Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

The Roosevelt Hotel in the CBD was one of too many oldline establishments that had lost its luster, closing entirely in 2005. But after the Waldorf-Astoria gave it a $145 million makeover she reopened to great fanfare a few months ago, bringing back many of the old traditions like extravagant holiday decorations:

The hotel is still best known for its connection to Huey “Kingfish” Long who kept rooms on the 12th floor for the many nights he was in town, coming so often that he had Airline Highway built so he could make the 80 mile trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in an hour. For ten years he traveled back and forth, making sure there was a Ramos Gin Fizz waiting at the end for him as he met with the power brokers in town.

Seymour Weiss, the Kingfish’s friend and confidante, started out working in the barber shop, where he could pick up information from the city’s rich and powerful and pass it along; but with Long’s protection the lowly barber rose through the ranks, becoming the principle owner of the hotel in only 8 years. Despite his humble beginnings and dubious contacts Weiss was a great success as owner, even if he did have to serve 16 months in the Federal pen for tax evasion linked to his dealings with Long.

Their Sazerac bar is gorgeous and famous in its own right- not to mentioned packed with locals and tourists alike:

The whole place was packed, actually, not just the bar, with people soaking up the atmosphere, and the employees were as kind and gracious as can be. I’m looking forward to heading back after the craziness of the holidays has passed and having another go at the place.

It’s been several years since we’ve gone, so this was the year. Everybody was staying home instead of travelling for the holidays, and we’ve decided to go in for a bunch of local traditions, like bonfires on the levee.

To stay true to the tradition, we would have had to do it on Christmas Eve, but Oak Alley Plantation’s fundraiser and whoop-de-doo is a few weeks before, full of music, amazing food, and the opportunity to walk the grounds without tons of tour groups all over the place.

It was damn cold that night, but we were glad to be able to have it at all after heavy rains the day before. Unfortunately, the pyre got dampened and took awhile to really get going, but it was lovely. Carols and music around the fire with Hot Cocoa to look forward to afterward. What could be more festive?

Checking out at B&N shouldn’t have taken long last night, but did, thanks to their brilliant strategy of having only two (2) clerks on*, which gave me lots of time to peruse their strategically placed selections of Christmas cards & assorted seasonal crap.

Despite the fact that at the time I thought my brain would explode like a goose force fed on ChristmasCheer ^tm,the delay turned out to be a good thing. It gave me time to get through all five stages of Christmas Card Grief:

1. Denial - There is no way Christmas is in a month! I refuse to believe it- we just had Christmas! This is totally a scam! Nonononono. No. Absolutely not.
2. Anger - Alright, dammit. It’s coming, fine. I’ll have to get the crap out of the attic, and- aaargh!! the cards, the aggravation, the shopping. F*ck!
3. Bargaining- Alright, well, if I can find some funny, non-syrupy cards it might not be so bad. Maybe if I just did a few, the really important ones, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Well, until I run into somebody who didn’t make the cut…
4. Depression- Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve never once gotten them done on time! How many boxes of cards that I intended to complete with personal and meaningful sentiment were never even opened? And even if, by some unlikely miracle, I did get it done, they’re still mass-produced damn cards. How many looks of smug superiority will I have to endure from parents who had professional photos taken months ago to show off their perfect little angels?
5. Acceptance (with a big spiked cup o’ eggnog)- Well, wtf. Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, right?. Why bother with the farce?

So I now proudly admit to all the world: I am a bad little Christmas Elf, and have decided that I am just fine with it.

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*one of whom was tied up for 20 minutes with the world’s oldest human being doing a detailed cost/benefit analysis of joining their discount program, and other of which was arguing with a customer attempting to return a book that was bought in FEBRUARY. And it’s not even Black Friday yet. Bah – freaking -humbug.

So last week we had the neighborhood party at the house, and I’m just now getting around to editing the pics. It’s an open house, potluck sorta thing, very low key.

We also have a White Elephant ‘gift’ exchange- it’s just an excuse to get rid of some crap somebody gave you that you didn’t want in the first place. Charlie wasn’t going to participate, and people were bitching, so I gave him my prezzie to give, and with some drunken encouragement, I plucked something out of my ‘new,’ adult inventory to give.
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I’m a wreck. I know, just like you, just like every other zombie I’ve seen out there the last few days.

What happened was pure Holiday Hubris. Apparently, I was due for a karmic slapdown.

I was soooo smug. I was so sure. This was gonna be an easy year. Ali was getting cash. I’d arranged it so I wasn’t exchanging with many people. I’d held firm about not doing the annual cookie orgy where I spend days making 18 different kinds and packing them up for dozens of people. Hell, I’m not even going up to NYC for the holiday.

I had it made.

…oh, wait. What’s this, Alison? An ELEVEN PAGE Christmas list? With photos? Of clothes from online merchants who won’t possibly be able to get them here on time?

What’s that you say? That you really really REALLY need at least some of this stuff? And that for the first time since you were little you’re really looking forward to opening boxes and surprises instead of gift-cards?

And you promised you’d bring cookies, too? And everyone’s gone on and on about how much they look forward to you bringing them in? Even the principal? A tradition. Right.

Of course I’ll edit your exam essays until 1am so you can get some rest for the actual tests! And bake. And help you get ready to leave for your father’s on Friday.

Oh, that’s right, you’re leaving in a few days! And there’s that boy over by your Dad, the one you claim to not really like like, but you still want your hair, eyebrows, and nails done, and uh…you want your eyelashes tinted?? And these things have to happen in how many separate salons?

So. I’ve got 4 days to do a season’s worth of shopping, wrapping, etc.

But there is an upside to tramping through store after store…I made a little secret purchase today. I bought brand new tee-shirt style sheets for the bed- I love those more than any exorbitant thread count- and some books. And Saturday I’m going to have my own little quiet recovery party.

Okay, I guess there are really two upsides. Crazy as this all is, at least the kiddo still needs her mom to do all this stuff. Won’t be many more Christmases where that’s the case. So I’ll just have to swallow hard, make the sleep up later, and get it all done. That’s what moms do, after all.

But once she’s gone, Santa can skip the eggnog, I’m diving right into the wine bottle.

Happy Holidays, y’all, hope you’ve found your own snuggly something to help you recover!

Well, nothing like a deadline.

We have the Neighborhood Association’s Christmas party here at the house.

Tonight.

So… you know… I figured this would be a good time to put up a decoration or two. Actually, I started yesterday, and today I’m so tired I could cry and there’s still bunches to do. Somehow it’ll get done, it always does.

And if it doesn’t, I’ll just keep refilling everyone’s wine glass and soon they won’t notice anyway.

Alright, clearly I’m still drugged up on cold meds, but I have not laughed this hard in a long damn time.

This is the perfect sendup of relatives and friends in the NY/NJ area. Perfect in ways I can’t even describe. Seriously. If you get it, you get it, and if you don’t…there’s just no way to explain.

Big thumbs up to Dangerblond for pointing it out. Ya made my day, Kim.

(Also, their “my son is gay?” video is hysterical, because it ends with mom wanting to feed everybody. As it should be.)

Really, I’ve got a pretty warped sense of humor, but these…I just don’t know. I have to say I love some of these. They’re theoretically a teaching tool- stuffed versions of actual germs that have large, winsome eyes that beg you not to take their malady personally, along with a text all about their symptoms, history, etc.

All this, and reasonably priced too! I see some stocking stuffer possibilities here, though I just can’t decide between the Black Death one and the whole series on Venereal Diseases.

Such are the tough choices we have to make at this busy time of year…