#5 Paint - 24 for 24 - The Together Traveler

One of the thing I put on my to do list for this year was paint. I used to love painting things in college. I’m definitely not great at it but its fun. Since moving to New Orleans I lost or got rid of most of my craft supplies. Maggie found the perfect solution, Corks N Canvas, a painting class with wine. We’d talked about doing one of these classes before and I’m so glad we finally did. It seemed a little expensive but it was worth all the fun we had.

This Friday I decided to treat myself by taking the day off. So I told my kiddos at school to please be on their best behavior as a birthday present to me and then slept in nice and late. Okay, 7 AM may sound early to you but for me, on a school day, that’s great.

Maggie came home right before lunch time and we headed to Commander’s Palace. This restaurant is a famous spot in New Orleans and best of all offers 25 cent martinis with lunch.

It looks expensive and I was always nervous about going because their menu didn’t look particularly veg-friendly. I called up one day though, to ask, and the hostess explained that they would gladly accommodate my diet with another dish from off the menu.

Maggie and I loved the garlic bread (obviously) and both got the lite soup de jour, a creole tomato soup with goat cheese. We. love. cheese. For the entrees, Maggie got the cochon de lait and I got a wild mushroom truffle risotto. Everything was delicious and we were so full that we sadly were unable to polish off that cheesecake.

Only two martinis later and we decided to ditch our plans to shop and take a nap. That makes me feel like I’m getting old. Our wallets were probably thankful though.

When we got to Corks N Canvas we were all nervous. I had a feeling my painting of the St. Louis Cathedral would end up a bit abstract.. to put it nicely. Somehow we would be the ones to mess up this fool proof painting class.

There were quite a few bumps along the road. We lost a few church spires, accidentally smeared black in the wrongs places and painted some lines on a bit thick. I’m apparently challenged at shapes because my clock was anything but a circle. In the end though (with a little helping hand from the instructor) we all made it out all right.

A little liquid courage definitely helped destress the situation. Painting straight lines and shading is high pressure work!

I may or may not have handed my painting over to the instructor to finish shortly after this picture. So painting is fun but taking pictures is just MORE fun. With this decision, I switch mediums and a photoshoot ensued.

Emily went rogue and painted her flowers yellow. I’m actually quite jealous of the way hers turned out. The woman to her left went even further and painted her church pink. She told us she had painted exactly as the instructors told her last time and ended up with an okay picture. This time she decided to get wild and paint whatever she wanted. She said at least it would be an interesting piece. I completely agree.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes wine. Plus we walked away with a personalized souvenir of New Orleans. I have a gallery wall filled with pictures and maps of all the places I’ve been. This is by far the coolest addition. The artist may still need a bit more work but its the memories that count, right?