Pack With Me: Three Day Trip

When I travel, I tend to only take a backpack. For a longer trip, I might take a carry on. But mostly a backpack will do me. When packing for New Orleans, I realized that it was basically, more or less, what I pack when I go anywhere.

My packing always starts with what I’m going to wear for the actual traveling. Since I was flying this trip, I knew I needed something that would keep me very warm and comfy. But since I was traveling from a cold place to a warmer place, I didn’t want to wear a big coat.

So naturally I opted for lots of layers that I could use later in my trip, too. I wore a tank top, a mockneck, a sweater, one of the two pairs of jeans that I brought, a sweatshirt, and a jacket. As always I had a scarf and a hat. I chose to wear my new vans that I had bought the day before leaving. I love to wear slip on shoes when I fly, bc they make the security check much simpler.

Once we arrived, I broke up this outfit, changed into a tee shirt, and switched to my broken in shoes. On such a short trip, I ended up wearing many items over and over, like the sweater.

On this trip, I wasn’t sure how warm it was going to be so I packed a two dresses. These didn’t end up getting orn, but they are small and easy to pack. I could have also worn one as a top if I ran low on tee shirts. The other items that didn’t get used was pajama pants and top. I always pack PJs but rarely end up using them. Better safe than sorry!

Here is the final packing list:
4 tees
2 pants
2 dresses
3 tank tops
1 mock neck
1 sweater
1 sweatshirt
1 bathing suit
under garments and socks
2 sneakers
1 scarf
1 hat
1 jacket

Overall I think I packed a little too much, but with not knowing what the weather would be doing, I the best I could. I’m always trying to streamline packing, use layers, rewear items, and be comfortable when traveling! I also packed my toiletries, my zero waste kit, and my accessories (books, noteboos etc…) for this trip and fit them into a backpack and 1 small tote. Let me know if you would be interested to see those items!

Are you a minimalist packer for trips? Are you an over packer? Share your advice in the comments!

February Plant Update

February was a great month for plant observations!! We saw a lot of things, we traveled, we revisited our sacred spaces.

A snowy morning in Cape May, NJ.

A foggy morning in Asbury Park, NJ.

Two of my favorite pine trees.

A pink morning.

This plant scares my husband, but look at it’s beautiful blooms!!

Lovely colors, oxalis never disappoints.

One of the only snowy days so far…

…it looked like it might be a crazy snow day, but it melted quickly.

And then there was New Orleans.

I will never get over Spanish moss.

I also learned about resurrection moss which grows in NOLA all year, sometimes dying back and they spontaneously growing right back.

It was really great and very odd to visit somewhere were flowers were blooming in Feb.

Seeing bees already hard at work was a wonderful sight.

Going somewhere warm with flowers blooming was a great pick me up. Winter is the hardest time for me and seeing some green plants and bright flowers was an awesome inspiration for me. Spring really is right around the corner!

I’m excited to see March’s plants! What was February like where you live or travel?

2 Days in New Orleans

Back in September, we headed out to Alabama for my brother-in-law's wedding. We also took a few days to go to New Orleans, LA. 

I'd been to NOLA once before and stayed in the Frenchman Hotel. I enjoyed it so much, we stayed there again. It's centrally located on Frenchman Street and it's got a lot of New Orleans charm (including wonky doors, buggy bathrooms, music in the air, and the sweetest little court yard pool!).  
We mostly walked and took trolleys around the city and visited as many areas as we could in the short time we had. We went to Bourbon Street, of course, walked around the Merigny, the French Quarter, and East Carrolltown (where we had an amazing meal at Ba Chi Canteen). NOLA is a pretty great walking city, as long as you're accustomed to walking. The trolleys are easy to get the hang of. But remember, you buy your ticket on the trolley, there are no outside ticket machines. Being from NYC, this confused us at first. 

We spent a large portion of one day at City Park. The museum was closed that day, but we were able to explore the NOMA Sculpture Garden. More on that in this post.
The Park is a little far out from our hotel for walking, but the bumpy trolley ride is perfect for seeing the city. The locals also take the trolleys so you'll see kids and commuters, as well as tourists. 
The park is vast and we only scratched the surface. But we had a great time following ducks and taking in a bit of Southern nature.

I've never seen such a variety of moss! 

We found a great spot in City Park for a snack. Morning Call had great beignets, a staple of any New Orleans visit.
Of course we also made a few stops at Cafe Du Monde!! Three trips for beignets in two days seem totally normal to me. 
Finding vegetarian options in popular/traditional restaurants was a bit of a challenge at times. But there are so many great food options in NOLA, all sorts of varieties and ethnicities. There's something for everyone, you just need to search it out.   

My first visit to the city was completely magical, and I wondered how this trip would compare. Walking around NOLA was a lot like I remembered. So bright and colorful, quiet and still in the hazy heat, but vibrant and living. I could easily just walk around for hours. 

There seemed to be more people around this time, but that might be time of year. I have to say that I was surprised to see quite a few more people who seemed to be living on the streets, or in need. I think NOLA has a reputation as a hedonistic paradise, full of debauchery, but that the influx of down and out types might be a dark consequence. 

Even we visited a casino, but just for a walk though. We went to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Look for a post all about that soon. 

On our drive from Alabama, we drove over the Lake Pontchartain Causeway. We were excited to see it since it's the longest bridge over water in the world!! Unfortunately it was pitch black. Only one of the reasons we will definitely be going back to visit New Orleans again. 

Not being one for a debaucherous lifestyle, I do absolutely believe one should indulge in life. For me, New Orleans has so much possibility for wonderful indulging, without the need to go totally crazy. Its strangely satisfying to drink on the street, but I rarely do it. I love to eat the town's powdered sugar staple, but find a great healthy option for dinner or lunch. For me, the eerie calmness that prevails in the residential areas is more enticing than the party town atmosphere on Bourbon St. New Orleans holds a mysterious balance for me, and I'm always eager to return. 

Art and Nature at New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden

While we were in New Orleans we went to the New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden.  The museum itself was closed as it was a Monday. But the Garden is open 7 days a week. 

There were quite a few nice pieces, including a Magritte right was we walked in!

The Labors of Alexander

There were several other notable sculptures, as well, all nestled among winding pathways. Water features prominently in the sculpture garden, along with the large Spanish moss covered trees, this makes the garden cool and breezy to walk thru. 

We encountered many lizards darting on the paths but try as we might, we couldn't catch any. 

We also crossed paths with a surprisingly aggressive duck. We had a puzzle of trying to get him to let us get around him as we wound our way through the garden. We soon realized that his aggressive nature was merely a food seeking ploy and we followed him on his begging route until he landed us at a perfect spot for a cool break.