A Much Needed Louisiana Staycation

This Louisiana staycation post was made in partnership with Gold Peak® and Coca-Cola. All opinions are my own.
Sometimes you just need to slow your roll and take in the beauty that surrounds you.  That’s exactly what Chris and I recently did.  To say our weekends have been consumed by getting things together for our wedding would be an understatement.  We haven’t had as much time as we’d like to do non-wedding related things during the weekends since we moved back to Louisiana, so we finally made it a priority to take a step back.  A Louisiana staycation was exactly what we needed!
A trip to New Orleans never disappoints.  It’s just a quick drive away and one of my favorite places to go when I want to play tourist in my home state, so needless to stay, that’s where all the weekend fun began!

Here’s the thing about New Orleans- you can easily make a day out of it with nothing even planned! Just simply grabbing a drink and walking around the French Quarter is fun.  There’s no need to have lunch or dinner plans either, because you really can’t go wrong with any restaurant you step foot in.  When I’m in the French Quarter, that’s usually what I like to do- just go with the flow.

We spent most of the day walking the streets of the Quarter, browsing the street art from local artists, strolling through the French Market, listening to random musicians on many different corners, and scoping out Jackson Square (the beautiful park with St. Louis cathedral pictured above) where we’ll be having our wedding in nearly 3 months!  I’m always hoping to luck out and catch a wedding going on while I’m over there, but I haven’t had any luck yet.  Maybe next time!
After we wore out our feet, we decided we had enough walking for the day and headed back home. The rest of the evening was spent in the backyard playing yard games and sippin’ on some Gold Peak® cold tea.  Tea in the south- cliche I know, but it’s the ultimate staycation must have.
We finished the night off with the most random dinner of all by heading to Outback Steakhouse for everything but steak!  Who goes to a steakhouse and doesn’t order steak!?  This girl right here, but I have my reasons!  A few people had recommended the crab cake stuffed lobster tail, which I’m not sure if it’s just a regional menu item or not, but it was divine!  If your local restaurant has this, stop what you’re doing now and order you one.  I promise it won’t disappoint!  The lobster paired perfectly with a cold glass of Gold Peak® Tea (another must try).  Holy yum!  Be sure to head to Outback Steakhouse to try their delicious Gold Peak® tea- find it here). All in all, it was a great way to end the day!

Will you be taking a staycation soon? What are some of your favorite things to do around your home town?