Zombies in Area, Run!

Posted on January 29th, 2009 by Monique, under Daily Life, Outdoors, Videos.

I was reading the news and found this rather hilarious. This is from Austin, Texas local news.

Construction signs warn of zombies

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New Orleans Cupcake Craze has arrived

Posted on January 16th, 2009 by Monique, under Cooking, Daily Life, Kitchen, Louisiana, New Orleans, Photography, Vegetarian, Weblog.

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?!?! I personally enjoy cupcakes, from searching for new recipes to eating them with loved ones. They are like a little special cake, just a serving and just enough. The fun thing about cupcakes are you can make them especially decadent and they disappear! Its much different from baking an entire large cake in that fashion. I know some people can huff down a chunk of chocolate cake by inhaling, but some of us like to be a little more reserved in our cupcake chowing.

In the last ten years, there has been a growing trend nation wide of cupcake specialty bakeries opening up. At a couple dollars a piece, in today’s economy almost anyone can get some change together and for less than $5 have a coffee and sweet little cupcake treat. So it is not surprising that this trend has finally hit New Orleans, who embraces such things with open arms.

I myself am a vegetarian, so when I make cupcakes I substitute all the animal products such as eggs and dairy butter and make vegetarian cupcakes. The result is still a wonderful sweet delightful treat, as seen in my cute cupcake pic below:

I was so glad to come across this article about the New Orleans cupcake craze this morning.

Zoey Devall is still pinching herself. A few months ago, she was working as vice president of external affairs for the economic development organization Greater New Orleans Inc. Today, she spends her days inside an Uptown storefront, churning out cupcakes by the hundreds.

“It’s just been an amazing response,” Devall said of customers’ reaction to her boutique cupcake bakery, Bee Sweet Cupcakes, at 5706 Magazine St.

The 375-square-foot store, with sugar sweet turquoise walls, flowery accessories and a display case filled with all varieties of cupcakes selling for $2.75 a piece, opened the day after Thanksgiving. The debut came just months after Devall decided to pursue the idea, inspired by Monday night baking sessions with her 4-year-old son and frequent trips to New York.

“We had a line,” she recalled of opening day. “And it was raining.”

Okay, so its officially Mardi Gras Carnival Season, where’s the king cupcakes!?! I will have to find some, or make some… hmmm

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Bird Watching in the Cypress Forest

Posted on January 15th, 2009 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Louisiana, Nature, Outdoors.

We started the year off with a barb-q at our cousin’s beautiful new home just across the highway. They just bought a brand new home in a lovely gated neighborhood carved out of the cypress woods. Right behind their house, out their back gate, is beautiful cypress trees and trails. It was a wonderful day.

The kids played in the hot tub, and the men started a fire to get rid of some wood scrap that had been accumulating. You can hear the 4-wheelers buzzing by every now and then from the back yard. They even said sometimes in the middle of the night you hear them, lol! It had just rained, and sure enough they were back there muddin’ around.

Other than the occasional biker, the birds were out and I caught a picture of a bright red male cardinal flirting with some girl cardinals, who are not nearly as pretty. The bright red colors of these birds is so beautiful and eye catching, it almost makes me sad for them because they are quite the target. Hunting red birds is illegal, and they sure do move quick which is good for them.

I managed to zoom my camera and snap this semi-blurry image of this gorgeous flaming scarlet red bird. I have only seen them from a distance, but I definitely need to put more bird watching on my to do list this year. I have heard that if you put out a bird feeder, it turns into an all out brawl between the birds, and then there are the squirrels (yet another story)…

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 14th, 2009 by Monique, under Daily Life, New Orleans, Weblog.

I almost feel like my brain is still stuck in December! The time has been flying by, and it is quite amazing.

I am barely getting back into the swing of things, like blogging, so check back for updates.

It is officially carnival season here too, as in Mardi Gras is coming!

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the final day of Carnival, which begins on the Feast of the Epiphany, Jan. 6. Also known as Kings’ Day or Twelfth Night, Jan. 6 celebrates the arrival of the three kings at Jesus’ birthplace, thus ending the Christmas season. And in New Orleans, simultaneously starting Carnival. This festival of fun finds its roots in various pagan celebrations of spring, dating back 5,000 years.

Tonight, another arctic cold front is supposed to be on its way here. Moderate freeze… bring your puppies and kitties inside if you are in SE Louisiana.

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