Scarlet Sounds Like: My Amazing Halloween

This Halloween was one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Three of my best friends and I took a long weekend in New Orleans. Within minutes of my arrival, I knew I was meant to come to this city.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon, before my friends did (one arrived that night and the other two flew in on Friday). We were invited by my amazing aunt, photographer Josephine Sacabo, (check out her website here!) to stay with her at her gorgeous home in the French Quarter.

She and her husband Dalt welcomed me with the most open arms and hearts I have encountered in a long while. I haven't seen my aunt since I was about 6 years old-she's my mother's first cousin but hasn't lived in our home town for some time. When I met her and her husband this weekend, I felt like I was being re-united with old friends. True artists, they were inspiring just to be around.

Their home was out of a story-book. Filled with antiques, masks, odds and ends, it had me in awe all weekend. I'm sure something new caught my eye every time I walked in. My friends and I stayed on the third floor, equipped with its own study, two bedrooms, and a bath, this floor was a world all its own. A tiny green velvet chair, an old white top hat, and a gold demon mask were among the objects that I fell in love with on that floor. There were antique chests, a wardrobe filled with costume pieces, and paintings by Dalt that were taken from his book of fables (yes, he writes and illustrates fables, and they are amazing). And in the middle of the room my friends and I stayed in, a silver pitcher held a bouquet of sunset orange roses. It was so much to take in and so wonderful that I hardly wanted to leave the house.

One by one my friends all arrived, and Josephine and Dalt welcomed them as openly as they had welcomed me. Two of them live in California, so the four of us hadn't all been together in months. We laughed and caught up over the weekend, and it was wonderful. Saturday night we hit Bourbon Street dressed as Vamps, or vampire pin-ups, and we topped the night off with some absinthe from a bar in Pirate's alley. Sunday we went to Voodoo Fest and I finally got to see Jack White live as he performed with the Raconteurs. The show was unreal. I left with a new spring in my step, awakened by the kind of live music that stirs my soul.

Overall, this weekend inspired, relaxed, and enlivened me all at the same time. Surrounded by best friends, family, and art, I had a blast. I gotta get back to that place soon.

Thank you, New Orleans.