A new sofa and one last chance

In case you're not in my close circle of friends and family, Mark and I bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and purchased this guy, as mentioned here. 

We weren't lucky enough to get the sale price that I wrote about last month, but we did get 15% off which wasn't too shabby!

So my Saturday morning was spent receiving and unpacking this beauty of a sofa. 

I'm trained to take note of packages as they arrive, so I took this picture just in case something inside was damaged. It's a good habit to get into! (also see my quality control inspector in the background)

As it turns out, it fits perfectly in our living room (duh!) and makes it look so much more homey than our beige love seat. Also, I noticed later that I had the chaise cushion on upside down, so imagine it much more full and poofy looking!

My second inspector approves, fluffy tail and all.

After the couch was set up, we had to do some damage control, so specimen A (above) received specimen B (below). 

These are called "Kitty Caps", plastic caps that adhere to your cats claws and stay on for 4-6 weeks to prevent scratching. If you know me, you know the history with this cat, so I'm determined to keep my furniture safe and my husband happy. (He picked the color). Also, I've decided I'm mostly against de-clawing, not to mention the cost associated with the procedure, so hopefully this will be the solution to our problems!

Has anyone else bought new furniture recently or made any changes to protect your house? Happy Monday!

Travel Diaries: New Orleans part 3 - the wedding!

As I mentioned before, Mark and I were in New Orleans for his coworkers wedding. Houston is from Alabama and Loren is from Louisiana and they both went to LSU. They loved New Orleans and I can see why they chose to get married there!

Here are my photos from the welcome dinner and the wedding the next night. Enjoy!

Mark was in heaven with all of the Cajun and creole seafood. This had craw fish or crab in it, I can't remember!

The venue was at Jax Brewery off Decatur St. and overlooked the Ferry station and the Mississippi River. We got to look at that cool lit up bridge all night long!

I love how all of the stores are reminiscent of Europe!

You can check out the photos I took as we wandered the streets after the party here. 

Saturday night was the BIG party. Loren and Houston had the ceremony and reception at Latrobe's on Royal. It was a block from Bourbon street and was such a cute location!

As we walked in, our photo was taken with a Polaroid and we used that as our 'sign in' and clipped it next to our names. 

It was such a romantic backdrop, lit with candles and gas lights!

When we walked in, it was standing room only. About 20-30 people had to stand for the ceremony. Houston and Loren are loved!

Loren looked BEAUTIFUL and the ceremony went off without a hitch.

They're married!

Immediately after, we headed to the atrium and were greeted by servers with champagne.

Me and the hubs!

The newlywed's first dance!

Around 11pm, they started passing out masks!

I'm not sure what they did, but there was some game they played with the masks. I couldn't hear but I enjoyed wearing mine!

Then, the party really took off around 11:30 when the jazz band came in!

A 'second line' in New Orleans means the bride and groom lead the jazz band, followed by the guests, down bourbon street. Apparently you wave white handkerchiefs as well. 

It was pouring rain, so they marched around the building instead. It was still an awesome experience and everyone had a blast!

I've never posted video so I don't know if this will work, but here is my instavid of the second line!

We had such a good time celebrating Loren and Houston and exploring a new city. We loved the culture, Mark loved the food, and I loved the architecture. We'd love to go back to see the museums and plantations, as well as enjoy another B&B. Despite the rain, we had a wonderful time! Thanks for the fun, New Orleans!

Travel Diaries: New Orleans part 2

We continued our tour of New Orleans by wandering down to the open-air French Market. Half of it is a true "market" and half of it is more of a place that sells cheap knock-offs and junk. Either way, it was fun to wander through!

There were quite a few Praline stores in the area.

Again, another statue that I don't know, but it was cool and very European!

The market was open-air and we had plenty of room to roam.

Gator heads. Too bad I didn't buy one!

After our jaunt through the French Market, we went back out into the French Quarter to stroll the streets looking for cool architecture. I think we found some...

I just love the quintessential New Orleans balcony. I'm inspired to get a hanging fern after seeing so many here!

I liked the fun brick sidewalk on Bourbon Street.

We decided it was best to 'see' Bourbon Street in daylight. It's a long street packed with bars, and that's about it!

We took the trolley back to the end of the line through the Garden District and stopped for lunch in Uptown.

After lunch, we grabbed our car for a quick drive around Tulane, Loyola, Audobon Park, the Garden District, and Magazine Street. We were happy to see it all, even if it was just a drive-by!

Audobon Park backs up to the Mississippi.

After all of our touring, we headed back to the B&B for a quick nap and started getting ready for the night. Here was our room!

It was HUGE!

Here's a shot after the wedding, heading out into the rainy, yet romantic, streets of New Orleans.

I have one more post to share showcasing the wedding events. Check back on Friday for that and let me know if you've been to these same places, or if you've been to New Orleans and never saw something that you wished you had!