A Lovely Mardi Gras

So, you want to celebrate Mardi Gras but you're not Catholic, in New Orleans or participating in Lent? But you still want to get that festive Carnival feel? I hear you, sister, I hear you. Here's my advice: wear New Orleans' Mardi Gras' signature colors: purple, gold and green. But tone them down for day wear (after all, if we're not at Mardi Gras we still have to go to work on Tuesday!). Throw a fun, dramatic headband or barrette in your hair and eat a donut (Mardi Gras is for eating fatty foods, I think we should all participate in that part, even if we don't do Lent). Okay, okay, you want a mask? Fine, wear a mask, head out for a drink that evening and tell everyone you're in New Orleans, in your imagination.