The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Tom Robbins famously said: “There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better.” I’m not really in my Tom…
Best Hunting
A Blush And Bashful Steel Magnolias Weekend
It’s been 30 years since “Steel Magnolias” hit the Silver Screen and I dare almost everyone reading this blog to admit to never watching the film. Or even admit to watching it only one time. It’s one of those films…
Visit Tennessee
Known as the Volunteer State, Tennessee offers about 440 miles from end to end of exciting adventures, cultural landmarks, and unique surprises. Full of southern charm, Tennessee sits only a short drive and an easy flight from much of Louisiana.…
Homegrown
Based in New Orleans, Tchoup Industries designs, cuts, sews, and sells durable, designer bags “for city and swamp.” The company takes pride in working with local craftspeople to provide unique and functional products. This season, pick up the popular Petite Roulez Pack…
A Louisiana Life: Fresh Pick
Ashley Locklear works for some of New Orleans’ most celebrated restaurants, but her work often carries her away from kitchens and dining rooms. She travels a circuit of farms in southern Louisiana and Mississippi, bumping through fields behind tractors, jotting…
Farther Flung: Holiday in Lights
Music City is lit up any night of the year — which makes sense, considering it’s the world epicenter of country music. During the holidays, however, Nashville glows. More than four million lights will be installed at First Tennessee Park…
Traveler: Cutting Edge History
The Historic New Orleans Collection at 533 Royal St. in the French Quarter, with its cluster of meticulously restored landmarks and the chronologically displayed treasures of its Louisiana History Galleries, has long been considered a marvel of private funding and…
Kitchen Gourmet: Perfect Timing
Every year those of us who lack the “organized” gene vow that this holiday season will be different. We’ve had enough of all-nighters and kitchen chaos, so we’re going to overcome our deficiency and prepare holiday meals with ruthless efficiency…
Great Louisiana Chef: Playing With His Food
While Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant partner and chef Jeremy Conner isn’t originally from Louisiana, his deep southern roots (he was born in Opelika, Alabama) and passion for flavors are right at home in Lafayette. It is those qualities and…
Roadside Dining: Easy Does It
A gardener, I came a across Southern Gateway garden center a couple of years ago. A sign reading “90,000 square feet of greenhouses” caused me to slam on the brakes and make a sharp turn off of Belle Chase Highway…
Under Pressure
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, can result in potentially fatal problems like heart attacks and strokes. According to the Centers for Disease Control (cdc.gov), Louisiana ranked fifth in the country for deaths by heart disease and third for…
Your Louisiana Life
Bay de la Cheniere Kevin Rabalais, New Orleans There’s no denying that Louisiana is a beautiful state. From south Louisiana’s coast to up north with its towering pine trees, and the lakes, bayous, prairies and plains in between, it’s the…
Home: Keeping It Simple
When artist Helen Bolin purchased her 1931 Baton Rouge bungalow in 1996, it had no air conditioning and was in need of updates. What the cottage lacked in modern conveniences, however, it made up for in original charm and green…
Art: Evangeline Revisited
“Lovely the moonlight was as it glanced and gleamed on the water, Gleamed on the columns of cypress and cedar sustaining the arches, Down through whose broken vaults it fell as through chinks in a ruin. Dreamlike, and indistinct, and…
Louisiana Made: Pitcher Perfect
If you’re speeding or texting you’ll probably miss it, but tucked away in a beige block of industrial-looking storehouses off a small side road in Hammond, stands what the Brewers Association has twice named one of the 50 fastest-growing craft…
Literary Louisiana: Deck the Bookshelf
FOR THE FAN OF ARCHITECTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY New Orleans: An Intimate Journey Through a City with Soul by Geoffrey H. Baker, photography by Timothy Dunford Take a photographic tour of New Orleans and explore its storied past with this architectural…
Healthy Louisiana: Preventative Cures
In an era where so much information is at our fingertips, it can sometimes be hard to know how to direct our mental energy. What should Louisianians be most concerned about according to statistics? The numbers point to heart disease,…
Pelican Briefs
MONROE, BATON ROUGE, NEW ORLEANS, SHREVEPORT, LAKE CHARLES Prancing and Pirouettes Now on a national tour that includes five Louisiana cities (Nov. 10-Dec. 30), the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker (rated by the New York Times as a “hot ticket”)…
From the Editor: Christmases' Midnights
What I remember most about going to Christmas midnight mass as a kid was the men standing outside the church until the last moment before the mass began. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was a French…
Literary Louisiana
It’s a literary weekend in many ways, from spoken word to live theatrical performances to the annual massive Louisiana Book Festival. First up is the annual Festival of Words Nov. 1-2 in Grand Coteau, an event that brings in three…
Living History in South Louisiana
Fall means living history in South Louisiana. In Lake Charles, local actors will dress in period costumes and portray city notables from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, for the annual…
Get Your Fright On, Louisiana
Joe Genna and Molton Brasseaux suffered under the heat of an Aug. 28, 1926, evening, longing to see their girlfriends in the southwestern Louisiana sawmill village of Tullos. They hailed a taxi out of DeRidder, driven by the affable Joe…
Touring Cemeteries Around Louisiana
The veil between death and the living grows thin this month as we head toward All Hallows Eve or Halloween. And since Louisiana has some of the most interesting cemeteries in America, now’s the time to take a tour…
Falling For Fall Festivals
Forget falling temperatures. You know autumn has arrived in Louisiana when festival season kicks into gear. This past weekend I attended the 78th Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, an annual celebration held by the historic town that’s surrounded by…
------LOUISIANA CALENDAR------
