Around the World from Home: Celebrating Mardi Gras & Creole Culture in Texas

Celebrating Mardi Gras and the Creole/Cajun Culture is something I look forward to every year; the festivals, the food, the music and the atmosphere in general is why so many people are intrigued by the culture. In the Big Easy (New Orleans) Mardi Gras celebrations usually began in January and end in February or the first week in March depending on what date Shrove Tuesday falls on. Shrove Tuesday, also know as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Visiting Louisiana: The 2012 ESSENCE Music Festival in New Orleans

Hi Butterflies! Guess what I did this past weekend? So...I finally gave in to my curiosity and went to #EssenceFest. The ESSENCE Music Festival is held annually every July 4th weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana hosted by Essence Magazine and to sum it up...I'm having mixed feelings about my experience and not sure if my first trip will be my last. Let me start by saying, I'm a planner by nature and most of the time I freak if things aren't planned out properly, organized right, or done a certain way (it's my OCD... I can't help it lol). I knew in advance my partner's family had already made plans to attend and I was invited but my decision to go was last minute so I didn't have much time to plan my agenda for the trip which is my fault and part of the reason I didn't get the "ESSENCE FESTIVAL" experience I was expecting.

We rented a van and drove to New Orleans from Houston which took about 6 hours. Hotels near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which is where the festival is usually held fill up fast and are extremely expensive, especially at the last minute so if you think you might want to attend next year's festival book your room months in advance. We stayed in a Courtyard Marriott north of New Orleans, over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. I didn't get any pictures but I had a complaint-free stay.

Visiting Texas: Best Houston Area Cajun/Creole Spots

Some refer to it as "Cajun food" while others call it "Creole food" but nevertheless if you're from the South like me you’ve probably heard of and love them both. The words Cajun and Creole both derived from the French language. By definition Cajun is used to describe the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" settlers of 17th century Nova Scotia, a colony in Canada they named Acadia, from akade, the Micmac Indian word for ‘plenty’, who were driven off their land and into exile by the British to the Acadiana region of Louisiana.