 Laura Plantation is an extraordinary Creole heritage site. Through exhaustive research, the owners, my friends Norm and Sand Marmillion, were the first to present the intriguing history of Creole society and the unvarnished truth about the lives of slaves. Laura Plantation is at the top of my list for plantation tour recommendations.
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 A Painter Resurrects Louisiana’s Vanished Creole Culture Andrew LaMar Hopkins celebrates the rich contributions of 19th-Century New Orleans in his folk art style (and drag).  I am delighted to share this NYT article featuring my dear friend Andrew Lamar Hopkins, aka Désirée Joséphine Duplantier. I've known Andrew for 30 years now and have watched him "pay his dues" in the art scene. I'm so happy that my friend Elle Shushan recognized Andrew's remarkable and complex talent and will feature him in her extraordinary Winter Show booth at the Park Armory on January 24th. Thus, she is bringing Andrew to the world's stage! Recently, I overheard Andrew tell a mutual friend that "I'm going to blow up!!" So I booked my travel not wanting to miss a moment of Andrew's career blowing up! Follow along with me. I'll have a front row seat covering this on my Instagram. See more of Andrew's work on his website.  Photo by NYT - see story And when Andrew makes his art debut in NYC, he is being showcased by a premier antiques dealer with a booth at the front entrance of the show. Congratulations Andrew! I will be cheering you on! I treasure this photo from France, fall 2018  I'm at left next to Marie Victorie (sister of Baron de Pontalba), the Baron, Susan Maclay of the Louisiana Museum Foundation, and Andrew Lamar Hopkins We travelled to extend formal invitations for the Founders Ball and we gained the Pontalba's permission for an exhibition featuring their family's treasures for the Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo. (Read more about the Baroness de Pontalba and the Rise of Jackson Square Exhibition and the family here.)  Adding Life to Every Party, Photo by Margarita Bergen
Here's another fabulous New Orleans jewel box exhibit! Historic New Orleans Collection Presents: New Orleans Drawings of Gaston de Pontalba, 1848–1851  I still get goosebumps thinking about when five years ago (while on my 2nd trip to their château), Charles Edouard, Baron de Pontalba, excitedly showed these drawings to me while I was visiting. He had discovered Gaston's works just a fortnight before. They are to be treasured! Reconnecting the Pontalba family to Louisiana has been a highlight of my life! The Pontalba family are guardians of our shared French Creole culture.
...and so does Julia Reed! Recipe featured: Julia Reed's NEW ORLEANS Food, Fun, and Field Trips for Letting the Good Times Roll  Photo by Paul Costello PETER PATOUT'S FAMOUS SATSUMACELLO A few years ago, I gave my dear friend Julia Reed a bottle of my homemade satsumacello and she loved it enough to include it in her wonderful book - as part of her fun field-trips from New Orleans…to my country home in Patoutville. P.V. is deep in the heart of sugar cane country, and I’m across the street from our family’s sugar mill. In grinding season, it’s quite the spectacle with smoke swirling, trucks unloading and all the energy the seasonal activity generates around the clock until suddenly it ends, usually by January. Citrus season coincides with grinding season and many mature satsuma trees are near my home. While Julia Reed generously credits me for this recipe. Poppy Tooker is the one who steered me to creating this wonderful treat. Sip slowly!  Vertical Divider
 Makes 6 cups Ingredients: 10 - 12 Satsumas 1 750 ml bottle of Everclear 3 cups of sugar 2 cups of water That's my courtyard! Get the backstory here! Holiday Shopping Ideas: https://www.reedsmythe.com METHOD:Wash the satsumas in hot water with a vegetable brush to remove any residue of pesticide or wax. Pat them dry. Continually zest the satsumas with a zester or vegetable peeler, being careful not to include any white pith from the peel. (The pith, the white part under the rind, is too bitter and will spoil your satsumacello. Place the zest in a large jar and fill with the Everclear. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to forty days in a cool, dark place. Turn the jar upside down 2 or 3 times to help bring out the flavor of the zest. The zest will eventually turn white. When ready to proceed, combine the sugar and the water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes, until sugar is well dissolved. Strain the Everclear/zest mixture through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel into the simple syrup mixture. Stir and allow to cool. When the satsumacello has cooled completely, you may pour it into individual bottles. FALL FORAY THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE & ART, LOUISIANA CHAPTER PRESENTS: TRADITIONAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN CREOLE NATCHITOCHES NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR REALTORS TO GAIN CEUS! THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31 TO SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2019  Join me in Natchitoches for this world class tour! Here's a wonderful opportunity to delve deeply into traditional vernacular architecture in Creole Natchitoches and the Cane River area. Top historians and experts in their fields lead this incredible experience. History enthusiasts would appreciate this top level tour. Architects, Landscape Architects, Interior Decorators - and for the 1st time ever, Louisiana Realtors can earn 8 CEUs! The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Louisiana Chapter (ICAA Louisiana) is dedicated to advancing the awareness, appreciation, and practice of classical architecture and the allied arts throughout the state of Louisiana.  I'm an active member of the ICAA and have helped to orchestrate this amazing Fall Foray. For all the details, please visit this link: https://www.classicist.org/assets/images/general/Traditional-Vernacular-Architecture-in-Creole-Natchitoches-Packet.pdf. Further, I'm so proud of my Assistant Kelly Calhoun for successfully endeavoring to gain CEU credits for Real Estate Agents attending this educational tour. As a realtor specializing in historic properties, this high level programming advances my expertise. The talks, tour and networking are invaluable resources helping me to offer even better client service. See the approval below offering 8 educational credit hours!  THE BARONESS DE PONTALBA AND THE RISE OF JACKSON SQUARE EXHIBITION JOIN ME: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13  I encourage you to revisit it, or see it for the first time... Meeting the Pontalba family and reconnecting them to Louisiana has been a highlight of my life. Fate! Read more here. Sunday marks the last day at the Cabildo, and what an extraordinary year it's been! I feel so fortunate to have reconnected New Orleans with the descendants of one of the most prominent founding families. Please join Andrew Hopkins and me for a final walkthrough, this Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2PM at the Cabildo If you're a Friends of the Cabildo or the Louisiana Museum Foundation member, admission is complimentary. (If not, please consider joining to support these organizations.) Otherwise expect a nominal entrance fee. With this final walkthrough, Andrew and I will be sharing stories and reminiscing the highlights of the last few years that have involved the remarkable Pontalba family, who today live in their family chateau in France, where their ancestors have been living since 1805. Afterwards, come by at 4PM: 1111 Bourbon cocktails in my courtyard Join me in a toast to Charles Edouard and Isabelle, Baron and Baroness de Pontalba and their son Pierre.... without them none of this would have ever happened! (The Pontalba's are in France & not attending) In order to prepare properly, please let me know if are coming by Friday, October 11. RSVP here!  A Few Memories! Reconnecting the Pontalba Family to Louisiana has been a highlight of my life. 
        For those not interested in taking the bus tour from New Orleans, reduced rates are available. Call the Louisiana Museum Foundation Office: 504.558.0493.  Friday, August 30 Celebrate the Launch of Poppy Tooker's Newest Cookbook! DRAG QUEEN BRUNCH! BUY THE BOOK!  Saturday, September 7 COUNTRY ROADS SUPPER CLUB: THE PONTALBA EXPERIENCE Remember that time when Edwin Edwards dined at Versailles... This is THE CABILDO! JOIN ME! HERE'S ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS!  Be sure to make your reservation now as Country Roads Supper Club events sell out quickly. See this blog post for more information!  Tour fabulous private homes and gardens in Pointe Coupée Parish including the Foremost Colonial French Collection of Architecture, Art and Furnishings in the world - the Holden Collection. Narration along the route by Eugene D. Cizek, FAIA. Emeritus Professor, Tulane University.
Within the Holden Collection, you’ll view a key Butterfly Man armoire to be featured in the upcoming exhibition,“Chasing the Butterfly Man.” Cybele Gontar, curator and decorative arts expert PhD candidate, American Art, City University of New York, The Graduate Center, will preview the exhibition, and the endless fascination for this mysterious cabinetmaker. For tour details click the link below. Limited Availablity - Book Now!  Read the Story On Newsstands Now! Look for Louisiana Timepiece 10 page spread ...online version coming soon   Two national publications feature my homesJulia Reed, and Garden & Gun....details below  Julia Reed celebrates New Orleans & south Louisiana culture in her new book. Front cover shot in my courtyard. Julia Reed's New Orleans: Food, Fun, and Field Trips for Letting the Good Times Roll All photos are courtesy of Paul Costello Photography It's an instant classic and should be part of any southern cookbook collection. I'm so excited for my dear friend Julia Reed's accomplishment. What fun it was to be part of her effort. So when Julia called asking to shoot a chapter in her upcoming book at my house in the French Quarter, my quick answer: Well of course! gumbo lunch I have to believe that we inspire each other. Years ago, Julia Reed walked into my antique store in the French Quarter. She fell in love with some esoteric prints of bugs. They were ridiculous. After all, who buys pictures of bugs? I did and she did! Then, I realized that she lived nearby and I closed the shop and went over there for a drink, and the laughs and good times have been ceaseless since. Julia's classic Seafood Gumbo is below along with a Rum Pecan Pie. That's my kitchen stove and though it's something of a relic, countless memorable meals have been created in that galley-sized kitchen. Most days begin with a strong cup of chicory coffee made in the French drip pot sitting there on the stove. Of course, they're sweetened with natural cane sugar from my family's mill in Patoutville and it makes me think of my French heritage.
Julia Reed is a world-class tastemaker and has an extraordinary talent for bringing people together. The other New Orleans celebrations she includes are magical: phenomenal settings with wonderful dishes featuring her recipes along with favorites from prominent chefs and home-cooks...and, it's a great cultural read. Paul Costello's photos are the perfect accompaniment to her narrative. Patoutville shinesI particularly appreciate Julia's love for my home in South Louisiana. And as she started thinking about her forays over the years with me in Cajun country (we've shared many great adventures!), she decided to include a chapter at my country house in Patoutville set amongst the sugar cane background.  She penned this sweet note to Patoutville: There's no bad time to visit Patoutville, but it is especially beautiful in summer and early fall, when the sugarcane is wait-high in the fields. In late fall and winter, the trucks full of cut cane form miles-long lines at the mill and there's twenty-four hours-a-day drama as great clouds of smoke fill the sky.
Ancient Oaks at BAyside PlantationMy cousin's nearby Bayside Plantation, was another destination in this chapter. As a realtor specializing in historic properties, I'm representing the sale of Bayside (click the above Bayside link for more images and listing details.    Aioli Dinner:The culmination of the South Louisiana photo shoot was this fabulous meal celebrated with dear friends. I love that Julia was inspired by Teche country artist George Rodrigue's Aioli Supper Club and chose to recreate that celebration in her book. It's based on old Creole Gourmet Society traditions....another homage to the rich culture of South Louisiana.  Among the most cherished compliments I've known, shared here from Julia: ... she's first referring to George Rodrigue and her vision to recreate the Aioli Dinner from his painting: I think the artist would have approved of our gathering under the live oaks. He so respected the traditions of his ancestors, and Peter, with his antiques-filled houses and love of the land, honors the past and his own Louisiana history with more joie de vivre and élan than anyone I know." _______________________________ Thank you Julia Reed! As always with you, life is a magnificent celebration.  
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