Life Keeping is about building a life that fits — not by reinventing yourself, but by choosing what’s worth keeping.
What are the little things that make a place feel like home? For me, it’s not just one thing. It’s the food, the music, the trees, and the people who gather to share stories passed from one generation to the next.
This Weekly Basket is coming to you from South Louisiana, where we spent a long weekend visiting family. It always feels good to spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Inside The Basket
1. Eating: Crab cakes
Crab is my favorite seafood and on our trips to Louisiana, I eat as much as I can. This time we visited one of my favorite restaurants, The St. John , in St. Martinville. If you ever find yourself in Cajun Country, it’s well worth a visit.
2. Loving: Live Oak Trees
Nothing says Louisiana as much as a live oak tree. My grandparents had a huge one in their front yard, so live oaks mean home to me.
3. Listening: Travis Matte and the King Pins
I love lots of Cajun music, but I really like Travis Matte and the Kingpins. Their songs are a lot of fun and usually a little bit funny. Plus they are in English so it’s easy to sing along! This is my favorite of their songs:
4. Playing: Bourré
My mother-in-law taught me how to play this old Cajun card game and I am totally addicted to it now. I love it because it’s easy enough to learn in 15 minutes and we have so much fun playing together as a family. We play for toothpicks, not money, so the stakes are not high at all which keeps it light. If you are interested I found a good YouTube tutorial here.
5. Savoring: Sharing Cajun culture with my kids
One of the surprises of this trip was how much fun it was seeing my kids light up as they learned about their Cajun heritage. We visited a couple of historical sites in St. Martinville so they could learn a little history. The park rangers even let them play with some “olden days” toys that delighted them. Later, they enjoyed eating gumbo and seafood. One of them even said, “Thanks for teaching us how to be a Cajun.”
Thank you for reading!
🍒 In Case You Missed It… 🍒
Noted: In My Garden
In the spring my daughter and I planted zinnia seeds in our little 3x3 raised beds. We waited anxiously as they sprouted and began to grow.
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Before you go…Live oak trees feel like home to me. What makes you feel at home?
P.S. Feel free to pull up a chair, crack open a Cherry Coke, and sit with me on the back porch to help me figure out what actually matters. Let’s tend to life, together.
Lovely post Marisa. I also love oak trees. Another tree favorite are willow trees! But I think what feels like home to me is the smell of pumpkin bread baking in the oven ❤️
I love this, Marisa! I don't know anyone with Cajun heritage, so it's really fun to get a glimpse from your post.
Cotton fields at harvest time make me feel at home. My dad was a cotton farmer, and my parents still live on the farm. I live 7 hours away now and nowhere near cotton fields, but every once in a while, I can squeeze a trip in during the fall just as the cotton is getting picked.