i don't mind the rain

as long as i can stay home on the couch.

i think it was determined this weekend that parkway tavern's surf and turf poboy is the leading poboy of new orleans. according to the everetts' palates. sophisticated as they are.

it has been raining like nobody's business. so today, matt and i watched some "arrested development" while the rain pitter-pattered. i got my favorite blanket, moved our unphotogenic dog out of matt's lap (sorry, ella. NOT!) and snuggled til i fell asleep.

i'm sorry but i have to say it.

five years ago, i was in hawaii. watching new orleans wash away from our condo tv. i got the same feeling i had on 9/11.

i stared at the tv.

"ok, what?"

.........

"ok, i'm sorry, what?"

my comprehension skills were not up to par.

but katrina-whore definitely leaves a cloudy film on my hawaiian vacay. maybe on some level i knew that i'd one day call new orleans "home."

this was totally supposed to be a temporary stop for us. but we went to harbor about a year ago this month and the sermon was basically about urging students and young couples to stay in the city. after their degrees/internships/summer jobs were over.

i took it as a sign. despite the craters in the roads, the unfavorable schools, traffic and crime, i had fallen in love with her. and i decided i wanted to stay here, as long as the good Lord saw fit.

my friend, meredith, said in her blog that "i've heard it said that the longer you live in new orleans, the more unfit you are to live anywhere else."

i feel that way. if i moved right now, i'd end up making everyone hate me cause i'd never shut up about the food or mardi gras or my saints.

i can't say enough about the food. or sipping cocktails on the porch of the columns. or the ambiance at the green goddess with it's copperplate ceilings and teeny tiny tables. how hansen's doesn't have air conditioning. but you can air condition your stomach. the many chandeliers at loa and how they play arcade fire and band of horses while i sip my lemondrop on a velvet chair.

how everyone looks good in black and gold. and people take their dogs everywhere. how old metairie road is like my own personal princess land. and magazine st has more little stores and shops than i can count.

and amazing gelato.

how the dumpest looking little shacks have the absolute best food. and the waitresses call you "honey," dear" and "baby."

our friends here are amazing. we love them so much and they've made my life complete.

i can't see myself living anywhere else.

i love my city.