Nicole Peeler

We started our day with coffee and smoothies, made by our hostess with the mostess, Kristin! Delish! And she uses a “magic bullet” to make them, which never ceases to amuse me. I love it when everyday kitchen appliances are…

For the rest of our stay in NYC, we stayed at the apartment of Kristin’s and Sam’s neighbors, who were so incredibly generous as to let us use their place while they were on vacation. But despite us being next…

For our second morning in NYC, I brought Rootie breakfast in bed. Don’t say I don’t know how to treat a lady! The sandwiches from Starbucks looked unprepossessing, but holy moly they were delish: After breakfast, Dr. Ruth and I…

We flew out of O’Hare bright and early. O’Hare makes you check in two hours before your flight time, so we had lots of time to kill. With french toast! Soon enough, however, we were in NYC! YAY! We checked…

So my mom and I took Rootie into Chicago fo’ real. We went on my fave tour ever: the architectural boat tour that leaves from Navy Pier. We bought our tix and than had some cheeky nooner G&T’s. There was…

So after the Dropkick Murphys, Rootie and I needed a rest. And we got one. The day after was Father’s Day, and my brother had a BBQ that was very much appreciated, on a number of levels. Rootie got her…

Dr. Ruth and I woke up the next morning, gloriously refreshed. To begin the process of purging the beignets from our thighs, we went for walkies around my neighborhood. When we lived in Edinburgh together, American tourists were always taking…

The drive up from Memphis to Aurora, Illinois, was very long, very flat, and very straight. Again, we made amazingly good time, not least because I was on a mission from hell’s kitchen… To see my ARC’s! So we just…

We left NOLA as one should, with a shit load of beignets: Ohhhh the glory. I am drooling typing this. Look at them! Lovely! And I love the sea of powdered sugar left over from eating them. The huge lumps…

Day 3 was a tour! We’d chosen a tour that was half historical, half hurricane Katrina related, and I think it was the perfect choice for tourists that lean towards nerdism. There are dozens of possible tours to take in…