Through the Looking Glass and What I Found There

Just arrived back from an amazing journey to England where I presented a paper as part of the Alice Through the Ages conference at Homerton College, University of Cambridge.

The conference was absolutely amazing.  I heard so many good papers, and so many of them left my mind ruminating over the ideas and ready to explore more.  The three plenary sessions inspired me, especially.  All three were incredible, but the last-- on Alice and Fashion from 1865-1901-- helped me to view Tenniel's illustrations and the popular culture surrounding Alice in entirely new ways.  In addition to the academics, the conference-organizers put together a beautiful "Looking Glass Banquet" in the Great Hall at Homerton on Wednesday night.  The Great Hall was lit entirely by candlelight, huge Alice-inspired props decorated the main dias (including a giant chess board and a huge blue caterpillar with light-up eyes and a hookah), and we ate "Mock Mock Turtle Soup" (French onion), pork chops with vanilla-apple sauce, and a lovely chocolate-strawberry-mousse heart-shaped dessert.

By the time of the banquet, I had also met three incredible women from three different countries, and, summer-camp-like, within three days we were inseparable.  We supported each other in our paper sessions, we took tea together during the breaks, and we marveled at the beauty of the banquet side-by-side.  I fondly hope that these friendships will continue to grow and develop-- and perhaps lead to new intellectual pursuits and travels. 

Cambridge itself was lovely, too.  After the conference officially ended, we spent a few more days exploring the city.  We attended a "Fantastical Victorians" exhibit in the reading room at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and concluded the week with a lovely Mad Tea Party at Homerton College.


Here are a few more pictures of Cambridge and my adventures there!

The Cheshire Cat in a tree at Homerton College. This was just one of the many beautiful decorations spread throughout the grounds and halls of Homerton during the conference.

 A view of punters on the River Cam. We did not go punting, but I must say, I quite envied the people on the boats with their Saturday morning bottles of champagne.

 Mathematician's Bridge. I thought this was an appropriate picture to take, given that Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) was a mathematician.

 Cakes and scones at the Mad Tea Party finale to Wonderland Week and the conference.

Finally, an August Post!

I've been just terrible about blogging this summer.  I keep starting posts, then not finishing them.  Or finishing them, then deciding they are not worth posting.  I never blogged about my amazing trip to GeekyCon nearly four weeks ago, and my visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the Open at the Close event-- which mostly involved drinking unlimited amounts of butterbeer in Diagon Alley at 1:00 AM.  Aside from that event, the Con itself was fantastic, too!  I attended some really interesting panels, met some wildly creative people, reconnected with favorite artists, and discovered new artists to admire.  I fell in love with the artwork of Casey Robin (check out her etsy shop!), who was as nice as she is talented.  Most excitingly, I finally got to meet Mary Kate Wiles in person-- she is one of my favorite actresses (check out her YouTube channel!).  I listened to interviews with screenwriter James Moran, with the Hillywood girls, and with Anthony Rapp.  I bought a Hermoine time-turner necklace in the marketplace for only $5!  And on the last day, I went to Disney World.  Because really, how could I be so close and not visit?  A few laps around the World Showcase were just what my heart desired.  The potato-wrapped snapper at Flying Fish Cafe didn't hurt either, nor did the Polynesian Pearl cocktail at Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.

In the ensuing weeks, I've taken a short jaunt to the Outer Banks for Zan's family beach week, and this past weekend Zan and I visited Natural Bridge, VA.  For my birthday, my friend Kay gave me a night's stay at the Historic Natural Bridge Hotel.  The package came with tickets to the bridge itself, and to the caverns nearby.  Additionally, Zan and I spent an afternoon at Virginia Safari Park, feeding tons of animals and even petting a kangaroo!  It was an incredible weekend.

Most of my time, of course, I've spent processing my collection at Special Collections.  I will be wrapping up that project soon-- in fact, my last day of full-time employment is Friday.  After that, THE WORLD!  Err, no... after that, I'm a little uncertain.  Change is definitely in the air: from the cooling days and the sun setting noticeably earlier, to the sudden end of the pattern of my days.  I feel a bit like I'm on a ski jump, the kind that let off suddenly into mid-air, leaving the skier flying through the sky-- whoosh!  I'm trying to look at it as a fun adventure, to remain calm and even a little zen, but I've always been too nervous to try skiing.  I have some fun adventures lined up for the autumn (including a presentation at an academic conference in the UK), and I have some ideas for new projects that I hope take off, but I feel like I'm mostly making it up as I go along.  I suppose what I need to learn is that everyone feels like they are making it up as they go along, cobbling together days and activities and hoping for the best.

Before I go, quick book list (if I can remember them): a long while back I read Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, an old favorite from middle school.  I've read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (to prepare for GeekyCon, of course).  I read all of Jenny Trout's hilarious/troubling recaps of 50 Shades of Grey on her blog (she read that one so I didn't have to-- thank goodness), which prompted me to read Trout's novels The Boss and The Girlfriend (written under her pen name Abigail Barnette).  I also read an incredibly sweet debut novel by Natalie Lloyd called A Snicker of Magic.  It's a children's novel (think Newbery Award age) with a lot of heart.  The writing is so unique; I can't even explain it.  As for audiobooks, I finished listening to Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and then pretty much mainlined My Antonia by Willa Cather.  Currently, I'm nearing the end of Felicia Day's audiobook You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) and I'm re-reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in order to revise my conference paper.

Until next time, which hopefully won't take another month...  gonna get better at this...

A Crazy Week

Well, I sent off nearly 30 pages to my adviser on Sunday.  Then today I realized that a page and a half-- what I thought was a brilliant new insight-- was actually a totally erroneous reading because I hadn't done my history legwork and had relied on someone else's notes.  It's okay, I noticed it before my adviser could point it out to me, I revised it, and I sent him the revised edition, but boy, do I feel foolish.  We all make mistakes, I guess.  Luckily, this doesn't affect the overall thesis. 

The craziness of this week doesn't come from a faulty reading, however.  In the past week or so I've had a snow day, a trip to New Mexico, a six and a half hour delay at the Denver airport, and my fifth anniversary with Zan.  The snow day was kind of fun-- I didn't have to go into work.  We had some friends in town so we went to a late breakfast at a roadside diner style restaurant.  Kind of a relaxing day (if any day is relaxing when I'm so far into thesis mode).

New Mexico was beautiful and sad.  We're putting my grandma into hospice care.  They found a cancerous mass in her abdomen.  She's 82, very weak, and her kidneys aren't functioning well.  The doctors said they didn't know if she had a few weeks, months, or a year, but they recommended hospice.  It seems like it might be months-- if that.  My mom and I booked a flight to see her immediately.  I thought of waiting until Spring Break in mid-March, but I'm glad I didn't.  She's rapidly declining and I didn't want to wait until too late. We had a good visit, though.  We did some fun things: got to see my aunt's new frozen custard/fudge/popcorn shop (it's all SO tasty!), had a few nice dinners out with my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  Mostly, though, my mom and I tried to spend as much time as possible with my grandma.  We watched a Peanuts special together, talked as much as didn't weary out my grandma, and my aunt brought us all Chinese carry-out for lunch.  After my grandma had gone to bed, my mom and I went to our hotel bar and got margaritas and sat outside by a fire, looking out over the mountains.  For, in spite of it all, these were hard days.  It's not easy watching someone you love... you know.  I'm sure I could write more eloquently if I tried.

But the American West is really something.  You feel so small, but not in an insignificant way-- it's like, a kind of gratefulness washes over you.  I kept thinking, "I get to live on this Earth.  What a magnificent place."  It was warm while we were there, too.  The second day, while my mom and aunt had a long meeting with hospice, I sat outside in the sun and worked on my thesis.  I felt so able, somehow.  I wrote around 12 pages in two and a half days.  At night I could see the stars so clearly, and I just kept thinking of a line in the poem I'm writing about, "This dead of midnight is the noon of thought/ And wisdom mounts her zenith with the stars."

...and then getting home we got stuck in Denver.  Not because of snow, but because of a mechanical issue.  I appreciate that we can't fly with a mechanical problem, but wow.  We didn't get home until 3:00 AM-- when we were scheduled to arrive just before dinner.  Still, I got a lot of writing done in the airport, and we had some really tasty Wolfgang Puck Pizza Express.  Seriously, the guy cooking the pizzas was an artist.  Good food really improves any experience.

And on Monday, Zan and I celebrated FIVE WHOLE YEARS together!  Since he had work until 9:30 we couldn't do anything super special, but we ate lunch at Ray's (we get burgers each year on our anniversary) and then for dinner had some homemade soup and exchanged gifts.  Simple pleasures.  So happy to have spent five years together.  What a five years it's been!   

Eat, Drink, and Be Married

On Saturday my beautiful friend Emily got married!  Emily and I have known each other for more than half of our lives, and the wedding ended up being a sort of reunion of some of my best and oldest friends.  At one point the make-up artists asked if the bridesmaids knew each other, and we realized that seven of us ten girls in the bridal party have known each other for going on fifteen years or more!  The make-up artist commented that it was rare to see a bridal party that included so many friends made in middle school or high school.  But, we've always been a pretty close group.  These are the friends with whom I don't miss a beat.  I hadn't actually seen Dana for nearly five years, but literally within the first thirty seconds of our reunion she was offering to let me use her berry lip gloss, since the lipstick I had picked up earlier that day was absolutely not a good color on me.  It's a silly anecdote, but it really just felt like I'd come home.  These people, wherever they may be (and since high school we have become a very geographically diverse bunch) feel like home to me.

Enough rambling, though.  I think I'll tell the story through some photos.  Granted, my photo taking was... uneven, at best.  I totally missed getting a photo with Maggie, who I stayed with in St. Louis on Thursday night, or with Christina and her twins.  Still, I hope you enjoy what I did remember to photograph!

First sign I saw at the airport.  Welcome to the Midwest!

 Culver's Double Cheddar Butterburger with onion rings and fries.  I have been a Culver's fan since driving across the country to Seattle in 2011, so when I realized that I had landed in Culver's country on Thursday--and that I had no lunch plans-- I immediately visited their store locator.  I went a little crazy with my ordering.  I got a the Double Cheddar Butterburger combo with fries and a drink AND onion rings AND a chocolate malt.  The guy taking my order seemed a little shocked at all I ordered.

The Missouri River at historic St. Charles.  I forgot to get any photos of the quaint streets of the town where I met Maggie for dinner, but I didn't forget to take a picture of the river.  I grew up on this river, and when I saw it my heart surged a bit and I longed to return to those days.

This trip was jam-packed.  On Thursday I stayed in St. Louis to see friends, and on Friday morning I got up bright and early to drive down to Jefferson City to spend time with the bride-to-be!  I arrived a little early though, so I got to take some time to briefly revisit the old haunts.  Here's Whaley's East End Drug Store, where my mom and I bought innumerable vanilla cokes at the soda fountain.  I also had a chance to drive by the high school, my middle school, and my old house.  But the best part was the few minutes that I spent at Downtown Book and Toy before meeting up with Emily and her fiancee.  I loved that shop as a child, and going in on Friday felt so comforting.  I even bought a few books-- which, no, I do not need-- but that I'm so excited to read.  I got the first in the new Lemony Snicket Series All the Wrong Questions and a paperback mystery called Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones, by Kaitlynn Dunnett, which promises to be perfect for Halloween.

At Shakespeare's Pizza for Emily's rehearsal dinner!  Why am I in jeans and a ratty looking sweater?  Well, because due to a mix-up my hotel reservations for the weekend got cancelled, and I didn't have a chance to check in to my room or change clothes before driving Emily over to the rehearsal!  Don't worry, it all worked out in the end, though it did cause a lot of consternation for me on Friday-- combined with Zan's delayed flight, forgetting my contact lens case and solution in St. Louis, and a million other small 'snafus' that befuddled my Friday.  But look at all of our smiling faces!  Who can be sad when eating Shakespeare's Pizza?  Especially with the Cardinal's winning a play-off game in the background!!!

 The campus at the University of Missouri, Columbia.  When I was little I used to say that the columns had eyes, because their curled tops make them look a bit like E.T.  This picture was snapped quickly with one hand as I ran to our 8:30 AM meet-up spot on Saturday morning, so forgive its poor composition and lighting.

 On Friday night, Emily gave each of us mimosa fixin's as part of our bridesmaid's gift, specifying that we were to use them on Saturday morning.  Things got a bit rushed early on, but once we had made it to the church, gotten our hair and make-up done, and eaten a bite of lunch, we broke into our mimosas!  Such a glorious moment!

 Our bridesmaids dresses all hanging in a row!

 A recreation of a photo from 2005.  Yes, I've known and been close friends with these girls since 2005.  Actually, make that 1999.  And for one of them, 1992.

 Middle School/High school friends all grown up!!!

 Emily and me the next morning at the 'good-bye' brunch at Panera.  She's MARRIED!

There are a few other pictures that I wish I had, but that I didn't take with my phone, like Emily and Chad at the rehearsal, with Emily wearing her bridal Minnie Mouse ears, and a photo of all of us toasting with our mimosa glasses in the make-up room.  I also don't have any photos of the actual ceremony since I was, understandably, occupied with being a bridesmaid.  But I hope you can tell from what I do have to share that it was a wonderful weekend.  

Christina, the maid-of-honor, ended her toast with "To taking care of each other," and Jake, the best man, ended his toast with "To new friends."  I think this encapsulates the weekend: it was nostalgic, full of places and people from my past, and I need to take care of these memories and these people.  I want them in my life forever.  But it's also about new friends, new people, new places, and new events to make into memories.  We're all grown up, and we're still growing, but we're doing it together. 

Road Trip Weekend: Pennsylvania!

In a lovely turn of events, I spent the weekend road-tripping through Pennsylvania.  On Thursday my mom and I drove up to Mocanaqua, PA via Northumberland, PA.  In Northumberland, we saw Joseph Priestley's house-- so I decided to count that as my thesis research for the day.  Despite the fact that the home was officially closed (I misread their hours on their website), the tour guide just happened to be in the visitor's center due to a pre-arranged tour for a group from California that had ended just minutes prior to our arrival.  The tour guide very kindly agreed to stay and give us a tour, too.  I'm so glad he did!  Priestley's house was very nice-- clearly it doesn't get the kind of money that places like Mount Vernon and Monticello receive, but they've kept it up well.  Plus, they have Priestley's actual microscope, flute, chess set, and some telescopes!  They also have reproductions of his chemical apparatuses.  I loved seeing it all!  Moreover, our tour guide does re-enactments as Priestley, so we may go back later this autumn (or next spring) for a special event day to see him in character.

(The 'back' of Priestley's House.  Not my own photo; image found here)

After our tour, we drove up to see Mocanaqua, where my grandpa grew up and where my mom spent all of her summer vacations as a child.  It's a very, very tiny place.  Everything looked beautiful, though!  We saw the house my great-grandmother lived in, and the cemetery where she and my great-grandpa are buried.  There's a large church in the center of the town with church bells that play hymns on the hour, and two restaurants: a pizza delivery place and a sit-down place.  I didn't see any shops, but my mom said that one building used to be a little store that sold candy, and she would walk down the hill in the summers to buy little candy treats, then play by the creek behind her grandmother's house.  After a quick dinner in the area, we drove the two hours down to Hershey, PA, got a hotel, and then the next day, headed to Chocolate World!

Chocolate World was quite the experience!  We rode their 'Factory Tour' ride, which involved singing cows and a catchy tune.  It reminded me of a cross between Disney's Living with the Land and Journey Into the Imagination with Figment rides.  We then participated in a chocolate tasting, where we got a brief history of chocolate at "Hershey University."  After that, we viewed a '4-D' show.  I absolutely loved the show, and one of the characters, 'Hershey' (guess what kind of chocolate bar he was!) talked directly to the audience and responded to our responses (a bit like Turtle Talk with Crush in The Living Seas)!  The show was fun for the kids and hilarious for the adults.  After the show, we grabbed a quick bite in the food court before going to Create Your Own Chocolate Bar!  This experience was amazing!  We got to create a bar using a touchscreen, then watch as the bar went down the factory assembly line.  Then we designed a wrapper for our bar, and got to take our bar home as a souvenir in a beautiful silver tin box.  It even says "Created by [Your Name Here]" on it!  I love having a chocolate bar that I created!  We finished up making our bars, bought a few souvenirs (including a Reese's Cup hat for Zan), and then took a "Trolley Ride" around the town of Hershey.

(I liked the Hershey Kiss hats.)

After our trolley ride, we headed to the Hershey Museum, but it was late afternoon so we didn't get tickets to the exhibits (I hope to go back when I have a bit more of an idea of what I'd like to get out of the experience; maybe I'll read/re-read some books on public history and museum curatorship before we go back, because I think it would be a fascinating museum to analyze, based on what I've seen).  Instead, we went to the cafe for a taste-testing of Drinking Chocolates from Around the World.  Venezuela and Tanzania were particularly wonderful.

(Our delicious Drinking Chocolates and a bit about their provenances.)

Overall, an excellent Pennsylvania Road Trip!

New Mexico

Just returned home from a trip to New Mexico, where I visited my aunt and her family, and I got to see my grandma.  I hadn't seen her since 2012, when she was in the hospital with a broken hip.  This was a much nicer visit.  We went through old family albums, had lunch at Red Lobster (my grandma loves getting their margaritas), marveled over my cousin's oil painting skills, and took in the beautiful landscapes of New Mexico.  It was a short trip, and the time difference really got me this time for some reason, so I spent the days rather sleepy, but glad to see everyone.

Magical

Spring Break, besides the tooth thing (which now might only be "a very serious sinus infection"?), was really nice.  I went to Disney World!  Disney World was warm.  I could wear shorts and swimsuits.  I didn't have to put on layer after layer plus fuzzy aviator cap to go outside.  Ahhh... Did I mention that it snowed here again on Monday, and that we're supposed to get a chance of snow this coming Tuesday?  This is so unseasonably cold!  COME ON WINTER, END ALREADY!

Anyway, Disney was lovely.  We soaked in the hot tub, we lazed about the Lazy River.  We ate lots of good food from the Flower & Garden Outdoor Kitchens in Epcot, including frushi, candied strawberries, and Pineapple Dole Whips with rum.  We had lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and enjoyed amazing spinach-artichoke dip, Orbiting Oreos milkshakes (with Godiva Chocolate liquor), and trailers for 1950/60s Sci-Fi B-movies.  We saw "Wishes" and "Illuminations" fireworks.  We rode "Soarin'", as beautiful as ever.  We rode Dinosaur.  Kay, Brian, and Kelsey were traumatized on their first time seeing "It's Tough to be a Bug:; Mike, Zan, and I were more prepared.  Kelsey, in an attempt to do one thing each day that scared her, went on "Twilight Zone Hollywood Tower of Terror,"despite her better judgment.  We rode "Peter Pan's Flight" and Zan claims it was his first time on that ride (I'm doubtful).  Kay made me tea in the mornings when I got sick.  We wore fake mustaches and played "Gloom."  We got ice cream sundaes.  We sat out on our balcony enjoying mixed drinks and the sunshine and reminiscing about old times.

 (Me: on Jewel-Bluebell, my favorite Carousel horse)

(Turkey Leg Madness!)

And now, I want to go back.  I want the warmth again.  I want the relaxation again.  I want to hang out with my friends everyday again.  I want to go and not even worry about going to the parks, but just walk around the Boardwalk, play Fantasia Gardens mini-golf, maybe hit up some new spots at Downtown Disney (Splitsville Bowling, anyone?).  Mostly I want the warmth, though. 

Shenandoah Staycation

This past weekend Zan and I took a "staycation" together.  We haven't gotten to see a lot of each other this summer since our weekends don't coincide, so I took a few days off, and he took a few days off, and we ended up with a lovely four days together.  We had a fancy dinner in Charlottesville the first night at my favorite restaurant, Maya.  The first full day, we drove Skyline Drive, hiked Dark Hollow Falls trail, almost went horseback riding but the trails were too slick to take the horses out, and had lunch at a National Park lodge.  We saw plenty of deer and heard from people on the trail that we just narrowly missed seeing a baby black bear (which might have been good, if Mama Bear was anywhere nearby).  I just loved Shenandoah National Park-- I can't wait to go back.  The next day we visited Bold Rock Cidery in Nellysford, VA, and we picked peaches at a PYO (Pick Your Own) peach orchard.  We admired the views of the mountains.  We visited Charlottesville again and saw Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing with some friends.  We came back to Williamsburg and watched movies and played with our handsome cats and relaxed.  What a perfect mini-break. 

Musicals and Philly

I'm in Philly!  And since Kay is working today, I'm spending the day watching television and munching on Easter candy.  Nothing better than chocolate malt balls and Starburst jellybeans.  What am I watching?  The Music Man.  Not the classic, but the Broderick/Chenoweth version.  I've never seen The Music Man before-- in any form, actually-- and you know what it's done?  It's made me want to be in a musical again.  I haven't been in a musical since high school.  But all of a sudden, I want to learn songs and dances (don't laugh) and wear pretty costumes.  I really miss being in performances.  I miss cast parties.  I miss rehearsals.  I miss being backstage and I miss learning lines and all of it.  I really need to get involved with community theater again or something.

Anyway, Philly has been so much fun so far.  Kay and I visited the Liberty Bell and the crazy exhibit that preceeds the Bell itself.  We also watched the terrible videos in the Visitor's Center, and laughed quite a bit.  I mean, seriously, the ghosts of the Founding Fathers emerging from the mist?  Because they wanted to see us in the future, but instead of looking at the future, they immediately decide to go back in time to relive 1774-1789-- huh?!  Then they couldn't even get the history right.  Though, I guess it's about myth-making instead of the actual history.  Ah, the problems that plague people who have actually taken a graduate level American Revolution historiography course.

Plus, I've gotten to see a friend from my study abroad program!  I hadn't seen him in five years, and we got drinks Monday night and caught up on each others lives.  Then last night, Kay and I got sushi with our college friend Andrew!  Such good sushi and an overall great evening.

Ok, good chat.  Back to musical theater!  Maybe 1776 next, given my current location.

A Short Beach Trip

Got back last night from a short but sweet trip to the beach.  On Sunday I picked up Kay and Brian in Richmond and we drove down to South Carolina.  There was a brief panic after running over a glass bottle in a parking lot, but luckily we avoided flat tires, and arrived at "Downton Litchfield" (Litchfield Abbey?) around 8:00 Sunday night.  Mike, Kelsey, Josh, Sara, and Jeff stood in the living room looking for all the world like a Downton Abbey greeting party and in the background Jurassic Park played (the scene with the "Welcome to Jurassic Park" music).  Excellent.

In short order, we had sangria in our hands, baked spaghetti, garlic bread, and were regaled with tales of the night before when Kelsey had had nearly two bottles of wine and protested loudly that SHE WAS SHY.  VERY INTROVERTED.  We then commenced a game of "Cards Against Humanity." The best was when I had to decide whether Kayne's next album would involve him rapping over the sounds of "A sad fat dragon with no friends" or the sounds of "Firing a rifle while balls deep in a squealing hog."  NB: Don't play this game if you're easily offended.

The next day I woke up early, as did Kay.  We made tea, then sat in the little sunroom nook chatting.  After a bit, we decided to go to the beach.  Despite the freezing the weather, the beach looked beautiful.  We walked a bit, but couldn't stay out too long.  Half an hour later we returned to the beach house, made more tea, and recommenced to chatting in the sunroom nook.

It was a lazy day: I napped, we finished Jurassic Park, and I began to read The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists by Gideon Defoe.  I became interested in the books after seeing the film The Pirates! Band of Misfits shortly before Christmas.  I had ordered Adventure with Communists thinking it a funny title, and oh goodness did this book deliver!  I have never laughed so much in my life.  I also read probably 1/3rd of the book aloud to the others at the beach (sorry guys, but it was just too hilarious to keep to myself!).  Do yourself a favor: read these books!!!

That night we ate seafood.  We went to a place called Nance's, which has delicious hushpuppies and honeybutter.  I got lobster tails for my meal-- a bit of a splurge, but deserved, I think because--  I got my first (only?) graduate school acceptance!  Visiting weekend comes later this month, so I shall visit and decide if I want to commit five+ years of my life to this program.  But, it's very exciting to have gotten an offer.  :)

I meant to stay at the beach for one more day, but the threat of snow in Virginia forced me to come home a day early... so I sadly missed a trip to the sculpture gardens and drunk grilling.  Now, however, I am back home for a few days, resting up and packing pre-VEGAS!

Down at the Mardi Gras: Picture Post!

As promised, a picture post!  We'll start out with photos from the Krewe of Xanadu Ball!

(Kay did my hair, isn't it wonderful?)

(Our table setting)

(Gorgeous Kay!!!)

(Me and my mother, belles of the ball! ;))

(Last year's royalty bidding adieu to their reign...)

(Presenting Queen Xanadu 2013...)

(Here she is!)

(In New Orleans, at the Iris Parade)

(Endymion!)

(Our swag caught during parades.  This isn't even all of it.)

(At the parade at Morgan City)

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!  They can't entirely capture the magic of the Mardi Gras season, but hopefully you can see that a grand time was had by all!