march photo challenge: march 11

march 10: SOMEONE YOU TALKED TO TODAY

he's a good listener when i can get him to pay attention. at least he doesn't talk back.

march photo challenge: march 10

march 10: LOUD

little boys are loud, and my nephews are no exception to that rule. and this isn't even the whole bunch - wait till baby C really gets into the mix. but i must say, i'd give a million bucks to be that excited about something - look at the energy! the enthusiasm! the joy! you'd think we'd just told them they were going to disneyland or that they were moving into a house made entirely of legos. but no, they were just that stoked to be celebrating granddaddy's 70th (it was a great party).

i love, by the way, the hawaiian shirt tradition in this family. granddaddy hits up the hawaiian shirt shop every time he comes to nola and has quite the collection. if you know my husband (or have ever been to a party with him in the spring or summer), you know he's no stranger to the look. and now the youngins'. i love it. p.s., it just occurred to me that the "loud" here could also refer to these shirts! either way, i love it.

and here are some bonus pics from the same party. the concept was simple: silliest face wins.

march photo challenge: march 9

march 9: RED

i was only bold enough to wear these once, but i saved them in case i have another brave fashion day.... or dress as a super hero for halloween!

march photo challenge: march 8

march 8: WINDOW

back to fort worth, and to the museum of modern art, for this one. what to admire most? the collection or the site itself? what a pleasant dilemma!

addendum to yesterday's post: a certain dr. jkl has asked that i specify that we stopped to take this photo (in which we attempt our best vietnamese squat) because our drivers thought we'd want to remember the leper village below. i know - very awkward indeed. she would also like me to clarify that she was not a part of the lesbian buddhist cult to which i referred. just wasn't her thing.

march photo challenge: march 7

march 7: SOMETHING YOU WORE

this was a tough one: do i go with the wedding dress, my most favorite something i wore ever? the latest pair of my blue chuck taylors, which i've been wearing since i was 17? the black wool turtleneck that i wore 3-4 times a week when kp and i were in paris? so many choices! but when i saw this one, i knew i'd found it. what, you ask? those shades! those cheap-ass, barely darker than regular lenses, sorry-imitation-john-lenin shades that i. absolutely. loved. in fact, this may have been my favorite outfit in 2001: those fancy navy blue chucks, the black vietnamese-grandfather-pants i had made in hanoi, that vintage northside track shirt i got in a bin somewhere, the scarf, and those shades. top it all off with a disastrous pixie haircut that i insisted on getting in hanoi (and in vietnamese) and that was - believe it or not - *past* the really awkward stage here... and, well, i was rocking it. i have to laugh - it is so awesomely awful. andro-genius, if i do say so myself.

apparently there was a rumor back in big d that i'd joined a lesbian buddhist cult in vietnam - i know this image didn't do anything to assure the neighbors that i hadn't. i know it's wrong, but i sort of wish i had those glasses back (hey, at least i'm not wishing for that haircut!)

march photo challenge: march 6

march 6: 5PM

even though i walk to work and, in fact, spend very little time in my car, i can't help but associate 5pm with the workweek commute. and since i'm on a video kick, i thought i'd post two very different commuter experiences: 5pm in hanoi, vietnam (with commentary by kp, who filmed as he rode "shotgun" on my honda motorbike) and 5pm in paris, france (métro chatelet, i think. worst station in the city, even with the music!)

march photo challenge: march 5

march 5: SMILE

okay, this is cheating - it's not a photo, and i didn't shoot the video. but who cares? and anyway, why stop with a smile when you could have a laugh like this?? i wish this were my morning alarm...

march photo challenge: march 4

march 4: BEDSIDE

this is kp's side of the bed, the side i sleep on when he's not here (bob takes my side). i started doing it immediately upon my return to new orleans last summer. i didn't think about it, i just got in on his side of the bed my first night home. and stayed there. somehow the bed feels less empty over there...

and when it's not covered in receipts and "runner's world" magazines, i think his side of the bed is very chic. i bought the asian-style tables in berkeley for our first christmas together - i think they were the first pieces of furniture i ever purchased (i was 27!). i scored the groovy faux bois lampshade for $5 at urban outfitters that same year. the coaster is also a faux bois design (i guess i have a thing for it). the alarm clock may have come out of his room from home - it's old and dirty, but with a name like "dream machine," we'll probably never get rid of it. a happy buddha sits on top. behind the alarm clock is a jack unruh illustration of louisiana and mississippi that i picked up last summer at his annual art sale in dallas (he is an amaaaazing illustrator, and when i hit the lottery, i'm going to buy this for our cabin in montana). the lonely planet australia was a bday gift from kp. at night, before bed, i plan our adventures down under.

march photo challenge: march 3

march 3: YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

our neighborhood - shoot, our whole city - is perpetually marred by terrible light. it's life in the swamp, i guess. all this to say that i have jacked up this photo trying to make the details clear. if i had time i guess i could wait for decent light, but hélas, today is "your neighborhood" day. no time to wait for ideal conditions.

anyway, this is snake & jake's christmas club lounge. it's a new orleans classic and has been named one of playboy's top ten american dive bars (quite the honor). and it's right around the corner from our house! a little history behind the name: the bar was originally called the christmas club lounge, and at some point it was purchased by jake, and it then became jake's christmas club lounge (think ruth's chris - same idea). then snake bought it from jake, hence snake and jake's.

it's a great place early in the evening - great music, super cheap beer, small crowds - and the guy next door (the rest of the block is residential) grills brats and burgers on thursday and friday nights for $5! but late night it turns into a tulane haunt. lots of drunk undergrads, and - horror of all horrors - lots of smoke. we don't spend much time there anymore.

march photo challenge: MARCH 1 & 2

we're only a few days into march, so i guess it's not officially spring yet... but that doesn't really matter here in new orleans since it was never actually winter. i know the warm temps and relentless humidity are probably doing great things for my poor little face, but i don't care. i'm over swamp life! seriously, i have never been so disappointed in a season in all my 36 (eek) years. it truly was a pathetic showing this year - i barely even got to wear my trench coat!

enough complaining though. i've decided to bid "winter" (ie, hoping for cool temps) good riddance with a new blog project. a friend of mine discovered this photo challenge designed by @fatmumslim and posts pics on facebook every day. it's such fun to see her creativity and perspective, i thought i'd give it a try.

so without further ado, it's the march photo challenge! (p.s., i'm already a few days behind...)

march 1: UP

this is a shot taken inside richard serra's vortex (2002) at the fort worth museum of modern art last christmas. kp and i go to fort worth a lot when we're in texas and we recently decided to start taking advantage of its exquisite collections (the stock yards AND the kimball - why would anyone even bother with dallas?). it's a treasure chest, a beautifully designed one at that!

march 2: FRUIT

another image from fort fun, this one of a favorite summer cocktail, "the lafayette." its brilliance lies in its simplicity: vodka, blood orange soda, lime. et voilà - to summer!