I was 22 years old and moving from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Destin, Florida. My roommate in Baton Rouge gave me the book-on-tape of Maya Angelou's "The Heart of a Woman" for my journey and as I set off, late at night, for my 300-mile drive east,...
Okay, now I am starting to freak out. Not a goodness I hope I don't forget to pack my toothpaste kind of freak out, but a real live genuine HOLY shit I hope I don't accidentally send one of my children to the wrong country kind of freak...
Tick. Tock. To-do lists for our move are dancing around in my head: ship the sofa, store the coffee maker, donate the skis, call the insurance company, work out the lease details with the renters. All of these reminders are coming together in my brain and creating...
I am in the middle of a super book by Ann Patchett called This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. The book is a collection of essays and is about, among other things, her life as a successful writer. Though I have never been a...
From the beginning of February until the beginning of June, New Orleanians go into a festive frenzy. It begins with Mardi Gras, then the first warm weekend that falls, followed by St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Day, Easter, French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest and then...
I lived alone with my dad for my pretty formative high-school years. He was single at the time, meeting the woman who would become my stepmom three years after I moved in with him. Before that moment, though, it was just the two of...
My son has developed the very un-foodie habit of eating the same thing for breakfast every day. He simply won’t start the day – won’t tie his shoes, won’t do his 5-times-table, will not even lift a colored crayon – until he’s had his plain, full-fat, Greek...
In three short months, three VERY short months, we will be packing up and saying goodbye to our family home in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. My husband, three children and I are moving back to London. I have lived there before, I...
New Orleans is full of rituals. There is early morning at Cafe Du Monde when the French Quarter businesses and residents are hosing off their sidewalks, washing down the sins from the night before and steadying themselves for a new batch of visitors. All Saints...
I am a big believer in cultural immersion. When in Rome (pun intended) my family and I eschew the minibar-heavy tourist hotels for a down-at-heel Italian hotel in the Trastevere where we can rent their attached apartment and play at being locals: load shopping bags into...
Certain weather means certain things to me. Mountains in winter? That’ll be fondue. Dark autumn evenings in London make me think of boeuf bourgignon, cups of tea and hibernation. Summers? That’s margaritas (see also: winter, spring, and random Tuesday lunchtimes). As we go into our second...
I am a one-hit wonder when it comes to cake baking...