French Quarter grand opening

 Susan Johnson took over the French Quarter Restaurant & Sports Bar this month, August 2011. She has created a new menu and brought live music to the place. A good time was had by all at the opening party last night. The band is playing again tonight, San Juan Project from Guadalajara. There is a big surprise Susan has for tonight and she is being very tight-lipped, so I don't know what it is .. yet, anyway. I will keep working on that!

San Juan Project from Guadalajara jamming for the opening party

Susan had a soft opening August 1st and has been so busy since then with all the locals and ex-pats coming out to enjoy the place. The big night was last night and there will be a repeat performance tonight.On Friday, the first 50 guests were given free tote bags (really cute.)

Susan modeling the new tote bag

Live music, great food and awesome drinks ... it just doesn't get better than that! Some photos of the party last night.

Susan and friends

Paul & Delfina

Lisa & Teresa Jo

I love the support from the community. Even the owner of Rock 'n Java, Lisa Ramirez, was there to enjoy and she loved the band as reported on facebook!

Susan & Marilu

Masked beauties

Christi & Michaela

Needless to say, the opening was a huge success.

Susan, Cathy Martinez and I worked on the new paint colors, and I was very pleased with the results. Susan wanted the colors to reflect the French Quarter of New Orleans and also coordinate with the existing murals, which are awesome. Cathy found just the perfect shade of gold and Susan and I pondered over the greens and purples until we found just the right selections. Upstairs, we went with a base of cerveza (how appropriate as it means beer) and complimented with tomato and a light blue for accent colors. The paint came out great and reflects the new and improved look Susan is going for.

New gold and green

We wish Susan all the success in the world, and based on the last two weeks, she is already there! 

P.S. Most of the photos were supplied by Katherine Robinson, who did a super job taking wonderful photos. Thanks, Katherine!

Katherine Robinson (in the middle) surrounded by friends

Update August 18th .... ate at French Quarter last night with my husband and friends. Had the pasta with shrimp. It was excellent. My husband had the pulled pork sandwich. He liked that too!

Hello from Cozumel

The summers in Cozumel are humid, hot and buggy. I tend to get in to my typical routine to stay out of the heat ... coffee and oatmeal in the morning with the a/c blasting in my house, drive to work with the a/c on, stay until 5 working at the furniture and interior design store (also air-conditioned.) I guess you get my drift. It is really hot this time of year.

So while I need to be indoors, I decided instead of always working on my blog about my travels away from Cozumel, I would try to see where I live from a different point of view.
As you can see from the photos below, the weather was a lot cooler in the winter as we prepared for the opening of the Carnival parade.

Preparing for Carnival February 2011

This is dedicated to the wondrous island of Cozumel. May I see it from a different point of view!

Preparing food for Carnival

Carnival hats on Kurt and Susanna

Carnival clown

Flinstones minus their Flinstone mobile

This is a behind the scenes look at Carnival preparation from February of 2011. I walked the streets snapping photos before I went to work at the Humane Society booth. The local Humane Society works at placing all animals they take in and also does neutering and spaying. It is a great group. Information can be found at: Cozumel Humane Society

Joni working the Humane Society Booth

And if you do decide you want to see my photos from other parts of the world,  check out my other blog about all the great architectural features and things that strike my fancy as I travel. It can be found at:Gargoyles & Graffiti