We have so much to be thankful for here at Rodéo. On Tuesday night we went to Table Kitchen and Bar to celebrate Thanksgiving with a few of our girls. Of course we couldn't just do a plain ol' dinner...we had to have masks! It made for an especially entertaining night. As always there were lots of laughs and memories about the store shared. We are so thankful that the store has brought us all together- we are more than just co-workers, we are friends!
We had a revelation that came into sharp focus...we have the most adorable and kind-hearted shop girls around!
We hope your day is filled with good friends, good food and good times. Take today to count your blessings as we are here at Rodéo. We are thankful for our loyal and lovely customers! You guys make everything we do worth it. Come see us tomorrow on Black Friday to see how thankful we are for YOU!
What's the best way to celebrate the fact that you're half way through the week? We think it's makeovers, shopping, and eating sweets! That's why on Wednesday, October 28th, we brought in our favorite ladies from Saks-New Orleans to put on our annual Chanel make-up event. Customers booked appointments to have their makeup done and ordered their favorite products when they were finished. But honestly, what Chanel make-up products aren't our favorite?! Ladies left with fresh faces and hopefully a few new fall sweaters.
We promise these cupcakes tasted as good as they looked. One or two (or three) cheat sweets never hurt anyone! And a mimosa to wash it all down...cheers!
One of our favorite customers called her boyfriend from the make-up chair saying, "Honey, where are you taking me tonight? I look good for a Wednesday!"
If you want to participate in the Chanel make-up event next year, leave a comment or call us at the store (225-763-5889.) We'd love to see you! Thanks again to the Chanel team from Saks-New Orleans for helping us feel as gorgeous as we all are and sharing a few laughs.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3600.0"] Our artist and teacher for the night -- Brandee Sandusky and one of her adorable pumpkins![/caption]
On the week of Halloween, we decided to host a pumpkin painting party with one of our favorite local artists, Brandee Sandusky. Brandee is an abstract painter here in South Louisiana. (She's got big talent and an even bigger heart!) On Monday night, she brought her paints and paint brushes to our store to teach our customers how to take pumpkin decorating up a notch. We are always on the look out for new ways to make things pretty! We had such a great time learning from her and enjoyed getting to create beautiful pumpkins to adorn our front steps in the process.
And as always, Anna Grace stole the show! :) But how could she not, with the cutest Halloween dress and the prettiest pumpkin to match. Watch out Brandee, you may have some competition in the future. Ha!
A big thank you to everyone who came out the the event, to Brandee for teaching us your ways, and to the ladies of Julep Studio for photographing the event!
After nine days of being away, the time came to leave our Wyoming nirvana. Our last day in the Tetons was bittersweet. No one was truly ready to return to Louisiana. It seemed as though we all found our home away from home. Some of us even entertained the thought of moving to the Jackson area! What a dream come true that would be.
We packed our bags and loaded the minivan. The van was a bit more loaded than before due to our many purchases while in Jackson. We all know that a girl can't resist shopping!
"On the road again... I just can't wait to get on the road again..."
We waved goodbye to our cabin and hit the road. Our destination for the day: Colorado Springs, Colorado. Keeping with our road trip tradition, we made our way to the first roadside attraction of the day. The giant head of Abraham Lincoln in Laramie, Wyoming. This is an enormous bronze sculpture of the late president's head sitting atop a gigantic stone pillar. The landmark was constructed to commemorate Lincoln's 150th birthday.
From there we traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado to view the Swetsville Zoo. It sits near the highway and borders a nearby waterway. This is not a living zoo. It is a collection of sculptures that were constructed from discarded metal bric-à-brac. It was truly incredible! There were animals, dinosaurs, vehicles, robots, flowers, fish, people, serpents, huge wind-chimes and so much more. This was one of our favorite stops! We are definitely fans of this brilliant and talented artist, Bill Swets.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] Anna Grace, Grayson, Andrew and Duke![/caption]
After a quick dinner and a 2 1/2 hour drive, we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Colorado Springs. We stayed at the Wyndam Mining Exchange hotel. It was an old historic building that was converted into a hotel. At one time this was where mining companies would promote their stock. The building stands as a gleaming reminder of the gold rush, and its old vault sits proudly preserved in the lobby. Our room was very spacious and luxurious. It had old exposed brick walls plus Art Deco inspired fixtures and furnishings that contributed to the charm of this hotel. We highly recommend staying here!
We slept in and headed out just after noon to continue our journey home. Before we left the Colorado Springs area we visited the Manitou Springs Indian Cliff dwellings. These structures were built by the Anasazi Indians. They were actually relocated from southwestern Colorado to their current location in an effort to preserve them. We noticed that once you climbed inside the dwellings, the temperature dropped dramatically! No need for air conditioning here! Something we southern girls wouldn't know anything about. AC is our best friend!
Just minutes outside of Colorado Springs sits the World's Largest Beetle, which is where we headed to next. The beetle was really big and looked to be made out of paper maché. We hurried up the cactus infested hill to snap a few pictures with the huge bug and off we went!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480.0"] Like our "A Bug's Life" leaves?! We couldn't resist.[/caption]
We drove twelve hours to our next resting spot, Fort Worth, Texas. In Fort Worth we stayed in the stockyards area. It is an area that is quintessentially the "Old West." It had so many amazing shops, activities and restaurants. The kids loved this place! They took pictures with cowboys, longhorns and motorcycles. They even got some Texas shaped suckers! Most importantly, Anna Grace found some pink sparkly boots. She's in love!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] She's a natural with that bike![/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200.0"] We found Rodéo-opoly![/caption]
While in Fort Worth, we happened upon the funniest beer can yard. It even had a sign saying "rehab is for quitters." Don't know that we agree with that motto but it got us laughing and the yard was quite a sight to see!
The next morning we got in the car and headed to our last roadside attraction, the pig on a roof in Shreveport, LA. We pulled over quickly once we got there and snapped a few pictures. We then zoomed down the road towards Saint Francisville!
Finally we were on the home stretch! Only three hours away, we were so close yet so far. All of us were becoming a little antsy in the car. Although our journey had come to an end, we are now planning what amazing places we can visit next summer! Stay tuned for our next adventure and thanks for coming along on this one!
After three full days on the road, we finally arrived at our sweet little cabin in Wilson, Wyoming. The cabin couldn't have been in a better location seeing that it was just six miles from downtown Jackson Hole! The cabin had a master bedroom with a loft. Although the living quarters were tight and six people had to share one bathroom, we were able to make it work! The fact that we were usually out enjoying nature's bounty instead of sitting inside our cabin all day definitely helped with that. One of the best things about our cabin was that at dusk, we were able to see many elk, deer, and bull moose munching on their dinner in the nearby swampy areas.