Winter Weekends

So, the new semester has begun. Not only is it a new semester; it's my last semester. This makes me somewhat anxious, as I am unsure as to what my next step will be, but it is not something I wish to dwell on in this blog post.

Since it is my last semester, I have decided to let myself have a little fun. That's right folks, I'm telling you right now that law school is tough and life-consuming. So, this semester I am determined to let myself live a little. And what better way to live a little than to take a trip two weeks in a row??

On January 17th, Rebecca and I boarded a Southwest flight (sidenote: have I ever mentioned how much I love Southwest Airlines? Because I do) and traveled to Birmingham, AL. The backstory of this little trip is this: In college, we had quite the close knit group of friends. Five of these girls were the lucky inhabitants of Maggie D 2. The 2nd floor of Maggie D was the most popular place to live if you were a freshman girl at BSC. Mostly because our floor connected to the boys' dorm, and because we had frequently absent RAs. Anyway, Rebecca, Sarah Kathryn, Allison, Catherine and myself became fast friends. Added to this mix were Nancy and Shelley, who lived on the 3rd floor of Maggie D-- the "Wellness Floor". I'm not really sure what that meant, but both Nan and Shell will swear to this day that they did not sign up to be on the Wellness Floor and that the "Wellness" part was really just the other hall. Anyway, we are an eclectic little group and we have an absolute blast when we get together. So, we decided that we should do just that-- all get together. We toyed around with a couple of ideas for reunion spots, but finally settled on our old stomping grounds when Southwest decided to offer roundtrip fares to Birmingham for $60. Anyway, we had a delightful weekend. On Saturday, we lunched at O'Carr's and met Jamie's adorable baby, Eleanor. Unfortunately, I was sick Saturday night and had to miss out on some of the festivities (which included a trip to the old Amoco station and fraternity row). Luckily there were pictures to document these events so I almost felt like I was there. On Sunday, we ventured around the Summit, made friends with the waiter at Jim N' Nicks, and ate Shelley's delicious homemade birthday cake (oh yeah, I am now 28 years old. Whoah). Merriment was had by all.

Don't we look merry???



This past weekend, I decided to explore some of the great state of Louisiana. Isn't it amazing how you can live somewhere for years and fail to even know what kind of cool stuff is there? Anyway, Bruce had a huge brief due last Thursday. He worked on it pretty much non stop for month, and therefore I thought celebration was in order once it was done. So, I perused the internet for a few days looking for a relatively close but exciting destination to whisk Bruce away to for the night. And, I found these:



These adorable little dwellings are the Cajun Village Cottages, conveniently located about 30 minutes away from Baton Rouge in Sorrento, LA. I have not shut up about these things since we got back. They are these little shotgun houses that have been restored and are furnished with beautiful antiques. Girls, I am thinking we have the next reunion here. Seriously, there are eight houses in all and they are all grouped together, so we could rent a couple of the houses for the weekend and cook out and bask in the rural beauty of the whole thing. I don't think my words can do them justice, but they truly were charming. Anyway, Bruce and I enjoyed a dinner at the local Waffle House (his choice. I hadn't been to Waffle House in forever and I had forgotten how delicious it is). Then, we went to the town restaurant, where we enjoyed cocktails and a slice of their famous buttermilk pie. We were overjoyed to find checkers and a Sorry game in our little abode and drifted off watching a movie. On Sunday, we decided to go to Houma's House, a plantation home only a few minutes from where we were staying. We enjoyed the spring like weather and walked around the grounds snapping pictures of everything in sight. I must admit, picture taking becomes somewhat addicting when you're using the fancy camera. Anyway, a good time was had by all, and the day was made even sweeter when I was later treated to a delicious belated birthday dinner at my parents' house and got to witness the best football game ever! Did I mention that the Saints are going to the Super Bowl? This has never happened before, and it is very, very exciting.






Anyway, the last few weekends have been delightful, and I am hoping that school does not interfere with this goal for fun. All I can say is this: Simon and Garfunkel are playing at Jazz Fest this year and I'm going. Take that, law school.