Mardi Gras Madness

It was madness, I tell you. Now it's over, gotta get your cross of ashes on your forehead today.

It was a lovely Mardi Gras season for Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo. oh, but we did miss my idol, the great Erica Andrews. She had to go on and graduate on us.

What I would not give for her majorette costume! It has THE most adorable "T" logo pocket on the back of the skirt. All in sequins. Could you just die? Just bury me in it, all fabulously bedazzled and twirling a baton in the ever after, I swear!

A tribute to the lovely Miss Andrews from Mardi Gras past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyxgrhbj3Ro

Tulane scheduled opening weekend for Baseball the very same weekend as Mardi Gras. I think the strategy was to entice the opposing team to live up the gras and hand us an easy win.

So Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo took a break from bead catching at the Parades over the weekend and caught the final game in the series on Sunday. I had thoughtfully assembled a double-duty outfit for the occasion.

Forever21 is now my new favorite spot for Adorable Tops. Isn't that Adorable Top perfect for the smart and stylish Tulane fan? $14.50 at forever21.com

At the final home game last football season, the Tulane tailgate shop was selling this beautiful fleece zippered jacket. It even has an embroidered Crested Wave T logo on the back. It is super warm and soft. Almost luxurious. $45 at tulanegreenwave.cstv.com

The lowdown on the scarf: fashion godesses were looking over me because when we were in Memphis for the football game over Thanksgiving, I found The Perfect knit scarf to complete the ensemble (I also found another To Die For green and baby blue striped scarf and matching glove set from Ann Taylor - I'll share that another time).

So after emerging victorious from the game, we scampered over to Napoleon Avenue to catch Bacchus roll. The lovely gentlemen of Bacchus, observing my carefully planned outfit, graciously threw Mrs. Hullabaloo ONLY aqua, green and blue beads. I have photographic proof!

Unfortunately dark clouds were threatening our revelry. Peggy NEEDED a mardi gras rugby. It was essential.

Only Mrs. Hullabaloo would think about solving a shopping crisis in the middle of Carnival. With the evacuation-level traffic on the streets. But Peggy NEEDED that rugby!

Peggy had exhausted all options in her part of town. Panic and desperation was beginning to set in that a long sleeve rugby could not be located in time. Every minute counted. So I spent all of Lundi Gras day going this way and that way from store to store until I overhead a conversation at a tucked away Mardi Gras store. I literally interrupted these ladies' conversation mid-sentence. They were commenting that they had seen some at the Walgreens down the street (of all places).

Pedal to the metal. Not only did Mrs. Hullabaloo find the last 2 apparently in existence, they were also selling these Tulane baseball caps in green or baby blue for $5! I snatched them all up. But don't panic my fellow hullabaloo fans. I popped into another Walgreens and they are still some tucked away in the tee-shirt endcaps.

Mr. Hullabaloo is very sad that the parades are over. No more pretty beads. But we do have the entire Baseball season ahead of us and if Sunday was any indicator: It's going to be a GREAT season!

ROLL WAVE!

Iron Tailgate Hostesses

Get your gris-gris potion together Tulane girls, we've got a battle on our hands.

Iron Chef, watch out: Tulane has announced a 4 year football series with Ole Miss to begin in 2010 at our very own Superdome.

Time to give The Grove a run for it's money.

Thank goodness Peggy and I are preparing ahead. Ahead of the curve. You know with our maiden voyage at homecoming last year.

Peggy and I made such a splash that when Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo and Mr. Peggy went to Baton Rouge (Peggy was a complete wus and stayed home), we ran across a lovely group of Tulanians with a black sheep in the family who put together a "House Divided" tent that looked strangely like ours from Homecoming.


In lieu of the blue, they substituted that atrocious barney color and then festooned the tent with a House Divided flag (you know, similar to The Rag).


Why anybody would want to advertise a bad decision is beyond me, but this lovely Tulanian family probably took pity and felt it was their moral duty to just soldier on and take this lost soul under their wing for proper instruction and hope for the best.

Mr. and Mrs. House Divided's daughter and future son-in-law are currently undergraduates at Tulane. Mrs. House Divided's father works for Tulane and previously worked for our dear departed Al Copeland (New Orleans and our wedding/divorce industry is JUST not the same with out him. and we do miss his advertising battles with Ann Rice.).

I don't know how or why the circumstances of Mr. House Divided entering the picture, but we let it pass. Besides, they had the most DELISH barbeque shrimp. If I didn't have manners I would have gobbled up THE e-n-t-i-r-e tray.

Mrs. House Divided shared that her secret recipe was adding italian dressing. I have since attempted versions with the bottle vinaigrette version, as well as the seasoning packets. With the vinaigrette version I had to add chicken broth to tone down the tartness of the vinager, but it was an absolute hit for New Years Eve. I'm still trying to figure out the right proportions with the seasoning packets. Will keep you abreast of how that continues to progress.

In any case, we complimented Mrs. House Divided and House Divided Mother-in-Law on the LOVELY tent (while you know struggling to ignore the barney color) and they chippered back about this fabulous tent at Tulane homecoming that they just had to copy. OURS! what a hoot!

Well, imitation IS the best form of flattery!

On Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo's trip to see the game against the Houston Cooters last fall, Mrs. Hullabaloo felt the ONLY prescription to better my mood after the classless cooters viciously attacked Joe Kemp was some shopping. Mr. Hullabaloo whisked me off on Houston's impressive collection of highways and we located Ikea where I lost myself for hours in their kitchen and lighting department. Mr. Hullabaloo played quietly without complaint in the plant department where he later emerged with a pineapple plant.

I found the perfect outdoor chandelier and it even had aqua and green teardrops! I have been busily unpacking it, assembling it and admiring it and counting the days until it can be debuted on September 5th in Hattiesburg.

SHOPPING ALERT

Perlis has a new Tulane belt.

Last year, Mr. Hullabaloo finally made it to a Coach's radio show with me when they were still having them at Bruno's.

For those of you old-school Tulanians: Bruno's has new digs. Completely. When I went into the ladies room I had to do a double take. Just like I did my first time at Monkey Hill (PILLOW MINTS and a CHAISE. at AT-2's. Perhaps more on that on another occasion).

They have all kinds of room in the new Brunos and a full kitchen menu. Their Firecracker Salad is lick your plate delicious. Fried chicken, pepper jelly vinaigrette, jalapenos. yum.

So I digress. At that particular show, Coach T was wearing this beautiful ivory v-neck golf sweater with the crested T logo on the right. Mr. Hullabaloo could not take his eyes off the sweater and kept talking about how sharp it looked. excellent. mental note for the christmas list.

Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo do not miss an away football game unless we are physically restrained for some reason beyond our control. So we found ourselves at the end of that season thoroughly enjoying the lovely pre-game tailgating barbeque sponsored by the Houston Alumni Association for the game against Rice. Alan really outdid himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo chatted with the loveliest alumni couple when we noticed Mr. Lovely Alumni was wearing a Tulane belt that Mr. Hullabaloo SIMPLY HAD TO HAVE. We had to restrain ourselves from forcibly taking the belt.

It's from Perlis said Mr. Lovely Alumni. His exact words were "oh you'll definitely be paying for a belt." Even though Mr. Hullabaloo kept eyeing the belt in a suspect manner, I assured him he would only have to wait until the holidays. and I had to quickly whisk him off to the enclosed beer garden at Rice Stadium where all the other sinners from New Orleans were.

This belt is just gorgeous. I could picture Mr. Hullabaloo making an absolute splash at the next Tulane Golf Classic in his seersucker shorts and this belt. He'd get a bunch of holes in one, just from the prowress of this belt.

You see: Mr. Hullabaloo's appearance is of utmost importance. Only the finest Tulane outfits will do. Because Mr. Hullabaloo is a media whore darling. Yes, that's right. My fellow Hullabaloo-ette Peggy can testify. At the Alabama game, post-Ike or Gustav (it was a male-named storm, the female storms are the ones you need to worry about), the local Alabama media was just swarming to get a "hurricane-victim-soldiers-on-despite-hurricane-in-order-to-tailgate" news story. We were all interviewed by all sorts of nice people. Notice I said "we were all interviewed." Guess who was the only one to make the cut in air time: Mr. Hullabaloo.

Mr. Hullabaloo never knows when he'll have to address the media. ESPN could have made a cameo at the Tulane Golf Classic and ask for perspective or comment on his Tiger-esque talents.

So upon our return from clobbering Rice, I had to instantly make a bee-line to Perlis where I was pampered and tended to by the most delightful gay sales person. He immediately knew what area of the store to steer me towards to lay my hands on this gorgeous belt. When all of a sudden he gasped.

A Tide elephant belt seemed to have been misplaced in front of the Tulane rack. He was profusely sorry. I waved off his apologies.

Mrs. Hullabaloo: "No worries, as long as it wasn't an loserwho belt"

Lovely gay salesperson: "Oh sweetie we don't even carry this belt for them. Those people could never afford to buy this belt. They might buy a tacky tee-shirt, but not a fine belt like this."

hilarious!

Mrs. Hullabaloo is much too elegant to mention monetary figures, but Mr. Hullabaloo definitely got himself a belt with how much that puppy was.

and Now, we have a NEW belt to add to the collection. It's not quite as fabulous as the woven belt, but it is very lovely and will make a very nice Valentine's Day gift for Mr. Hullabaloo.

I lied

Oh alright! I admit it. I did not tell you the whole story.

It seems that I also enjoy Tulane baseball season. I'm not nearly as die-hard as section 110 ("seggy's hot corner").

But I will agree that Tulane baseball is a perfectly satisfying fling while waiting for Football season to finally get underway. Especially on those stunning New Orleans days when the sky is that crazy blue that looks like it just goes on infinitely forever. And section 110 is just a crazy hoot. I will miss Aryan and Aja Barto's mom flinging ice at the back of my head from her section - hey, you: fun girl, I want to talk with you.

Last year, Mr. Hullabaloo threw me an absolutely fanTastic fiesta in one of the suites at Turchin in honor of the occasion of the date of my birth.

Baseball themed decorations were immediately ordered and as kismet would have it: the season colors at Ann Taylor were olive and aqua. Adorable sundress was purchased.

Mr. Hullabaloo and I even ventured out to this hilarious Grocery/Bead Distributor in the Marigny for Tulane flag mardi gras beads for Party favors. Quintessential New Orleans. Stock up on your bulk mardi gras throws, make your groceries, grab a drink and some fried chicken. All set. You got yourself a party. I guess it's parade-going all in one. What a novel marketing niche.

So then came the saga of the cake to go with the baseball theme. Mrs. Hullabaloo will go to great lengths for party confections. Oh you just don't know. Stop by our homecoming tent and you will see. Well, I don't want a stampede, so you'll need to Rsvp first.

Mr. Hullabaloo dutifuly drove me to an old school bakery where the blue hairs running the place said "No" to everything I asked. Major desperation. But they have the crested T logo! Cake Nazis: ONLY DAY OLD SHEET CAKE FOR YOU!

Several desperate phone calls later to call in favors (you know how it is in New Orleans: make a few calls, ask how their mommas are doing and you got yourself a deal) and I got Zoe's in Covington to take my order at the last minute.

Voila: the perfect Tulane Baseball Birthday Cake was delivered to our party. The grass was edible chocolate. Inside was doberge, just like I wanted it. What a feat.

Lost Souls

I am so sad for Tulane students these days. (warning, this one is a little bit of a downer).

I asked the student newspaper where their article was on Mewelde's Super Bowl appearance and they said they'd write something on his performance. OK. So then in the following issue appears an "investigative" article on how Tulane has "shockingly" placed more athletes in the NFL than our vaunted baseball team places in the MLB.

From those of us who weathered the infamous 2003 Review: thanks for noticing.

There was a very real possibility that nobody would get to enjoy anything about Tulane football EVER again. So our picketing, marching and chanting outside of Cowen's window on a non-stop vigil during those stressful weeks was intended to benefit you.

So now please go out and get to know your fellow classmates who bleed Olive and Blue and support them at a game.

Like our new fabulous addition to the 2009 Class: Cody Ledford (thanks to his dad for the pic).

Cody fended off SEC and ACC suiters to stick with his commitment to Tulane. AND he's wearing a beautiful crested "T" tie here in his Signing Day photos. (Tie available at the Tulane ticket office and also at Perlis on Magazine.)

Oh, and Wilson Van Hoosier! (rivals pic)

Love his enthusiasm! He was so excited to be coming to Tulane, HE started "working the phones" on other Tulane commits. They said they couldn't get past his enthusiasm. OK, so his Namath-esque predictions about future SEC match-ups may make you giggle, but you gotta love the guy!

Wilson's efforts are such a stark contrast to something I ran across last year. There was either an article or a posting in Hullabaloo (The actual newspaper, not my drivel here - ha!) where they discussed student participation at athletic events at our alma mater. I can't remember my exact wording in a response to these chirren. Something along the lines that they just need to buck up and support their classmates.

I will never forget their sad little responses in the forum: that the citizens of New Orleans just needed to pick up their slack.

What is wrong with you?!

I wish that freshman orientation consisted of giving every incoming new member of our fabulous college a copy of our departed coach's book: Fourth and New Orleans (amazon.com - go buy one. like now).

Say what you will about Coach Scelfo and the book deal, blah blah blah. It's not about him. This book is about the student athletes and what they went through representing our school.

11 games on the road with a folding chair serving as your locker. Mr. Hullabaloo and I packed our bags and hit the road to make the ones we could get to from our exiled location. And, let me tell you, that was not an easy task during the aftermath of the storm with the rebuilding of careers, homes, locating family and friends. Finding an open gas station or feeding establishments. Let alone having to suit up and play in all 11 road games, on top of keeping up with school.

If you aren't clutching a hanky during the chapter on Brandon Spincer's funeral, then there is something seriously wrong with you.

Oh, and the heroine in the book: Patti Terranova. The good lord has blessed our Greenwave Nation with a gem. Bubba hasn't been on the team in years and yet Patti is still going to Tulane football stuff. I was just with her when she picked out a fabulous pink Tulane tee-shirt at the ticket office at the Signing Day party this week. She'll totally rock that tee.

So the least students can do is plop their rear in a seat for 3 hours, 5 times a year. That's 15 hours. Half of a day. For the love of god, we're asking you to have fun for free and get to know your classmates before you have to pay hundreds to see them play professionally.

Seriously, how much is a ticket to the see a Chicago Bears game these days? At least the superdome is climate controlled and we have an excellent array of frosty beverages to enjoy.

ROLL WAVE ROLL

Hail Thee Zing Zang

So my fellow Hullabaloo-ette, Peggy has a daughter. Genius she is at entertaining (she is also a real-live, former Shockwave dancer). Little Hullabaloo-ette introduced us to the wonderful world of Zing Zang bloody marys at homecoming last year.

One sip and you will think you have died and gone to bloody mary heaven. This has to be the absolute best bloody mary mix ever.

So pour yourself you choice of spirit, splash in a dose of Zing Zang and garnish with a pickled asparagus (another Little Hullabaloo-ette suggestion. much appreciated).

Enjoy. Football season is almost here. So have one during Mardi Gras and count the days...

"Must Have" for Tailgating

Peggy and I are mastering the art of tailgating. We are going to town on the tablescaping. We are uncontrollable.

I am always on the search for "the perfect" tailgate recipes. Clearly, since it's February and I'm discussing the topic about food in the fall. But in New Orleans we are always talking and obsessing about dishes to be enjoyed at our next earliest opportunity.

On a trip to Buffalo (no, I did not stalk JP Losman) Mr. Hullabaloo and I had the pleasure of trying out the grub at 800. I think the full name of the restaurant is actually 800maple in that new-hip-retro-helvetica-font kind of way where they intentionally mispell things. It seems de riguer these days. 800 is actually also technically in Williamsville. But they had this amazing red pepper tapenade that they served with the bread. jesus, mary and joseph was it delish!

For those precious few of you who brave Tulane tailgating: us seasoned professionals require the most ultimate of MacGyver moves in order to enjoy this classic American pastime. The superdome management does not allow open flames. Grill Nazis are they.

There's also not a store within a 3 mile radius of the superdome should you forget something. We also have to tailgate 3 stories up in a parking garage. And if you don't get there in time to get a decent space, you have to lug up all of your wares like The Clampits to the "official tailgating area." Lots to deal with here. So whatever it is you have, must be found in the "packs up beautifully" section of your cookbook. Nod to our steel magnolias out there.

I have added the tapenade from 800 to my list of "the perfect" tailgating recipes. I've been whizzing up experimental batches in order to nail down the exact recipe. My last batch for Mewelde's Super Bowl sunday seemed to be a crowd pleaser, but it's just not the same. The evil waiter at 800 refused to give up the exact recipe. I may just have to phone 800 myself and throw myself at their mercy like I did to Whole Foods when they quit selling their house basil pesto. Hello: Mr. 800? I am a former hurricane victim and I must have that tapenade recipe!

(mental note: will share said list of "the perfect" tailgating recipes)

So my next project to be fully prepared for tailgating season is going to be making a beadie meanie greenie. The olive and blue football pundits are whispering about some sort of delicate deal making regarding another cameo to gormley in 2010 (shh!).





I found this beautiful creation on BobbyofNola's homecoming pictures on flickr. Thank you bobbyofnola for capturing this absolutely fabulous "must have" tailgating accessory. A game day experience just will not be complete without it.

Last year I made, well I can't take all the credit...Mr. Hullabaloo graciously gave into my pleas and cut out a plywood helmet shape that I then painted and included in our adorable homecoming tent. Mr. Hullabaloo is very good with the woodworking when he has the time. Quite very much like Aidan of Sex and The City. I am THE luckiest girl to have landed Mr. Hullabaloo and his many woodworking talents. and not to mention his infinite patience for my enthusiasm of all things Tulane football.

Did I mention we also had a chandelier in our tent? Anyways, seeing this beaded meanie greenie gave me the idea to bead up my helmet and then add meanie to the group.

ROLL WAVE!

I bleed Olive and Blue

I live for football season and I live in the Crescent City, the crown jewel city. I bleed Olive and Blue. Tulane olive and blue that is.

A fascination that is unhealthy enough to start this blog. Welcome. Grab a cocktail.

I literally count the days until the next Tulane football activity: next one coming up is the spring scrimmage.

Spring scrimmage is April 25th this year. Time to pull out the sunscreen and hat. Isn't my hat the most?! Nordstroms Dallas Galleria. Purchased for the fabulous events surrounding my wedding to Mr. Hullabaloo years ago. Wore it in the infield when Barbaro's win helped pay for our weekend at the Derby (that and selling horse themed Mardi Gras beads to benefit a family directly affected by Katrina. us.) Lucky hat. I'll also need to bring my spreadsheet and a radio to keep up with the NFL draft.

Normally I get a little bit of a nibble to quench my insatiable football desire with NFL draft weekend. Tides me over until spring scrimmage rolls around. This year it's all rolled into the same weekend. Oh well, will have to just make do.

Last year was quite exciting with Matt Forte going earlier in the 2nd round than previously thought. Only his first official NFL touchdown brought more excitement (50 yard scamper that stunned the Colts). The moment was punctuated by an equally enthusiastic phone call from my equally olive and blue crazy friend Peggy. Apparently, we had both celebrated by screaming a round of "Hullabaloo" to our televisions in opposite ends of the city. Her scream was loud enough to alarm a neighbor.

But back to Tulane's appearance in last year's senior bowl. I bought Mr. Hullabaloo and I tickets to the Senior Bowl to see Matt Forte play. I snuck away between work that day and we drove 2.5 hours to Mobile to sit in a drizzly nasty cold, wet stadium and witnessed his rise in the NFL draft charts in person. When a customer called to pinpoint my whereabouts I told them I was on the northshore. Ok, so 100 miles down the road from the northshore, but I was at least north of I-1o so it was partially true.

It was quite exciting to see other people enjoy what had been our little secret treasure all season. So sad for all of the future Tulane alumni who cheated themselves of a FREE opportunity to see Matt Forte play in person at the dome that season. Well, their loss.

Senior Bowl is something. Die hards, like myself - but from much better attended programs, set up their RV's and tailgating like race day in Talladega. Every house nearby is having a barbeque party. The stadium is packed and raucuous. We even ran into a group that had some fab second line music playing and we got to do a little side-stepping. Oh, the fun never ends with Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo.

You should have seen the looks and double-takes we received. WTF? why is this lovely couple in green, sporting a logo I have never seen before?

So this year, we didn't go. I have absolutely no excuse, other than I just dropped the ball on getting that organized. Well, we shall see if Troy Kropog, our one NFL prospect this year, missed the Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo Mojo. He seems to still be projected somewere in the 3rd round. I will miss seeing Troy's dad, Olin, as a fixture at every game and every radio show during the season.

So this April 25th, I'll hopefully be sipping on some complimentary Ray Hester beer with my carefully prepared Draft Day spreadsheet on a clipboard (memo to self: must make cute Tulane-themed clipboard for the occasion).

ROLL WAVE!