For some reason, I thought this book would be more about the house renovation, and that's primarily why I was interested in reading it. However, while there were some stories about the renovation, I didn't get a good sense for the work that they did and how the house ended up looking. Most of the book centered on the food scene in New Orleans and on Hurricane Katrina and its effects. Although some readers seem to have been annoyed at Reed's "Marie Antoinette" attitude ("let them eat cake"), that didn't bother me. She can't help the fact that their house was not destroyed; moreover,they did some nice things, such as bringing food to workers.