Lakeside Property

A friend of ours, actually a couple who were our adult students, and who we have known since we first moved to New Orleans, sent us these photos of their new lakeside property.They even have a dock right up to the house. all of this courtesy of Ike! Me no likee Ikeee.
This couple lives in Crown Point, just 20 miles south of the New Orleans. While the city and environs did not get the actual hurricane, the outer bands that produced wind, rain, and tidal surges wrecked havoc, just a half hour from our snug and dry doorstep. It's sobering to say the least.
In the meantime, Houston and environs took the ass kicking from Ike, and has new lakeside property of its own.
Our Joni of Cote de Texas is still without power, and writing to us from her car at five in the morning, using the car battery to power up her lap top. Nearby friends and family are in the same boat so to speak, all suffering and waiting for the electricty to come on.
So if any of you see one of these guys from all these electric company trucks parked in Houston, maybe give them some beers and a smile, and sweet talk them into going over to Joni's.
Or if you have a generator to spare, high tail it over to her house so she can stop living in her car.
This is a photo from the Houston Heights neighborhood...
and he has this little fellow to back up the sentiment on the sign!
This is a photo of Galveston today, a place Joni wrote about this Summer HERE, a place she loves very much.
These guys are cleaning up the glass and debris from the mess Ike caused in downtown Houston. You can read a story in The New York Times HERE and see more photos, from whence these came.

It Ain't Dere No More

There are a zillion great local bands on New Orleans, and Benny Grunch and The Bunch are certainly up there in the top ten. They write very specific lyrics about New Orleans that are very funny. They have two songs in the same vein using the refrain: "It Ain't Dere No More". They actually were written pre-Katrina, having to do with all the great places vanishing in New Orleans for one reason or another. The song was played alot after Katrina, the lyrics taking on a deeper meaning.
Yes we can laugh at the absurdity of it all, and New Orleanians have an excellent sense of humor that serves them well when dealing with life in the Big (it ain't so) Easy.
Places and people come and go. Sometimes in the name of change, or because of the natural progression of things, like the changing tastes of people, the economy, and natural disasters, like um, hurricanes (very much on my mind this morning while worrying about the good folks being battered by Ike).
I'm working on a piece where the editor has asked that I downplay Katrina. Apparently we have moved on. It ain't dere no more.
BK, before Katrina, Planet Tango, the company Alberto and I own and run, produced nine stellar tango festivals. Our last two were at the Hotel Monaco in New Orleans, and the last one taking place just two weeks before you know who blew into town.
It was a perfect fit for us: A small boutique hotel with sexy sensual surroundings, very much like the vibe of the tango. For me, the designer gal, every attention to detail from the logo to the furnishings made me proud to offer this place to my guests, the festival participants.
I would never, never ask anyone to stay in place I myself would not enjoy,

The front desk was made to look like a vintage steamer trunk, a nice tie in with the image of the vintage luggage tag they use for their logo.
The lobby was just spectacular, a stylish living room where they served complimentary wine and nibbles every afternoon at 5 PM.
There were panels of sheer curtains hung on ceiling tracks to the floor, that could be opened to make one grand salon, or closed to make intimate chat rooms.
The fireplace and the two arches next to it were shell encrusted. It was just gorgeous. Since Katrina, The Hilton has taken over the hotel, after it had been closed for nearly two years due to storm damage. The shells? They ain't dere no more.
Another thing I loved about the Hotel Monaco is that it was pet friendly. If you didn't bring your pet, they provided a gold fish for your room to keep you company. I loved that little detail! And so did our guests.The Monaco's design signature is pattern mixing. Every room is unique, and furnished like a fine home. It's funny, because just a few years ago luxury and boutique hotels tried to make their spaces look like our nice homes. Now we all try to decorate our homes, especially the bedroom, to look like a hotel!
How could a visual vamp not love the mix of colors, the exciting accessories, the comfort and prettiness of it all.

Flat screen TVs, CD players, inter net - all the tech stuff you could want was in every room.
How sensual is this? Tons of toss pillows, fresh flowers, romantic lighting.... I just love the play of pattern and light...ceilings can be low in hotel rooms, so doing a stripe like this really makes it feel expansive.
What a great chaise to plop down on after a great shopping trip! And note the Herman Miller style spool table.
The mix of patterns is very English, don't you think?
And of course the bathrooms were luxury, luxury, luxury. The had jacuzzi jetted tubs, and featured Aveda bath products, and the robes were plush leopard terry cloth!

Standard rooms had separate areas for sitting, usually a couch with a second flat screen, and a desk. The art work was not standard issue either. No two pieces were the same in any room.

Other sexy touches were faux fur throws.
The restaurant was very nice. In New Orleans Hotel Monaco acclaimed chef Susan Spicer was at the helm. She helped launch the current trend of quality food served in hotels - no rubber chicken salad sandwiches here!
The New Orleans Monaco occupied an elegant old building that was once a very grand Masonic Temple and lodge. The light fixtures in the spaces they turned into ballrooms kept the old Egyptian Revival sconces and features. It was a grand room for tango dancing!
We miss the Monaco. We haven't had the desire to another tango festival. It ain't dere no more.

Planet Tango has produced a lovely DVD of the last New Orleans TangoFest which took place at The Hotel Monaco. It has a great tango show on it, as well as some other wonderful things. Please order it HERE

Happy Weekend - At Home!

Thank you all for worrying and wondering what happened to us! We were off the grid for a few days, so I couldn't write or call. We're back home now. This is a photo I took of our house the day before we left. It looked pretty much the same when we got back.
We got out last Friday, and drove to Baton Rouge, which turned out to be hilarious, because Gustav hit there harder than New Orleans! You know that BR is a traditional place for Nola folks to go, just inland enough to be "safe" - they have never experienced the full wrath of a hurricane. Well, guess what? This was our first official evacuation ha ha ha ha, rather than having left New Orleans just before the storm, because we already had a job out of town. We officially evacuated right into the storm instead of away from it - duh.
We stayed with friends who have a lovely home and piece of country property. They had several huge trees come down, part of their barn roof blown off (where the cars and horse were stashed for safe keeping during the storm!). The power went out, and they had a generator that allowed us to eat fresh food, watch movies (no cable or Internet of course, and no phones either, land or cell). It was hot and sticky for a few days, with no one getting much rest. We all actually sat on the back patio and watched most of the storm come in, until it got dicey, and then we headed indoors.

Before the storm came in, we parked the cars in the barn, along with Tyler the horse, for safe keeping. The idea was to protect them from falling trees. However, a part of the barn roof did blow off! But the precious horse was safe, and so were the cars.

Steve, Vicky, Stephanie, and Rhoda
watching the storm from the patio

I hate the whole evacuation ordeal. But if ever it could be pleasant, it certainly was because of our gracious hosts. We ate, we drank, we talked, we watched movies, we read our books, we cooked, we worried. I was asked a decor question regarding furniture placement in the living room, and one day while the power was off, I moved it all around, and the hubs did his usual brilliant job of moving TV cables for me. It was the least little thing we could do for these great people who took us into their home.

PJ's, Margaritas, and no make-up

Our car AC was being repaired when the storm was coming, so we borrowed an ancient Mercedes from a friend, that has barely a spit of AC. Mama was not happy, but kept her hot stiff upper lip zipped.

We got back Thursday evening. Of course we had a flat on the highway. Traffic was okay, and the ride only took an hour longer than usual. The good thing was that we were not far from home.
New Orleans looked tranquil. The usual detritus of fallen branches. We had our power back. Uptown always gets up first. We never lose gas or water or even the phone line. So we had Internet right away, and the cable was only out for one day.
The grocery store had enough food, and the long lines moved quickly. Our corner gas station had gas before and after, and no long lines to speak of.
All the restaurants on Magazine Street are open and bustling. This is the kind of quick bounce back that is usual, and what we expected after Katrina, had the levees not broken...
The national guard is out and about, the police present, some hospitals open, with all feeling safe and orderly. The government, state and local got their shit together this time.
Now Ike is is the pipe, and we will do it again later this week. It is a total drag. Our next door neighbors stayed. And I'm with them. But Alberto needs to be near a doctor just in case the stress gets the better of him. But he would have been screwed in Baton Rouge if that sad story had panned out.
We've been invited back to evacuate to our gracious friends' home again. We have Cholo, who is now a full size Cav King Charles, so he cannot fit under an airplane seat. I hate crating dogs. But maybe we'll have to consider it, and fly further away.
Our house was as fine as ever. We don't board up, or really move anything around (after all it survived Katrina). A couple of lawn chairs blew over, and one tall plant fell over (which it always does even if you whisper on it). Lots of leaves and little branches all around. We just had a small roof leak repaired days before the storm, and it held air tight (thank you Mario!). Because of the photo shoot here the Friday we evacuated, the inside of the house was picture perfect to come home to. I know to empty the fridge, so no problems there.
Now, are we all getting ready to roll again? I HATE Ike.

The morning after

Trees down everywhere...

...none fell on the house or the barn

As we drove home from Baton Rouge,
we saw so many more people with trees
on top of their houses -
Rivers were over topping everywhere
near Greenwell Springs

I Heart A Photo Shoot!

I pitched a story over a year ago to a local magazine. The editor came over to my house, and was very sweet and interested. But nothing happened. We exchanged a few cordial e-mails, and later I sent her some photos of my Holly Golightly Christmas tree along with wishes for a Merry Christmas. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I have been to this rodeo before regarding editorial.
This past Monday she called, and offered a story about the decor in my house. Uh, I said, alot has changed. While she was on the phone, I directed her to the blog so she could have a look. She was game, and arranged the shoot for this past Friday. So much happened from last Monday to this past Friday, with all of our thoughts now focused on getting the hell out of Dodge. But we decided to carry on.
So here's a sneak peek. I took these photos.
I don't know when the magazine is going to publish the story and photos we did on Friday. The "boss" took the computer server somewhere north for safety, and had the entire staff take their computers out of the office, and sent them all off to get out of New Orleans safely on Friday. Who knows when work will resume. But I don't care, because I know it's in the can, and if I waited this long, a little more won't kill me (oh how I sound like my mother...)
The photo shoot was fabulous. We shot the living room, a dining room set up, my closet, the master bedroom, my Gris Gris altar, and even a bit of the kitchen, and seven of my favorite things, and a portrait of moi which I begged them to Photoshop with mercy and a heavy air brush. If they do not do this, I will publish the other picture I took of them. Aw, what am I saying? These women couldn't look bad no matter what.
Special heartfelt thanks to Jack and Caroline at Perch, who added a few very special things. I just have to buy these perfect pillows...

Evacuation

We drove in late last night. It was a perfect ride. The roads were full, but all the traffic was moving at a good clip. We were headed towards Baton Rouge, ending up in Greenwell Springs at the home of Vicky and Steve.
We didn't know what to expect. Vicky and Steve are a very nice couple we coached for their first dance of their wedding which happened a few weeks ago. We taught them a beautiful tango choreography, and enjoyed the weeks of lessons with them. The four of us became very fond of each other. They had invited us to their home in connection with coming to Baton Rouge to do some tango dancing. We never dreamed we would be visiting them as evacuees.
Their home is a lovely Acadian style house. It is on a huge bit of land, in a very pretty country setting. Believe it or not, we have never spent time in the Louisiana countryside since we moved to New Orleans eight years ago.
Out back, they have a terrific deck and patio. This little house is what Vicky calls her Redneck Fountain! It's a false front built on the front of the fence. I just love the screen door, and the tin roof with the"rain" running off of it into the pond. You walk across the little bridge to the porch. There are hooks to hang a porch swing. I want the hubs to build me one like this in New Orleans!
The horse trailer and truck are so country. The Mercedes is a loaner to us from Jessica and Jon who evacuated to Natchez. Our old BMW is having AC issues, and our mechanic didn't get it fixed in time for us to leave when we wanted to. The Benz was a solid, cool ride (thanks J & J!).
But the coolest ride is in the garage - his and hers Harleys!
Of course there a couple of dogs, a sweet Rottie named Rhoda, and a crazy bitch, a breed called a Blue Heeler (a herding dog), named Sobe.
Sobe is playing ball with Vicky's daughter Stephanie, a beautiful young lady who graciously welcomed us last night while Steve and Vicky were away securing their houseboat.
Here's crazy Sobe. She's sweet, but she's unpredictable. She might think Cholo is a snack food.
'Fraidy Cat Cholo is checking the girls out behind the fence. Sobe is checking out her afternoon snack.
But wait - there's one more critter here. Do you see him standing behind the fence?
He's Vicky's horse Tyler! A sweet, sweet boy. Cholo never saw a horse before, except when he watches the Animal Planet channel with me.
This is Tyler's beautiful barn. There's an upstairs that Steve and Vicky hope to turn into a tangeria, a tango dance hall so to speak. I can hardly wait!
This is the barn across the street at the neighbors. This area has alot of horses and cattle. And we are only twenty minutes from the capital, Baton Rouge. The whole area is rich in Acadian architecture. It is far more French here than in New Orleans.
I love the fences that cut across all the properties.
And now for some afternoon activity! I asked Steve if he would take me for a ride on his Harley! I haven't been riding for at least ten years! They tricked me out in motorcycle gear. I had to borrow some sneakers from Vicky. I don't own one pair of sneakers! I brought my flip flops and a two pairs of cute ballet flats (one leopard print, the other lime green with gold buckles and peep toes), and of course a couple of pairs of tango shoes (you never know). BTW Vicky is an excellent rider, but I rode with Steve.
Oh mama! Am I ever happy, happy, happy. The three of us took a long ride along curving roads, over bayous and through the woods, seeing horse farms, and cattle ranches. The air smelled of fresh mowed grass, and some sweet wood burning, and we just filled our lungs with clean country air and oxygen. We were thankful to be out on this sunny day before the coming storm.
We're all glued to the weather channel. Greenwell Springs will get a beating too, though it's inland enough to make us feel a little safer. It's nice to be with friends, cooking, hanging out, riding motorcycles, walking Cholo on this huge property, killing time as pleasantly as possible while we wait this thing out.
Our prayers are with everyone up and down the Gulf Coast.
The electricity will inevitability go out when the storm comes our way, so I am taking advantage of having the inter net while I can.