Overdue Post: 50th Birthday Bash

This post is long overdue, but Miss Ginger and the local 'snaps did survive the 50th birthday celebration in New Orleans!  Here's what you missed:

Miss Ginger arrived to a bucket of champagne waiting in her room- what a great surprise! You see it on TV all the time, but it's never happened to Miss Ginger!  If you ever want to make someone's day's day- make it happen! Many thanks to my dear friends at Legacy Community Health Services for making a fantasy come to life!

First to arrive for the weekend were Boy G's brothers, who came from as far as Albuquerque to join the celebration.  I think both brothers were relieved to learn that Boy G had left Miss Ginger's drunk ass at home!

Ms. Sonna had planned the whole shindig, including selecting a FABULOUS suite at the Bourbon Orleans for the venue!  The bedroom was upstairs out of the way, and the living room and balcony overlooking Orleans Street was more than enough room for the catering and festivities.  She and Kaylynn also corroborated on a "This is Your Life" video, and Boy G is STILL wondering where she got some of those photos!  It was a touching tribute, as was the presence of friends and family from around the US who flew and drove from all over to join the party!  

Since that night, Miss Ginger has been keeping a close eye on her "check liver" light!  Whoever said that "50 is the new 40" has clearly lived a much cleaner life than Miss Ginger!  But start planning now, folks: if Miss Ginger can still draw a breath on her own, we'll repeat it in 2023 for her 60th birthday, and, hopefully, retirement party!

Happy Birthday to Me...

Happy Birthday, He-She,
Happy Birthday, dear Drag Queen,
Happy Birthday, Miss G!!


No, you didn't miss it!! It doesn't happen until February, 2013. But When it hits, it's gonna hit hard!  The big 5-0!  Over the Hill! Headed to Shady Pines!!  Oye!


But Miss G's not going down without a fight, so she has decided to throw herself a surprise birthday party!!!!


"Huh?" How can you surprise yourself?"  Well, it's easy!!  The party is going to be in New Orleans... who doesn't want to go there?  And, since her birthday falls on a Friday night, February 22nd, the date is easy to pick!  So how's it going to be a surprise?!


Easy- she has NO IDEA who's coming!!!  She might be there all by her lonesome,  tears draining into a warm beer at the Bourbon Pub.  But you wouldn't let that happen to our gurl, would you?


So, if you wanna come, all you have to do is email my brother John at JCBurch@msn.com.   Or our friend Sonna at salton77@yahoo.com.  They are both in on the idea.  Once they have an idea of the number of participants, they will work out details of the where, the when, etc.  Then, they can also contact hotels in the French Quarter to see if they can get a group rate.  The sooner you let them know you're on,  the more time they have to work out a deal.  Of course, you're welcome to stay wherever your little heart desires!  Bring yo friends! Bring yo kids!  Bring anyone who's up for a party!! 






I can't WAIT to see who loves Miss G enough to find their way to NOLA for the party!!  It may be her last hurrah before she's over the hill!!

Another Disaster for New Orleans?

We hope not!

Last winter, as many of you blogged about bitter cold, piles of snow, and what seemed to be a never-ending winter story, Queen Ginger made a few snide comment about planting gardens, wearing shorts, and other FABULOUS Southern glorification.  She couldn't resist the temptation, even though she knows karma is a bitch, and payback can be hell.  And she knew exactly what would happen.

Yasee,  whenever the North has a terrible, snowy winter, the South has a terrible, flood-filled spring.  Unlike rain,  which runs way as it falls, snow collects, and collects, and collects.  Until it all melts at once.  And if you are a raindrop east of the Rockies, all roads lead (eventually) to the Mississippi river.  Even the mighty Mississippi, with her impressive width and dredged channels, can't hold all that water.  Many cities and towns along the northern parts of the Mississippi are suffering devastating flooding,  and Queen Ginger hopes that all of you will donate to the American Red Cross to help the people survive and recover the complete destruction of their property.  They only have flood problems when there are particularly bad winters, and as you know, last year was really bad!

Many have inquired of Queen G what will happen to her beloved New Orleans. Barring an unexpected levee breach, probably nothing.  Thanks to years and years of efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans and Baton Rouge are well-protected by an ingenious and time-tested system of levees, spillways, and reservoirs designed to divert water through less populated areas to protect the big cities from disaster. In fact, the effort is so important to trade and commerce in the US that the Corp has special "Team New Orleans" to manage the intricate levee and watershed system.

Much of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was due to a levee breach, but that situation was very different.  Levees are designed to hold water "in".  The berm is designed to withstand the lateral force of the river pushing against it.  The storm surge from Katrina placed force on the levees from outside.  With equally strong forces from both sides at some points,  the levees basically washed away, leaving gaping holes that spilled water into New Orleans. The levee isn't designed as a seawall, although lessons learned from Katrina have helped the Corps location potential weak points, where they have redesigned the levees to be less susceptible to such a situation.

Along the levee systems are interchanges called "spillways", that divert water from the river into large areas of primarily swampland, where it can flow into the Gulf through the marshes. If you've ever driven along Interstate 10 between New Orleans and Lafayette, you crossed these reservoirs on long, long bridges.  Just west of New Orleans, the Bonnet Carre spillway has already been opened,  and you can see the water rushing under the bridge as you cross.  The image above shows the inundation of swampland with the Bonnet Carre opened, plus the risk to New Orleans and Baton Rouge if something else is not done. The Bonner Carre is always the first spillway opened, as the land that it floods is virtually all swamp,  and the only humans affected are the relatively small population of trappers and fishermen who make their living in the those swamps.

The more controversial relief is the Morganza Spillway, indicated in this image.

This image shows the inundation of swamp land if the Morganza Spillway is opened 50%. New Orleans and Baton Rouge are completely spared, as most of the flooding is diverted into swampland.  However, the controversy comes from the fact that there are more people and towns in the path of the Morganza Spillway, including Morgan City and Houma.
The Morganza has not been opened since 1973, so it really is an action of last resort.  Estimates are that 25,000 people would have to be evacuated to save their lives if the spillway is opened, and there property will almost certainly be lost.

As of Saturday morning, the Corps has begun opening the Morganza Spillway.  Queen G would certainly hate to be the person who has to make the decision to displace 25,000 peope from their homes and livelihood.  Still, it's a numbers game, and by predictably evacuating this smaller number of people,  we may prevent a disaster that would affect over a million people.

This interactive gadget shows the population density of the areas in question.  New Orleans and Baton Rouge are indicated,  the other heavy orange area in the south central part of the state is Lafayette.  The relatively white area in between is the land that would be sacrificed by the Morganza.

So, New Orleans and Baton Rouge should be okay-  thanks for asking!!  And please keep the people of Houma and Morgan City in your thoughts, and consider donating what you can to the American Red Cross.  Out Cajun freres and soeurs need our love and support!

For the Girls....

You all know Queen Ginger LOVES her some lesbians! So, girls, here's a few Mardi Gras pics for you!

Happy Mardi Gras, Ladies!!

Miss Ginger Finds Nirvana!!

And it is located on a tiny touch-screen!

Harrah's Casino in New Orleans has installed a new system on all of their slot machines that is nothing short of BRAZZILLIANT!!!

As you know,  the only thing Miss G likes to do more than gamble is to drink,  and now Harrah's has made it easier than ever for Miss G to keep herself entertained for hours on end!

Harrah's New Orleans, like most casinos, gives free drinks to their players.  In Miss Ginger's opinion, it's a pretty good deal,  because on most nights she spends about the same at the casino that she would spend at a bar, and is actually much more likely to get lucky.  In the past, however,  getting your drink on at a casino could be difficult,  as the cocktail waitresses were usually overworked, and on a busy night quite difficult to find.  But Harrah's to the rescue with "Total Touch",  which allows you to order your drink on a touch screen right from the slot machine!!  Man, I wish I'd thought of that!!

It is that perfect combination of easy and effective!  Touch the button that says "Order Beverage" and you navigate through the simple menu to your selection- for Miss G:  Light Beers > Bud Light.  Once your selection is comfirmed, you get a message that your order is processing. Once the bartender has pulled the beverage,  you get a message letting you know it's on it's way.  Shortly thereafter, a cheerful cocktail waitress,  who is happy that people have not been yelling "Miss!  Miss!!" at her all night,  brings your beverage to you.  FLAWLESS!!

The system does several other neat things, like show your rewards balance, contact a slot attendant, and track your rewards progress, but really,  if it only ordered the drinks that would be enough!!

Great job, Harrah's!! 

Tragedy!

Douglas Schantz was a Houston energy executive who, like Miss Ginger, loved the City of New Orleans and travelled there often. That's probably about as much as he and Miss G have in common: the love of a city and the spirit it represents. But really, isn't that enough?

The Houston Chronicle began following his story early Friday morning, when he didn't return to his hotel from a French Quarter bar crawl with his colleagues. For 4 days, police, private eyes, and coworkers combed the French Quarter trying to find anyone who might have seen him, or knew his whereabouts. Many suspected foul play, and hate against New Orleans spewed forth on the Chronicle Blogs about what a dangerous city it was, and how certainly he had met his fate at the hands of some evildoers.

Turns out, New Orleans is not the hell pit they imagined. Even in it's antiquity, the French Quarter is rife with surveillance cameras, and over the course of time, investigators were able to track his movement through the French Quarter. The last camera image of him shows his approach to the banks of the Mississippi, in a restricted area near the docks of the Steamboat Natchez. He never reappeared in the 4 hours of tape that followed.

Today, his body was found in the Mississippi river. No signs of foul play. No suicide note. No reason to think anything other than the guy got drunk, stumbled to the river, and fell in. Such a tragedy, really. Miss Ginger wonders where he thought he was going? And why he violated the restricted area. It's really sad, and Miss G's heart goes out to his family, friends, and coworkers. Really, just a tragic accident.

Yet, Miss G can't help but find herself angered at all the ASSHATS on Chron.com who had to leave comments about "the dangers of New Orleans." Apparently the most dangerous thing about New Orleans these days is that they overserve drunk people.

My heart breaks for his family, his friends, and his company. And my heart breaks for New Orleans.

FABULOUS Day in NOLA!

What a FABULOUS day Miss Ginger has had in NOLA today! She worked here on Friday and stayed the weekend to spend time with her favorite (lesbian) cousin, JC, and we have just had an incredible time so far! Last night we got together after work, and decided we wanted authentic Lousiana seafood, so we went to Deanies, right here in the French Quarter. JC had never had a chargrilled oyster, so Miss G knew that had to be on the menu! Yumm!!!

After our night of dining and drinking, we tentatively planned our Saturday, and man, what a Saturday we had!

We started the day on Canal Street at the Audubon Insectarium, one of the newest incarnations of the Audubon Nature Institute. The Audubon Society, now know as the Audubon Nature Institute, is as precious to the South as the Smithsonian is to the nation in general. The Institute began with a humble bird exhibit in 1916, and has gradually grown to a full-fledged treasure with a complete zoo, parks, an aquarium, an IMAX theatre, and now an Insectarium, located in the historic US Customs Building. Some of the insects were gross, many of them were gorgeous, and all were fascinating and educational. The Audubon Insectarium get a bigs thumbs up from Miss G!

Looking at all those bugs made us hungry (?!) so we headed off in search of genuine creole brunch. We decided upon the Old Coffee Pot Restaurant, where we were most pleased with our Eggs Jonathan and Eggs Sardou, plus a couple of the best bloody marys ever!

After brunch, we headed over to the National WWII Museum, another one of NOLA's national treasures! You may wonder why the nation's WWII museum was built in New Orleans, instead of Washington, DC, but the answer makes a lot of sense. The museum began as the New Orleans D-Day Museum, and was intended to commemorate the contribution that New Orleans' own Higgins Industries contributed to the war effort. Andrew Jackson Higgins was a boat builder here in New Orleans, whose original industry was to build swamp boats for local trappers and fisherman. During World War II, Higgins' production. like everyone elses, was shifted to the war effort. Higgins retooled his fishing boat design to accomodate a drop-down ramp at the bow, and the LCVP (Landing Craft for Vehicles and Personnel) was born. The Higgins boat was tested and demonstrated in Lake Ponchartrain as a watercraft that could beach, retreat, and re-beach thousands of times. A tank could be driven from it's drop-down ramp to the beach, and troops could be debarked four abreast, upright, in rapid sequence. The Higgins boat made the invasion at Normandy possible, and was crucial to the America's victory in Europe The D-Day museum was originally designed to commemorate that contribution.
Congress recognized the importance of preserving this important slice of American History, and recognized the museum as the nation's only National World War II museum. Since then, it has grown to include additional exhibits in the main collection, plus a multi-media "4-D" theatre experience that is like IMAX on steroids! It was particularly meaningful to JC and I, since both of our Dads served in WWII, and we were both bawling as we left the theatre! Definitely a not to be missed experience!
Finally, we ended the night with more seafood, more wine, and more bonding. It was truly great to see my favorite cuz!

Miss Ginger's JazzFest Report

Miss Ginger is home from the JazzFest, and has SOOO much catching up to do, since she was out of pocket with a broken computer! She missed blogging about the dearly departed Bea Arthur, and it seems like kind of old news at this point. Perhaps a tribute later.
JazzFest weekend was awesome! When Bubba John got into town we downed a coupla dozen chargrilled oysters at Drago's, then headed to the casino for some gambling. After while (and some $$$) later, it was decided a trip into the Quarter would be in order, so we walked up Decatur to Molly's at the Market. Molly's is a great locals "dive" near the French Market, and believe it or not Miss Ginger stayed up till 4am quaffing brews and chatting with the locals! And, in the back bar at Molly's, Wu holds court, and holds the bar down pretty much 24/7, or so I'm told! That's a long shift for any bartender, so Mr. Wu has been known to catnap between customers!

We met a real sweet girl there named Heather, and enjoyed talking to her until the wee hours!

The next morning, we walked down to the Jackson Brewery to catch the shuttle to JazzFest.

Because the Fairgrounds is in the midst of a residential neighborhood, there's not much parking. I couldn't find a crowd estimate, but Miss Ginger guesses there were at least 100,000 people there!

Lots of people drag folding chairs and coolers with them and set up a sort of "camp" near their favorite stage (there were 10 this year!), but Bubba John and I just decided to wander. You can hear great music all over the fest, and wandering and people watching are as much fun as listening! So we wandered from beer stand to beer stand, drinking booze, watching the crowds, and just enjoying being together!

And then there's the food! And what food! You'd expect to find crawfish pie and gumbo, and there was plenty more cajun favorites. There's a town in the middle of Louisiana called Natchitoches (say NAK-a-tush) that happens to be where "Steel Magnolias" was filmed. But long before Shelby wooed Jackson, they were making little fried meat pies that made the little town famous! EVERYONE from Natchitoches will tell you their mommas/grandmas/aunts meat pies are the best, and they are probably all right! Miss Ginger scarfed down several, and decided to pass on the food at the next booth- it just didn't seem like it would hold up in the infernal New Orleans heat!

After those spicy meat pies Miss Ginger needed a tall drink of water!

After noshing, we decided we needed to sit for a while, and we found a tent with a brass band and a "second line".

If you've ever been to New Orleans, you know that Dixieland Jazz is the soundtrack of the city. You hear it in the airport when you step off the plane, on the car radio in the taxi cab, and on the hotel Muzak when you check in. It's what gives the city it's rhythm and soul, and New Orleans just wouldn't be New Orleans without it. Miss Ginger got a little bit teary eyed when the lead trumpeteer introduced his bandmates, and told how long each had been playing. 10, 15, 35, 70 years! The oldest of them, 86 years old, had been playing since he was 16!!

There were lots of tourists and locals "second lining", as the dance is now called, but none did it as well as The Lady Jetsetters Marching Club! These ladies are smooth!

So, who's up for planning a "SnapFest" at JazzFest next year? We'll get all the GingerSnaps together and REALLY show them how to second line!

TGIF!!

Miss Ginger LOVES her weekends but she is particularly glad this one is here! She just did NOT maintain control of this week, and it really seemed to get away from her! The broken laptop thing was really the crux of it, but it just seemed to throw a wrench in the whole week! Business sux lately, which is no surprise, but when you're not winning at work you feel like you're not winning, ya know!? Now she's at the business center in the Hilton, and they have the NERVE to charge 6 dollars for 15 minutes of computer times! That's highway robbery! But you, dear readers, are worth a mint to me, so six dollars is worth every dime to keep you up date!
So, Bubba's flight lands in about 4 minutes and he'll be here to join in the mirth of New Orleans! Tonight, they're headed to the "casina" (as they call them Texas) to win back the money Miss G left there last night! Then, Saturday is the JazzFest and after that the French Quarter, if the 2 old geezers still have it in them! There will be lots of photos on the blog come Sunday evening, so watch for those!
And once Miss G gets home it's time to get everything in motion for the Derby Day Party on May 2nd at Chances! If you hadn't planned to be there, you need to change your plans! It's going to be a crazy party with lots of GREAT games and prizes, and, of course, a chance to "bet" on the derby! Everybody who's anybody will be there, and since you're somebody, you won't want to be left out! See ya Saturday! Don't forget your bonnets!

Wanderlust...

Miss Ginger always gets Wanderlust this time of year, when the weather gets pretty and people start moving around a bit.

So she's putting her travel agenda together for the summer, and it's coming along nicely! Her first stop will be the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, known to most people as simply "jazzfest". Flights from Chicago, Newark, Cleveland, and Atlanta are cheap, so if anyone wants a guided tour, book the trip and Miss G will show you around the Big Easy!

Then she's headed to Vegas in May to meet up with her bubba for drinking, eating, and gambling, in priority order. He's great to travel with because he is perfectly content to nibble and sip our way through the city, with no agenda and no schedule. That's how Miss G like to travel. Maybe they will drag themselves down the strip in search of Shanel!

Then her big trip for the year, her "vacation", if you will, happens at the end of July when she jets across the pond to Ireland to see Dublin and to kiss the Blarney Stone.... or just to get blarney stoned. Maybe both will happen. And since she'll be across the pond anyway, she's booked an Aer Lingus flight (doesn't that sound like a disgusting lesbian sex act... aer lingus?) to hop over to Amdsterdam for their Gay Pride festival.

She's travelling with her co lieutenant and his handsome partner, and they have travelled together successfully before so it should be lots of fun.

The lesbians are dying to go to NYC so I promised we would book a weekend trip sometime soon- hopefully in May.

And of course Miss G never travels without laptop and digicam, so you can plan on enjoying the trip, too!

Top Chef Robbery!

(Spoiler Alert!)

If Miss Ginger thought RuPaul's Drag Race was an hour long orgasm, you can imagine what she thought of Top Chef in New Orleans!

I won't recap the show, because David Dust and Minxeats do it way better. But I will, of course, give Miss Ginger's expert opinions on the subject!

First off, Miss Ginger wants to dislike Emeril the way she dislikes Harry Connick, Jr., but she just can't. Harry is egomaniacal. Emeril is just Emeril. He's hard not to like. And I've tried. It's not like New Orleans cuisine NEEDED a spokesperson to put it on the culinary map. But I think he has done an excellent job of keeping a VERY traditional cuisine modern, and making it popular with a whole new generation of foodies.

I thought the Houmas House "twist" was interesting. All us TC fans know they shake it up at the end, and I thought the quickfire was cool. On TV, Jamie's dish looked the most interesting, but I guess it's hard for us to judge without tasting.

And now. For the big one.

I think Fabio was TOTALLY robbed tonight! Hootie Hoo to Carla, who got excited about her opportunity and cooked her heart out, even if she didn't know how to steam open an oyster. She made it work, and I could see all along that IF she could get the shells off the oysters her dishes would be a success. Jeff tried. He really did. But the Dildo Beach club needs him back. And I think he would have come in 2nd, but unfortunately he had to win to stay in.

I could also tell throughout the kitchen scenes that Ho'sRUs was going to win the gumbo portion of the challenge. He knew what the hell he was doing. So does Miss G. And pecan crusted fish is one of her favorites. Why not take a perfectly healthy protein, coat it with more fat laden protein, and then pan fry it in butter? What's not to like about that, Dr. Cardiologist?

I think Fabio got a raw deal because Emeril didn't recognize the Italian contribution to modern Creole cuisine. New Orleans was 2nd only to New York as a point of entry for thousands of Italian immigrants during the fascist regimes. (Including some of Miss G's own relatives, who came from Italy and settled in NOLA.) Ever wonder why a New Orleans accent sounds so much like a Brooklyn accent? It's that Italian influence! Anyho, crawfish pasta and crawfish fetuccine are EXTREMELY popular dishes in Louisiana restaurants and Louisiana homes. Sure, it may not be "traditional" creole cuisine but it certainly has become part of the modern vernacular. His cocktail did sound like a train wreck.

And then there was Stefan. F^&*%n Stefan, the asshat. He totally punted in this episode. He clearly has no idea what gumbo is supposed to look like or taste like! (DD: send your BF this link!) That "beignet" thing looked like a question mark with a hard-on. And you never serve a cocktail "up" in New Orleans. Ever! It is the land of iced beverages! It's frickin' hot there!

And I've figured out why I don't like him. He has no soul. At the risk of sounding like Crazy Carla, there is no spirit in his food. It's like it is cranked out in a BMW factory (German engineering at it's best.) It comes across as cold and heartless as Lapilithuania or whatever other ice-laden country he claims to hail from this week.

And that's Miss Ginger's take on that!

Oh, Yes it's Carnival Time!

Well Miss Ginger and RMM RM have made their cross-Louisiana trek from Lafayette through Baton Rouge to Metairie, and decided tonight since it was so close to the Mardi Gras that they would go into the quarter and see what was happening. The party atmosphere is definitely beginning to develop! First we went to the original Acme Oyster House for a fried seafood fix, then we wandered on Bourbon a bit while we drank our geaux beers and took in the sights. And believe me, they weren't "visions", they were "sights". Lots of older "Mardi Gras Tourists" wandering the streets, but there were a few crowded balconies and a quite a bit of bead slinging. And yes, "tits" were being shown ocassionally for those most prized strands, but, alas, the "end of Bourbon" (which begins at St. Ann and is MANY blocks long) was markedly quiet and all pants remained zipped. Starting around Thursday, the pretty boys will begin to arrive and they will flock southward all weekend until Tuesday culminates the celebration. Ah, Miss Ginger remembers fondly the days when young Boy Ginger would drive his '76 Chrysler Newport down from Baton Rouge on Thursday and float through the weekend on a cloud of beer, daquiris, and adrenaline! Now just the thought of all those machine-pumped, acidic daquiris makes Miss G's tummy flip flop- and not in a good way!

She was a hot tranny mess back then- now she's just a tranny!

Those were the days!

Whirlwind Week!

Miss G is up bright and early before her dental appointment. Good thing, because she's got so much to do this week and she really needs to get some things done! She'll have to pack up here and check out before she goes, cause from the dental appointment she jets back to H-town to check on the kitties and repack her bag. Then, Wednesday am at buttcrack:30 she heads back to the airport for a puddle-jumper flight to lovely Lafayette, La for a store visit. After Lafayette, it's back to New Orleans to check on the two new babies there, and then Friday she has to do Baton Rouge before heading home for the weekend.
This weekend will be a costume making marathon as she tries to get ahead of that challenge.
Meanwhile, she's got some correspondance to take care of before she gets her day started. (Doesn't correspondance sound so much better than "emailing!?"
If there are 2 things in the world that Miss G loves, it's Engrish and bathroom humor! So she is really enjoying the latest string of funnies on Engrish.com! I leave you to ponder the powers of this super hero! Leave a comment and give it your best shot!

Gala Recap and Home, Sweet Home!

Miss Ginger is Home, Sweet Home after 6 tiring weeks and 3 really exhausting days! You know Miss G was REALLY nervous about having to walk her Senior VP (the one with the Miranda Priestly reputation) through the store. Well, she couldn't have been lovelier or more complimentary of both stores, so all those nerves were for nothing! Last night, all the hard work paid off with the Charity Gala benefitting NOCCA, the New Orleans Concervancy for the Arts. Miss G is not speaking out of turn to recap the Macy's presentation of a gigantic check to NOCCA for $250,000 dollars to help them establish a culinary arts programs to supplement the performance and visual art programs they already have. The Emeril Legasse Foundation also announced a donation, bringing at least half a million dollars in funding to NOCCA's program!

But Miss G is getting ahead of herself! It all started when Special Events teams from Atlanta, New York, and Houston all converged on the store to transform it from retail hotspot to Gala Central!

They tented, carpeted, and air conditioned a large section of the parking garage to create a FABULOUS ballroom, which Miss Ginger immediately dubbed the "GarageMahal". There was a special red carpet reception for the visiting celebrities and the "high dollah" guests in the tent, and then there was entertainment, food, drinks, and celebrity appearances all over the store. Tommy Hilfiger in mens, Martha Stewart in housewares, Russell Simmons in mens, Steve Madden in shoes- it goes on and on. After the "in-store" cocktails and buffets, all of the guests were ushered to the GarageMahal for Miss Ginger's favorite part of the night- a cooking demonstration by Martha Stewart and Emeril Legasse.

It started with Emeril showing Martha how to make a sazerac, with ensuing discussion about Peychoud Bitters vs. Angostura Bitters, blah blah blah.

Once Martha had her sazerac in hand, she never put it down! Girlfriend sucked on that sazerac for the rest of the demo! She showed Emeril how to make homemade shrimp boil, and I'm sure most in the audience noticed that between blabbing about bitters and sucking on sazeracs, they boiled the damn things for like 8 minutes, which surely meant they were like rubber by the time she took them out!

Miss G was so busy trying to get these great pics of Martha and Emeril for you that she almost didn't notice that Tyler Florence was standing like 5 feet away from her!

She managed to snap one shot before his handlers came to wrangle him into position. Dayum he is a cutie!

After the cooking demo, there was a FABULOUS fashion show created by the FABULOUS Lenny Matuszwski, who produces some of the greatest fashion moments anywhere. The white tent runway show was spectacular, as always! Miss G has worked with Lenny and his team on so many events she can't event remember the first!

Once the show was over Miss G and some of her teammates dashed out to dine, since they were starving! After an italian feast, it was off to beddy bye, and all we could think of was "WE GET TO GO HOME TOMORROW!!!"

This morning was marching bands, speeches, confetti cannons, ribbon cuttings, and mobs of shoppers as the 2 locations had their "official" public grand openings. Now the regional team has left their little birdies to fly on their own, and we have flown home as well!