Why Uptown?

When I was a little girl, my grandparents took me to a Mardi Gras parade on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. My memories range from the family scene you still see today and yes, there was Popeyes chicken and biscuits, red beans and rice.

The beautiful live oaks trees and stately mansions were en plein air as I sat atop a ladder from the street car tracks. As the parades began, hearing the first marching band always made me sit tall, smile and start moving to the beat. The masked riders, artistically painted floats and the throws are my most powerful of all my childhood memories.

That's the reason I live Uptown.

An eight block walk from the Irish Channel and I'm on the parade route these days. It's good exercise to walk, but we bike and even drive sometimes at night. Living on what we call the Island during Mardi Gras season, we have no problem parking as everyone else is parking on the other side of St. Charles. Not a bad deal.

It's been about 10 years of this type of parading and with that has come house parties, standing with the same folks and meeting their visitors and seeing friends' kids grow up fast. I was from the sidewalk as an adult. Now I curse the ladders, but I understand. It really is for the kids uptown.

In deciding what part of town to move to or buy a house in, I'd suggest keeping the type of activities you like to do and how far it is to do them in mind for sure.

For a suburban child turned resident New Orleanian I'd recommend giving your children that experience at least once. It's permanently burned in my mind and still makes me smile.

We'll cover more of Mardi Gras as we get closer to the season which begins 12 days after Christmas. Christmas! Yet another reason to get excited. There is always something to do in New Orleans, just get off the couch.

Photo: Friends on the route!

A Stage Kitchen

Upon first glance of the pre-renovated kitchen, we cringed, a lot. It was terrible. Mixed matched cabinets, layers upon layers of linoleum, outdated appliances, my God, it was awful.

We hired a guy who used a slam bar to take up the layers of flooring and it nearly killed him. It nearly killed us when we had to scrap up the tar paper that remained.

The worst part of the renovation was learning that the original floors couldn't be salvaged and that we would have to cut out a 5' x 7' section and replace it due to rot. First time renovators that we are, we did this during the dead of winter and it required feats of engineering as the two of us sat in the hole trying to level the joists and lay a sub floor.

Now, after a few years of stripping doors and adding a built in bench seat, this room can seat 7 comfortably, has restored french doors that enters onto a side deck and to the backyard and a stage of sorts to allow my husband to delve deeply into his Cajun culinary roots with an audience of onlookers.

Directional lighting highlights the stove, the frig and the extensive collection of Le Creust cookware. We figured that if the kitchen is the heart of the house and where everyone will end up, we might as well put on a show.

And that's what we do, when we are not renovating!

Secret Garden

This backyard has come a long, long way since 2006. When we bought the house the backyard had been covered with a half load of fill sand and had more weeds than I could fathom tackling.

There were several attempts to make this backyard something we could live with and enjoy. It wasn't until March 2008 when someone set fire to the blighted house next door which resulted in renovations of the back of the house and the backyard shaped up to what you see today.

Wildly overgrown at the moment due to all the rain, the rose bushes and jasmine are clinging to everything in sight. We've hosted a few garden parties for friends and the patio, grass and stones make this a true outdoor room to sit, relax and enjoy.

We look forward to cooler weather, a little less rain and we'll be ready to sip cocktails, visit and listen to some piped in tunes through the outdoor system.

There are some seriously wild backyards in the Irish Channel and we plan to bring you those stories in the near future.

This Old Cottage

After years of looking for our perfect house, our awesome real estate agent was driving through the Irish Channel neighborhood and discovered this old cottage. Not found on the MLS with a recent price reduction of $50,000, she called to set up an appointment.

Only located six blocks from our beyond words awesome apartment on Foucher, I walked into the double parlor front rooms with the center brick fire place and said, "I LOVE IT!" It was indeed the one. With eight rooms, 2100 square foot and in need of some work, the price was right and after a few shorts weeks, the house was ours.

Four and half years later, the kitchen renovation is complete, the guest bath is nearly complete, crown molding has been installed in the parlor, the fireplace mantels repaired and countless other upgrades have been made or are in the works.

We love this house. From the outside in the summer, one might think it's boarded up, as we close the shutters to keep the house cool and the electric bill low. In the winter we open the shutters to warm the house with the sun beating on the front of the house.

The double parlor and dining room allows for a fabulous space in which we entertain several times a year for 20-30 of our closest friends. The walls are decked with collected and found artwork and the bars offer a specialty libations.

Although this house didn't meet all of our wants, compromise is key to finding a house in New Orleans. Finding this one to make our home has really improved our quality of life for its location alone. We'll be sharing other reasons in future posts.

Caption: Dining photo was taken for a feature on the dining room for the Sept. 9 Times Picayune Inside Out Saturday insert.

All in the Irish Channel

My husband Drue and I have a fondness for New Orleans that puzzles some folks. Many of those people that aren't from here. I often say to them, "we do everyday, what people come here to do on their vacations." How many places can you say that about.

We live in one of the oldest, most diverse--racially and economically--neighborhoods in New Orleans, the Irish Channel, or as the black folks we know refer to, the 11th Ward.

Between the Mississippi River and Magazine, Jackson and Louisiana Avenue's, sits a historic district filled with barge board Creole Cottages, Eastlakes, bungalows, brick between posts, plantations, single and double shotguns and corner stores. That's where we live.

A three block walk to the Breaux Mart for a missed item on my grocery list or the Walgreens for my prescription offers a walking tour of architectural wonders that makes up the brick and mortar integrity of the Channel.

A leisurely walk to Salu for Happy Hour with my hubby often reveals the ever evolving restoration of some houses that have sat, covered in vines like diamonds in the rough.

In the Irish Channel alone, one can walk to restaurants, bars, shops, the grocery, the pharmacy, the paint and tile store, antique shops, iron works, and so many others. NOLA Brewing set up shop in the Channel as the mixed use, light industrial area boasts warehouse spaces, which 100 years ago, might have been a mop and broom or waffle cone factory.

Every May, Drue and I lead a walking discussion through our beloved neighborhood and the rich content extends well beyond architecture.

Caption: Michael Karam talks about his love for the Livaudais Plantation during the 2010 Jane's Walk through the Channel.

Drinking your way through New Orleans

Since the early 90s, I've been drinking in French Quarter establishments. At the ripe young age of 15 at a place called Lucky Pierre's World Beat, I drank my first Amaretto Sour and danced with a guy named Carlos on the dance floor surrounded by a chain linked fence. Tainted Love was the song and the drink was age appropriate and syrupy sweet to say the least.

Fast forward to the mid 2000s and my philosophy on cocktailing in the Quarter has been enlightened through the Tales of the Cocktail. No more do I order a Cape Cod or a Screwdriver. Now educated light years beyond the Amaretto sour, I opt for creative craft cocktails made with shrubs, fresh juices, liquors and top shelf spirits. And I owe it to the five-day cocktail festival that brings new and familiar spirits to town early mid July for the past nine years.

Tales of the Cocktail started out with a few parties and has evolved into a must attend summer event for enthusiasts, professionals and brands looking to spread the glorious words of piscos, absinthes, apertifs, whiskeys, rums, vodkas, moonshine and more. I've discovered St. Germain, St. Elizabeth's All Spice Dram, Solerno Blood Orange Liquor, Samagon, Cat Daddy, Cool Swan, Tito's and so many other wonderful elixirs.

Seminars, competitions, Spirit Awards, parties and tasting rooms offer something for everyone. I became so obsessed with this summer festival, that in 2010, I was named Ambassador for Tales with the likes of Kevin Brauch (the Thirsty Traveler) and this year, Dickie Brennan and Steve Pettus--that's a pretty elite league.

In the lobby on the second to last day, a young guy offered me Cactus liquor from a tall narrow dark blue glass bottle. It was actually tasty, although his under the radar distribution method warranted a talking too about the need for booking a tasting room in 2012.

If you've never ventured to the Hotel Monteleone, and now, the Royal Sonesta for Tales of the Cocktail, you are missing out. I've made life long friends at Tales, had interesting exploits and learned a lot about the storied New Orleans cocktail culture that's been revived by founders Paul and Ann Tuennerman. It's worth the time, travel, expense and experience to make plans to attend the 2012 festival. Visit www.talesofthecocktail.com or friend them on Facebook for photos from countless events.

Caption: NOCultcha's Drue Deshotels chills in the Tullamore airport lounge while being served 12 year reserve whiskey by a friendly flight attendant.