to be mindful of that and embrace the opportunities that another year will bring.

I hope this post inspires you to celebrate your birthday and your friends. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should be fun.

I had a basket full of colorful eggs at the front door for guests as they left; full disclosure the two first bunnies to leave the party didn’t get their eggs, because I was a little too busy having fun and temporarily forget about them.

In my eggs were two small chicks, a lip balm, who doesn’t need another lip balm and a thank you note. I think it’s a nice small gesture, I am going to follow up with a thank you text as they chipped in to buy me a fabulous gift, which wasn’t necessary, but greatly appreciated!!

Fun was had by all, thanks to my Crazy, Sexy, Cool Chicks!! Omg, that would be a cool theme for a party!! Maybe next year?

I wish you all a Hoppy, corny, meaningful Easter!!

muah!

Liette

(for more pics of my adventures, check up my Instagram page: oui-liette)

Senior Living

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a senior citizen? Neither had I. My parents have been in a seniors apartment building for the past five years or so. I would visit and say hi to the “old” people in the halls, but I always seemed to be in a rush; rushing in and rushing out.

Then something happened, my dad go sick; at first, when I would travel back, I would spend a few nights with my parents; they set up a bed for me in my dad’s TV room, but I would eventually end up in a hotel or at a friends house.

This last time I was home, I could tell they really wanted and needed me to be here with them. So instead of rushing in and rushing out, I stayed.

Here are my observations; I don’t think we give “older” people that much thought because it scares us. It’s scary to have aging parents, so we don’t think about it. We deal with issues as they arrive, but we try not to think about it too much, plus we are busy, rushing in and rushing out.

Newsflash! We are all aging and one day, if we take good care of ourselves, we are going to be in our 80’s and maybe even in our 90’s too. Have you ever given any thought to what that will be like? Neither had I, until now.

At some point we stop rushing and have lots of time on our hands. I suspect their will be a lot of time for reflecting and thinking about the “good old” days. But guess what? If you aren’t 94 at this very moment, then the “good old” days are now! So maybe we should stop rushing through our time? Maybe we should slow down from time to time to take in the scenery?

My parents apartment is not an assisted living place; their fellow residents are independent, active and vibrant people; some seem to have better social lives than I do?? Mmm, I may need to work on a better balance?

There are lots of “younger” residents, in their early 70’s to mid 70’s, but the people that I am noticing more, since I have stopped rushing, are those in their 80’s and 90’s. I’ve been watching them and talking to them.

It’s at once heartbreaking to hear them talk about dying, and they do talk openly about it. And inspiring to see a calmness and acceptance they have on the cycle of life. We are all born to die, but we don’t think of it, we push it away. I guess when you are in your 80’s and older, it feels a lot closer. It must get harder to ignore? It looms over you in a way that a 40 year old doesn’t have the time to notice.

Being here has made me slow down, instead of walking past the gang that make puzzles on the third floor, I stop and talk to them. I am thankful that when my dad is feeling up to it and wants to go for a walk they greet him with a smile and give him the best chair.

Instead of thinking puzzles are lamo, I think, how nice it is that if you are feeling lonely you can walk down the hall and join a group of people.

I stop on the second floor in the common area to say hi to my mom and her friends who play cards every night from 7 to 9; except for on Wednesday nights, when they play bingo. I pick up treats for them to share.

Today I made a point to walk three cars passed my spot to thank the man who has been dusting the snow off my parents car for the past week. I asked if he was the snow angel who’s been clearing off all the cars; he gave me the biggest smile. Turns out, this not rushing in and out is proving to be good for my soul.

And when I am feeling grief stricken with what is looming over me and my family; I find comfort in the faces of people who know how that loss feels, because they have lost husbands, wives and other loved ones.

So being here, living amongst a bunch of senior citizens has proven to be a gift. I will try to never be too busy to give someone a heartfelt smile as I rushed past them.

Full disclosure, the goal of this post was going to be funny and light hearted, because these old people are pretty sassy and funny as hell. But it quickly took a turn and I just went with it, lol. I hope that it makes you think a bit, even if it makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, that’s ok too. Let’s be nicer humans!

muah!

Liette

Taste of the South

Taste of the South

One of my favorite things to do when I am in the south is eat! The food is so amazing, that you almost need a plan or a checklist, lol. Here are a few southern staples that you need to try; and a few helpful hints to help you find the best places to eat.

Crawfish

We we’re lucky enough to be in Mississippi during crawfish season, which is in the spring. Although I have been traveling to Biloxi for many years, I had never tried crawfish…till now!

F48A5FB1-45A2-4E50-AE44-15A9327BC542 — How pretty are these little suckers??!!

First of all, let me say that they look exactly like tiny lobsters…exactly! They kind of have a bit of a lobstery ish taste too.

There is a trick to eating them that I picked up right away; my land locked friend from Arizona, wasn’t such a quick learner, Staci, I am talking to you!

You twist the tail from the body and you pinch and suck the tail in your mouth. The local guys we were with sucked on the heads too, but I kept my focus on the tails…mmm ok, that may have taken an unintentional inappropriate turn, but let’s stay focused here, lol.

They are cooked in spices with potatoes and corn. These weren’t too spicy, I thought they had a bit of a kick to them, but keep in mind that I am Acadian, so the spiciest spice growing up was pepper, lol. The Cajuns didn’t get their love of spices from their Northern cousins.

Bread Pudding

We finished off our crawfish lunch with some bread pudding. To be honest I’ve never been interested in bread pudding, because it doesn’t contain chocolate, lol, but the locals we were with insisted we have some. And I have to report that it was one the most delicious things I have ever tasted! And it turns out, as per my mom, that bread pudding is an Acadian thing, so that may be something the Cajuns brought with them when they migrated south?

98F704C3-1848-460D-A2C0-80FBE0BC42D2 — It was served warm with ooey gooey sugar, yum!

Helful Tip

One of my best travel trips for finding great places to eat is to ask the locals. On this trip our service techs invited us to lunch, as we walked out, the receptionist whispered, it’s a dive, but they have good food. I love dives, so off we went! And now I can check off crawfish and bread pudding off my list.

This place wasn’t fancy, but it was full, which is always a great sign. I can say it’s my favorite crawfish place!!! (and my first and only, lol)

BBQ

No one does BBQ like the south, obvs. We’ve been going to this next place for years. It’s called The Shed and it is literally a series of sheds.

C139FDAB-998B-4415-A2DF-CA3F771D2BB2 — Staci and our local host Kevin.

This is another, not fancy place; but it has become one of our favorite places to go.

If you ever find yourself in the south, ask a local where their favorite bbq place is, they will most likely tell you they make the best and they are probably not lying, but they will point you in the right direction. Southerners are a lot like Maritimers, they are super friendly and hospitable.

4EA76C4B-F6D7-4F09-B043-BB204B8C4BBD — This trip I had the ribs, make sure you pick their potato salad as one of your sides.

25138FE3-1287-423D-AB14-3FB7C2FBC782 — You eat at picnic tables. The Shed is off the highway, not sure if it’s in Biloxi or Gulfport, google it if in this next of the woods.

595692DE-8D5E-4636-AC55-7617851B4CCE — They sell BBQ sauce and marinades, they have smokers outside where they smoke their meats.

Grits

In New Orleans we asked the concierge at our hotel for “a good” breakfast place; he said, I know a good place, but it isn’t fancy. It sounded like we were in for another dive. Another helpful travel tip, is be best buddies with your hotel’s concierge and don’t forget to give him a tip!! No one likes a cheapskates lol.

This place was called Hobnobbers; you have to walk through a grungy bar to get to it. The only people there when we arrived were, a lady of the evening and what looked like her John, see the man above and the lady in white fishnets, you can see her legs.

As soon as we sat down, the place quickly filled up. Staci ordered some grits, so we could check them off our list. I have tasted them before and I am not a super fan. They look like mashed potatoes, these were served with butter. If you haven’t tried them, you need to because it’s such a southern staple. Side note, our breakfast was really good and cheap!

Crab, Shrimp and Oysters

Another way that the Canadian Maritimers are similar to the Southerners is their love and abundance of fresh seafood!

On this trip, we literally had crab cakes every night. We were on the hunt for the best ones, it seemed like a fun and tasty challenge!

Ah…so many crab cakes, so little time. You can even have crab cakes, topped with crab! You can actually get anything topped with crab; if given the option, go for it!! Most are served with a remoulade sauce, which is mayonnaise based.

The French Quarter has so many amazing restaurants, I always try to go to Bourbon House on Bourbon St when I am in New Orleans. Get the crab cakes! Lol and save room for desert; get the pecan chocolate crunch, it’s to die for!

679EEF45-9BBA-4CE2-971F-7B61A91BE28C — There is always something going on, this time it was an impromptu concert.

One of the fun things about the French Quarter is happening upon amazing restaurants. Before we left New Orleans we realized we hadn’t had any oysters yet; we looked up and saw the sign for Royal House Oyster Bar; it seemed like destiny, lol, so we went in.

Another cool thing about restaurants in New Orleans is that they can look small from the street, but then open up to a large outdoor courtyard. This places looked ordinary, until we were seated on the second level.

Our table overlooked Royal St, even though you are close to Bourbon St, the vibe here was super chill and quaint. We even saw another wedding procession, which is a parade, while we were there; there is always something interesting to see!

I don’t love raw oysters, but I do love charbroiled oysters! These were amazing!! Garlic, butter, breadcrumbs and a bit of cheese, what’s not to love? Even if you don’t think you like oysters, you need to try these. Most restaurants serve them, try them!!

Beignets

Beignets are basically donut dough drenched with icing sugar and they are sinfully delish!!! Note to self, don’t wear black, you will get icing sugar all over yourself.

The most famous place to eat beignets in New Orleans is Cafe du Monde. You order then try to find a table; actually, you wait in line, then order and then try to find a table.

We didn’t get any on this trip because the lines were insane; we walked by a few times and each time the line was longer than the previous. Although Cafe du Monde makes amazing beignets, I know that they are not the only beignets in town; on my next visit, I am going to find a new spot and give them a try.

If you have the patience, or if you are up early, go to Cafe Du Monde, they will melt in your mouth. I will let you know if I discover a place just as good, with less people.

I don’t know about you, but this post has made me hungry!! Lol. I should probably have mentioned a bit of history, in case you aren’t aware. Cajuns that our found in Louisiana and Mississippi originate from Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada.

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading all the way to the end! My next post maybe about bunnies?? Stay tuned!

Muah!

Liette