Recap from the Weekend!

Well we are back in Texas after way to long of a drive, but we did have a wonderful time!!! I am so full of wonderful LA food and we had such a blast visiting with friends and family!

Friday when we arrived after almost 7 hours in the car, Keith's mom had homemade red beans and rice and some Popeye's Fried Chicken waiting for us! Oh it was soooo good! It had been almost 11 months since I had either of those and it was such a treat. After such a great dinner, we decided to do a little driving around town as we had not seen much of the Covington/Mandeville area as Keith's parents have only been living there about 2 months and are last trip was such a quick one. Keith's parents live near both the Tchefuncte River and the northshore of Lake Ponchartrain so there are great views and lakefront restaurants all over! It was so nice to see such a wonderful area of LA and the weather was so wonderful that it made it even better!

Saturday while the boys played golf, myself and the MIL did a little shopping at where else, Ann Taylor Loft! I found a dress that I just love, but I am hoping it is going to go on sale soon and I can get it a little cheaper. Unfortunately a $70 dress is not exactly in the budget right now :(. Saturday afternoon, we went to a wonderful restaurant right on the Tchefuncte River called Friends Coastal Cafe. The food was great and with the wonderful weather, we were able to sit outside on the patio and watch all the boats go by.
This is Keith after a great meal of some wonderful LA fried seafood. He was a very happy camper! Can you see the nice view of the River back behind him??? There are some huge houses back there and supposedly one of them belongs to John Goodman! We couldn't figure out which one, but any of them are definitely fit for a movie star. After dinner, we headed to a bar on Lake Ponchartrain called The Barley Oak. It had 50 beers on tap, which basically made Keith look like a kid in a candy store! Oh how he loves trying different beers!

Sunday after a trip to church, it was time for brunch for the MIL's 50th birthday! All of the family but one of her brother's who lives in TN were able to attend and we went to a great restaurant right on Lake Ponchartrain called Rip's on the Lake. The food was just amazing, and I wish I would have taken a picture of it! I had Eggs Champagne which was Eggs Benedict, but instead of hollandaise sauce it was covered with Crawfish Ettoufee!!! Soooo GOOD! Keith had Shrimp and Grits which is another LA classic dish. You know I couldn't help but stick my fork into his dish just a few times! Here are a few pictures from brunch

The Birthday Girl with her birthday Bread Pudding (delicious by the way... we all got to try some!) You can't see them, but she is wearing our present to her which were a set of Mignon Faget Fleur De Lis earrings and the Mignon Faget linking Fleur de Lis bracelet (two of my favorites that are currently also on my wish list!)

The FIL and MIL after brunch. It was raining so we weren't able to take any pictures on the Lake.

Me and the Hubs after eating such a great meal!

Here is the view we had from the restaurant. Can you see those dark clouds on the horizon??? They got some heavy rain shortly after we left. But still it was just so nice out there I couldn't help but take a picture.

I had an early day at work today and had to be there for 7:30! It was not easy getting up after so many hours in the car in only a few short days, but I did it. I went straight to the gym after work cause I knew if I didn't I would probably never get there. It was such a nice day that after doing a little stretching and warming up, I hit the trail right by the gym and enjoyed the beautiful day!

Now I am off to take care of a few things around the house... the one drawback from being out of town, so much laundry and household chores to take care of once you return!!