New recipe: slow cooker pot roast

Kyle tried a new recipe this weekend and it turned out really good!

Crazy New Orleans waterways

The amount of water near new Orleans is impressive. The land must be very marshy and there are rivulets everywhere it seems.

Be nice or leave

Craziness at the river walk mall

Gaudiness at the mall.

Our business stinks

SoBou: table keg

This cool place had beer taps right at our table! How cool! Note the units of measurement: .6 beer.

Cochon

Or, pig. I had a great lunch of an appetizer of alligator followed by a big ball of pork shoulder. Both were good!

Walk or stop???

I don't know!

Morning in New Orleans

I had some more beignets the next morning at a competitor, Cafe Beignet. Also tasty! I also had some cafe au lait, and enjoyed the pretty morning and architecture.

Evening

The first parade of Mardi Gras season happened our first night in town. I think it was three or four weeks before actual mardi gras. We wandered around as a group, checking out the scary lit Jesus statue and eating local cuisine (red beans and rice with sausage... Not big on vegetables here). We got a bunch of beignets at the famous Cafe du Monde, which were covered in mounds of powdered sugar. I dropped a sizable pile of sugar on my dark pants and another person laughed while taking a bite and sprayed powdered sugar all over the place, so definitely a good evening!

As for the last picture, I just thought it was funny how many red lights there were.

Silly drinks

You can have open alcoholic containers outside in New Orleans, and people sell drinks everywhere, like in Las Vegas. There were tall margaritas and fish bowls. I tried a hurricane-like drink. It tastes like koolaid.

Things around the French Quarter

There are fleur de lis everywhere in New Orleans (including the wallpaper!), which I didn't know but I happened to wear my pretty new fleur de lis necklace I got for Christmas, so I fit right in!

We were right by infamous Bourbon Street and I hadn't realized how skeezy it is, but I quickly learned.

The Mississippi goes right through town. You go up a hill (the levee) to see the river.

A big pretty church dominated Decatur street along the river.

I appreciated finding a happy face! People in New Orleans were quite friendly!

Views from my hotel room in New Orleans

I spent last week in New Orleans for a conference about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I had a wonderful time, and I learned a lot, and I am trying to catch up on this blog now! It was my first time to New Orleans so I tried lots of new things while there.

The conference was at the Marriott, which was also where I stayed. I had a really nice view up on the 33rd floor, but it was right next to the elevators which was noisy. A friend of my roommate stayed with me for part of my time there, too. New Orleans is a beautiful city!

College Station home improvements

My mom gave me a foam mattress pad that I added to my air mattress last night, and it helped my bed be much comfier! I also brought a chair, poster, and lamp from Austin and it is starting to almost seem homey. I also bought a silly but fun new bath mat!

Beautiful sunset

... From my office at TAMU!

There are still cockroaches in Texas

It is freezing here in College Station, and it is particularly noticeable because I didn't expect it to be so cold at my desk and I don't have warmer clothes with me. However, somehow I still saw a cockroach in the bathroom on campus. It was stationary and apparently squashed, but still, I thought it was supposed to be too cold for them!

Slow cooker recipes: beef burgundy

Kyle started another new slow cooker recipe last night with some beef marinating and then started it cooking this morning. We ate a delicious dinner tonight!

Sunday morning

Kyle and I went for a brisk run around part of Ladybird Lake this morning. It was chilly but sunny and invigorating. It is kind of like the Green Lake of Austin. Afterward, Kyle and I tried out a new place for breakfast: Le Cafe Crepe. It was a great find on yelp! It was low key but very tasty. We had delicious crepes and a chocolate croissant!! It was a perfect Sunday morning.

Slow cooker recipes! Pulled barbecue chicken

We got a magazine of healthy slow cooker recipes from Cooking Light at some point and finally got around to trying some this weekend. For the wedding, we got an electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, and slow cooker in one. We've been trying out its features. Yesterday, Kyle made a barbecue shredded chicken recipe for sandwiches, and it was tasty!

New glasses!

I am finally starting to address some of the doctor appointments that I've been putting off, and it has been tough to push my way into new doctor offices. Some have made it easy for me and others have not. Kyle recommended the eye doctor he went to that is just down the street and they were very welcoming, so now I have finally gotten new glasses for the first time since 2004! I like them and I hope to use them regularly as acceptable replacements for contacts, and they may even be better in some circumstances, like driving at night. We'll see!

More homemade bread!

The baguette I made the other day turned out to be quite tasty! We got some cheese to go with it.

Yesterday I made two ciabatta rolls for lunch and then tasty caprese sandwiches out of them!

New, easy way to do bread!

For the wedding, we received a kit of stuff to make bread easily on a regular basis: a pizza peel, a baking stone, and an instructional book. I used the set up once to make a small loaf of bread for dinner last week, and just pulled two small baguettes out of the oven. I am excited to try them!! The bread set up really is very easy to do, with delicious outcomes!

More on Pinthouse Pizza

Kyle and I enjoyed our pizza and beer at the new pizza place nearby!