On Friday, January 16, we landed at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Holly’s parents and her grandmother picked us up and we immediately headed for the French Quarter. It’s been a good five years since we’ve been to New Orleans, so we had a day of shopping and eating planned as we meandered through the streets of the Vieux Carre, otherwise known as the French Quarter.
For many people the French Quarter IS New Orleans, however anyone from here knows that it’s simply one small section. Although it’s littered with tourist traps and souvenir shops, the French Quarter is also a vibrant and integral part of New Orleans. Plenty of people still actually live in the Quarter and it is almost a city unto itself. In addition there are tons of great restaurants and shopping that can’t be found anywhere else. If you’re ever planning a visit. I highly recommend getting away from Canal street and work your way deeper in the Quarter. The side nearest Canal street is the most touristy and least authentic section. We always aim for Jax Brewery to park and use that as our starting point for entering the quarter.
Jax Brewery used to be a brewery for Jax beer, but is now a shopping and dining complex that sits next to the Mississippi River and is catty corner to Jackson Square. Most of the businesses there are geared more towards tourists, but it’s a great place to park if you want to be close to the heart of the French Quarter. It’s also just two blocks down from one of the more famous landmarks of New Orleans – Cafe Du Monde.
There’s a saying, “You know you’re from Louisiana when the topic of dinner conversation is food you’ve recently eaten, food you’re eating now, and food you plan to eat in the future.” Food IS life if you’re in Louisiana. How could it not be when you’re surrounded by some of the best cooking in the world? Not only that, but the state motto is “The Sportsman’s Paradise” because of all the wonderful hunting and fishing that’s available. Holly and I grew up with this culture and if there’s one thing that we miss, besides friends and family of course, it’s the food. When we went back last weekend, we did what we always do – we grazed across Louisiana. 😀
I know not all women are into shopping, but I think it’s fair to say that in a broad generalization, most women enjoy the shopping experience. They enjoy the browsing, the comparing of products from different stores and the hunt for a good bargain. My wife Holly is definitely no exception to the rule. That woman can shop like no one I’ve ever seen. From sun up to sun down she can browse and pick through wave after wave of what I perceive as pure crap for days on end. There is no limit to the amount of shopping my wife can do. This past weekend we flew home to Louisiana to visit friends and family. Since our flight brought us into New Orleans, it was only natural that we spend a few hours wandering around the French Quarter before making the drive to Baton Rouge. As I watched Holly shop that afternoon, all became clear as to the how and why’s of shopping for women and why it’s different for men.
I had an interesting experience the other morning at the grocery store. I was there to pick up a few things for New England Clam Chowder, which I’m was making for our Sunday dinner. These Sunday dinners are becoming a staple of our week now, and it’s something that I really look forward to doing each week. Last Sunday I fixed Wolfgang Puck’s Barbecue Chicken Enchiladas, which were out of this world, and this week’s menu was Emeril’s New England Clam Chowder. But all of this is beside the point isn’t it? 😛 So as I was saying, I was at the grocery store, Kroger’s to be exact, and I was ready to check out. The cashier asked me if I had a Kroger Plus card I said that I did, but that I didn’t have it on me. The lady who had checked out just before me turned back and said, “Would you like to use mine?” Somewhat stunned and at the same time pleased, I said that I did and the woman handed me her keys. I produced the fob and saved $1.00 off of my $29.00 purchase.
I’m a member of the 
With the New Year upon us, we all partake in the common custom of writing New Year’s Resolutions for ourselves. There’s something about a new year that makes us all want to do better than we did the previous year. I’m no stranger to this custom and in years past, I’ve made long lists of things that I would do differently, or new things that I’d learn, or try over the next year. Like most of us I’m sure, I’ve never really kept my resolutions, much less remembered what they were. I want this year to be different. I want to keep my New Year Resolutions and be able to look back in pride at what I’ve accomplished. 
This year, my family toasted in the New Year a little bit different than we have in the past. We didn’t have any parties to go to this year, my Mom was in town and I had a few new recipes that I wanted to try. After a brief discussion, we decided that we would start the New Year with a big meal. Some people go on diets at the first of the year. The Ashby’s – we feast. 😛
Clearly I’ve been bitten by the cooking bug. The 
Earlier this month, I got a wild hair and decided to change the name of the site to “That Reminds Me Of A Story…” In making this change, I changed the description of the site (which appears in the upper right corner of the page) to “Ask me what time it is and I’ll tell you how to build a watch.” I initially liked the change, but in the comments to that post