The King Cake 11"x14" mixed media on canvas

So during Mardi Gras time, people like to celebrate with a King Cake. The general tradition is to bring a King Cake to a party & share with everyone. Inside the King Cake is a small plastic baby (a total choking hazard, but nobody seems to care) and whoever finds the baby in their piece of cake is responsible for buying the next King Cake, hence keeping the party going.

I remember being in kindergarten and being slightly scared to find the baby, but slightly excited to find it, too. Not having much money, made me wonder how we would afford a King Cake for the entire class, but to find it was like winning the lottery. 🙂

Beignets II 11"x14" mixed media on canvas

Then there were the beignets, which are basically French doughnuts sprinkled with 20lbs of powdered sugar. Cafe du Monde is the most popular place to get these wonderful delicacies and you always top it off with a café au lait (aka coffee with milk.) It’s really hard to eat the beignets without getting powdered sugar on your clothes, your hands, your face, or even your head. 🙂