Friday Night Live!!!!........Outdoor Concert at Sekul's Art Gallery

Last Friday night, I stumbled out of Mediteraneo's after happy hour cocktails and heard music,saw lights, smelled barbeque........ and wandered across the parking lot to Sekul's Art Gallery.

 What luck, Grayson Capps was performing live to a very mellow crowd,
except for Chris Stebly,who was dancing like a "whirling dervish" to the sounds of  "Southern Rock-a-billy". Well.......naturally in my wine fueled state, I had to join him....sorry no pics of that, but I did learn that the event was a fundraiser for the Mississippi Maritime Heritage Foundation dedicated to preserving the art of wooden boat building and since the gallery was open it was a great opportunity to view and purchase the work of several local artists.

The laid back crowd enjoyed the music and the cool outdoor weather and of course, there were kids and dogs running around as well....

 Sekul's Art Gallery has been open since Thanksgiving and has a variety of artwork, including pottery, jewelry, paintings, and furniture.

Look!!!  A Cat Fish or Fish Cat?

I just can't stop staring at the hand............

Beautiful cabinetry!

Look Saints Fans!     Handmade purses!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop by sometime........... you know you have passed by and wanted to know,"I wonder what is in there?" well, now you do..........you can always ride your bike over and sit on the handcrafted bench outside

  and after making a purchase, walk next door to Mediteraneo's and get a drink!!!  Who knows, when you walk back outside there might be another concert going on.........

Sekul's Art Gallery is on Government Street a parking lot away from Mediteraneo and right next door to Crossfit Training.

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!!!!!!

Yay! Ocean Springs holds the first Mardi Gras parade of the season and with nice weather, we arrived early (10 a.m.) and parked close to the parade route and soon were comfortably sitting at the Ocean Springs Yacht Club with a bloody mary to start the day.

The parade floats began lining up along front beach as we all watched the festivities from the deck.....There were many pre partiers at the yacht club including this lively costumed group from Arkansas

What you have to understand about Mardi Gras parades, is that it is not just about the parade, it is the BEFORE and AFTER festivities that make a parade a day long event, from early morning til late in the evening!!After a nice visit we decided to move towards the parade route to see what people were up to.........

What a view!!!

Gettin' Ready.........

Chair camp out!!!

Float Riders practicing the bead throwing

We soon found that the closer we got to downtown.....people had staked their parade watching space for themselves and their kids and created prime bead catching areas...........

Did you forget to buy your child a toy at Walmart to bring to the parade?, well there were plenty of traveling salesmen ready to accommodate your little one's desire for anything from hats to a blow up Shamu or monkey....please, daddy, please........

Daddy, I want the frog AND THE MONKEY!!!!

We found lots of watering holes to stop and people watch..............

Sweet's Lounge was rockin'

Porter Ave. Bistro Beer To Go.....

Lots of people choose to dress rather festively for Mardi Gras as you can see below....

My, those are some awesome beads!!

Mardi Gras Party Lizard with Owner in the background

Ok, so I am getting to the parade.  We decided that The Office on the corner of Washington and Government would be the perfect place to observe....First things first,the veggie infused vodka for a bloody mary looked tempting.......     

 However a beer and snack seemed the best choice.........ahhh.....now where do we stand for the parade?

Wait a minute...... there is no one in The Office except for maybe 3 other people, bartender Connie was able to provide us drinks quickly, hmmmm......bathroom, A/C....and gee look out the window....

I THINK WE FOUND THE PERFECT SPOT!!!!!  On to the parade.............

OFFICER RICKY KEEPIN IT UNDER CONTROL WHILE WE WAIT...

PARTY ROCK IS ON THE TOP OF THE OFFICE TOO!

Our Armed Forces Represent!!

Go Girl!!!

Getting her Parade on!!

Spinning on a float in the parade.......

A Floating Bar in the Parade.......I'm not kidding!

The Heaven Bound float following Lynchburg Landing float....hmmm....

Great way to campaign!!

Well, the parade finally ended.........and after a noisy, exciting, celebratory day we headed home in the aftermath........

Until the next Mardi Gras parade...............it is all over but the cleanup........

Throw me something, Mister!!!!!      See ya at the next parade, Friday, February 17 at 7 p.m.

A Trip to "Lil Italy" in Ocean Springs.....

Hidden behind an out of business nightclub and located in the building that used to house a Mexican restaurant, Ocean Springs has it's own Lil Italy....restaurant that is....The eatery was previously located in a sort of trailer/food truck setting on North Washington Ave. My husband and I have eaten here twice recently and still need to return because there are such a wide array of items on the menu, including: soups, salads, bbq, pasta, pizza, Chicago style hot dogs and Italian beef, gyros, steaks and much more. 

Interestingly enough, The King greeted us, as our waitress led us to our table in the friendly, casual dining restaurant.....Elvis is replaced by local, live entertainment later in the evening.

The spacious dining area is great for large groups or small.....

 A nice bar with tv and an attentive bartender provides another option for dining or a quick drink.

 On to the menu......a quick look at the many choices and......I decided on the Chicago style hot dog with fries  a bargain at $4.99!

Quite yummy, right down to the neon green pickle relish and peppers.........I really shoulda ordered a double!!

Meat eater sitting next to me ordered the rib eye, which comes with soup or salad, potato and bread for $20.95.  Picture speaks for itself.......and on the return visit we sat at the bar and the bartender was happy, and interested in serving us.  She actually seemed to enjoy her job and her customers!!!  You go, girl!!We ordered an Italian beef with fries (7.95) and the gardenier pepper mixture on it was spicy and tangy!!

I ordered the baked ziti with sausage....(I know the picture looks a little weird or maybe the sausage does) BUT IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT TREAT!!!  The sauce was very delicious and made the dish. This meal also came with a soup or salad and bread (8.99) (unfortunately, I did not get the bread) but I was not able to finish my pasta, so it was just as well............Lil Italy is located on Highway 90 in Ocean Springs and are open for lunch and dinner every day..........check their website and like them on Facebook.  BUONO APPETITO!!!