Antique Triumphantly!

My mother-in-law and her mom, Momee (Moh-mee), came into town to visit us and bring Shelby back to Texas (she's quite the hot commodity since moving out of arm's reach). It was fun because Momee hadn't been to New Orleans since the 70's when one of her sons was playing ball against LSU. She's actually from here, right outside the city, so it was fun to take her and show her around a bit. As we rode around she told us it was here in a bar that she saw her very first TV set. When she was 17, her family was visiting an aunt in the city and, being good Catholics, her mother took her to a nearby bar to fetch a bottle of wine. There it was, an ultra modern, black and white television set, right there behind the bar. The future had arrived.

After driving from Houston to Port Arthur, then Port Arthur to New Orleans, we thought what they needed most was more time in the car, so we took them riding around, and made our way to the Quarter. Not the best idea. And not because they ran screaming at the prospect of spending another second in my MIL's PT Cruiser, but because of all the out-of-towner madness going on in the streets. None of us realized the Sugar Bowl was approaching and that one of the ways people prepare for it is by having 20 year old girls get drunk at 10 am and stagger into the middle of traffic, then smiling and laughing like you totally won't run them over. I know this scenario- with the girls replaced by other tourists- sounds familiar, but I've never had it happen on Decatur before. Once we got past the college football crazies, we went the the French Market. Neither of our guests had ever been and we thought they'd enjoy looking around. And Shelby needed a new $1 Chinese paper fan (we splurged and went with the $2 fabric fan this time, since it probably wouldn't break before we got back to the car). We underestimated how freakishly cold it was, so we made it quick and headed to Greg's on the other side of Decatur.

I totally <3 this store. It's got the coolest antique furniture and ridiculous prices. There's also a lot of art, chandeliers and other random things. They completely turn over their entire inventory every month, so if you see something you can't live without, you better snatch it up. Being the ultra cool antique insiders that we are (and being in the e-mail list) we knew they were unloading a new shipment from Europe that very day. We scored the most awesome Queen Anne sewing bench straight from France for $50. The lid is reversible, with one side a smooth parquet and the other a plush burgundy cushion. It makes the perfect piano bench for our old upright Baldwin. Bonus: when Shelby starts practicing to become the next world's greatest pianist of our time, she can put her sheet music in the seat for safe (and clutter free) keeping. I'm still going to get one of those Mexican sugar molds they have, as soon as I find a place for it. They also just got a bunch of art from Mexico this past week, so if you want some, you better get to it, because it will be gone 15 minutes after you read this (so finish reading first, then hurry on over there!).

After our triumphant antiquing, we came home and had some of the chicken and Manda sausage gumbo I slaved over all day. (I'll admit, as long as you don't tell my mom- I used a jarred roux. Just to try it out. It's Kary's brand, made in Ville Platte, LA. I like it, but I must admit I prefer my own. Or my mama's, of course.)

I wanted to call this entry "Is That Roux Or Poop?" but I thought that might put people off. When I was making the gumbo, I had roux on the back of my hand and didn't realize. I started doing other things around the house, and Shelby pointed it out ot me. I smiled and said, "Hmm, is that roux, or poop?" She kind of laughed and said, "Um, I think it's just roux probably, Mom." She didn't get the Baby Mama reference, but I got quite a laugh out of it.