Down in the Treme

The Spotted Cat

Brent and I met in New Orleans over Memorial Day Weekend 2014. He had just finished Duck Dynasty in Monroe. The city was amazing! I'd move there if we could (though the humidity was not fun). I hope to go back soon, especially to listen to jazz in the French Quarter.

Here are the places we went...

Garden District

We used AirBnB to stay in a house in the gorgeous, historic Garden District (not this one but this house was near ours). We walked around a lot looking at the homes with their beautiful verandahs and ironwork. There were also graveyards to visit in the neighborhood too.

Bike Tour

Confederacy of Cruisers - so much fun. We rode 6 miles around Treme and other great neighborhoods as part of the Creole Tour. Our tour guide was a guy named Cassady who was born and raised in NOLA.

Site-Seeing

• Jackson Square
• French Market - I bought a great (and cheap) straw Fedora here.
• WWII Museum - we went here to escape the heat in the daytime, but it's very well done. We saw the 4D movie narrated by Tom Hanks.
• House of Dance and Feathers -in the 9th Ward. We got to hang out with the Indian legend, Ronald Lewis, and see his costumes/hear his stories.
• St. Roch Cemetery

Restaurants

Brent eating crawfish from Big Fisherman (takeout, clearly)

Cafe Du Monde - went here for beignets at about 2 am or later. Nighttime was best because during the day it is a HUGE maybe hour-long line. Funniest memory was I ordered chicory coffee to go with the beignets. Brent usually hates coffee but was drunk and just downed it in one sip. I couldn't believe my eyes! Said it was tasty too. :)

Parkway Bakery & Tavern - best po boys in town! We had a beef po boy, actually.

Elizabeth's – we went to this down home diner for brunch in Bywater. Yum!

Cochon Butcher - we went here for a delicious, hip lunch. It was communal tables, so we sat next to a great older couple (the man was a Tulane professor). They were so friendly and told us great tips on where to go.

Cafe Degas – we went here for dinner. It was romantic with a candlelit patio. We ate soft shell crab and french onion soup.

Lüke – a John Besh restaurant, we went here for oysters on our first night and sat at the bar. Great spot!

Bacchanal Wine - probably my favorite place where we had a drink! We sat on the patio. It's really mellow. I think it was Cassady that told us about this place in the Bywater. Great local joint.

Taken at Bacchanal. Lazy afternoon :)

Jazz

Blue Nile - I think this is the most famous spot on Frenchmen (and lots of fun). Pretty sure we went both nights there, but my memory is fuzzy. :)

Little Gem Saloon - we saw my favorite trumpet player, Kermit Ruffins, on Saturday, May 24. We got to sit at a nice cocktail table and soak in his fun performance. Many people call him a modern Louis Armstrong. He even plays his covers.

ChickieWahWah - we saw Paul Sanchez play on Friday, May 23. Cute low-key spot. Paul was so nice to talk to us after then drive us to the French Quarter! People are so friendly in New Orleans!

Spotted Cat - I loved it here (on Frenchmen). It was smaller and standing room only, but I loved the band (more old school).

Snug Harbor - this one was the classiest of the clubs with 2 stories. We sat on the 2nd story and listened to a more traditional big band play.

Other bars of note: dba, Maison (but we didn't stay long)

Australia

A few highlights from our amazing Australia vacation in late 2013:

Sydney

We arrived on Nov. 26 after a comfortable 11-hour Virgin flight. We went straight to Ben's apartment in Surry Hills. Ben met us a few hours later after work and took us for a tour of his neighborhood. We also played an epic round of frisbee golf on a course Ben designed. It was fun, though I think a few people in the parks were annoyed that we had to throw around them and even across busy streets!

Over that week in Sydney, a few of the activities we did were:

• Opera House - really saw it from multiple angles and went inside. It's very 70s inside, but the outside is very cool. Meant to look like sails. 
• Royal Botanical Gardens - it was easy to walk from Ben's apartment through the gardens to see the Opera House so we did so several times.
• Hiked Bondi to Cogee Beach - on the first day there, no less. Tiring but a great overview of the city's beaches. 
• Balmoral Beach - my favorite! Especially The Boathouse where we had brunch on the pier. Totally inspiring, nautical themed restaurant (loved the cute design). See the photo of Brent and Cigdem below. It's so peaceful and picturesque at Balmoral that several brides were taking photos of their overlook.
• Tarongo Zoo - they let you get really close to the animals. Also has a great view.
• Tropfest - Ben and Cigdem took us to an outdoor short film festival.
• Saw Uncle Ray, Lilli and Ryan Barto!

Cairns

I think we looked forward to this part of the trip the most because we saw the Great Barrier Reef on a 2-day sailboat excursion. We chose Coral Sea Dreaming as the sailboat company because Ben's dad raved about it. Also, it's one of the smaller, more boutique scuba diving/boating experiences there. Most boats are huge and the trip just lasts a few hours. We wanted to "sleep on the reef." 

We loved our shipmates... about 12 of us and we all got along. There was a British couple our age on their honeymoon. We had a lot of great chats. Luckily, neither of us got seasick but several others did. Scuba diving did not go as well as we hoped. Brent and I were special cases. Brent had a beard and has sinus issues so he had trouble breathing underwater. I would get freaked out when I went too far down (thought it was only about 20 feet) or when I saw Brent having trouble. Luckily, we had a patient instructor who ended up getting us under then taking us by the hands (ha!) and guiding us. Once I forgot about the weird and heavy apparatus around me, I relaxed and it was so awesome. We had an underwater camera. We even saw a small reef shark. 

After the boat trip, we stayed at Travellers Oasis hostel (in a private room). It was so fun! They had a pool and lots of fun, younger guests that we hung out with. The first night there, they invited us to a authentic Aussie BBQ where we ate kangaroo!  

Daintree National Forest / Cape Tribulation

This is the only place on Earth where two areas on the World Heritage list sit side by side. The "rainforest meets the sea." We chose to drive here from Cairns on Captain Cook Highway along the coast. It was beautiful. Once we arrived, we stopped at Bruce Belcher's River Cruises to see the CROCODILES! Bruce has a cute family-run business. We did see a few crocodiles, including babies. The next stop and the highlight of this stretch was staying at the Cape Tribulation Farmstay. This was a working fruit farm with a lot of exotic fruits we'd never heard of. We stayed in our own little hut and each morning had a plate of fresh fruit prepared for us at the shared kitchen. There are no cell towers or really Wifi in Cape Trib, so we went dark for a few days. We did a lot of nature walks and sitting on remote beaches. We couldn't swim because it was crocodile season. Swimming is basically prohibited. But locals told us about this hidden blue lagoon fresh water hole so we checked it out and it was amazing.   

Melbourne

We flew in and spent 2 days here. This is a very Victorian city in terms of architecture. We stayed in the middle of the city and had great food. I loved walking in the "arcades," which are turn of the century, arched shopping centers... usually through the middle of a building. The highlight of this stretch was renting a car and driving the Great Ocean Road. We thought we could do it in one day (really more like 5-6 hours) but it took longer than expected. I liked seeing Bells Beach on the way. That's where the last scene of Point Break is filmed. The creme de la creme was the 12 Apostles. We actually missed our flight and slept in a small airport just to see these rock formations as the sun set. It's one of the most beautiful and spectacular landscapes I've ever seen. It was so windy but Brent wanted to take a lot of photos (rightly so) so we just bundled up and took our time. 


There were a few other destinations along the way, but I think I've captured the parts of the trip that blew us away. It's a wonderful country with friendly, happy people. Would be cool to live there (and I know a few Americans who went there and stayed). We were lucky to take this trip down under and hope to do it again one day (and see the Outback perhaps).

We're going to Australia!

Heron Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef

The tickets are booked for Nov. 26 - Dec. 11! That's about 12 full days of actually being in Australia (not counting losing a day there and gaining one coming back). This is so exciting! We haven't taken an international trip since 3 years ago when we went to Costa Rica (but that was just 4 days for me). Before that, it's been a long 4 years since we went to Europe. 

We are in heavy planning mode now, but the Great Barrier Reef is a must for us. We will probably try scuba diving for the first time. Luckily, we have friends and family in Sydney to give us tips and show us around.

One thing I've decided about my life though... I want to visit as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible (of which Great Barrier Reef is one). We've already seen several. In order to keep track, the ones we've seen (that I remember off hand) are:

• Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay
• Palace and Park of Versailles
• Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau, Reims
• Paris, Banks of the Seine
• Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura * 13
• Historic Centre of Florence
• Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
• Venice and its Lagoon
• Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
• City of Bath
• Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church
• Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church 32
• Tower of London
• Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
• Maritime Greenwich
• Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City
• Redwood National and State Parks
• Statue of Liberty

That's a total of 18! We're excited to add a few more to our list after the Land Down Under!

5 Years

"Whatever else your life's great mission will entail, loving and defending this heart next to you is part of your great quest." 
- Love & War, John and Stasi Eldredge

Five years of marriage. A lot has happened in our lives. It has definitely been the most eventful 5 years of my life. I think I can say I've had my highest highs and lowest lows in these 5 years. Brent and I got married, furthered our careers, took a 4 month hiatus and traveled through Europe, moved to a new place, got a dog and went through career changes. On the negative side, me being laid off more than once was stressful. The regular ups and downs of marriage are stressful. We've had to learn to rely on each other no matter what, which is exactly how it should be. I've learned about fighting for one another.

I think what makes Brent and I work is how passionate we both are. One of my favorite quotes is "love is friendship set on fire." That definitely describes us. We have a fiery spark between us. Sometimes it's the source of us clashing, but God also gave us personalities that complement each other so that we work out our differences.

For anyone still reading who hasn't puked yet (surely I'm not being too mushy), I just want to say to my husband that you inspire me. That's why I fell for you. It continues to draw me to you and flows into other areas of my life. I continue to feel that we have a mission together that's just beginning. I appreciate all you do for me. I pray that we get better together over time. How 'bout another, say, 50 years?

The last Scearce wedding

Hannah and Joe (sister and future brother-in-law) have set their wedding date for July 28, 2012. Since I am obsessed with weddings, I have been offering a lot of advice about how they can save money and, of course, on the aesthetics.

I love that Hannah's main color is her favorite color of yellow. Bright yellow in fact. And I love that she's going with a modern look. Very Hannah. My wedding was very vintage inspired. Melanie's was beach chic. I think Hannah's will be modern, semi-minimalistic, but colorful and with a lot of creative DIY decor.

Here are a few decor ideas that I recommended to Hannah (and I think she'll go with):

String chandeliers:
http://ruffledblog.com/diy-string-wedding-chandelier/

Pomanders or kissing balls:

With real flowers

Or make pomanders from tissue paper (and I love this black stand):

http://www.theidearoom.net/2011/01/tissue-rosette-kissing-balls.html

In addition to decor ideas, I offered the following budget-friendly ideas:

Don't hire a DJ - rent or borrow speakers that you hook up to an iPod. Have a great playlist prepared. Have a friend man the iPod for key moments like the arrival, first dance and parent dances.

Have a buffet style dinner vs. sit down dinner - you save a lot of money with the caterer

Use paper or fabric flowers - good way to save money, at least if you supplement this with real, in-season flowers. Make sure not to spend the same amount or more of money in supplies if you go with a crafty flower experiment. Plus, it has to look good.

The cake - for a large wedding (200 or more is Hannah's number), consider a small "show" cake but have sheet cakes in the back as extra. This may be cheaper than cupcakes. Another idea is a dessert buffet with an even smaller cake to cut. That way, your guests have a lot of variety and you can get the desserts at the supermarket.

Ceremony decor - since the ceremony venue, our hometown church, has a bare stage, use re-usable plants as the stage decor. Flower arrangements would be $200-300. Just buy $10 ferns or yellow flower bushes and it'll look both beautiful, natural, and match the color scheme.

That's all for now. I'm having fun suggesting these things to Hannah. 

Life's a Beach at Nags Head

The week before Labor Day, we went on an amazing vacation that had been two years in the making. Our friends Brad and Laurie got married in beautiful Nags Head, NC. The wedding party shared a 20-bed beachside house for the week before, which was also the site of the ceremony and reception.

I love destination weddings. They bring people together like no other event can. So I knew Nags Head would be fun. It was just a relaxing, easy going time with friends. We hung at the beach during the day then cooked dinner together most nights, played games and chilled in the hot tub. Laurie's family was fun. They stayed in a large house across from ours dubbed the "Jersey house."

On wedding day, everyone chipped in with final preparations. There were a lot of DIY touches like taking flowers from the grocery store and making bouquets and centerpieces in mason jars (looked so pretty). I enjoyed serving as the wedding coordinator. It really validated that I know how to lead weddings. I'd done a few before, but after working in event marketing recently, I feel even more equipped to make all the little decisions that pay off when the event comes and overall juggle the moving pieces throughout the day.

The ceremony was sweet and intimate. I think being 30 feet from the waves with our feet in the sand and encircled by loved ones made it all the more emotional. Plus, Brad and Laurie wrote their own vows.

The reception was back at the house around the pool. The theme was a crabfest, which is a tradition in Laurie's family, so dinner was bushels of fresh, perfectly seasoned crabs. We just laid them on our tables and went to town breaking them open with our mallets (the favors). It was the first time I'd eaten whole crabs. Wow, those were good. Been craving the taste ever since.

After dinner, we all danced by the pool harder than I've danced in years. The deck was shaking! Excellent music choices, Brad and Laurie (who needs a DJ these days when you have an iPod playlist and huge speakers?). Towards the end of the night, "Piano Man" came on. A bit odd for a wedding, but 30 of us circled up and sang our asses off. One of Laurie's relatives busted out a harmonica! FUN times!

The vacation was a much-needed escape, especially because Brent and I hadn't seen each other in a month and a half (he's been filming in Michigan). I can't wait for him to come home -- hopefully in 2 weeks around Oct. 1. Weddings are such great reminders of how special marriage is. Being apart feels so unnatural after a few weeks go by. Breaks can be beneficial, but ultimately you're not complete unless you're together.

Hannah and Joe Visit LA!

We had the privilege of Hannah and Joe (sis and her boyfriend) visiting us over July 4th. Here was our itinerary, Marley & Me style:

Day 1 (after a late night arrival on Sunday night): We woke up. I had to work for a few hours, so dropped them off in Santa Monica for some sight seeing via a bike ride along the water. I picked them up for lunch and we went to Umami Burger where we sat outside, Cali style. For dinner, Brent returned from adventures in Bridezilla-land and begged us for quality, nicer food. So we went to Waterloo & City, a British gastropub that we love. Great food, great beer.

Day 2: We packed up the car for an overnight trip to San Diego with Ava in tow. Our first stop was Ocean Beach for a quick deli lunch followed by the dog beach. We all had fun playing with Ava and watching the other dogs. Little puppy tried to dig a hole to China! It was so cute. Next we checked in at the hotel. We left shortly after for Old Town San Diego and walked around the shops for awhile. We were all feeling hungry early, so stopped at Old Town Mexican Cafe. It was about 7:30 when we finished, so we were in time to drive to La Jolla and admire the beautiful sunset from the cliffs, play with some sea lions and get some great shots on the cliffs, sea spray and all. We walked around La Jolla, got some Starbucks then jumped in the car again for the Gaslamp District. We didn't have a bar destination in mind, so landed at Quality Social, which I'd heard good things about. We had a fun night trying their cocktails... hangin' in a booth... having some good conversations. :)

Day 3: We wake up in San Diego, eat a not-too-bad continental waffle breakfast and head to Hotel Del Coronado. Hannah channeled Melanie and focused on learning about the hotel's ghost. Next, we head to Pacific Beach, which is usually my favorite BUT a lifeguard ending up kicking us off the beach for having Ava with us. This pissed us off because we read the beach's tourism website before coming. Apparently, the website had it wrong. We got a little beach time in before heading home. I think we cooked a stir fry that night at home and just hung out. We introduced J & H to our favorite board game, Scrutineyes.

Day 4: We headed to Hollywood. First stop was Grauman's Chinese Theater. As it turned out, the theater was blocked off for the premiere of "Horrible Bosses". We decided to own our tourist status and hang around until the premiere... well kinda. We killed a few hours by heading to Arclight to watch "Transformers." Afterwards, the premiere was in full swing. While we had to elbow the crowd and stand on tip toes (except for Joe of course), we saw Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Jamie Fox, all about 10 feet away from us (squeal!).

Jason Sedeikis at the premiere.

Day 5: This was more of a low key day. We hiked to a waterfall in Malibu. For dinner, we went to one of our favorite restaurants for sushi, the original Katsu-Ya.

Day 6: Our friends threw a pool party in Valencia, so we obliged because it was HOT. It was fun... good drinks, great Mexican food and some relaxation at the pool.

Day 7: On the last day, we showed J & H the view from the Griffith Park Observatory. It is quite amazing... I'd kind of forgotten about that factor. For dinner we headed downtown for gourmet hot dogs (i.e. alligator) and great beers at Wurstkuche. I had wanted to take Joe and Hannah to a fun, circus-y bar with live music called Villian's Tavern, but it was a Sunday night and the place was unexpectedly closed. So we took them to Library Bar to complete our LA adventure.

Day 8: Sadly, on the morning of the 4th, Joe and Hannah flew back. We had a lot of fun and can't wait for them to come back. I've promised that we'll head north next time!