Following the Louisiana Antique Trail: Rooster's Antique Market

After coming across Rooster’s Antique Market’s Facebook page, we couldn’t wait to make our way to Lafayette to check it out! Then when we got there and discovered the Louisiana Antique Trail brochure, everything just fell together so well, and this blog series was born!

Rooster’s is at 3209 Kaliste Saloom Road in Lafayette, Louisiana, and can be easily found by looking for the giant metal rooster marking its driveway! The market has a collection of vendors with lots of antiques, including furniture, art, collectibles, and many other fun finds. I had to resist buying several different Louisiana wooden signs! They also sell Maison Blanche Vintage Chaulk Paint.

Their hours are Wednesday through Sunday 10am-6pm. For more information call 337-216-0513, follow them on Facebook, or visit their website RoostersAntiqueMarket.com.

Stay tuned for our next stop down the Louisiana AntiqueTrail!

Following the Louisiana Antique Trail

Since I was little, my mom and I have loved antiques and shopping for vintage items. I love finding unique pieces or discovering the stories from the past, and each antique shop is different from last. Looking around one a while back we found a brochure for the Louisiana Antique Trail that listed 95 stores all across the state!! Obviously we knew we had to try and visit each one for the blog! They even have a website devoted to it at LouisianaAntiqueTrail.com!

So keep following along as we share what makes each shop special along the trail!

Fearless Finds: The RE Market

Spring is in the air, so what better place to be than the Spring Fling at The RE Market?! This past weekend The RE Market had sales, refreshments, and art classes to welcome Spring, and I got to speak with the manager and a few vendors as I looked through the booths.

The RE Market has something for everyone! They have antiques, vintage finds, repurposed home accents, architectural salvage, and so much more. Looking for a gift? The RE Jeweled booth by designer Celia Joe Black has creations made from repurposed items and is a must stop. I also had the pleasure of meeting Susan Sarradet Bergeaux in her booth, Sunset Creek, which features home accessories and interior design. There are far too many amazing vendors to name; you’ll just have to go see for yourself!

The RE Market is located at 303 North Lake Arthur Avenue in Jennings, Louisiana, a street over from the Donut King. Formerly the old 7up Bottling Company, the building has a very eclectic, shabby-chic look to it, which is perfect for this type of business. It just fits! While walking around, my sister said “Come here, you’ve got to see this!” and led me to the inside of the original front doors of the building to a large tiled 7up logo on the floor. It was so cool!

Kayla Gary, the manager, and her lovely staff welcomed me in, and she couldn’t talk enough about the start of The RE Market and how they’ve grown in the past three years. The business started out as a 200 square foot cabinet showroom, and now it’s this 10,000 square foot “REpurposed, REnewed, and REmarkable” place housing 30+ vendors with a waiting list!

The RE Market is open Monday through Saturday 10am-4pm. For more information you can call 337-821-0083 or 337-275-7312 or visit their website at REaccents.com. 

P.S. The RE Market is stop number 44 on the Louisiana Antique Trail! We will be doing a blog series about this soon as we attempt to visit all 95 shops on the trail! Check out LouisianaAntiqueTrail.com for more info.

Pelicans on Parade #1

We love Gators on the Geaux in Lake Charles, so when we stumbled upon Pelicans on Parade, a similar public art project, in Lafayette we couldn't resist trying to seek out as many as possible! 

We were actually spending the day in Lafayette researching and visiting businesses for the blog when we spied this Pelican and her buddy at the South College Center on the corner of Bertrand & Johnson. Her name plate was missing, but she was beautifully painted and adorned in celebration of Mardi Gras.

We're searching for more! Do you know of any located around Lafayette? Please comment or e-mail us, so we can find them!

Fearless Finds: The Strand Theatre

My mom and I have always been lovers of old movies. We love seeing the fashion and technology of the past, and some of our all-time favorite actors and actresses are from old Hollywood. So you can only imagine our excitement when we found out The Strand Theatre in Jennings, Louisiana, is showing old movies on the big screen all year long, and, as if that wasn’t enough, one of our favorites was the next in the lineup: Pillow Talk with Doris Day and Rock Hudson!

My mom and I watched Doris Day all the time when I was younger, and her movies always feature forgotten things of the past like party-lines and automats. It was so much fun to watch it on the big screen in the quaint atmosphere of the old Strand Theatre. Tickets are only $3! And they have popcorn and drinks for sale, too.

We had so much fun and can’t wait to go back! I’ll definitely be there for Clue in November!

The Strand Theater is located at 432 N Main Street in Jennings. Their next showing is Paint Your Wagon on March 28 at 7:00. Some of their upcoming movies are The Apple Dumpling Gang, Grease, and all three Back to the Futures!

For more information call 337-821-5509 and like them on Facebook.

Huntin' for Gators on the Geaux #1

Remember this amazing piece of art we discovered at the Cameron Prairie Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center? Well he's inspired us to start huntin' for Gators on the Geaux! Gators on the Geaux is a public art project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and although many gators have been stolen and/or destroyed, there are still many hanging out in and around Lake Charles. 

So this guy will be our starting point, and we are going to hunt down as many as we can, keeping you updated along the way, of course! Wish us luck!

Do you know of any Gators on the Geaux? Comment or e-mail us their locations, so we can add them to our list!

Fearless Finds: Pint House Pizzaria

I get so excited when there are new restaurants in town, and if it’s a favorite of mine like pizza I just have to go! Pint House Pizzaria at 329 Broad Street in Lake Charles opened in July of 2014 and has such amazing pizza combinations, desserts, beers, and more!

Although we opted for a traditional pepperoni pizza because I’m super picky, Pint House Pizzaria offers pizzas like the Atomic Rooster and the Napalm Duck, the latter is made with ranch sauce, two types of cheeses and peppers, duck, and chipotle and srirache sauces! The pizzas are handmade and cooked in a brick oven which makes for an incredible crust that’s both crispy and soft at the same time. While you can of course purchase whole pizzas, they also offer a lunch buffet Monday through Friday from 11 to 1:30 so you can test out a few different pizza varieties. It’s only $8.99 for adults and $5.99 for kids twelve and under.

To wet your whistle, Pint House Pizzaria has a long list of craft beers and rotating kegs. A few with names we couldn’t forget were La-31 Biere Noir, Clown Shoes Tramp Stamp, and Monty Pythons Holy Grail Ale! For non-alcoholic beverages, they have handmade sodas in lots of flavors including Jamaican Cola, Cotton Candy, and Smores. Ice cream sodas, shakes, malts, and beer floats are also on the menu. 

(In case you’re wondering, we had water. Yes, we know we are boring, but next time we won’t be!)

Once you’re near full up on pizza and beer, you can top of your meal with fresh, homemade gelato or sorbetto! We had Vanilla Marscapone Chocolate Biscotti gelato, and wow it was so good!! My mom talked with the sweet worker who helped her, and she said she actually made the gelato! You can see her pictured with the gelato case. They’re constantly changing flavors, so you always have something new to try!

The environment is so cozy and warm, and all the staff was super friendly! Looking at their Facebook page, Pint House Pizzaria also hosts local artists on their stage on some Saturday nights. We’re definitely planning a trip back to try more flavors of the pizza and gelato and to experiment with some handmade sodas!

For more information on Pint House Pizzaria check out their website, pinthousepizzaria.com, where you can order online, like them on Facebook, or call 337-419-1931.

Fearless Finds: The Louisiana Market

After 25 years of business in the same location, The Louisiana Market at 2710 Hodges Street in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has become more than a familiar sight among the Cottage Shops; it’s a tradition. The current owner, Lisa Foreman, began working at The Louisiana Market three years ago with plans to buy it, and in July of 2014 that’s what she did. Her only employees are her family, and they show great dedication and support. Lisa was so warm and inviting, and it was obvious she loves what she does. Most of our visit was spent talking about and meeting her local artists (many to be seen on future blog posts!) and exploring the shop.

The Louisiana Market has anything and everything Louisiana! “What I try to do is to promote Southwest Louisiana,” Lisa explained as she showed us the wide variety of products, art, and décor she carries. She has cookbooks, dishware, and gourmet foods including Virgin Pecan Oil. You’ll find unique t-shirts and jewelry, most referencing Louisiana. They even make super cute gift baskets for any occasion. Most recently they filled miniature pirogues with goodies for a local Mardi Gras Krewe.

Lisa works closely with local artists selling their works and helping them reach a broader audience. She even connected one with the flag company she buys from, and now the artist’s designs are featured on flags! There are beautiful works all around the shop including watercolor, acrylic, and oil paintings, local pottery, and recycle art.

Specialty coffee is also available at The Louisiana Market. All the beans are roasted and flavored in Mooringsport, Louisiana, and they are sold by the pound, whole or ground. The flavors are so unique with names like Swamp Gold and King Cake. I actually bought a half pound bag of ground Café Beignet and love it! I can’t wait to go back and try another flavor.

We will definitely be regular customers now and know where to find unique gifts in the future. So whether you need a present for a native Cajun or want to share the Louisiana spirit with a faraway friend, pay a visit to The Louisiana Market to find exactly what you’re looking for!

For more information visit thelouisianamarket.com, like them on Facebook, or call 337-656-2908.

A day at the circus!

It’s a Louisiana snow day! Of course there isn’t any snow anywhere to be seen around us, but all the schools are closed and college classes cancelled! The only problem now is, what do you do with your kids on an unexpected day off during the week? Well we have the perfect adventure for y’all! The Lake Charles Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center is currently showing a FREE exhibit (most all their exhibits are free though) called “Step Right Up: Behind the Scenes of the Circus Big Top.” We loved it! There was no photography allowed inside the building, but we can share a few of our favorite tidbits of history we learned.

The exhibit is on the third floor of the Historic City Hall building located on 1001 Ryan Street across from the courthouse. There are so many colorful posters, many dating back to the late 1800s! There are also several interesting artifacts such as an old elephant headdress and authentic giant clown shoes! The exhibit takes you through the different parts of a circus from the high-flying trapeze artists to the amazing animal performers and their trainers.

Here are our top five favorite circus facts:

1. Large travelling American circuses often had a barbershop, doctor’s office, and schoolhouse to serve the workers and performers.
2. The iconic Ringmaster top hats were hardly ever worn. Instead they were used as an extension of the Ringmaster’s arm to direct the attention of on-lookers here and there.
3. The phrase “Hold your horses!” originated in the circus! Back when spectators arrived on horseback to watch the circus, the horses would sometimes be spooked by the elephants, so before they were brought out the crowd was told to “Hold your horses, here come the elephants.”
4. There are three basic types of clowns: Auguste, Grotesque, and White Face.
5. There was a circus worker called the Twenty-Four-Hour Man who would travel to a location a day ahead of the big top to hang posters and directional arrows leading people to the show.

Along with the amazing exhibits, there were fun activities for the kids to do! There is a booklet that asks interesting, thought-provoking questions about circus life and has areas for kids to draw their own “never-before-seen wonders.” Another activity offered is an art scavenger hunt. Eight thumbnail images are shown, and you must find the poster each was taken from and write down the title and year.

We really enjoyed this exhibit, and we know kids would, too! The exhibit will show through March 14^th, so the next time you have a day or just a few hours to spare, stop by the Lake Charles Historic City Hall to experience real big top life.

The Creole Nature Trail: Cameron Prairie Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

Roadtrip time!

Our day began with a stop at Chesson’s Grocery on La 27 for gas. When we drove up I noticed a brightly green colored alligator statue out front. I had to have a picture of it! So while Myron, my boyfriend, pumped gas, I went over to see exactly what it was. The sign read “Creole Nature Trail,” and this sparked my interest for a new blog series! After mentioning my idea to Myron, he said there was a place just down the road that he passed almost every day that we needed to check out.

It was the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. When we walked in we were greeted by the sweetest, little lady working there. She gave us a brief once over of the place and explained what the center had to offer. I took a few pictures then we walked into the first room and met Tante Marie who turned out to be an animatronic replica of an old Cajun woman in a pirogue with a voice that took me back to my childhood days listening to my grandparents. She was so animated and realistic, not scary at all, and I know kids would just love her! She talked about the history of the Cajuns, their migration south to Louisiana, and their daily lives back then. She couldn’t stay long though because she needed to head home with her fresh shrimp to make her a big pot of shrimp and okra gumbo, so we headed into the next room.

Tante Marie

Around the corner was a hands-on museum set up with information about bird migration and conservation. From there we entered a movie room with this big wooden door and seats for about ten people. In the corner was a Gator on the Geaux (look for more on these brilliantly created statues in a future post) that was covered head to tail in commemorative duck stamps. That’s when we realized the next thing to see was outside in the chilly, misty weather. We went for it anyway, and headed to the observation deck in the back of the building.

It was well worth the walk! I’m sure in the summer there are more birds out, but we did get to see a variety of ducks and a couple beautiful geese. There is a covered place at the end of the boardwalk to stop and watch the birds in their natural environment. They even have a FREE telescope to get some close-up looks. As we were walking away there was the cutest little bird just swimming around. It sure didn’t care about the weather! I, of course, had to have a picture.

The Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is a must stop before proceeding along the trail. Besides all the information it provides about the wetlands of Louisiana, it has plenty of brochures and maps to guide you on your way down the Creole Nature Trail. As we were leaving we were told we could head just two miles down the road to the Pintail Drive and Boardwalk, but we saved that for another day.

Here are the details to plan your own visit:

Cameron Prairie National Wildlife and Refuge Visitor Center

1428 Hwy 27

Bell City, La 70630

337-598-2216

For more information about the Creole Nature Trail and surrounding areas check out these links:

Creolenaturetrail.org

Visitcameronparish.org

Visitlakecharles.org

Fws.gov/swlarefugecomplex

Stay tuned for more posts as we travel along the Creole Nature Trail!

Fearless Finds: Rocket Drive Inn

I love cheeseburgers!

Not the fast food prepackaged ones. The real meat, homemade ones I found at my new favorite place, the Rocket Drive Inn. This great find is as old as me. No wonder we connected the first time I sat on the coolest red picnic tables, covered with the scratchings of years gone by. 

The atmosphere is so vintage even my seventeen year old son put down his iPhone and dug into his cheeseburger and fries. I knew I had to take Lexi, a fellow cheeseburger lover, and share this literal blast from the past.

We each ordered a cheeseburger, an extra large drink, and one order of homemade onion rings to share for about $14. Not bad for a quick daycation to the 1960’s. Now we can’t wait for summer to head back for some homemade Rocket ice cream (the cold kept us from enjoying some this trip).

I for one am truly grateful to the owner, Joann Leger, for keeping this little piece of nostalgic heaven available for all to enjoy. Next time you’re in Jennings, stop by 1118 State Street or call 337-824-2120 for more info.

If the Rocket Drive Inn happens to be a favorite of yours or you take our advice and try it out, let us know! We'd love to hear about your little visit to the past.

Welcome!

Hi y’all! Welcome to Bon veiller, cher and our very first post! We are Katrina and Lexi, a mother-daughter team living in small-town Southwest Louisiana. We have always had a very special bond and shared a great love for our home state, and now that we are both adults, we find ourselves yearning for more knowledge about the places and people around us. Plus, we both spent twenty years living in another state, and this only further fueled our passion for Louisiana. When the idea of a blog first came about, we knew we wanted to focus not only on the state as it is now but on the rich history and the people that have shaped it. From festivals and foods to traditions and trades, we will be sitting down to visit with locals from all around to delve deeper into what makes the culture here so unique. So many people look to other places for fun and adventure, but we want to show you that no matter where you live, you can find these things just steps outside your front door.

We already have quite a list of adventures planned, but we would love to hear y’alls ideas. Do you have a favorite hole-in-the-wall breakfast spot? Has your great nephew’s wife’s sister played the accordion since she was three? What’s the treasure in your town?Leave a comment here or send us an e-mail, so we can plan a visit to your neck of the woods!

Katrina & Lexi

bonveillercher@gmail.com