The Hurricane Through NOLA

New Orleans is hands down, my favorite city on the planet.  I could write a book on the sights and sounds of the city but would only scratch the surface of this truly unique place.  The dynamic architecture, the music, the art, and the food…oh my goodness, the food is absolutely indescribable!   Believe me when I say, you have not lived until you have experienced a melt-in-your mouth beignet (French donut) served hot from Café du Monde.  Mmmm…what was I talking about again? Oh yeah!

After returning from a girls-only trip to New Orleans for the Essence Music Festival last July, I immediately booked a weekend for just the hubby and I for our 14^th Wedding Anniversary.    Then wouldn’t you know it, the very next day I received a Facebook notification that The LittleBlack Dress Club Gulf Shores was launching.  Talk about fate!  I couldn’t email Shay fast enough to get the contact information for the director, TyraBrown.  After emailing back and forth, the plans were set to meet with Tyra upon my arrival.

Our second day in the Crescent City, Tyra chose to meet us with her husband at Mojito’s Rum Bar and Grill located in the Frenchmen area.  My husband and I arrived a bit early and were escorted to a very quaint patio with a trickling fountain, and down-home blues band on stage.  As we were absorbing the vibe, Tyra and her husband, Carl approached us.  Once hugs and handshakes were exchanged, we sat and talked for the next couple of hours about everything from careers to how our husbands swept us off our feet.  Of course the food did not disappoint, and I had an authentic hand-poured (not to be confused with one from a mix) Hurricane.  

Unfortunately, we had to cut our evening together short, due to a forty-five minute drive back to their home in Mississippi, and Tyra had to put on her “Event Planner hat” for an 8 am appointment in Baton Rouge.  We parted ways with more hugs and our newfound friends promised to visit us in Nashville. 

The evening was still young but unfortunately we aren’t. So after a stroll down Frenchman Street (a local’s hideaway) and watching the spectacle of Bourbon Street, we crawled to the bed of our hotel room, while the rest of the city cried out, “Let’s Get This Party Started!” 

 

~Bridget D. Flowers

LBDC Goodwill Ambassador and Nashville Charter Member

 

 

 

 

 

These Are Some of Our Favorite Things

This year marks the second time that the Nashville Chapter hosted a Favorite Things Brunch. With the success of the 2012 event, everyone was looking forward to this year's brunch on Saturday, September 7th at Darfons in Donelson.

Darfon's had a special brunch menu to choose from, in addition to their regular menu and wide selection of cocktails. The event had a large turn out of 21 ladies dressed in their Little Black Dresses and cute shoes (we can't forget the shoes)!

The idea behind the "Favorite Things" theme is that everyone brings a wrapped gift of their favorite thing, then we have a gift exchange using the same rules as Dirty Santa or White Elephant. At first, the ladies were incredibly nice to each other and not stealing anyone's gift, but there's always a few in every crowd who will break the mold and steal someone's treasure! It was all in good fun, and everyone left with new favorite things. A few of the gifts in the exchange were; Little Black Dress coffee mugs, a baking set, several wine-themed gifts, as well as several beauty product gifts.

 

In addition to the regular gift exchange, Shay and Amy each put together a basket loaded with their favorite things. Nancy and LaDonna were the lucky recipients of the loaded baskets.

A special shout out goes to one of Nashville's long-time members, LaDonna Gaines, who will be moving back to Birmingham to be closer to her family. We're all going to miss LaDonna and hope that she travels back to Nashville for as many events as she can attend.

~ Tonya Overstreet
Nashville Chapter Member, LBDC