GOGay Mardi Gras is here! Go down to the Quarter to get lost at Southern Decadence this weekend. This all weekend party is for everyone to experience, and every time someone mentions it to us their eyes get really wide and they go “Oh you simply must go!” We’ve heard almost all of the local hotels are sold out and that sounds like a great weekend for the local economy too. French Quarter, past St. Ann on Bourbon and around the general neighborhood. Free and open to the public.
DOClothing rediscovered! Of all the reasons we love consignment stores, here are the top two. Nothing is better than going through someone else’s closet and we love a good deal. One of our local favorites is Swap. It’s upscale consignment and they always have an awesome collection of clothes, purses and shoes to choose from. You can also try your hand at selling and they’ll walk you through the (painless) process. For our expat friends, you can shop their eBay store! Open Monday-Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM. 7716 Maple Street.
EATSeptember is upon us and what better way to celebrate cooling temperatures than grabbing a glass of wine with friends? We suggest you head over to Oak, a fantastic new wine bar in the Riverbend area. The fun atmosphere and fresh space make it a great meeting place. Extensive wine and food selection. Live music. Open daily. 8118 Oak Street.
EATDid you know the West Bank is one of the top 5 largest Vietnamese communities in America? Along with the Vietnamese culture, we are lucky to have some of the best pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) restaurants around! One of our favorites is Pho Tau Bay. This place is a staple for all who love pho. From staples like Pho Ga and spring rolls, to sticky buns and steamed vermicelli noodles you really can’t go wrong plus the staff is always welcoming. Great prices. Open daily Mon-Sat. 9 AM to 8:30 PM. 113 Westbank Expy.
Sloane Berrent is a cause-based marketing and social branding consultant, nonprofiteer and budding social entrepreneur. She uses social media, product evangelizing, fundraising and community development services to help for-profit and nonprofit companies with a focus on social action campaigns. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, she has lived in Burlington VT, Boston MA, Rome Italy, and Los Angeles, CA. She spent 2009 as a digital nomad, traveling the world experiencing life and volunteering including stints in South America, New Orleans and three months in the Philippines as a Kiva Fellow.
She co-created “Cause It’s My Birthday” a campaign to raise money (over $19k to date) and awareness for malaria prevention in Ghana. Sloane moved to New Orleans as her new home at the end of 2009 and co-launched NOLAlicious, a weekly newsletter of events in New Orleans. She was recently named the citizen journalist to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland for the MySpace and The Wall Street Journal communities. Her consulting practice, Answer With Action, focuses on strategic integrated marketing consulting. She speaks frequently on building community and blogs at The Causemopolitan.
