If you were raised in small town America, and were lucky to have a vibrant downtown area, the holidays were always a special time of the year when you could go to “Main Street” and stroll among the festive holiday decorations and peruse the small shops sprinkled along the street. In many ways, the French Quarter is much like “Small Town America” to the 4,000 or so residents who especially enjoy the neighborhood when the holiday decorations go up and the window displays begin to reflect the spirit of the season.
Art
Hot Night In The City
August 04, 2015
As a French Quarter resident, I’m often asked,
“What’s your favorite French Quarter event?”
I consistently reply, “Dirty Linen Night” in August.
The response is always the same. “It’s so hot in August!”
“What’s your favorite French Quarter event?”
I consistently reply, “Dirty Linen Night” in August.
The response is always the same. “It’s so hot in August!”
The Art of Antiquing
May 04, 2015
My best girlfriend and I have been celebrating our April birthdays every year by going "antiquing" on Royal Street. We shop 'til we drop, then plop down for some cocktails and shop some more! As we browse along, walking beneath balconies dripping with Spring flowers, the street's lively aura pulls us in. It showcases our local talents of Dixieland jazz, a puppeteer, a magician, a living statue, a busker strumming a beat-up guitar, and a silver mime"...we are always surprised and delighted by Royal Street happenings.
Sutton Galleries: 100 Years and Counting
May 04, 2015
The premier Sutton Galleries, one of New Orleans' longest running art galleries, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Founded in 1915 by Jack Sutton, an art lover with a vision, the gallery is now in its fourth generation of Sutton family ownership.
For more than a century, the Sutton family has offered years of experience dealing in fine art. The gallery offers original oil paintings, as well as limited editions which are hand-embellished by the artist.
For more than a century, the Sutton family has offered years of experience dealing in fine art. The gallery offers original oil paintings, as well as limited editions which are hand-embellished by the artist.
Hearing the Beauty that Surrounds Us
February 05, 2015
When I was young, my mother filled our house with music. We would sing all the time, neither of us with any kind of real success. I specifically remember singing "Rhinestone Cowboy" riding in our car when radios were still dial tuned and before seat belts were "fashionable" . As festival season approaches, no time in the French Quarter is more filled with the sounds of music. We come out of the cold weather into longer, warmer, festival-filled weekends that sweep us off our ears and celebrate the sounds that make our neighborhoods famous.
It's A Whimsical World
October 27, 2014
It wasn't until recently that I developed something many of you have had from an early age. Dreams and aspirations not only escaped me, I thought they were downright foolish, and those who believed in them to be even bigger fools. I was perfectly content to live my life as the nice, neat, hot mess that I always have been, funny on the outside and a completely lost individual on the inside. This was especially true in the "dating and relationship" department. I watched as all my friends fell in and out of love, some marrying, and some divorcing.
For the Love of It
July 28, 2014
I have a really big problem with movies about hauntings. Well, not so much a big problem with the movies themselves as much as the people in them. You know the kind I mean: they sit around wondering what or whose voice is telling them to get out, rather than packing. Personally, I don't need a voice. A post-it on the fridge would work for me, I am just that easy. Then there's that one guy who takes the broken flashlight into the basement full of dismembered baby dolls. And inevitably the chick who just must shower, alone, naked, in the haunted house, at night.
A Royal Stroll
May 06, 2014
Sitting right on top my bucket list is a picture of me sitting right on top Mount Kilimanjaro. Whenever I say this, people look at me like I am bat swattin' crazy. You see, I am not exactly one who enjoys long strolls anywhere. I don't walk on the beach because lying down on the beach is better, I don't to hike in the forest because lying down in the forest is better, and I don't strolling through neighborhoods looking at cute houses, because lying down on my sofa in my own house is better.
Stepping Back in Time in the "Paris of the South"
February 11, 2014
Sipping Cafe au Lait while indulging in buttery, golden croissants at the Croissant D'Or Patisserie, we stepped back into a time when time itself was savored and sipping coffee with friends was a special daily ritual. For a moment, we thought that we might walk out the door and see the top of the Tour d'Eiffel peeking at us from behind a row of Haussmann apartment buildings rather than the Ursuline Convent nearby.
Standing Out (in a Crowd?) Martin Lawrence Gallery
November 05, 2013
In Catholic school, Sister Roseland would slap my knee and remind me that a gentleman did not stick his knees in the aisle in front of lady. I tried to explain to her that I was freakishly tall and that my desk was far too small, hoping she would cut this giant a little slack. She did so by sticking me I the back of the classroom away from the normal sized kids, where, as she put it, she never walked. I grew to hate being tall. I looked for the lowest soles on shoes and wouldn't dream of wearing boots or anything that added height to what already seemed an obnoxious mistake.
Here's A Story About a Gallery...
August 02, 2013
I spent approximately five years of my childhood praying to baby Jesus that he would make me a Brady. I loved their house, their dog, their housekeeper, and I especially loved the day Jan Brady decided she wanted out. I thought "I could do that, I can be Jan Brady; I am bitter and jealous of everyone already." Needless to say, it never happened and I was forced to move forward as Ryan: sweet, soft, loving ... well.
