El Deguello (SLiT THROAT)

 

Hit Play & Read, Y'all!

connect the cause and effect

one foot in front of the next

this is the start of a journey

- Gnarls Barkley, Going On

Dear NOLA,

It's been a while since I've written you a love note, but please rest assured that I still love you more than the moon and the stars.  I love my peeps in LA and TX, and boy do I have peeps!  I never realized how my sparkles and sunshine put a smile on some peoples' faces.  That really makes me feel loved, knowing that people are laughing at with me as I stumble my way through becoming a full fledged New Orleanian and honoring my strong, "Remember the ALAMO!" approach to life.  I wear my Fleur De Lis pin with pride, like a badge of honor.  I've earned those stripes now.  I'm a whole person and the "finishing school" that I was enrolled in for the past 6 weeks held up a gorgeous mirror and assisted me in my transition into who I want to be when I have finished cleaning out my house.  

I just thought I knew what it means to miss MY New Orleans.  MY New Orleans is EVERYONE's New Orleans and that's why I love you, NOLA.  You give everyone a gracious, southern hug and a hankie when he or she needs a good cry in the proverbial bubble bath.  You even feed your "chickens" filling comfort foods and tight squeezes of the hand. To top it off, every member of the restaurant/hotel/hospitality industry is kinetically infused into the pulse of this city.  Combined with the efforts of the N.O.P.D. and major shake-ups in city government, and I have a front row seat to a fascinating study in city planning. I am learning the world by observing your constant adjustments to your gumbo recipe.

Let me say this:  I've always been a bit of a Nervous Nelly.  I'm really shy and overcompensate with my loud, VIVA LE TEJAS! attitude.  I have also spent my life with the knowledge that the world IS my stage.  I just have a hard time differentiating between "front of house" and "back of house".  I have a slightly better understanding of the pulse and mojo going on in Southeastern LA, but by no means do I claim to know anything except what my mom and dad, friends and family have told me and through my own experiences here.

Thank you, New Orleans, for giving me a TIME OUT! so I could tuck in my slip properly.  During my time out, I learned a lot about myself.  I really AM a Nervous Nancy and my doctors made me realize that a 5' 9" woman in her early 30s should weigh more than 115 lbs. Watching the movie BLACK SWAN stirred up some serious self-image issues that I had been mashing down in my Pandora's box of troubles.

I now have my own label and it doesn't feel good.  I am an anorexic former ballerina who really needs to eat a sandwich.  I'm working with my super-fab team of doctors and mi familia now to get back to MY TRUE strong, West-Texan tumbleweed roots, cross bred with your live oak trees, NOLA.

After all, I've always been a little bit Texan AND a little bit New Orleanian.

I hope you can continue to take me as I am, 'cause I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

With love,

Kel :6

 Peace Be With You . . .

Su Mama Le Gusto el Chorizo

When my lovely parents came to visit, we took them to our favorite burger joint in the French Quarter, Yo Mama's. Cold drinks and delicious burgers! Seriously, y'all! It's just a little hole in the wall type of place but the ambiance is seriously seedy in a really awesome way. Belly up to the bar, have a cold Abita, and get yourself a Bleu Cheese burger with a side salad. (They don't serve french fries with their burgers, but you can ask for a baked potato.)

But, I digress. Aside from the cold drinks and great food, this bar offers something even more entertaining should you have to visit the facilities. Upon entering the bar, I promptly asked my mom if she had to go to the ladies room. She didn't. :(

However, after her Colorado Bulldog, she decided a trip to the loo was in order. *YES!!!*

You see, to get to the bathrooms at Yo Mama's, you have to go outside, walk down a little alley and then you are at the restrooms. (Don't ask, it's New Orleans...you have to use your space wisely around these parts.) So, I escorted my mom to the restroom and waited. Giggled and waited...


Mom, why are you smiling so big? Was your trip to the restroom THAT satisfying?!?

I'm sure it was, not for the business at hand, but rather the fabulous collage of "art" adorning the wall in the ladies room. You see, Yo Mama's provides the ladies with a beautiful collage of man chorizo, Playgirl style. Yep. That's a picture of my momma after admiring all the man bits. And let me tell you chickens, there are a lot of man bits to admire in that collage. (Gentlemen, don't be disappointed as I am told there is an equally graphic collage of lady bits to admire in the men's restroom as well.)

Therefore, Su Mama le gusto el chorizo! Aye! Bueno!

Happy Thursday!
xoxo