Celebrating an Anniversary and a Goodbye.

NOLAlicious #53, January 11, 2011

Celebrating an Anniversary and a Goodbye.

Dear NOLAlicious readers,

Today marks the one year anniversary of the collaborative project between friends that became known as NOLAlicious. Today is the 53rd consecutive weekly NOLAlicious newsletter (with 11 additional special issues scattered throughout). We've shared with you over 35 desktop wallpaper images of classic New Orleans sights (mostly taken by our own in-house professional photographer Taylor) and produced a 2011 calendar from many of these images. We've featured more than 265 activities to do or places to eat around New Orleans and provided information about over 135 full-time jobs based in New Orleans. We have sent over 1,000 tweets, shared over 500 photos, and have close to 1,400 friends on Facebook. We hope you know, without a shadow of a doubt, how much we have enjoyed sharing a sliver of life in New Orleans with you every week.

Today also marks the final weekly NOLAlicious. When NOLAlicious was created last year, we were new to living in New Orleans and looking to find a curated list of things to do outside of the traditional media sources. There wasn't anything like NOLAlicious (at least that we could find). Lending our skills, ideas and the little time we had to give, the concept for NOLAlicious was born. And what a year it was! The highlights are many including the Saints winning the Super Bowl, riding in Mardi Gras Krewes and bouncing through a muddy (and beautiful) JazzFest. It also included the election of a new mayor, the Gulf Coast oil spill and the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It included all of the magic that is New Orleans, from food and music and culture to sharing it with neighbors and new partners-in-crime along the way. 2010 was about making lifelong friends and memories that we will hold close to our hearts forever.

Throughout the year, the NOLAlicious family grew to include Elise, Kat, Martin and Emily, who each shaped NOLAlicious in their own way. Without them, we would have been lost.

Our lesson? Support those wacky ideas you hatch over coffee with friends. Use your passions to create something you can share with others. Be consistent. Share your passions and love. That's why, instead of our regular PICKS this week, we've each described what New Orleans means to us, our perfect New Orleans day, and what we're most looking forward to this upcoming year.

We like the idea of NOLAlicious having bookends, a beginning and an end. Of course, all of our past newsletters, featured picks and photos will stay online. On occasion, you might even hear from us when something comes up that is too good not to share. But now it's your turn. We featured the New Orleans we found and loved in 2010, but our love for New Orleans lives on, stronger and deeper because you showed NOLAlicious what you loved about New Orleans, and why it was so important to you. Thank you. Now get out there and show New Orleans that same love you showed us.

Always yours,

Carl, Sloane, Taylor and the NOLAlicious Team

Celebrating NOLAlicious

Carl Nelson 2010 started out strong and brought with it some amazing changes and projects, NOLAlicious being one of the brightest ones. Hatched in The Orange Couch as an idea amongst friends, what it became is more than I envisioned and despite its end, like 2010's, the next year or project is fueled by this one. Nights out on Frenchman St. dancing at d.b.a. or enjoying a small plate at Three Muses, indulging in 50¢ oyster happy hour at Lüke or exploring local art at the Ogden Museum, and enjoying street festivals will happen again and again, year after year. It wouldn't be 2011 without 2010 and it wouldn't be the New Orleans I've grown to love so deeply without NOLAlicious.

Emily Jensen My perfect New Orleans day is almost definitely on a Sunday. It begins rolling out of bed and stepping into a pair of cowboy boots to walk up Spain Street with my best friends for breakfast at Cake Cafe, where we feast on healthy grits, garlicky wheat toast and chicory coffee. Next, we roll out to Mid City Yacht Club, snag an icy bucket of High Life, and scream along with the rest of the bar as the Saints dominate. Afterwards, we run into a rowdy second line in the Seventh Ward and shake it all the way through the Treme. We hit Euclid Records to get our vinyl fix, swing by Satsuma for fresh squeezed juice, and head back to our house to paint, play guitar and cook dinner to eat out in our backyard. Later, we meet up with more friends at The Country Club for whiskey on the rocks and a moonlight swim. We stay out too late, we laugh too loud, and we live too big, because this is New Orleans. And here, to me, every day is perfect.

Martin Strickland It has been an amazing year exploring all that New Orleans has to offer. I have been able to meet so many wonderful new people and I have found so many new ways to enjoy the city with friends and family. The main objective of NOLAlicious, to me, has been to always look forward to that next week, that new experience. New Orleans is truly a city that is in constant flux. We might have traditional festivals, but every year you find yourself excited about different ones for a myriad of reasons; friends that are new to the city, new friends that have lived here their entire lives, or sometimes you’re just in the mood to try something new. Sometimes you even realize that you still have not been witness to some of the New Orleans’ most steadfast traditions. This year I am looking forward to seeing how this ancient city continues to change and evolve before our eyes. I am excited to see what new shopping will open, which new eateries will capture our imaginations (and wallets) and which festivals (cause you can never have too many) will surprise and inspire me. Most of all I am excited to see how the general landscape of the city changes. Even without the help of NOLAlicious, I am quite sure that everyone will have an adventurous 2011, but thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of your 2010.

Sloane Berrent New Orleans is so full of perfect moments that my heart aches thinking about having to choose just a few. I remember the spring days when the temperature started to rise and the condensation gathered on the windows of my French Quarter apartment and I would open the french doors to hear the clopping of the horses, the sounds of the buskers and the smell of the garden flowers from surrounding courtyards. I remember everything. Bike rides through the Marigny exploring every block and every nook in wonder. Long walks around Audobon Park and deep debates over what snoball flavors to try next with friends. Dinners so delicious with company so divine that we didn't notice 4 hours had gone by. Laughing so hard at dive bars on hidden Uptown streets that my sides hurt. Life in New Orleans is turning up the dial on what it means to be alive. It's brighter, it's louder, it's more decadent and yet it can fill one with pure childlike joy at the possibilities and wonders that lie around every street corner. It's the definition of family, of generations coming together to celebrate culture and a place they love. From our family to yours, thank you for everything.

Taylor Davidson Thank you. Thank you for giving me this space to explore, love and share New Orleans with you. By supporting NOLAlicious, you spurred me to keep my eyes, ears and heart open to New Orleans; you helped me learn new habits, try new restaurants and dishes, love sazeracs and snoballs and crawfish boils, buy a tux, go to new festivals, follow the music, dive into for second lines, use the phrase "neutral ground" correctly, and wander the Marigny, Quarter, Bywater and Uptown with an open eye, a ready camera, and a spirit ready to dive into the next experience. I couldn't have done it without you. We couldn't have done it without you. You helped me create many perfect days in New Orleans. Here's to many, many more for all of us.