And, oh my, was it fun...
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| me with Tiffani, Julie and Ashley |
We all flew out Thursday morning. I dropped the boys at school and then met Julie at my house and we headed to the airport. Pretty sure we did not stop laughing the entire weekend-- just the way I like it!
Julie and I on the airplane-- she is a "silght" germaphobe.... ya think??? I did not stop ripping on her about this (I am SUCH a nice friend!!!) I was taking pictures of her on both flights and sending them to Tiffani and Ashley.
T landed an hour or so before we did, so they had time to go be funny. This is how they picked us up at the airport. I was wetting my pants.
We drove to Ashley's house and promptly opened some bubbly to celebrate being together. We got there around 5:30 and had dinner reservations at 8. It was a perfect afternoon!
We ate at City Grocery, which is right on the square in Oxford. It was AMAZING! I had the shrimp and grits and I am pretty sure it was worth every calorie...(yikes).
We talked and talked and drank and had such a nice dinner together.
After we finished eating, we headed upstairs to a really cool bar. The chef at the restaurant is some major foodie in the south (apparently if I watch the food network EVER, I would know him....but I don't so.......), and we had to get a picture with him. And then he became a chatty little Cathy! He had lots to talk about! ha!
We left City Grocery and went to another bar on the square...and so the night went.... we had SO MUCH FUN together!
Ashley knew everyone. Literally, we could not walk 15 steps without someone else knowing her. She happened to know the head of the security for the bars and he pretty much escorted us around and gave us a ride home. He was incredibly nice. I asked him if he was a student still and he smiled and informed me that he is 36 and had completed his masters degree several years ago. Okay, den. He looked so young to me!
We went to a bar named FUNKY'S, which, as I continued drinking, I called Musty's, because, well, why not...? They had a bar of "slushies" that were loaded with alcohol...I mean LOADED. Ashley knew the owner (shocking) so he insisted we each have one. So we did... and they were STRONG. Holy moly.
We headed home around 12:30 (we had all had a pretty early morning). When we got there, Ashley and I decided we had to go swimming right that very minute. We may or may not have jumped in. We may or may not have been wearing bathing suits...or birthday suits. I couldn't stop laughing. Hysterical laughter.
Friday morning we woke up and headed over to the football offices to meet Matt, Ashley's husband, who was going to give us a tour of the facilities and of the campus.
This was printed on the wall in the hallway and I love it--- I said I wanted to have this on a wall in my playroom and everyone laughed and said #momofboys. But I think it's great!
Eli Manning went to Ole Miss and I happen to think he is pretty great. I had to give him a little smooch as we walked by.
We went into the team meeting room-- it looks like the nicest movie theater you've ever seen. We watched the season highlights from last year, which is set to awesome music, and basically used to get everyone really pumped up. It worked. We were ready to go! ahhahaha
They have a long hallway with players wearing NFL uniforms and under each one, they have the names of the players they have sent there. Tiffani was a cheerleader for the Redskins so we had to get a picture of her with that uniform.
We got to go through the locker room and I spotted some gloves. I've always wanted to do this with my hands so I grabbed them and took a quick picture :)
We went back out on to the practice field and took even more pictures. Poor Matt was our tour guide and photographer!
We hopped in the team golf cart and he drove us through campus They were getting The Grove set up for Saturday morning. I had heard about the Grove before...but it was 10 times bigger, wilder, and more amazing than I was anticipating. It is 10 acres of lawn where people set up the MOST elaborate tailgates you have ever seen. The day before game day, there are thousands and thousands of trashcans set up. Tomorrow at this same time, you wouldn't believe what this scene looks like (pictures coming!).
We stopped at the Walk of Champions arch-- this is where the players are dropped off before the game and they walk through the crowd, down the path, to the stadium. It is pure madness and chaos, but it is incredible (I am so sick of saying that-- apologies). It really is unlike anything I have ever seen.
After touring campus, we went back to the field and took some pictures on the field.
Our sweet hosts for the weekend.... love!
We let Matt go back to work and we headed over to William Faulkner's house. He was an author I loved to hate in high school (ha), and Julie loved him, so we felt we needed to go by there... well, turns out, it was his BIRTHDAY! Who knew???
We didn't go in the house, but we took some pictures-- it was gorgeous.
We headed to lunch next; a yummy place that served margaritas and amazing food. I totally over ate. Oops
We headed to the square next and spent a ton of time running into the little shops and picking up some Ole Miss gear. After we were done, we did a quick coffee run and then headed home.
The coffee hit Ashley HARD and she was a basket full of jitters. We decided we better take a walk to help her calm down (I kept offering wine....). Loved this hill and the shadows.
We spent Friday night at the house, drinking wine, eating munchies and pretending to do some form of exercise. Julie was doing yoga and I was not....
Saturday morning was GAME DAY! We started with mimosas with breakfast... obviously.
After we got all ready, we headed over to Matt's office where a grad assistant gave us a golf cart ride to the Grove.
This is from the same street we were on the previous day. Tents upon tents. We saw curtains and chandeliers and gorgeous flower arrangements. There are loads of companies there who you can pay to get out there early to have your tent set up for you with your tables and chairs and then other companies who will cater your tailgate and they bring all the food right up to your tent. It was unlike anything I've ever seen.
We ended up tailgating over by the circle, which it to the side of the grove. It was MUCH better for us to be over there. We walked through the grove later in the day and it was WILD, shoulder to shoulder madness.
We tailgated with some of Ashley's friends and they were adorable! We loved them!
This picture is a favorite of mine-- taken in the grove, in the middle of the craziness!
Walking into the grove- over on the right.
At the game, Go Rebels!
So enjoyed watching the game with this one...
Phew! Longest post EVER!!!! It was the most fun weekend ever. I loved getting to see these girls, who I just don't get to see very often! We missed Andrea, who was away at a wedding- but we decided that just meant we had to do it again!
ALuke, T, and JP: love you fools.
