Monday, September 28, 2015

LAFAYETTE = FOOD + FRIENDS + FUN

Wheeeewwww- We just got home from working quite a few days in Lafayette, LA for their big Junior League Tinsels & Treasures show at the Cajun Dome. We really can only do a couple of these type shows a year because of having to take time off from our "real" jobs and leaving the two P's at home. We had heard Lafayette was a good one to do, and applied and got in! We def learned a bunch (we will pack a broom, dust pan, trash bags and Breath Mints!! next time) and ate REALLY well. I believe I am 10 lbs heavier! Excited to report back that the sweet Cajun people seemed to really like our tees :)
   We rented a big ass U-haul to take all of our designs down,
and were lucky enough to have help from Jordan, Amy, Erin, Jill and my mom tagging last minute designs that were getting printed for the event. I was painting a last minute sign
and everyone (even the kids!!) were helping load up.

(everyone helps loading up a U-haul in their Skull shirt and panties-right!?!?) haha

Brent got to the honor of driving her and I took my car. He was so pumped!!
This was my view all the way down :)


haahhaah
  We were lucky enough to have Becky and Todd Etzel and a friend named Courtland help us unload.
Becky is Beth Newsom's sister who lives in Lafayette. She is a realtor there. We were so thankful because we were only allowed a short amount of time at the unloading dock. Here is Courtland.
And here is Todd helping Brent carry in our big palette wall


We got the booth all set up and decorated.
We had brought our famous Spanish moss skirt to the show.
Everyone oooed and ahhhed over it, and took pics of it too! Close up of the moss and shotgun shells.
SO glad Brent had thought to bring it. IT def stood out amongst all the baby bows on metal racks!!! We had dinner that night at Brent's Families home~Courtney and Neil Albritton. Technically, Neil and Courtney are his Aunt and Uncle, (hahaha) but we just make it easy and make them feel young and say we are all cousins!! Great to see them and their sweet kiddos. Here is Brent with "AUNT" Courtney~ who is younger than me!!

  Let me just start by saying we Ate and we Ate and we ATE on this trip!! Thats what one should do in Lafayette-right!!?!!
The next morning, we ate the best breakfast at French Press. DIVINE!!! Cool old building
and boudin butter milk biscuits drizzled in maple cane syrup with cheese grits...AMAZIN'!!!
Brent had some other piece of gumbo infused heaven

 We then did some last minute tough ups at the show and then ate again at POPS POBOYS- SO good!!

the poboys were huge and the fries were hand cut.
They had these cool funky lemonade type drinks in bottles with it.
YUM! After a good nap, we got ready for our first event with the shirts. They had a fancy cocktail party for all the patrons. The ladies were dressed to the nines!!! Lots of sequins!!!
  We made friends with our neighboring booth  people. The first was Leon with MD Anderson Childrens Art project
and Kim, Ronnie and Lyndsay with the funny marshmallow guns.
Ronnie was a hoot! We got shot at by marshmallows throughout the entire stay.
  The next day, we were lucky enough to have help from Courtney, Stacey Lawrence and Molly Daniels. Stacey is married to local boy Chris Lawrence. They live in Lafayette and have two of the cutest red headed kids- Paige and Zack. Let me tell ya, Stacy is very very very FUNNY!!

We cracked up the whole time she was there. Mollie Daniels, who I adore, is cousins to my bestie Rachel (Saucier) Knox. She is an Interior Designer in Lafayette
She and I got to be good friends when we all turned 30 many moons ago and went to Miami together. We were also pregnant with our girls at the same time during Rachels wedding. Molly has some good one liners and is a runner too !!  And here is Courtney looking all pretty in our new "NICE RACK" shirt :)
So the group of us working was fun! All the ladies love Brent!
He handed out stickers and helped people while I checked people out and the girls wrapped and pulled tees for people.

The place got quite busy at times.
That night, we Ate at SOCIAL- YUM!!
I had the fried chicken and biscuits.
It was a cool place that does farm to table food.
My favorite was the appetizer which was a seafood type nacho.
 Next day- more selling tees!! It was cool to meet people like Megan
who has always bought from us online but that we really didn't know in person.  She is good friends with sweet Leah Hawsey. We got to see a bunch of our friend Kelly Jaubert's family and friends and met her sweet god daughter Sawyer Grace.
This cute boy name Joseph was so pumped about his deer tee that he changed in our booth so he could wear it our of there!!!
 Makes you feel good. We also got to see pretty Kaitlin Fontenot who owns an online store called 12East in Lafayette.
She is a fellow La Tech Alpha Chi and had a booth at the event. Check out her website at www.Shop12East.com. This chic has STYLE- So glad we finally met!!
 And now back to FOOD....We got to eat at Agave Mexican Cantina that evening.
Loved their queso with ground meat, tomatoes and guacamole mixed in. Brent had fajitas.
He was a little annoyed with me at this photo!! hahaha  . The last night of our trip, we ate at Rodrigues Blue Dog Cafe.
We had some Fat Tires together and enjoyed another good meal.
Loved seeing all the Blue Dog paintings and prints around the restaurant.
On the final day, Becky came and worked a shift

and Stacey came back and helped as well as her whole family! They helped us tear down and load back up.

SO thankful!!! We gained a new retailer on the trip- Molly has The Crooked Antler.
It is located in between Houston and Beaumont, Tx. She even wore our new Nice Rack shirt on her last day. :) Very cool!! The best seller for the event for us was our Duck Taylor design (in youth and adult) and our new Christmas design. Here is the kids version. Lots of people commented they wanted it for Holiday family photos.
And here is the Adult Version.......

People were cracking up about it!! It is now available online to order.www.mrpstees.com
  Big Thank you to the Junior League of Lafayette for hosting such a nice event. Thankful for the time to spend with my hubs, and now it is so great to finally be home. I swear I think our kids grew while were gone. Big thank you to our families for taking such good care of them.
.... Next blog up will be about Rebel Runway.

Thanks for reading!!
Love
Lissy