5 Things I’m Loving Right Now

Married for 21 years, Jeanne and Jean-Pierre Charlebois have a daughter, Simone, 12, and an adorable hamster named Cream Puff. Jeanne has worked for the global food and facilities management firm Sodexo for 18 years, currently as a consumer experience designer. She enjoys running, the arts, opera, as well as supporting local charities like the Louisiana SPCA.


BOOK CLUB

We gather at a member’s house and the hostess provides dinner and the attendees provide a bottle of wine and sometimes a dessert. Then we sit around a table and indulge, discuss the book, and catch up. Several evenings last long into the night with lively conversation, laughter, and even tears. We build each other up and listen when there is concern.


OPERA

As a Women’s Guild Opera member and as a way of honoring my late mother, I try to not only respect the arts, but also have infused my daughter in opera appreciation. Initially, we attended the student performance nights and I would bring her along with several classmates, but now that they offer a student subscription. I hope to carry on this tradition, especially as opera is less popular with younger generations.

 

New Orleans Opera, 935 Gravier St., Ste. 1940, neworleansopera.org


ART

Art and anything related, I adore it. I recently met several longtime friends for dinner and then had fabulous discussions around local art and our lives and families. Such a fun way to support local businesses and connect with one another in an elegant way. Some of our favorite places and events include the NOMA Besthoff Sculpture Garden, White Linen Night, Art for Art’s Sake, and the Ogden Family Days.

Art for Art’s Sake, Kawaii, 4826 Magazine St.

 


VACATION

We travel so often to the Holiday Inn in Pensacola Beach, Florida, that my daughter knows every mermaid and can identify who is who at the front desk. We take my daughter and seven of her friends every May for her birthday. I rent a large SUV and we have one fancy night out where the girls dress up.

Pensacola Beach, Florida, visitpensacolabeach.com

 

 


RUN

Everywhere I go, someone always walks up to me and asks, “Are you the girl that always runs down St. Charles?” I love to run. One of my favorite runs is from my house, down the streetcar tracks along the oak tree-lined avenue, then along the river with a stop for a photo at Jackson Square, and then down Esplanade Avenue. An 11-mile route. I lose myself in the joy of running.

St. Charles Ave.