New Orleans was amazing, everything was just as I thought it would be. We only had about 30 hours int he city,  but it was enough to get a feel for the place and I’m sure we’ll go back soon.

Raven was happy to have everyone on her stomping ground and seeing her again made it feel like we’d seen her only yesterday. (I love how you can see Emma in the sunglasses in this photo).

It was Mardi Gras, so we all got dressed up in our costumes. Tom was a sailor, I was a mermaid, Emma and Raven were cowgirls with oversized hats, Morgan was Captain Morgan and Amber (Raven’s sister) opted for a classy boa and mask combo.

We stared the day by watching some of the parades. Everyone was still celebrating from winning the superbowl, so we ended up with the Who Dat! song in our head, which goes along the lines of “Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat! Who dat!“.

Everyone was throwing beads in to the crowd, so we ended up with dozens of them around our necks.

We picked the worst parade watching spot, which was out of the sunlight, so we got cold pretty quickly.

We warmed up with hot bowls of gumbo.

Gumbo is a thick soup / stew with rice. I went for the seafood one which was quite yummy.

After lunch, we went for a wander around the French Quarter, which had such pretty buildings.

Emma and Raven got acquainted with the god fearing locals.

Our next stop was Pat O’Brien’s for some Hurricane cocktails.

These were super strong but so easy to drink. Morgan and Amber tried to teach me how to tie knots with cherry stalks.

It got lovely and warm in the sun, so we stayed out in the beer garden for a while.

After a few too many Hurricanes, we headed down to Bourbon street, which was a massive street party with people throwing beads down from the balconies.

Everyone’s costumes were amazing. Next time I want to dress up as a sugar skull.

Even the animals were dressed up.

If I ever have to move to Nola, I found the perfect house on Bourbon Street. I really want a porch with a swinging chair.

Tom and I took some time out to see the rest of the city. Everyone we met was so nice.

The shoreline was really pretty.

This was exactly how I imagined New Orleans to look.

In the evening, we all went for dinner at Mother’s Diner, where Tom managed to confuse the waiter by asking for “a glass of waiter”. I had pancakes for pancake day!

Afterwards we went for a drink in a pirate bar.

Yesterday we went for breakfast at Clinton Street Bakery, a place that Plan 9 had recommended as the place they aspire to be. It was pancake week there, so I had apple pancakes with walnuts and maple syrup.

I also had a maple butter pecan milkshake which was soooo good.

To burn off breakfast, we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was such  a clear day and you could see for miles.

On one side of the bridge we could see the Statue Of Liberty…

and on the other, our future home – the dream clock tower penthouse. It looks sooooo pretty.

We then hoped on the subway to somewhere I’ve always wanted to go… Coney Island!

It was even weirder in the snow, as the boardwalk was completely deserted.

The fun fair doesn’t reopen until March but it was still fun to see.

I wished we could have seen Shoot The Freak, “with live human targets”.

Tom made a snow angel on the beach.

I managed to buy a Coney Island mermaid tshirt, which I can wear with my tail to Mardis Gras.

We warmed up in Nathan’s, which turned out to be quite a famous cafe.

Tom ordered more root beer than we could drink and that was only the medium size.

We headed back to Manhattan and decided to go up the Rockerfeller centre to see the view.

We were advised to go up here instead as we’d get a nice view with the Empire State Building.

You could see all the way to Coney Island on this side.

And all down Central Park to The Bronx on the other.

We stayed for an hour so we could watch the sunset.

The city lit up and looked so pretty at night.

Afterwards we went on the hunt for food in Times Square.

We found an awesome place with the tagline “we cure our own corn beef, our chicken soup cures everything else”!

This week I’ve been super crafty. My first project was a couple of Union Jack pillows for the bed. “Someone” brought me a heap of Chanel ribbons to use and they worked really well.

I made a mermaid tail as my costume for Mardis Gras. It has a zipper up the back at the bottom, so I can unzip my feet and walk. My favourite movie when I was a kid was The Little Mermaid, so I’ve always wanted a tail and now I have one

The secret cafe at Westfield has closed down but we discovered a new little place called Ca’puccino which serves yummy Italian food.

There were floating shelves of books everywhere, which made me feel at home.

The mugs and napkins had a lined paper pattern and now I really want a set.

CO+K has been getting lots of press this week and has been in a bunch of magazines. This article was in Craft Business – they call me a well-known journalist, hehe.

There was also a little mention in MakeJewellery magazine. We’re also in the new issue of Sew Magazine, so if anyone has a copy, could you please send me a scan with the bit about us? I’d love to know what it says.

Finally, someone else has made a version of my kitty hood scarf, I’m going to have a little army soon.

Time to start packing, we leave for New York in less than 48 hours and I’m so excited. If anyone has any NY tips, please send them this way!