she says that it's french, i know what it means

BONJOUR! imagine me saying that in my most perfect french accent, because in reality i probably sound more like brad pitt saying "BAWNGEEORNO" in inglorious bastards. i spent a long weekend in quebec city with my family and, all in in all, it's a pretty magical place. 

our hotel, l'hotel du vieux quebec, was super cute, perfectly located, and just generally fantastic. it's a family-owned boutique hotel, and has a cozy, charming vibe. the staff was extremely accommodating throughout our stay, and the room was comfy and spacious.

                                   

but it was extra touches like the the freakin' picnic basket breakfast placed on our door each morning --with pastries, fruit, yogurt, and OJ -- that took things above and beyond. you'd best believe i ate all the croissants every morning. there was also a nespresso machine and i became kind of addicted.

we watched the changing of the guard and took a tour of the citadelle, which was cool. the highlight for me, though, was the "official" goat named betsy who gave absolutely no fucks. like, i swear "fancy" by iggy azalea should have played every time she started walking (trotting?). observe:

speaking of animals, i ate bison cheek at this sweet little bistro, chez boulay. not kidding when i say it's in my top 10 meals of all time. it tasted like short rib, and was braised in red currant vinegar. along with the accompanying celery root, carrots, mushrooms, and onions, it was out of control awesome.

also ate poutine, and i swear that nothing has ever felt more right:

the city itself didn't necessarily feel all that much like europe to me, though i could see why people would say that. between the french-canadian locals and international tourists, it had a totally funky, eclectic vibe. i dug it, and i'm now entertaining fantasies of being a cool french-canadian hipster that doesn't know french and just wanders the streets. sorry, "rues". whatever.

perhaps the most popular attraction in the city is the chateau frontenac hotel. believe it or not, it's the most-photographed hotel in the world! i've now taken at least 20 of those photographs.

rue st. jean is one of the main thoroughfares in QC and is lined with shops, bars, and bistros. at night and on weekend days, the street is blocked off to cars, and pedestrians take over. as you can probably imagine, the people-watching is phenomenal. i saw someone dressed as beetlejuice and a group of punk teens dressed as lord of the rings characters. normal.

another great spot to sit and watch the world go by is the dufferin terrace, a boardwalk that runs in front of the chateau frontenac. there was a singer there, trudging through god-awful covers of downer tunes like sarah mclachlan's "angel," but eh. it was a gorgeous day and i was on vacation!

we also saw a street performer here who did a hand-balancing act. when he did a quick poll of the audience to see how many of us fools weren't french-speakers, he decided to translate the whole show. at one point, he purposely messed something up, and a few of us laughed. his response: "why you laughing? it's not funny. where you from, US?" pretty much.

however, i was very pleased at how sweet and friendly the locals were, as quebec tends to have an, um, reputation for not being so kind to americans. i was amazed at how many began speaking to us in english BEFORE we even said anything, though! how did they know? 

and while we're on the topic of cultural differences, the tinder conversations i had were all quite amusing (context: my tagline is "all sizzle. all steak."). 

also, fun fact: KFC is PFK up in quebec, and i don't think anyone was as amused by this as i was.

my favorite neighborhood was the quartier petit champlain, in the lower town. it's quaint and vibrant, with brightly-colored buildings and street-lamps. we stumbled into a restaurant in this neighborhood for dinner on our final night, bistro sous le fort, and it had a wonderful atmosphere and equally amazing food!

on the way home, the U.S. customs agent jokingly called me a "miscreant" and asked me if i brought back any canadian boyfriends. i said "i wish" and he chuckled. now i HAVE to go back, right?

until next time, QC ... au revoir!

when we was young, oh man did we have fun

it was another whirlwind weekend in new york, but i suppose i was due since it had been over eight months since my last visit!

stuff that happened:

on friday, i met up with one of my oldest friends and we enjoyed margaritas al fresco with some of his roommates before hoofing it over to a greek festival where we stuffed our faces. we pressed on to a dimly-lit dive bar before i decided that i needed dessert. my wish was granted in the form of nutella bread pudding at a neighboring restaurant.

saturday was governors ball with gleni and her boyfriend -- arguably the reason for my entire visit. all my pictures are here, but some highlights ...

-gleni had a harry styles water bottle that brought joy to everyone who saw it (or at least, me)

-FLOWER CROWNS ERRWHERE. we decided it was "the mark of the basic bitch." is that mean?

-we juuuust missed the awesomely named and just awesomely awesome diarrhea planet due to the dumb shuttle. but PAPA, the first band we did see, nearly made up for that with a song entitled "let's make you pregnant." and it's actually good!

-lots of people wearing stuff with pineapple print. no idea

-singing along with the crowd during fitz and the tantrums' "out of my league" = music festival greatness

-eating a red velvet ice cream sandwich with cream cheese ice cream in the middle

-people carrying around huge cutouts of arnold schwarzenegger and jeff goldblum, presumably for fun

-talking about skrillex the entire day even though we didn't care about him or have any intention of seeing him

-tinder matching with a guy named bone

-THE STROKES, obviously. i had seen them back in '06, also in NYC, and it remains in my top 3 concert experiences. they haven't toured in some time, and their new album is terrrrrrible, but they totally delivered and it was incredible. they opened with my all-time favorite song of theirs, "barely legal." nick valensi was still rocking his beautiful jesus hair and is still all guitar god-esque. julian, who was wearing a hawaiian shirt and looked like a bloated dad, is apparently back on the sauce because nothing he said made any sense and it was fantastic. gems included "ATTACK!", "stay cooooool," and -- in a wasted-valley-girl voice -- "thankyouguyssomuuuuch" and "yoloooo." during "hard to explain," i giddily screamed "this is the sound of my youth!" to no one in particular. because it really is.

-witnessing a guy, who was standing next to us during spoon's set, pick up a deflated beach ball and PUT HIS MOUTH ON IT TO RE-INFLATE IT. i'm still grossed out for him.

-laying on a blanket far away from the stage and listening to jack white shred the night away

after gov ball, i got a miraculous second wind and there were more margaritas (and tacos) at some place in williamsburg, followed by another dive bar where we met up with some of gleni's friends and discussed a true catfish story for almost three hours. i have absolutely no idea how i made it 'til 3am, but it was all quite exciting.

on sunday, brunch with my friend jeff at the grey dog in chelsea was the perfect end to a great weekend. i swear to god this place must have been the inspiration for that central perk place from friends. loved it. and its french toast!

...speaking of catfish, the unlikely theme song of the whole weekend was from another band that i missed at gov ball, catfish and the bottlemen. terrible name, but i happened to hear this song last week and i've been hooked ever since. enjoy!

sup, summer?

IT'S SUMMER, GUYS! well, not technically. but close enough, eh? visions of sundresses and froyo and people-watching on the hampton beach boardwalk are totally dancing in my head. i decided to come up with some foolproof ingredients for an amazing summer. add your own in the comments!

a great playlist.

in 2011, my friend gleni and i decided to start theming every summer. that first one was the "summer of why not?" and it was followed by 2012's "mayan summer" (because it had a much better ring than "YOLO") and 2013's "no-bummer summer." this year we were feeling all magical and idealistic and so "utopian summer" is the theme of the 2014 season. i put together a preliminary set of jams that will expand as the summer rolls on. dig it:

utopian summer playlist

a trip to remember.

it doesn't have to be a super-lavish vacation or anything, but every summer should have at least ONE day or weekend trip that recharges your batteries and ideally involves sunshine and water and seafood and shops that sell fudge and/or ice cream. as a new englander i'm obviously a little biased towards coastal maine and the new hampshire seacoast and such, because ... LOBSTAH.

a music festival. 

even if you're not going all bonnaroo and becoming one with nature and port-a-potties for an entire weekend, seeing a bunch of random acts with your friends while eating chicken fingers and drinking beer is always a good time. you might even discover your new favorite band!

an outdoor movie.

i've been noticing that a ton of theaters do "summer rewind" events that feature cult classics from the '80s or '90s. and instead of shuffling into a cold, dark theater, you get to enjoy them from the comfort of a plastic lawn chair in the middle of a park or something. possibly less comfortable, but infinitely more fun.

a picnic.

the reality is probably more full of ants and mosquitos and getting grass all over your legs, but the idea of a picnic is just so adorable. like, whipping up some jar salads and an antipasto loaf and making fresh-squeezed lemonade and sitting on one of those red-and-white gingham blankets. will someone make this happen with me?!

a roofdeck/patio/deck experience.

sangria + patio = guaranteed awesome, every time. whether you're just hanging out after work and dining al fresco or happen to be friends with that guy that has the killer roofdeck, finding some outdoor spot to chill on a perfect summer evening is essential. also, if you're reading this and you have a killer roofdeck, please contact me ASAP.

andrew WK's best party tips

if you aren't following Andrew WK on twitter, please start immediately. he's not only one of my favorite tweeters, but he's also one of my favorite people. it all started when he tweeted that he was doing tequila shots with taylor hanson, and i retweeted it with the comment "please god let this be true." his response? "IT IS TRUE!" along with this picture. i couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

AWK is an endless fountain of positivity and merriment. just a joyful, awesome fellow. most of his tweets revolve around "party tips" geared towards helping us all live a more rockin' life, so i've gathered some of my favorites.

PARTY TIPS:

• Get in a car. Pick up your friends. Play music you love. Open the windows and drive. Be glad you're alive.
• Push yourself out of the comfort zone and into the awesome zone.
• Treat Monday night like Friday night.
• Mama always said life is like a box of party. You never know which party you're party to party.
• Fuck laundry. Just party.
• Turn your brain into a circle pit, and stage dive off of your soul.
• Generously give out fresh juicey packets of Capri Sun to people you've never met.
• "Junk food" is what non-partiers call awesome food.

the best tv moms of all time

1. lorelai gilmore (gilmore girls)

LG is the coolest tv mom that could ever be. in addition to raising the most well-behaved daughter on earth by herself, she was the head honcho at an adorable connecticut inn, listened to great music AND wore witty t-shirts. relatedly, she made pop culture references for days. observe:




2. clair huxtable (the cosby show)



the OG (no disrespect to june cleaver). a sassy, chic, and unflappable attorney with a heart of gold, she can really do it all. 'nuff said.

3. annie camden (7th heaven)



ok, so she was super annoying most of the time, though NOTHING compared to her meddling/prudish/obnoxious husband. but it was only because she cared too much. and obviously, she meant well and made sure that all of their 10 zillion kids had everything they needed. god loves you, annie camden.

4. kirsten cohen (the oc)

as the saying goes ... behind every great man, there's a great woman. and let's face it: sandy cohen is an f-ing phenomenal man. i mean, for a tv character. anyways, kirsten was always super cool and calm and collected. even when she befriended that sketchy chick and became an alcoholic and had to go to rehab, she managed to at least appear that she had her shit together. plus, even though she was fully aware that she raised a nerdy, comic-book loving indie nerd -- the polar opposite of the newport beach crowd -- she always embraced and supported seth's quirkiness.

5. reba hart (reba) 





















probably the most tolerant/patient mom ever. she not only took in her dumbass daughter, her daughter's even dumber babydaddy, AND the baby, but she put up with her lying, cheating husband and his mistress. mad respect, reba.

some of my favorite almost-one-hit-wonders

the other night, i saw better than ezra in concert for the 2nd time. while -- strangely enough -- they're one of my all-time favorite bands, i realized that most people only associate them with '90s mega-hit "good" (and maybe "desperately wanting" on a lesser level).

i got to thinking about some tunes that i loved from flash-in-the-pan bands ... in some cases, i'm not even sure these could be classified as "hits" because they weren't even that popular. regardless, i'm bringing 'em back, so check 'em out. and listen to some better than ezra while you're at it. :)


injected - "faithless"



i saw this video on some random premium cable music channel while i was babysitting one night in high school, and basically spent the rest of my sophomore year trying to convince my friends that these guys deserved to be huge. I STILL BELIEVE IT. that chorus! and their entire debut album is flawless, to boot.

lillix - "it's about time"



so much canadian mall-teen angst, and the lyrics are hilariously nonsensical. "i say goodbye to you, i say hi to you, no clue." but a jam nonetheless.

the von bondies - "c'mon c'mon"



yeah, it's the theme song for "rescue me," but the VBs all but dropped off the map shortly after this one came out. aside from usher's "yeah," no song invokes as much nostalgia for my senior year of high school as this one. jason stollsteimer has one of the most underrated voices in rock IMO, so i'm thankful he's still doin' his thang in the hounds below.


the click five - "just the girl"



everything about this band was SO CHEESY. it's like the wonders from "that thing you do!" came to life or something. regardless, one of the best songs to drive around to on a summer day. full of sunshine and bubblegum.

5 things i love: hotel edition

goin' all tripadvisor today.

1. vero beach hotel & spa (vero beach, FL)

i've written about this incredible place before, but it's just one of a kind. everything is absolutely 5-star, from the oceanfront location to the service to the rooms to the animal print robes (which i can't resist taking selfies in every single time i stay), but the price usually isn't! vero is a gorgeous, super-sleepy, stereotypical "old person" florida town. but you know what that means ... $$$. ridiculous, cool people stay here, and you get to meet all of them at the nightly wine hour. after you're comfortably tipsy and have made some new friends, you can stumble down to the ocean grill or bobby's for a deliciously drunken seafood dinner (or the hotel restaurant, if you're feeling fancy). then, come back to the hotel to sit in the hot tub or hang out around one of the fire pits. and THEN put on your animal print robe and chill on your patio. it's perfection. 

the last time i stayed, it was right after i had finished grad school, and i had made an offhand comment to one of the staff during the aforementioned happy hour. my parents and i came back to our room that evening to a friggin' bottle of champagne, three glasses, and a handwritten note congratulating me on my master's degree. R U SERIOUS? that's how you do customer service, folks.

2.  best western sunset plaza (west hollywood, CA)

hands-down, the cutest hotel i've ever stayed in. located right on sunset boulevard in weho, it has the feel of a quaint b&b, so don't be fooled by the best western name. i remember that when i first arrived in the room, i threw open the adorable windows -- no screens, praise jesus -- and inhaled that sweet california air (and probably some exhaust fumes, too). i also shared an elevator with marion raven from fallen tween pop group m2m, so that was chill. for a car-dependent city, the location is great and kinda-sorta walkable to a starbucks, saddle ranch chophouse, the house of blues, and mel's diner. the pool is legit an oasis in the middle of LA.

3. the westin ottawa (ottawa, canada)

i don't really know why, but canada was always my dad's destination of choice when it came to family vacations when i was a child. as a result, i have an immense, random love for ottawa which most people are weirded out by. but it's such a cool, vibrant city! and i'm pretty sure this hotel was part of why i love it so much. it's right in the heart of downtown ottawa, overlooking parliament hill, aaaaand connected to a mall. sold!

4. doubletree guest suites (new york, ny)

i actually won a doubletree stay at a work christmas party a few years back, and decided that instead of imposing on my NYC friends and crashing on their couches for 4th of july weekend, i'd just fly solo and go big and stay in times square. props to the very friendly front desk man who remained super sweet as i rolled up with nothing but a big-ass backpack and a crumpled up certificate in my purse, checked in, and started eating my complimentary doubletree cookie before he even gave me the receipt. i emerged from my room 10 minutes later in a way-too-mini dress, still eating the cookie, and he just smiled at me, probably thinking something along the lines of "thisbitch." i don't think i'm suite material. anyways, definitely had a few macaulay culkin moments at this place because the rooms are HUGE. the views are also amazing -- where else can you scope out the half-price broadway ticket line from your bed?!

5. courtyard virginia beach oceanfront south (virginia beach, VA)

give me a balcony overlooking the ocean, and i'm a happy girl. this hotel, in addition to having oceanfront balconies, is also in a prime VB location that's super-close to a bunch of really good restaurants (shoutout to tautogs) and literally steps from the beach. my favorite thing to do during my stay here was people-watch the boardwalk, uh, walkers, from the balcony. endless entertainment, especially the dude i saw wearing an "FBI: female body inspector" shirt that was walking with his small child. good times.

my spring fashion wishlist

every year, around early march, i tend to get overzealous when it comes to spring shopping. i go on a quest to buy ALL THE COLORS and it usually results in me wearing things that are bright pink or yellow or teal when there's still a foot of snow on the ground. i've been a little better this year, and have (mostly) reserved my excitement for my pinterest boards. here are some things i'd love to rock if money weren't an issue and/or it were a lil' warmer and sunnier out.

floral turtleneck crop top (forever 21)

i'm pretty happy the crop top is making a comeback. i already bought this '90s-lovin' one, but you can never have too many.

camp director tote (modcloth) 

i don't know about "camp director," but i feel like this tote would be perfect to take with you on a cross-country train trip filled with strange places and exciting strangers. and stuff.

"gumdrop gems" necklace (kate spade new york)

the best thing about this is that i am pretty sure i owned a similar necklace at age 5.

pop boutique playsuit (ASOS)

i always called them rompers, but ASOS calls them "playsuits." how friggin' fun are playsuits?!

lydia cutout loafers (anthropologie)

classy but quirky. i dig.

what's on your must-have list for spring?

playlist: come on, spring!

today, on march 13th, it snowed. i know that it's still technically winter, but whatever. the snow has attacked us one too many times this year and i've honestly had enough of its crap.

in a fit of desperation, i put together a compilation of my favorite spring-y songs in the hopes that it will usher in some warmth and sunshine.

to me, these 16 tracks sound like birds chirping and FINALLY cruising with the windows down again and flowers blooming (not that you can hear that, but you feel me) and seasonal affective disorder just going "deuces!" enjoy.

thing i love: pharrell "happy" lipdub videos

an elementary school classmate posted a video on facebook the other day, set in my (original) hometown of syracuse NY. it featured people dancing and lip-syncing in the snow to pharrell williams' song "happy." in the related videos, i discovered that this trend has apparently gone global, with people from all over the world creating their own "happy" videos.

i LOVE lipdubs to begin with, so watching all of these has been making me ridiculously joyful. hopefully they add a little more happiness to your day, as well!

here's that syracuse one i was talking about:



and then there's one from my favorite city in the world (thus far) ... nice, france:



and i basically just want to be friends with everyone in this clip from vienna, austria:

laissez les bons temps rouler: new orleans!

take me back to new orleans, please. the third city in our southern travel series, gleni and i decided upon NOLA back in the fall when we were trying to figure out which locale to conquer after austin and nashville. neither of us had been, and we were both intrigued by everything we'd heard. it turned out to be not only our best trip, but probably the greatest trip i've ever taken. legit!

before i get into the good stuff, i HIGHLY recommend staying at the prince conti hotel. i was so pleasantly surprised at how cozy, cute, and well-kept our room and the whole property was. it's only half a block from bourbon street, but on the quiet end of the french quarter, so noise wasn't an issue for us. the staff was so friendly, and there's also a great little cafe attached to the hotel that's open for breakfast and lunch.

FOOD:

central grocery

this famous muffuletta was the perfect first meal, because neither of us had eaten since before our early AM flights and needed sustenance in the form of large quantities of italian meats. we split half of one, and it was more than enough. i am literally still dreaming about it. the olive salad and dressing really just sealed the deal. order the zapp's dill chips with it if you go.

acme oyster

chargrilled oysters all day. we made friends with our second retired couple of the trip here.

praline connection

no frills soul food. check out my stewed quarter chicken, mac and cheese and collard greens. i also got a praline to go and learned from the waiter that in nawlins, you say "prahhhline." whatever.

commander's palace

hands down, the most insane, upscale dining experience of my life. we escaped into this southern culinary landmark (emeril is among the chef alumni, and james beard winner tory mcphail is currently cooking there) after we abandoned our walking tour of the garden district. our tour guide had mentioned for the 100th time that nicolas cage has been arrested 4 times in new orleans (twice with his wife), and other dumb facts we didn't really care about, and we'd had enough. anyways, the hostess talked us into making reservations for later that evening, and i literally had to call a reservation hotline from the lobby of the restaurant. fancy, huh? we got dolled up, came back, and were greeted by at least 10 smiling servers who said "welcome" on the way to our table. it was like "be our guest" up in there. things that happened:

• we got "mardi gras sidecars" (pictured above) that came with free beads
• the waiter walked each of us to the bathroom.
• the waiter gave gleni a NEW GLASS when the ice started to melt in her water. wait what?
• the waiter shined a little flashlight into my purse when i couldn't find my umbrella as we were leaving. WHY DID HE HAVE A FLASHLIGHT?
• we got to see the kitchen when we accidentally started going down the wrong staircase to leave, and the hostess swooped in to let us know that it was totally fine because it was an open kitchen. cool.

ALSO, THE FOOD.

soup trio: turtle (BEST), butternut squash/sweet potato, and gumbo

seared gulf fish with vegetable succotash 

bread pudding soufflé with whiskey cream sauce omggggg

cafe du monde

we HAD to, and it was so worth it. who doesn't love fried dough? we lucked out with no line since we went on a monday morning. i was fully prepared to hate the chicory-infused coffee, but i found it completely delicious, and nowhere close to starbucks in terms of bitterness. the beignets were a revelation as expected. powdered sugar errywhere.

DRINK:

carousel bar

located in the hotel monteleone, this bar almost rivals the place with a hot tub in the middle of the dance floor as the most unique bar i've ever been to. true to its name, it looks like a carousel (no horses, though), and you revolve sloooowly around it as you drink. cool at first, probably not the more you imbibe.

arnaud's french 75 bar

stopped for a nightcap at this cocktail bar on our first evening, and met this adorable older couple from mississippi who were absolutely hilarious. the guy ordered us each the signature drink (the french 75, duh) and couldn't stop laughing at us when he said that he'd known his lady for 30 years and gleni responded, "we haven't been alive for 30 years!" then we took a picture with them where i'm in a headlock for reasons unknown:

lafitte's

oldest bar in the country! for some reason, the bartender was like, berating me for not being done with my drink 10 minutes after i ordered it. step off, bruh. so we ran away from him and sat around a piano on the other side of the bar and sang beatles songs with this weird hippie lady. cool vibes though.

pat o'brien's

we tried the notorious hurricane drinks, which led to drunk shopping at 1pm on sunday afternoon. i actually had to throw mine out 80% of the way through because i was ALL SET.

FUN:

celebrity sightings:

sorry, but i'm still not really over randomly meeting josh homme in the street and i need to discuss it for a minute. i picked a queens of the stone age song as one of my favorites from last year. i posted a semi-raunchy tweet about mr. homme a couple weeks ago during his grammy performance with dave grohl and trent reznor. he may or may not be on one of my pinterest boards. and he's one of anthony bourdain's close buddies. so ... PRETTY big deal for me. i credit this destined moment to the lucky penny i picked up about 4 hours earlier at the muffaletta place, since it was complete chance that we got lost en route to our destination and walked down the street where the magic happened.

the best part is that he's been in the news twice in the past week for being surly/salty, and here i am just touching his arm and acting like his new BFF. he was nothing but nice to me, and even complimented my phone case (which is hot pink with houses on it??? no idea). he sent us on our way with a "cheers. have a great night, ladies," and i died. i think he was under the influence of at least one thing. loved aaaaall of it.

we also saw matt smith from doctor who. i wouldn't have recognized him but gleni did, so that was fun.

cat's meow

we went to this karaoke bar twice in one night and didn't even drink either time. that's how entertaining it was. at one point we couldn't stop laughing at these drunk hos that were up on stage smoking cigarettes and singing like dying cats to miley cyrus' "we can't stop." i even took a video of it because it will forever make me laugh when i feel sad. i also developed a weird crush on the karaoke host's hype man, who was kind of a lil' jon doppelganger but in a hot way (gleni captured both he and the host in the video below). they gave some random birthday girl a lap dance to ginuwine's "pony" and it was genius.




catcalls

speaking of felines, we received some of the most verbose catcalls ever during this trip, mostly from gutter punks. among them:

"i just want you to know that you're both beautiful, each in your own individual way."
"hey, i told my mom about you. she wants to meet you."
"go get 'em, girls! you ladies are looking lovely."

weird.


2nd saturday gallery crawl and whiskey tasting

gleni's old roommate lives in the marigny area, a hip neighborhood right outside of the french quarter. we got to see his apartment, which is this huge "shotgun" house (we northerners know it as railroad-style, where you have to walk through one room to get to another). very cool to see. he took a bunch of us around to these art galleries where i ate king cake. i also made myself a saucy letterpress souvenir:

before we parted ways with our hosts for the evening, we stopped into this wine place that hasn't officially opened yet. the owner cracked open some alabama whiskey he just got in, and we had ourselves a little private tasting. it was pretty badass.

jazz at preservation hall

after our fancy dinner on the final night, we decided to keep it classy by taking in some live jazz at the legendary preservation hall. we grabbed old fashioneds next door at pat o'brien's (where i had to dougie in order to leave) and grabbed some seats on the benches in the dimly-lit room. it was a really nice, relaxing, and fitting end to the trip. highly recommended.

all in all, best vacation everrr. seriously. 'til next time, NOLA!