Where's All The Rum Gone?
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Bienvenue, Papa Noel
While most of the United States anxiously awaits the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, in Louisiana children look for Papa Noel. To help the French Santa find their stockings hanging by the chimney with care, we light bonfires…
'Namaste In Bed' No More
Exercise classes offered around Louisiana throughout the holiday season
If Our Ancestors Decorated For The Holidays
I’m a history nerd, so I must admit that part of me balks at the sight of holiday lights and laughing Santa Claus decorating a historic village. But only for a millisecond. As quickly as that idea floats through…
Breakaway largest ship to sail from New Orleans
This past week Norwegian Cruise Line brought its Norwegian Breakaway ship to the New Orleans port and now offers five- to 11-days cruises to the Caribbean. The Breakaway, named Best Cruise Ship for Families by USA Today, is now the…
2018 Louisiana Book Festival
It’s been 15 years since the inauguration of the Louisiana Book Festival and I have attended all but two events and can honestly say I’ve loved every minute. The annual fall festival gathers together dozens and dozens of authors celebrating…
A Louisiana Life: Musical Accompaniment
Though he’s now a professional musician and award-winning middle school band teacher, Mickey Smith, Jr. played so poorly as a child his mother asked him to practice outside. His grandmother bought him his first sax, though no one in…
Calendar: November/December
GREATER NOLA Nov. 2–4. Bucktown Seafood Fest. Metairie. bucktownseafoodfest.com Nov. 2–4. New Orleans Accordion Festival. New Orleans. nola-accordion-festival.com Nov. 3–25. Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Hammond. larf.org Nov. 4. Algiers Folk Art Festival. New Orleans. folkartzone.org Nov. 9. Boudin, Bourbon and Beer.…
Dessert Dreams
With the holidays almost upon us, dessert fantasies are a common occurrence — pies, cakes, cookies, candies, all manner of sweets. I love every one of them, but I have a special place in my heart for ice creams and…
Great Louisiana Chef: Locally Inspired
Chef Jeff Hansell is a Gulf Coast native who has made Louisiana his home as chef of Oxlot 9 in the historic Southern Hotel in Covington. His bag full of culinary tricks of the trade, stem from journeying across the…
Holiday in Lights
With its waterfront locale and graceful plantations nearby, Natchitoches’ beauty comes as no surprise but its well-scrubbed appearance does. Old tends to look worn, yet charming. Over 300 years old generally looks ever more so despite its pedigree, but not…
Rockin’ and Rollin’
Elvis Presley’s aura saturates Memphis like the winter sun dancing on the Mississippi River, warming the soul of the city and welcoming everyone to the music and magic of his home. Immerse yourself, and you’ll understand why The King kept…
The Little Museum That Could
Now enjoying its reputation as a major attraction for locals and visitors, the West Baton Rouge Museum (WBRM) in Port Allen was just a name in 1968 when the brand new WBR Historical Association “borrowed” a small former courthouse to…
Medical Marijuana
The year 2016 was a big one for proponents of medical marijuana. Since California legalized in 1996, each year for the next 19 years, anywhere from zero to three states followed suit. In 2016, however, six states voted to legalize…
Feast of Seven Fishes
A soft breeze blew in through open doors overlooking the waterfront as the Pêche restaurant family gathered to celebrate the season with a Feast of Seven Fishes, part of the Italian-American holiday celebration. Typically consumed on Christmas Eve, which is…
Clean Slate
Nelson Wilson Interiors worked with Cabinets by Design to create an airy, light-filled country French kitchen with timeless features including stone floors and a coffered ceiling. The kitchen leads to a garden patio where the Fishers frequently dine and entertain.…
The Art of Crime
The French artist Georges Braque once described art “as a wound turned into light.” In New Orleans, Detective Charles Hoffacker, a 14-year-veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, is shinning light on the city’s wounds through his art. Watching the…
Louisiana Made: Turning Heads
A red Rolling Stones tongue taunts from a cotton tee as she moves swiftly through her efficient home studio in grey yoga pants, describing how she lit one of her hats on fire. “Oh, I have a torch,” she says…
Cajun Soul
James Beard Best Chef of the South Semi-Finalist/Finalist (four times!) and fan favorite on Bravo’s “Top Chef” contestant Isaac Toups brings his fresh brand of cooking, storytelling, and pork fat-inspired magic to his new book “Chasing the Gator, Isaac Toups…
Holiday Blues
Each holiday season, people are bombarded with images of happiness. It’s the season for smiles, families, laughter and Hallmark Channel movies about people finding true love. But for many people, this doesn’t match reality. If you feel lonely during the…
Pelican Briefs
NEW ORLEANS Culinary Institute Opens Inaugural classes begin Jan. 7 at the hotly anticipated New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), the brainchild of co-founder and board chairman Ti Martin of Commander’s Palace. State-of-the-art instructional spaces in the five-story, 93,000-square-foot…
Great Expectations
Ruby, my maternal grandmother, was a picky eater and had high expectations when visiting restaurants. Bacon had to be a level of crispy achieved only by some dark magic that enabled the cook to remove it from the pan by…
Photo Contest: Cotton Harvest
A vintage International Farmall 856 tractor idles in a cotton field as the season crop is harvested Submit your photos by visiting louisianalife.com
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