This week I'm in New Orleans and had a chance to tour uptown and the Tulane University area. I went to college here, but haven't been back in about three years, so it was strange to see all of the improvements since I'd left and all of the destruction since Katrina.

After driving for a few hours, I stopped by Target (a new addition since I'd lived here) and was able to walk out buying only the toothpaste I'd gone in for and some cute magnets from the dollar spot. I used a gift card I'd received for Christmas, so spent no money out of pocket today. I'm usually a sucker for the clearance items, but I just kept reminding myself that I'll be going home in a month and have to fit everything I've been traveling with for the past year into two suitcases!