Favorite things...

The idea of "favorite things" is twofold for this post. First, I want to say that I wish I was friends with this woman (Brooke Reynolds of Inchmark)! I enjoy her blog and wish I was invited to this party. She gets together with a big group of friends, they each bring 5 exact replicas of their favorite (inexpensive) thing, then swap. What fun?!? I think its something that I'll try to plan with my girls after we get settled in Vegas (so excited that I already have "girls" waiting for me there).

The other favorites I want to talk about are my favorite things about New Orleans. We still have a little time left here, but I know that after bambino #2 arrives our last few weeks here will pass in a flash. A very sleep-deprived, hormone-crazed flash. So I thought I'd talk about what I love about this city on an evening after I got a full 8 hours of sleep, plus a one hour nap this afternoon (these days are growing short. Tear.).

Crepe Myrtles -- what a beautiful tree and something I wasn't familiar with at all until we moved here

Spanish Moss & Live Oaks -- while the idea of little buggies living in this beautiful silvery green moss creeps me out, I've learned to love the way it looks...especially at Audubon Park

Audubon Park -- The fam spent a lot of time here, taking walks, having a Whole Foods picnic... it's just a beautiful place and I'm going to miss all the green when we move to the land of brown/orange (pic from October 2008 taken at the park)

• March through May -- the weather is amazing and everything is green and blooming
• Festivals -- there is never a dull moment here in NOLA. The big events (Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Voodoo Fest, etc) get a lot of publicity and are fun but the good stuff, in my opinion, are the little fairs and fests. Gretna Fest is awesome and most of the Catholic churches here have little festivals with delicious food, great music, and friendly people. Its just fun. Period.

There are more but I guess 9 hours of sleep today isn't enough for my brain to function at its fullest potential. Maybe I'll keep this as an ongoing story...