I headed out for a ride through Audubon Park on my way to a coffee shop and then campus, computer in tow, and saw this house, as I often do.  Today, though, I swung back around to snap a picture.  I love this house.  It looks like it belongs in Candy Land, or in miniature.  It is a bit out of place with the other houses in the neighborhood, but that’s what makes it such a New Orleans house.  When I first moved here I was struck by just how varied the architecture is, how streets were home to so many different homes.  And the colors–the colors!–of these places!  The houses have their own characters, and this one always looks so fun to me, broadcasting a certain whimsy and delight that makes sense to me, especially when I’m zipping by in my fluffy skirt and platform heels.

As I got closer to the house, though, I discovered it is empty, except for the exquisite chandelier visible through the fairy castle addition.  There’s a permit posted for raising the house, but it looks old and weathered .  I’ve ridden past this house so many times and had developed a fantasy about the family that lived there and the sunflowers they grew in their backyard and the tassels on their bicycle handlebars and the wading pool with frogs in it that might appear later in the summer.  But, like so many things in this place, fantasy confronts a harsh reality as soon as you look more closely.  But I want to be careful of assuming too much from the empty spaces and the weathered signs.  I will keep my eyes out for the house raising and next summer’s sunflowers.  This town has many, many layers and one must keep her eyes peeled.

UPDATE!  I was recently pointed to this article by S.  It seems this is actually a Barbie House, mid-flip.  I’m glad I’m not the only one noticing.