Off to the ballet ~

 Last week my friend Debi gave me free tickets to the Nutcracker!  Jordyn and I had never been, so we were very excited!  The tickets were for two adults and two kids, so I asked Sharon and Andrea to join us.  Jordyn and I decided to head down early to enjoy lunch before the show, which was at 2.  We wanted to try out Lucile's, a cajun-creole restaurant, that served all kinds of great dishes!

 The place is pretty popular, so there was a 30 minute wait for a table.  The weather has been unusually gorgeous out, so we decided to wait out front with other folks for a table.  Naturally, I got a Cajun Mary to enjoy while we waited.  It originally had a shrimp on there too, but we ate that immediately! :)

 We were sat rather quickly and we enjoyed beignets while we looked at the menu!  They were covered with about 1/4 inch of powdered sugar, and we dove right in!

 Jordyn loved it and so did I!  I'm not much of a sweets person, and I hate donuts, but these were great! I love the ones at Cafe du Monde, so I was hoping these wouldn't disappoint and they did not!

 Then our food arrived!  I ordered the gumbo bowl along with a side of grits, and Jordyn ordered the mufaletta with red beans and rice!  YUM!!!

 Everything was so delicious and the entire staff was friendly and fun!  I will definitely be going back!  Jordyn wants to go back again too!  Maybe next time we'll try out the breakfast menu!  We walked over to the theatre after lunch, its right across the street, and took a few fun pics before we headed in...naturally!  Like I said, the weather was gorgeous so we didn't even need our coats!

 The show started and the stage, costumes and music were wonderful!  As were the performers...and speaking of performers, is that our friend Adam as the Godfather?!?  About 5 minutes in I realized that was him on the stage!  I knew he performed for the Lincoln Center, but I had no idea he would be in this show, so that was a nice surprise!  Well done Adam, you were terrific!

 They had a gorgeous selection of Nutcracker ornaments to shop in the lobby, so Jordyn picked one out for our tree and then we headed home!  It was an absolutely fabulous time!  Thanks soooo much for the tickets Debi!  It was a memorable day to be sure!