our first few weeks in new orleans went by sooo fast! we arrived on a sunday evening (3 days later due to tropical storm joaquin), we were exhausted from the delay in our plans and from the trip. james went straight to work the next morning, and julia and i ventured into exploring the neighborhood.

we rented a place on airbnb for our first month, so we could explorethe different neighborhoods before choosing a long term rental. i searched for our temporary home like crazy – i knew i wanted a place close to whole foods, coffee shops and restaurants – until i finally found the perfect little nola house close to magazine street and a few block away from kindred studios, where i could go exercise with julia. score!

we’ve been taking it easy, trying to keep julia on her schedule and finding a balance between doing her favorite things, driving around to explore the city, house hunting, and also trying out a few new restaurants and spots.

julia and i have been strolling around a lot, and we never get tired (or better, i never get tired) of walking around and looking at all the beautiful houses, most of them with rocking chairs in their porch – exactly like i had imagined it, but better.

these are some of the places we’ve been to and liked –

district hand pie & coffee bar – i’d read about it on blogs and instagram accounts and luckily there’s a small district coffee shop just a block away from our house, so julia and i have been going for my daily coffee fix and treats. james had a breakfast pie and was delicious too. there’s a district on the opposite side of magazine street, but they have donuts and sliders, so we’re going to that one next, they do sliders and 100 different donuts options!

kindred studios – julia and i went once on our first week, i really wanted to do spinning and sat her on the bike with me, so much fun, but i guess she’s too active to just sit and watch me cycle. luckily they have a playroom where she could play whilst watching me, and the girls there are so friendly they kept an eye on her for me. we’re doing yoga next.

st roch market – we went for early breakfast on a sunday morning, hoping to avoid the crowds, and we did, it was quiet and we sat outside with coffee and pastries. but we’re dying to try other options for lunch or dinner, like the creole and the korean.

blanc beauty bar – i was dying to come to this place for some “me time”! mani and pedi with a glass of red wine and this calm atmosphere, was the perfect little break. makes me want to go every week!

la petit grocery – we liked this place so much, we’ve been twice already, for dinner and then for a late lunch outside on a sunny day. not surprisingly, with a james beard awarded chef, every single thing we ordered was delicious. but what really made us go back were those incredible crab beignets, i am craving again right now!

magasin cafe – this is by far my favorite vietnamese restaurant ever, super casual and cute and the food was delicious, james (for those of you who don’t know, is vietnamese) was impressed too. i really liked their steamed bun and vermicelli with grilled pork, and i know we’ll be back often to try other dishes. (picture from their website)

one after noon we tried a snoball at snowizard, to be honest i didn’t think i would like it, but since it;s a treat original from new orleans, i decided to try it. i got raspberry with condensed milk on top, and i have to say i kind of liked it!

(a few of this spots were on my list of places to go in new orleans)

i’ve also been to whole foods, target and madewell more times than i would like to admit…this is what happens when you’ve lived on an island with no shopping for almost 5 years!

i’m so overwhelmed with the friendliness of people, that there is so much to do and see in the city, and the amazing food option we still have to explore.

ps – follow along my new orleans adventures on instagram here

thanks to the new orleans based blogs upperlyne & co and old brand new for great new orleans tips! xx