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Auburn Football and the Christmas Holiday in One of My Favorite Cities; Doesn’t Get Much Better!

January 6, 2017 By Kara Kennedy

My Christmas break usually lasts for about two weeks. It is a time for me to rest and relax with no worries about deadlines. I spend a lot of time with family and it’s typically very low key. My dogs love for me to be at home, because they get the constant attention they so lack when I am at work. This year, however, I decided to cap off the holiday season by taking my dad to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana where Auburn was playing Oklahoma on Jan. 2. Some friends that I sit beside at the Auburn home games had made plans to go to the Sugar Bowl after Auburn’s bowl game was announced. I really didn’t think much about going until I found out I could get tickets to the game cheaper through Stub Hub. Plus I was able to get a relatively reasonable price on a hotel room through Booking.com, so the decision to go was made.

It had been about five years since my last trip to New Orleans. A lot of people don’t particularly like New Orleans because of the 24/7 party atmosphere. I on the other hand, love the city, mainly because of the food, culture and music. I used to visit New Orleans every year, but since Hurricane Katrina I have not visited as often as I would like. The last time I was in New Orleans was in May 2011 around my birthday. I have always wanted to visit the city during the Christmas holidays. I’ve seen photos of the New Orleans hotels decorated for the holidays on social media, so I knew the holiday season would be beautiful. So not only was I going to the game but able to spend time in New Orleans during the holiday.

New Orleans has many historic hotels especially on Canal Street, the main street, and in the French Quarter. My dad and I arrived early in the evening on New Year’s Day. After checking into our hotel in the Garden District, we took the trolley to meet up with our friends at The Roosevelt Hotel. It was one of the hotels that I had seen on social media, the lobby was gorgeous. We had drinks in The Fountain Lounge and then walked to the French Quarter for dinner. We ended up eating at Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Iberville Street in the Quarter. The restaurant is known for its charbroiled oysters, and I can testify that they do melt in your mouth. Being my father’s daughter, I struck up a conversation with the table next to me and met a woman who was a cancer survivor. She was vacationing in New Orleans for New Year’s Eve before starting a PR job in Las Vegas with MGM Entertainment. It’s funny how you meet interesting people when traveling. I have vowed to keep in touch with her.

On Monday morning, my dad and I ate breakfast at the Trolley Stop Cafe in the Garden District before meeting up with our friends. (I highly recommend the restaurant!) After we caught up with them, we hung out a while at the Marriott Hotel where the Auburn football team was staying. We saw former players and cheerleaders and, of course, Aubie the Auburn mascot. My dad stayed at the hotel while my friends and I walked around the French Quarter again. We went to see the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone. Part of the experience at the bar is that it slowly turns around the room. After walking around Bourbon Street we returned to the Marriott and got ready for the game.

Friends in New Orleans at the Sugar Bowl — Friend Terri and Travis Bayles at the Sugar Bowl

The game didn’t turn out exactly as I hoped it would, but the night did. After the game we ended up at the world famous Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets. The trip was fun despite Auburn’s loss. Plus I was able to spend time with my dad and my Auburn friends who have become more like family.

Wordless Wednesday: Out With the Old In With the New

December 28, 2016 By Kara Kennedy

Cheers to the New Year! I am so ready to kiss 2016 goodbye! 2016 by far was an interesting year to me. I will leave it that thought there. My mantra is, “out with the old and in with the new!” So here’s to the New Year, may you have peace, love, joy, happiness and prosperity! I hope all of your hopes, dreams and wishes come true in 2017.

Bonus: Here is my playlist for a Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday: The Christmas Song that Drove My Mam’maw Crazy

December 7, 2016 By Kara Kennedy

There was no grandma I knew or know that was too happy with the Christmas song that was released in the late ’70s: ‘Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer.’ In fact, my mam’maw Kennedy despised the song, so much so she would leave the room when it came on! It was common for her to have music playing over the speakers at her house all year, and especially during the holidays. She loved Christmas music, but when the above mentioned song came on she would roll her eyes and leave. Whoah be unto us grandchildren, if we started singing it to her, and we did. We would run after her singing the song, she would laugh because she had a fabulous sense of humor. Oh how I wish I could sing that song to her now. I miss her everyday and even more so during the holidays. I can see her now, giving me that look when the song came on, but lest we forget, she drove me crazy playing the Alvin and Chipmunks Christmas Song over and over. The Chipmunks song and Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer make me smile every time I hear them, and I hear them often during the holidays because they always are a part any Christmas playlist I create.

Here is my 2016 Christmas Tree Decorating Playlist:

Reflections of Thanksgiving

November 23, 2016 By Kara Kennedy

When I was a little girl, I didn’t give much thought to Thanksgiving except that it was those agonizing 30 days before Christmas. Now as an adult, Thanksgiving has more meaning. As a child, we spent every Thanksgiving traveling between my mom’s and dad’s parents’ homes. I spent a large part of my childhood growing up in Opelika, Alabama so we would have to travel to Birmingham to visit my grandparents during the holidays. Holidays were a big deal for me. I wanted to live in Birmingham because I considered it the big city but even more important I would be closer to my mam’maw Kennedy. Living 2 ½ hours away from Birmingham meant I couldn’t see my mam’maw regularly.

In the morning, I would always watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my mam’maw and my dad. To this day, my dad loves that parade, and so do I. Our family tradition included lunch at the Kennedy house and dinner at my mom’s parents’ house, the Chandlers. The traditional southern dishes were served including casseroles, turkey, dressing and a plethora of desserts. My granddaddy Kennedy was known for his cornbread dressing, something I looked forward to every year. He also cooked his Japanese fruitcake and mincemeat pie. My grandmother Chandler cooked the turkey, cornbread dressing and pecan pies. My aunts would typically bring the Thanksgiving sides of green bean casserole, sweat potato casserole and so, so on and so on. It was quite a feast!

As a child I was happy go lucky and very excited to be out of school for a few days at Thanksgiving.

As I have gotten older, I understand fully the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. You learn very quickly as an adult what really matters and what is truly a blessing in your life. Life is not always easy and it does from time-time deal you blows. Thanksgiving 1999 was one of those lessons in life. The day before Thanksgiving I lost a cousin I was close to in a helicopter crash. We had gotten closer that year because I was helping him with his public relations strategy for his company. He was kind and he had a sweet soul. He would help anyone who needed it at any time. He gave to others without hesitation and he was very appreciative of what others did for him. He was always very complimentary of my work and help. His death was devastating for me. By no means is this story meant to make anyone sad or depressed, however, my intent is that we really need to examine what or who matters most in our lives so that we can truly reflect on what we are thankful for. Life truly is short and taking chances on people and making changes in your life are very important; not just during the holidays.

Now more than ever we need this reflection in our lives because we live in such a fast pace, technological world. We also need to show our gratitude for our blessings and for the people in our lives who help make us a better person. Reflections of gratitude and the blessings we receive are the true meaning, as I see it, of Thanksgiving.

Trick or Treat Anyone?

October 28, 2016 By Kara Kennedy

Halloween signifies the beginning of the holiday season, which I consider a fun and festive time that carries us through to the end of the year. My love for Halloween stems from my childhood memories. Mother would take my sister and me to the fabric store weeks before Halloween so we could pick out a pattern for a costume that she would make. As far back as I can remember, she always made our costumes. In fact, she still sews costumes for my younger nieces when she can. When Halloween arrived we would rush home from school, do our homework and after dinner we would put on our costumes for Trick Or Treating. Family dinner on Halloween night usually was chili or some other quick meal. My sister and I would eat quickly so that we could dash out of the house for the night’s big event. My dad would take us to every house in the neighborhood and our Halloween buckets would be filled with good candy. When we got home with our treats we weren’t allowed to eat any of it until my parents went through it to “make sure it all was wrapped and ok to eat.” I believe that was just a ploy so that my dad could pick out his favorite candy from our stash. He’d never ever admit that though.

When I was in 7^th or 8^th grade it was no longer cool to Trick or Treat or dress up. Instead we went with a group of friends to a haunted house in Auburn which a fraternity hosted in order to raise money. I remember thinking that it was not a big deal and there was no way I was going to show I was scared. The fraternity on the other hand had something totally different in mind. They wanted it to be as frightening an experience as it could be. It was a terrifying experience. I didn’t cry, but some of the girls in our group did. I was scared and when one of the monsters followed me out of the house I was really frightened. To this day I have a love/hate relationship with haunted houses.

My grandmother Kennedy also helped make me love the holiday because she would decorate her house for Halloween and it was complete with a pumpkin that she carved. She would put a candle inside it to make it extra spooky. Her decorations were not that elaborate but they were fun and festive.

As I have gotten older and just like my grandmother did, I now like to decorate my home for Halloween. It gives me a sense of nostalgia to do so. I have even been known to dress up my dogs up in costumes, which they hate.

On Halloween night, I love to see what costumes my sister has come up with for my young nieces. Modern trick or treating involves fall festivals with tricks and trunks. It is sort of sad that traditional trick or treating has gone away.

As for me, I have been known to dress up on occasion to celebrate Halloween. I don’t always dress in a full costume, but most people get that I am celebrating the holiday. As for the day, it marks 60 days until Christmas. As I child I would ask my mom why Halloween couldn’t be Christmas and she would get frustrated and say that “it will be here soon enough.” Now as an adult I understand why she was so frustrated with my asking that question because it’s only 60 days until Christmas.

Happy Halloween y’all!

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