Queen of the Road!

"Queen of the Road" is apparently my new nickname, thanks to Ravayna Tracey, one of many lovely ladies who I have met through the pastime of pageantry. A visit with Ravayna was one of the 'sweet treats' during my latest weekend in NoLa... even though we ate salads. : )

This past weekend was a blur of food and fun throughout South Louisiana. One of Stephen's good friends (and fabulous local artist) was celebrating her birthday. In between my arrival and departure, I made sure to get some good grub and shopping done... shopping being the priority. I was also able to catch up with a few pageant ladies, which is always a good time and never short on entertainment.

For lunch on Saturday, Stephen and I headed a few blocks over to Cafe Freret in Uptown. While my spinach & mushroom quesadilla was a delicious delight, I loved the ambiance of the place even more: dogs at the tables outside, customers squeezing through the kitchen to get to the bathroom (awkward but expected and enjoyed), and students from several of the local universities and colleges.

Next, I headed over to Oak Street for some shopping. My final shop stop was On The Other Hand, a vintage boutique. Now, if you think you know me just a little bit, then you definitely know how much I luuurrrve vintage clothing and accessories; so, I did my best not to go absolute bananas in this store. Preppy headband? Check. Vintage Izod (who sold their famous alligator logo to Lacoste) sundress? Big check. Velour and satin navy shift cocktail dress, for $12? Epic check. Fully sequined/beaded turquoise dress of my dreams? They don't make check marks big enough. Sigh. Even after all of these fabulous fashion finds, my favorite part of the trip was meeting the store owner, Ms. Kay (pictured), and her sweet sweet sidekick (whose name I do not recall, I apologize). Ms. Kay's lovely face reminded me of my grandma Dunn's, big and warm smile and twinkly eyes that prove years of wisdom. Ms. Kay gushed as I tried on big hat after big hat (it was Derby Day after all, May 1st). She then demanded that she dress me for next year when I will attend the Kentucky Derby (apparently she is insisting that I go as well). In the midst of all the "ooos" and "ahhs" over her merchandise, she promptly stopped and prayed with her young companion for God to "make the wind stop blowing to the oil would not reach New Orleans." It was so touching... especially if you could have met her young friend. He is a boy, my guess is about 13 in age, but you would never guess based on conversation or attire. He was dresses in what you would see men wear in the 50s, complete with hat and suspenders. When I tried on the above mentioned turquoise sequined "thing," I could tell he was fashion-smitten... he followed me off to the dressing room to tell me, "back in the old days in France, it was not appropriate for women to show skin, even their ankles. But if men were to tell women they had nice ankles, it was considered quite the compliment. So my dear, I would like to tell you that you have beautiful ankles." Then, clearly, I was smitten. At some point my shopping had to come to an end, but I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these two lovely Louisianians, and I CANNOT WAIT to return to the store and to see them. This is but one story of why I love the people and the places here.

The first Miss Louisiana I ever met was Miss Louisiana USA 2007, Liz McNulty. We met the night that I became Miss LSU-USA 2007, and we have been friends ever since. Liz is an amazing consultant when it comes to fashion and makeup and modeling and everything that is fabulous. She has makeshift closets because she is busting from the seams with fashion. She has MULTIPLE chandeliers in her two-bedroom (understatement) apartment on Esplanade. After learning about foundation, those makeshift closets, and alterations, I said, "au revoir" to Liz (and her equally high-maintenance dog, Bianca).

The next item on the agenda was to hang out with Ravayna... this ended up being brunch on Sunday at Cafe Rani. I have not seen or spoken to Ravayna (other than facebooking) since the night that I won Miss LA Watermelon Festival, so we had a lot to catch up on... so much has happened in my journey since last July!

Finally, I headed off to Lafayette to watch some friends compete for the Miss Lafayette/Miss Teen Lafayette titles in the USA system.

And 320 miles later, I made it back home in Baton Rouge... time to start another week!

(Note: I did my best to link all of the great establishments I listed above. So if there is a place you want to know more about, just scroll the mouse over the words and click to be routed to the website! Buy local, right?!?)