This Old House

We bought an old house, at least 55 years old (I'm going to have to get our inspection out and see what it says about age).  Fortunately, the previous owner took pretty great care.  He lived in it pre-Katrina and post-Katrina.  

Home Away From Home #1

When we were "House Hunters" (love that show!) we discovered a huge number of homes that had been hurriedly and cheaply "redone" after Hurricane Katrina.  We actually had a little piece of that in our home.  The owner had a new roof put on after Katrina.  It was a metal roof and looked great.  The inspection revealed a botch job on the roof.  After negotiations the previous owner agreed to replace the roof b/c he had no guarantee or any type of receipt for the roof...mostly likely a contractor doing a get in and get out project for quick money after the hurricane.  

Home Away From Home #2

We moved in to neutral paint colors, black and white tile in the upstairs bath, totally remodeled kitchen, impeccable wood floors throughout, original wood molding and doors, and more.  The one thing we knew we wanted to change asap was the downstairs.  It's a room right off of the garage so we dubbed it the mud room, the dog room, the downstairs.  We planned to add a full shower to the half bath and rearrange some plumbing in the garage for the washer/dryer and hot water heater.  Of course, for those things to happen we had to wait for our first-time home buyer tax return.  After months of waiting, the bath is almost complete!  Our goal was completion by Christmas b/c my family is coming.  No, we didn't get away without any glitches, like the flooring and paint.  The floor is bare concrete and will be until we can get a decent estimate and the walls are ready for paint.  Hello paintbrush :)


I've taken picture along the way and when the guys leave this afternoon I will upload all of them and hope to post some online.  


In other exciting news...I'm waiting on an order from GAP!  Ha, it's the small things for me lately!  I've been wanting a pair of skinny and/or cropped black pants to wear year round.  Being 5 feet tall puts a damper on all shopping for pants.  So I ordered these.  I wanted them to have a higher waste too.  I ordered two different sizes, one petite and one short.  I'm really hoping they fit me perfectly!! I'll report back later today.

Also exciting...we're going home tomorrow!!  I've been home once a month: to drop dogs, pick up dogs, see the grandparents, see Donna Summer concert.  This will be Vik's first trip home since June 24.  Today I'm doing about 100 loads of laundry (construction is to blame), mopping dusty floors (construction again), bathing dogs (dogs to blame), cleaning out the fridge (don't know who to blame) and getting the house ready for a few days alone.  It's about a 6 hour drive home and Vik plans on sleeping the whole time, as he is on-call tonight and may not get any sleep at the hospital.  Can't wait to share how our first trip home as a married couple goes!

Still Trying to Get Used to This

I had so many ideas on what to blog about but now I keep forgetting to put it on the net.  I'll back track a little to catch up.


Last week the hubs and I went to eat at the renowned Jacques-Imo's for some "Real Nawlin" food.  It was our first trip and definitely won't be our last.  Locals and tourists love this restaurant for the ambiance and for the food.  


They don't take reservations unless the party is 5 or more...convenient, huh?  We have heard the wait can be very long so we went on a Tuesday night.  We were seated right away.  The tables are definitely crammed into tiny spaces but it makes for a fun atmosphere.  I think the music was too loud which wouldn't make for a romantic evening or a great dinner meeting.  I did notice a large party get seated in a private room but I'm not sure if the music played in there or not,

The trademark Jacques-Imo's truck

As soon as we were seated they brought warm cornbread muffins that were delicious.  The drink menu is limited, in fact I don't think there was a full bar. All entrees come with a dinner salad.  

Ick Salad

The waitress recommended an appetizer b/c "our entrees usually take 30 minutes, could be shorter, could be longer."  We chose the feature, some sort of shrimp cheesecake.  It was also delish.  I ordered the white meat fried chicken plate with mashed potatoes and roasted corn.  Hubs ordered some sort of grilled fish with the same sides.  My portion was huge and I definitely didn't finish.  Hubs portion was significantly smaller and not all that impressive, he said.  Prices were higher than average, with drinks our bill was almost $100.  

Oh, I almost forgot the details on the salad...ick.  It seriously tasted like dirt.  I could hardly taste the dressing, some sort of vinaigrette, there was a fried oyster on top and no other accompaniments.  I left half of mine on the plate and finished my corn muffin.

We will go back and we will definitely take every visitor there b/c it is such a Nawlins' staple.  

Random Cooking Thoughts

- Always use HOT sausage when making breakfast
- Use EVOO and butter when warming a saute pan
- Don't buy store brand canned pizza dough, biscuits or cookies
- If you like your eggs kicked up add jalapeno juices to the pan before you fry/scramble the eggs
- Get a dog so your kitchen floors stay clean...I'm messy
- Drink wine while cooking and add a splash to what you're cooking

Overdue Blog

I've been wanting (and needing) to create a blog about our new life for a while now so I'm just going to go for it.  I want to record the the good, the bad and the ugly about New Orleans, newlywed life, owning an old house, cooking and more.  


We got married in June and moved the same week, to a new city.  What were we thinking?!  My hubby's first day of work was the Friday after we got married so things were slightly crazy.  We are first-time homeowners; and it's an old home that suffered some damage from Hurricane Katrina.  We are currently in the middle of a bathroom remodel and is the biggest change we plan to make...thank you first-time homebuyer tax credit!  


We are loving NOLA!!  This city is full of culture, compassion, energy and resilience!  We have no idea how it feels to suffer through Katrina but the people who do would not live anywhere else and would not change a thing about their city.  Most of the city is back up and running.  Every block has houses that are still in need of renovation, it's hard to miss the spray painted 'X's on the facade of them.  We are excited to be a part of this city's rejuvenation and hope to put our stamp on it some way some how.


I hope to use blogging as a way to record our time in the Crescent City, because scrap booking has gone gone out the window!