Audubon Park’s Tree of Life and Airbnb’s Birdbnb Birdhouse Exhibit

From time to time, the kitchen needs a break. Or, I should say, I need a break from the kitchen. When that happens, I leave it to these three awesome humans to bring me back to reality and show me what life is really all about.

This morning, I packed our lunches, loaded the kids in the van, and headed to New Orleans’ Audubon Park. Audubon Park is like Central Park in NYC but smaller. There is a golf course, soccer fields, running trails, park space, and even a zoo! It’s much smaller, but packed with awesome things to do with the kids.

Today, we went to the Tree of Life to see Airbnb’s Birdbnb birdhouse exhibit.  When I told my daughter we were going to The Tree of Life, she said: we are going to Pixie Hollow?!?! Um…not today, maybe next time. 

The birdhouses hung at every level, some quite high while others at my kids’ eye level.

The amount of detail in these birdhouses is quite incredible. They are miniature replicas of Airbnb’s listings. Airbnb is an online service that connects travelers with homes away from home. Instead of staying at a hotel when you travel, you can stay in someone’s house, lofts, a windmill, a lighthouse, tipis, native houses in the Philippines, an airstream, cottages, castles, and even in a gipsy wagon!

I’m so enchanted by the cool places to stay, that I’m even going to try out Airbnb’s service in my next trip to NYC in February. No, I won’t stay at a lighthouse in the city… but someone’s apartment on 55th with awesome views and a great location at a fraction of the cost of a hotel in the area.

So… back to today. It was nice to see my kids smile, run around the tree, interact with other kids and see glimpses of their curiosity towards something different.

There were many families enjoying the fantastic 75 degree weather in the middle of December. As I looked around, I noticed that everyone else was also enchanted with the birdhouses. They talked about what it would be like to actually stay at some of these places in real life, and how lucky the birds were to have their own Birdbnbs.

All good outings need food. In our case, our homemade lunches. From grilled sandwiches, grain free rolls with smoked salmon and goat cheese, to hummus and berries. Lunch doesn’t have to be complicated, especially during the weekends. I basically looked inside the fridge and packed whatever I had left from the week.

I think everyone enjoyed each others’ company and was happy to get some fresh air. The light breeze made the day more enjoyable and the kids couldn’t get enough of their temporary playground.

Dad got some time to himself and the paintbrush. When you have 3 kids, the things in the honey-do-list always seem to take a little longer than anticipated. I am sure he enjoyed his “man time” too.

In the midst of the Holiday Season chaos, taking a little time off to hang with the kids is just what my mama-soul needed. I’ll be back very soon with recipes that might make you lick the screen.