Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!(Let the good times roll!) Happy Mardi Gras! (Happy Fat Tuesday!)

 

Though the party's been going on for weeks now (especially with the Saint's win at the Super Bowl - WHO DAT!), today is Mardi Gras! Today is the official Fat Tuesday of Carnival season. It is times like this when Louisiana is most near and dear to my heart. The culture, food and fun that comes from Louisiana is like none other. Since I can not be there today, I wanted to share the traditions that mean so much to the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana with all of you. For those of you that don't know much about our Carnival season, I encourage you to visit this website. Here you'll find the history of Mardi Gras including the history of the bead throwing, parades, and balls. 

 

photo credit NOLA.com

 Because Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras fell so close to one another this year, we decided to have dinner to celebrate both at the same time. We found a beautiful Louisiana inspired restaurant in DC a few months ago called Acadiana Restaurant. (We went there once to watch a Saint's game with fellow supporters.) We had an awesome dinner last night complete with biscuits, crab and corn soup, boudin balls, Abita Beer, Hurricanes and two Mardi Gras masks. 

A few posts ago I shared my newest card cravings inspired by this very holiday and time of year. One of my favorite things about Mardi Gras is KING CAKE!! This delicious treat is hard to come by in the DC area, let me tell you! So rather than spend a ton of money shipping one, I decided to try my hand at baking my own. Let me start out by saying, I'm not a very good cook. However, I have found that I am pretty good at baking! I found an Emeril Lagasse recipe online and went to it. I was thrilled when it came out "looking" exactly like the king cake I knew and loved. I was even MORE thrilled with the taste! It was a huge hit at the Super Bowl party and perfect to celebrate a Saints victory. 

love letters + tulips

Valentine's Day has arrived yet again. Though I love big bouquets of flowers (what girl dosen't!) and beautifully printed cards (well of course!), this year I found myself constantly thinking of how Valentine's Day USED to be. You know . . . hand cut construction paper . . . heart shaped paper doilies . . . elementary school valentine boxes made from empty tissue boxes . . . handwritten love letters . . .  or, even better, typewriter typed love letters.
This year I offered a special "love letter" service with my Valentine's Day cards. The desired card had a custom "typed" love letter as the inside greeting. The card was then tied up with red and white baker's twine before being stuffed in a matching red envelope. The envelope was then "type" addressed with a little "don't open till Feb. 14" message, stamped using a current USPS Love Stamp and mailed off just in time for V-day.

Since my boyfriend watched me do these sweet love letters, I had to come up with a different plan for him. Knowing that I'm going to be screen printing a wedding invitation in a month or so with my Gocco, I had the perfect excuse for practicing! (I've only used my Gocco a couple of times, and it definitely takes practice!) In exchange for my simple little Gocco "be mine" card, my sweet boyfriend (who really hates Valentine's Day) brought me tulips along with a card. I love tulips! But the card . . . 4 simple printed words along with his own handwritten "love letter." What a perfect, perfect gift. <3