Leave it to Anna: New Orleans Edition
This week we are traveling to New Orleans for some beignets and café au lait, contemplating cashmere, and watching a new romcom about finding love in exotic locales.
This weekend we escaped to New Orleans, Louisiana to see whether the beignets and the jazz live up to the hype. Neither my husband nor I have ever been before and figured that we should check it out by taking advantage of the long weekend. So far we have explored the Garden District with Free Tours by Foot (they offer free walking tours in lots of major cities in the U.S. and abroad, worth checking them out if only to play tourist in your own city). Our tour guide did an amazing job telling stories of the neighborhood and its famous past and present residents - did you know that Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, Brad Pitt, and Anne Rice all called New Orleans home at one point in time? We also learned about the cemetery culture in New Orleans and how the dead are buried above ground in family and society crypts designed for group hangs in the afterlife. Fascinating stuff. We are really enjoying learning about the history of the place, trying the local food (the Bananas Foster dessert was invented at Brennan’s, our dinner destination for tonight) and getting our steps in by walking around town. I haven’t done much shopping yet, but I will be looking for local crafts and an obligatory piece of art to take home at the French Market before we leave.
For the Little Luxury category this week, I want to present to you the Crème Abricot Strengthening Nail Cream. Dior invented this product back in the 1960s and it continues to top current beauty lists of holy grail items that are completely worth the splurge. All of the reviews that I’ve read indicate that a little goes a long way (especially through application of a tiny amount once a day before bed). This cream is known to improve your nail strength, encourage nail growth, and condition your cuticles. I plan to invest in a jar for myself - and it would make a great stocking stuffer this holiday season!
In the Friend Recommendation category, let’s talk shoes. Ballet flats are back in style this season - but let’s be honest, did they even go out of style? Nothing beats a classic ballet flat, coupled with a chick pair of black pants and a crisp white button-down in my view. The first truly luxurious gift I’ve gotten from my husband was a pair of Chanel flats for my 30th birthday - and I still wear them on the reg! If you are looking to invest in a quality pair of classic flats this season, I can recommend the Margaux Demi flats. There are so many great colors to choose from and the leather is perfectly soft while the bow is adjustable, so you can customize the fit. A women-led company (the co-owners met in college and have been best friends since), they have been working with the same family-owned factory in Spain to make the shoes using locally-sourced materials. Their customer service is super helpful and the shoes come in several widths and sizes to ensure the best fit. Take $40 off your order with free shipping by using the code MXFALL23.
For the Local Spotlight today, I want to introduce you to the Clockwork Nail Robot. I met him at the Reagan National Airport (Terminal 2, to be exact). Clockwork is an AI-powered nail-painting machine that automatically coats your nails in polish in just 10 minutes. I’ve never seen one of these before, but the thought of getting my nails freshly painted by a robot before a trip was definitely appealing. The way it works: you book a time slot via QR code, pick your nail polish color, and then insert one finger at a time into a slot in the front. The machine scans your nail first and then applies polish in circular movements onto each nail under 15 minutes total. I didn’t have time to try it yesterday, but I’ll definitely be looking for an opportunity to do so in the future!
In the Unexpected Treasure category, let’s talk cashmere. The joy that finding a decently priced, high-quality cashmere sweater brings me is only surpassed by the said cashmere item being on sale. A few different review sites I follow have been singing praises for Naadam’s Original Cashmere Sweater. This sweater has routinely featured on “top gifts for guys” lists (hello, dad gifts), but I can vouch that their offerings for women also live up to the hype. While doing a little research into this start-up company, I discovered that it was founded by two college friends, who traveled to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert and became friends with the local goat herders. The idea was born right there and then to source cashmere directly and cut out extraneous costs, which would pay the locals more and allow to charge their customers less. A cashmere dream come true for all involved. I have my eye on this cropped cardigan to wear with high-wasted pants this fall. Use the code FRIENDS25 for 25% off your purchase this weekend. If that code expires, FALL15 will get you 15% off your first purchase.
My daughter and I have a tradition of watching romcoms in our pajamas while ordering takeout - it’s the best! This week we watched A Tourist’s Guide to Love on Netflix. Reychal Leigh Cook (She’s All That is still one of my favorite OG romcoms) plays a travel company executive, who goes to Vietnam to check out a family-owned tour company and ends up falling in love with the local guide. The film was beautifully shot on location in Vietnam, so we definitely felt transported there without ever leaving the couch. I also loved all of Reychal’s travel-chic outfits that she brought with her on the journey. Add this one to your movie queue this week!
Hope that you enjoyed this post and I will see you here on the Stack again next Sunday! Until then, you can follow Leave it to Anna on Instagram or Facebook. If you think your friends will like the recommendations that I sent your way, please share my newsletter. Leave it on Anna is also on Threads, so thread along here.