Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Breakfast to Die For, Cathedral, the Theater, and My Earrings

October 24, 2017 at 12:35 pm by Claudia

The WiFi connection here at the hotel – or my server – is awfully slow today and I have to shower and get breakfast, so I’ll make this post rather concise. We had a lovely day off together yesterday, just taking it slow. Don is very, very tired – as is the rest of the cast – so we went for a mellow and easy-going Monday.

(I had to stop writing this post for a while to wait for the server to be fixed.)

I had no sooner read a comment from Martha recommending The Old Coffee Pot for breakfast when, I’m not kidding you, Don said, “Here’s a place where we should eat breakfast this morning. It’s called The Old Coffee Pot.”

There you have it. We had to go.

Let me be frank – this may have been the best breakfast I’ve ever had.

Eggs Sardou. Eggs on an English muffin, hollandaise sauce and herbed spinach. As I said on Instagram, close to orgasmic. And the potatoes – oh my god.

Then we had Calas, which Martha also recommended. Made with leftover rice and cinnamon and other things, topped – of course – with powdered sugar. Oh my heavens! Delicious!

We kept moaning out loud because everything was so good.

The fireplace in the restaurant. Shiplap everywhere. It’s lovely.

Then we walked around the French Quarter. I took Don to Faulkner House Books and he was almost as entranced as I. The owner was there and he and Don had a great chat and he signed a book for Don. The owner has a rare book collection – many of which are first editions – and we talked about what happens when you buy your first rare book. He said that he said to himself : “I guess I’m a book collector!”

Anyway. I’ve been there 3 times now! And I’ll probably go back one more time. I cannot say enough about this bookshop.

The interior of St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square. It’s simply stunning.

And the interior of the Saenger theater.

The gorgeous chandeliers mixed with Margaritaville paper lanterns.

From my seat in the house the other night, pre-show.

Don has already been recognized on the street. And he ran into a bar the other day to use the bathroom and a guy was talking about having seen the show the night before and how much he liked the character J.D. and it took him a few moments to realized that Don was J. D. Then he asked Don to lead them in a song from the show and Don, never shy, did.

This morning, as we were having breakfast, the waitress brought a guy over to the table. He and his wife had flown down to New Orleans from New York to see the show before it moved to Broadway. He said he’ll see it on Broadway as well.

These are the earrings I bought the other day. The woman who designs these bases them on architectural elements she sees in the city. Right below the earrings is a picture of the design she adapted. I love these earrings and I’ve had them on ever since!

Okay. I flew back up to the room to see if the server issues were fixed and I guess they are because I’m getting this out just under the wire.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: New Orleans, On The Road 18 Comments

Preservation Hall, Faulkner House Books, Music, People, NOLA

October 23, 2017 at 11:21 am by Claudia

Let me start off by saying that last night’s performance at Preservation Hall was something I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. I’ve always wanted to go there and the chance to listen to these seasoned (and often hilarious) musicians play the jazz that originated in New Orleans was a dream come true. I got in line early for the 10:00 show and then Don met me there as soon as his show finished. It’s a small room, an intimate space in which to hear music.

It was a shared experience: the audience, the musicians, and the energy of the room with all its history. I’ve had a couple of musical experiences here in New Orleans that brought me to tears. This was one of them. If I did nothing else for the rest of the week, I would be just fine. This was everything to me.

The doors/shutters on the outside of Preservation Hall. Gorgeous. The Preservation Hall All Stars were simply brilliant. I got to shake their hands afterward.

Blessed, I am. Blessed.

More glass flowers sighted as I walked around the French Quarter. I went back to that little green cottage and an artist who happens to use the front room for his studio happened to be there and we had a nice chat. He rents that space. The longtime owners of the house had to relocate to Houston after Katrina and now are thinking of selling the cottage. He also gave me the card for the artists that created the glass flowers. I may have to contact them.

I love, almost more than anything, the conversations I have with people I run into. The young woman standing next to me in line last night was here with two of her friends – they’re from Canada – and she said that she was the one who insisted on coming to Preservation Hall. They also took part in the Halloween Parade the night before. Lovely woman.

I also stopped by Lucullus, a shop I have known about for years. They carry china and old copper pans and all sorts of  vintage French cooking/kitchen items. It’s far too expensive for me, but I wanted to drink it in. I ended up having a wonderful chat with the proprietor.

And I made a second stop at Faulkner House Books, which is now my favorite – ever – bookshop. It’s small. It’s impeccably curated (and you know I don’t use that overused word very often.) It’s gorgeous inside. This shop is in a building that William Faulkner lived in at one time. In fact, he wrote his first novel there. I bought a few books the first time I discovered the shop and I couldn’t wait to go back there. I could go there every day this week and I just may do that.

This time the owner was there – a courtly gentleman who bought the building with his wife 28 years ago. As he said, they don’t have a lot of space, so they pick and choose wisely. It’s filled with fiction and non-fiction and New Orleans history and poetry and current events and biography. Let’s put it this way: if I lived nearby, I would be doing some damage to my bank account daily. Because what they do, in addition to choosing interesting books, is carry special editions of books that you can’t find in a big box store. You might be able to find them on Amazon but you’d have to know about them. I found myself wanting to buy books that I already had simply because the editions were so beautiful. You want to hold them in your hand. You want to savor every detail.

The shelves were made by a cabinet maker from cypress, I think it was, that is incredibly strong and impervious to moisture. They are stunning and they have little reading/writing surfaces that pull out – sort of like a breadboard in an old-fashioned kitchen.

There are autographed photos and bits of writing by some famous authors on the walls.

Tennessee Williams.

A testy George Bernard Shaw. (I love everything about that man.)

There’s also a signed photo of Hemingway and of Harper Lee. And more.

The Wodehouse editions were gorgeous and I bought one for Don. He is a huge Wodehouse fan.

I went back to buy this 100th anniversary edition of  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is so beautifully done, with gold end papers and beautiful illustrations.

I could go on and on about this shop. Let’s face it – I could live there. Discovering this shop and hearing the Preservation Hall All Stars is all I need. Not surprising is it? Music and books. That’s the way it’s always been for me.

More tomorrow. Today is Don’s day off and we don’t know what we’re doing yet but we’ll have fun.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Tagged With: Preservation HallFiled Under: books, bookstores, music, New Orleans, On The Road 34 Comments

A Bit of Everything, NOLA Style

October 22, 2017 at 10:48 am by Claudia

Another wonderful day in New Orleans. An incredibly humid day where, once again, I had to take a break and go back to the hotel to get out of the humidity. It was also the day of the big Halloween parade. I was at the show, so I didn’t see it, but masses and masses of people were in town to watch it and celebrate. If I’ve learned anything here, it’s that New Orleans loves a party.

More wonderful buildings:

And hidden beauty:

Amazing wrought iron:

Old advertising:

Poets for hire (these guys had manual typewriters and would write a poem for you.)

Full service occult:

Music everywhere:

I need to stop for a moment and talk about this woman and her fellow musicians. In addition to their incredible talent, they bring that gift to the streets of the French Quarter. There were many people gathered around listening to the beautiful music – including Don and me. When she sang What a Wonderful World, I looked around at everyone – all ethnicities, from all over the world – smiling, nodding, completely entranced, and I thought “This is what matters. This is who we are. This is what I believe, what we believe.” I had tears in my eyes and a woman who stopped and talked to me after the song said she cried as well.

It was a soul healing experience.

I went to see the show last night and it was great. Lots of changes, but all for the better, I think. The Saenger is GORGEOUS. More on that later.

I found a bookstore that has risen to number 1 in my favorite bookstores list. I’ll write about that tomorrow.

And tonight, after Don’s show, we’re going here.

I’ve wanted to hear jazz here for years.

Can’t wait!

More tomorrow. I have so many photos!

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: New Orleans, On The Road 42 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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