The Smith's Mardi Gras 2014

So Saturday night was our annual Mardi Gras party. It's a pretty big event for our family and it's just a great way to raise money for our family reunions, reconnect with family and friends and just have a damn good time overall. I was really looking forward to it because,

1. I love spending time with my family
2. Some of my friends were also going to be there as well

So of course I had to make sure I took a nap before the festivities and with an hour to spare I was able to get my makeup on and dress up.

 So my mom and I arrived at the Heman Community Center around 7:30pm to help with the prepping of the place with decorations and food setup. The party started officially around 8:30pm and great times were had by all.

My girls came out and man we had a blast. I of course reiterated the point that me and liquor are an interesting blend.....

Afterwards my cousin talked me into going out with him and some other friends to a hookah bar downtown where we proceeded to have a darn good time.

I eventually arrived home (I think) around 2:45am....and it took me pretty much all of Sunday morning and most of the evening to recuperate from last nights festivities. So as usual I had a great time and I can't wait to do it all over again:)

Until the next episode....

 All That MsJazz

Family Mardi Gras 2013

Well last night my family had another successful Mardi Gras Party! The food was was good and some of my friends were able to come through and enjoy. The festivities officially started at 8:30pm. 

I arrived around 8pm and  started taking pictures of the setup since other family members had arrived around 7:30pm to begin with transforming the Heman Community Center.

Makeup and Jewelry ready;)

Good times were had by all and I can't wait for next year. One thing I didn't enjoy was the 3 inches of snow that awaited us after we were done partying!! Oh well that is just Saint Louis weather for ya;)


  


Until the next episode....

 All That MsJazz

It's Still my birthday...part 2

Well yesterday was Saturday and I was still enjoying myself with birthday festivities. Yet I was a bit sad because I had watched part of the Whitney Houston funeral  and recorded the rest to watch later. I left in the morning to run a quick errand then decided to go downtown to check out Mardi Gras, Saint Louis style. I've never been to a Mardia Gras here so I decided to just drive down Broadway from Downtown to Soulard. My lord I never seen so many people at 10am in one place getting ready to par-tay. There were plenty of booths around to buy hats, beads, drinks, and food. Police of course were out in full force. After what seemed like forever to get through the crowds I finally made it back to the highway and decided to go through Delmar Loop to see if anything was poppin. The answer to that question was no.

So after finally making it back home..about 11am (I think). I chilled out at home until 2:30pm, then my family made our way to the Cheesecake Factory (Saint Louis Galleria) to celebrate my birthday. It was crazy crowded, so you better believe I'm glad I called ahead of time to make reservations. Which cut down our wait time from 30 min. to 5 min. ;) My sister gave me a card that had me crackin up.

Afterwards, my dad bought movie tickets for us to go see "Safe House" and my mom, sis, and I went and did some browsing before the movie started. We finally made our way to the movie theater around 4:45pm,  I won't lie, I was nodding off within the first 20 minutes. BUT after that, I was wide awake. Denzel was straight cold blooded in this movie but he made you cheer for him to kill anyone that got in his path. Unlike in Training Day where I was happy he was killed in the end. Overall highly recommend you go see this movie.

So after our fun time together we go back home and I'm wondering what to do for the rest of the night. My girl Cassandra calls me up and we decide to go down to Soulard to see if the Mardi Gras festivities were still in swing. So we get down there about 9:30pm and yea.......things were pretty much already shut down. Apparently, and this is excellent info to know for next year. Soulard shuts down at 10pm during Mardi Gras which I guess makes sense after all the heavy partying. So we get back in her car drive through downtown and then end up in Central West End and go to Drunken Fish, where we enjoyed Happy Hour on the 2nd Floor. I was in heaven with 2 rolls of Fried Philly Rolls and 3 drinks. Afterwards we went to Bissinger's, a chocolate connoisseur's dream playground for sweets. I asked one of the workers if they had this special white chocolate/Raspberry treat (Vanilla Petit Fours) that I tried a few months back. She did and they had a few boxes since they had a valentine's sale and now they were 50% off. I bought a few boxes and gave a few to Cassandra.

I also had her try out this one treat called Apple Ghost Chili Salt Caramels. To see her face when she bit into it was priceless. My friend Trenton had me try one last year and I'm pretty sure I had the same face when I bit into one that long time ago.

Afterwards she took me back home and I proceeded to dance in my driveway (thanks to the alcohol) and finally made it to my bed. I woke up this morning 3 different times because my head was like...ummm...no just yet. So now I am up and I can't wait for TODAY!!!!!

The Smith Family Mardi Gras 2012

Well another successful Smith Family Mardi Gras party has come and gone. Great times were had by all with the food and dancing. My girl Danielle came out with two of her coworkers. I saw two of my former Wellston coworkers there as well. I enjoyed myself with a few drinks that unfortunately are still buzzing in my head as I write this post. Afterwards some of my cousins went downtown to Mosiac to continue partying, other cousins went to another cousins house to continue partying, and then Danielle asked me what I was getting into. At the end of the night the only thing I got into was my BED and slipped into a peaceful coma.

Pre-Smith Family Mardi Gras Party Madness

Well this morning I woke up and stretched myself out after a much needed and deserved rest/coma. My mother and I stayed up till 11PM last night to get the salad prepped for the Smith Family Mardi Gras party that is being held tonight. From what I heard all the tickets for the event have sold out and it should be just as big of a success as the previous ones. This will be the 12th year that we have done this. If  you wish to see some of the previous celebrations just click on one of the picture sets below. I will try to take as many pics this year as I have done so at the previous parties and have them uploaded by the weekend.