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👶 Sweet Baby Jesus, 👑Our 2026 King Cake List Is Here! 🍰
Carnival season is here. Discover where Team Cool Murphy is actually buying King Cake in 2026—from longtime favorites to new spins across New Orleans.
Elisa Cool Murphy
5 min read
The Mardi Gras Effect: When New Orleans Buyers Actually Commit
I’ve repeated the line for years:
“Homes in New Orleans sell in the spring.”
Then I started questioning it.
This piece is what I found when I stopped relying on folklore and started tracking buyer commitment instead.
It’s January 28 — and the season may already be underway.
Elisa Cool Murphy
10 min read
The 2026 Home Design Trend We Are All Hungry For Has Arrived
Paris had La Belle Époque — the moment when the world finally saw what had been there all along.
New Orleans is having that moment now.
I’m calling it Authenticism: a return to good old things, real materials, and homes that still carry their stories.
If you’ve ever loved brick, plaster, old wood, and rooms that feel like they’ve been lived in… this one’s for you.
Elisa Cool Murphy
13 min read
Why You Should Go to Open Houses on a Rainy Day
We used to pray for rainy days at Six Flags because the lines disappeared. House hunting works the same way. Here is why rainy open houses are a secret weapon.
Elisa Cool Murphy
5 min read
Why You Feel Weird About Your Realtor (And Why You’re Not Crazy)
There’s a feeling most people selling their home are desperate to avoid.
It’s not “we priced it wrong.
It’s not “this is taking longer than we thought.
It’s not even “we need to do more work.”
It’s the colder one:
“What the hell is going on… and does my house even matter?”+---------
Elisa Cool Murphy
5 min read
A 2026 Resolution: Build a Harbor, Not a Moat
Why I’m rejecting fear-based business advice in 2026 and choosing collaboration, community, and a harbor over a moat in real estate.
Elisa Cool Murphy
4 min read
Deck the Dogs: A Holiday Dog Parade Supporting Take Paws Rescue in New Orlean
Ugly sweaters, wagging tails, second-line energy, and a whole lot of heart. Deck the Dogs brought New Orleans together in support of Take Paws Rescue—and every dog got their moment to shine.
Elisa Cool Murphy
3 min read
Who is Elisa Cool Murphy: The Unfiltered View from Inside Cool Murphy Real Estate
I Dodged This Like a Nervous Bunny.
If you're following along, you know I've been writing an agent spotlight post every week for the past four weeks, and enjoying every minute of it. Until now. My agents asked me, ''when are you writing the piece about you?"
Elisa Cool Murphy
8 min read
SELLING CARTIER: A PREPPED TO SELL SUCCESS STORY
A mid-century home. A reluctant seller. A market where half of listings are withdrawing unsold. Here’s how story, strategy, and preparation turned 6400 Cartier into a case study worth reading — and the first chapter of Prepped to Sell in real life.
Ashley George
7 min read
Meet Ashley George — The Real Deal
Ashley George is the quiet force behind Cool Murphy’s most seamless, high-performing listings — the producer, strategist, and media brain who turns vision into reality. From equestrian grit to real-estate precision, she’s the one elevating every room, every frame, and every campaign with mastery that most people don’t even see — they just feel the results.
Ashley George
3 min read
NEW ORLEANS BIGGEST FAN
Meet Craig Ernst, New Orleans’ trusted historic-home expert. Architecture, history, and real estate insight — all in one steady, brilliant voice.
Elisa Cool Murphy
3 min read
Meet Our Team Captain | Desiree McSwain
A captain doesn’t need to be the loudest, the funniest, or the flashiest. When the weather turns, they’re the one whose hand stays steady on the wheel.
You don’t always expect the captain to look like this. But Desiree McSwain doesn’t fit anyone’s template — she rewrites them.
Elisa Cool Murphy
3 min read
The Most Remarkable Home You've Never Noticed
The Most Remarkable Home You've Never Noticed Sits Near Audubon Park
From the street, it looks quiet—large but not loud. You’ve probably passed it before without a second glance. Built in the early 20th century, it stands among the grandest homes in the Golden Rectangle—over 8,000 square feet, though you’d never guess it. Its lines are simple. Its presence, steady. And yet inside, everything changes.
Elisa Cool Murphy
4 min read
The Queen Of Algiers Point
Darcie Braai isn’t just selling homes — she’s preserving stories. Meet the Queen of Algiers Point: Realtor, preservationist, and local leader helping shape the neighborhood’s next chapter.
Elisa Cool Murphy
4 min read
Five Things to Do in New Orleans This Halloween — Even If Your Baby’s Not Walking Yet
Looking for baby-friendly Halloween ideas in New Orleans? Try the City Park carousel and train, the pumpkin patch at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Carrollton, Boo at the Zoo, Krewe of Boo Parade, and trick-or-treating with Cool Murphy Real Estate at 1514 Arabella Street. Bonus: visit the Skeleton House on St. Charles for the city’s best photo op.
Elisa Cool Murphy
5 min read
Where Home Design Ideas Really Come From
Would You Like to Know Where Home Design Ideas Really Come From? Here’s what most people miss — design trends don’t start in showrooms. They start long before that: on fashion runways , in textile mills , and at finish fairs where creative directors and color theorists quietly decide what the rest of us will crave a year later. By the time a paint company releases its “Color of the Year,” the real color story has already been written — by fabric, fashion, and a few brave hom
Elisa Cool Murphy
4 min read
The MCM Moment We’ve Been Building Toward If you’ve been following along, you already know this one’s special.
Where to find mid century living in New Orleans
Ashley George
2 min read
The Palm Beach Effect: How Glamour is Not So Quietly Replacing the White Box
How Glamour is Not So Quietly Replacing the White Box
Ashley George
3 min read
The Return of Bold Mid-Century Color
For years, mid-century homes were painted safe. White walls, black accents, maybe a pop of gray. It kept things neutral but often left these beautifully built spaces feeling flat.
That’s changing.
Elisa Cool Murphy
2 min read
Where to Find New Orleans Art to Bring Home
Where to find New Orleans art: a local guide to artists, galleries, murals, and prints—with tips to buy on any budget and support the city’s creative community. (
Elisa Cool Murphy
4 min read
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