NOLA weekend.

Had it really been 9 months since I had last been home? Seemed too ridiculous to believe but the truth is, it had been that long since I had last traveled down South to NOLA to visit with my family. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure how that happened but then again, life does seem to get the best of us these days...

In any event, feeling the need to travel home to visit family before the holidays, I booked a ticket and took an extended weekend trip home arriving Friday early afternoon and departing EARLY (read: 6AM) this morning. I had nothing on tap for the weekend other than spending time and catching up with my family. So how did the weekend go down?

After arriving Friday afternoon, I hung out with my Mom, walked our dog Boomer (now an 8 month old large and in charge puppy), and waited for Dad, Brother, and Sis-in-Law to get home. We celebrated my first night with dinner downtown at Bon Ton. I opted for the Redfish Bon Ton, a giant piece of red fish with fresh crab meat on top all drenched in a white wine, butter sauce. Delicious! I forgot how rich the food in New Orleans can be however and after having stuffing my face full, barely lasted 30 minutes at home before I crashed. Hard.

Saturday I went for a quick run before joining my Dad and Brother for Po-Boys at Radosta's and then my Mom and Sis-in-Law for a movie. We went to see Beasts of the Southern Wild, a movie my mom had heard rave reviews about while I had heard nothing. While the movie was not one I think would appeal to all audiences, the main character, Hushpuppy, was INCREDIBLE and overall, I really appreciated the film. We capped off the day with a feast at home, chicken on the grill, spaghetti amore and some carrot cake for a belated birthday celebration.

I was happy to have all of Sunday in the city as well and after accompanying my family to church, spent the afternoon lounging before we headed to the North Shore to enjoy filets and my mom's EPIC spinach madeline at my grandparent's home. Are you noticing how well I ate this trip? Mom and I wrapped up the weekend with a viewing of Snow White and the Huntsman.

Overall, it was a wonderfully quiet, relaxing, food and family filled weekend. It was a perfect way to catch up and enjoy one another without all the commotion of the holidays. And since Sis-in-Law is pregnant, I enjoyed being able to see her as she prepares to enter the second trimester. Little Ro will be here before we know it!

Cheers.