My favorite things: Mary Ellen Slayter

Owner/CEO, Rep Cap


Guilty pleasure: Watching Supernatural. Who doesn’t love a good soap opera based on urban legends?

Way to spend $20: Pre-pandemic? An afternoon at the movies. These days, fresh flowers for the house.

Place for lunch: These days, my front porch. But I really miss Christina’s.

Way to spend a Saturday morning: Curled up in bed with my 4 year old, drinking my coffee before it gets cold.

Class in high school: Latin. It may be a dead language, but it’s great for your vocabulary.

Baton Rouge experience or attraction: The Baton Rouge Gallery. That place is so much more than art hanging on the walls; Jason and his team have built a community of artists and the people who appreciate them.

Way to get myself moving in the morning: Oat milk au laits. You can judge the morning by whether it’s a cup, a mug or a “bowl.”

Childhood memory: Picking blackberries with my cousin Cheree in Dry Prong, and coming back and eating bowls of them splashed with sugar and cream.

TV show: All time? Battlestar Galactica.

Song on my playlist: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”

Item in my wardrobe: This pair of really soft sweatpants I “borrowed” from my mother-in-law a couple of years ago. (Sorry, not sorry, Meg!)

Way to unwind: Long baths. Lots of bubbles. No children barging in.

Time of year: Spring. I delight in the unpredictability of it.

Book: Lolita. I experience that book differently every time I pick it up.

Out-of-town destination: Minneapolis. It’s America’s greatest city—in the summer.

Concert I ever attended: Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. All 6 times I’ve seen them.

App on my smartphone: Plant Identify. You can take a picture of just about any plant and find out its name in seconds.

Item in my makeup bag: Eyebrow pencil. Otherwise, they are half-invisible and it looks weird on camera.

Place to have a shopping spree: Does Whole Foods count? Because I generally loathe shopping, but I can’t walk out of that place without spending $20 on organic radishes.

Most treasured possession: The quilt my great-grandmother made for me as a baby. I’ve been walking around with this thing for 42 years, and it’s in better shape than I am.

Talent I wish I had: Singing. I have NO musical ability.

My motto for life: Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do, and if other people like it, they can … never mind, you can’t actually print that.

Hidden talent: Basic plumbing and electrical work. Just don’t ask me to paint anything.