Thursday, February 27, 2014

west elm pop up shop (from november)

I had a pop up shop at West Elm between the UGA and Alabama games back in November. I just love West Elm so much! They have been hosting local artists, jewelry designers, bakeries, etc weekly in the Birmingham store.


You can follow them on instagram at @westelmbirmingham to see what artists they have coming up! 

They have an area at the front of the store that they clear out for the artists. They are so flexible and let me use whatever I wanted for my display!


I didn't need much, but they nicely helped me move the table against the window so I could prop the big pieces up. 


They also had awesome props I could use


like the 7-up wooden crates and the wire baskets. 


Notice the Christmas tree string art in the back?! I was thinking it would be good for people who didn't have enough space for an actual tree. The string allows you to hang ornaments on there. A bit tacky-chic, eh? I think that's the only piece I didn't post to IG or fb during the holiday season. 


I had so much fun! 


as seen below haha


These ladies came in and purchased the layered Auburn and Alabama string arts. In this state, tensions rise when the Iron Bowl is near. The woman on the right asked if I was a bama fan, and I replied no, I graduated from Auburn. The lady on the left said war eagle, and the lady in red told me she would pray for me haha! 


They so nicely posed for a picture for me! 

I loved doing this pop up shop at West Elm! I hope I can do it again soon. 

auburn vs uga game

After the Florida Atlantic game, we played Arkansas and Tennessee away. Poor Arkansas had a season reminiscent of the AU season in 2012. Terrible. I was still nervous, because they have been known to sneak up on us in the past. Same with Tennessee. They hadn't been playing great throughout the season, but they were looking good at home. I watched them from home and I recall biting off all my fingernails from nerves, but we won! 

There had been talk all season of Auburn losing every game in November. It was a "fluke" that we beat Texas A&M and seeing as we lost to LSU, no one thought we would make it. Once we beat Arkansas and Tennessee, the two major games were left: UGA and Alabama. 

The weather was pretty good. I usually get a "feeling" about whether we're gonna win or lose. I had a feeling we were gonna win this time. 

Eagle flight!


Binky sat with me at this game before she had to leave for work. We took a pic like the one we had done in College Station. Ya know, for luck and all. 


Close up of ze face tats. 


The Auburn / Georgia rivalry is called The South's Oldest Rivalry. It's one of those games where anything could happen. After being embarrassed last year, we had something to prove. 


Binky left right before halftime. We had a big lead, 27-10 (but let's be honest, it's never big enough to feel ok). 

The second half didn't start out so great. First, my bourbon drink got kicked over. It was completely full because I had made my halftime trip to the concession stand and bathroom (so people don't see me pull out minis at my seat). I brushed it off, begrudgingly.  It's traditions like drinking a couple minis each half that bring us luck, people. 

Then UGA made a big comeback and scored three times in the 4th quarter. We were down 38-36. I was sitting next to couple around my age, trying to make conversation while nervously chewing on my shaker. 

What you probably didn't hear if you watched it on television was with about a minute to go in the game, the entire stadium started chanting "it's great to be an Auburn Tiger!". Chills! I remember cursing my "6th sense feeling" about winning games, but being proud of my team and our fans. 

Murray had to work, but we had plans to meet at Tacorita after the game. He texted me during the first half about how crowded it was going to be downtown. Then Georgia made their miraculous comeback and he sent "oh shit" then "are you going to be able to eat?". I replied that I was MAD. Then this happened: 



And the view from the TV cameras: 



Oh my word. The entire stadium erupted. I bear hugged the couple next to me and shook them while simultaneously jumping up and down. I usually say things like "war eagle!" or "woooo!". Not this time. I screamed like Marv from Home Alone 2 when he gets electrocuted for at least a full five minutes out of shock. Everyone was high-fiveing and hugging. It was glorious. There were a few seconds left on the clock, and good ol' Dee Ford took care of Aaron Murray, giving Auburn the win.

I went down to my mom's seats after the game for more hugging and high-fiveing before taking my celebratory picture with the Woods! 


AAAHHHHH! 


Murray proceeded to send a "holy shit" text, which was exactly was I was thinking myself haha! 


I practically pranced my happy ass downtown to meet Murray. We had a hard time meeting up since cell service is terrible on game day. I took the time we couldn't find each other to take some celebration pics. 





The wires were practically falling from the weight.


I finally found Murray outside of Auburn Art, so we moseyed in to see the newest piece I had in there. It never gets old to see my stuff in this store! 


We went out to the bars, as usual. While we were at Bodega, DEE FORD, practically the defensive MVP of sealing Auburn wins, jumped on stage with the band to play the keyboard. Multitalented! I was starstruck as usual. 


On Sunday, I probably stayed on youtube for about 4 hours re-watching the miracle play along with fan reactions. This was by far one of my favorite moments:


This gif is call "georgia dies" haha! The feet over the head! Four coaches down! I could not stop laughing. 

I didn't think this game would ever be overshadowed. Everyone said how we would talk about that play for a lifetime, it would be something we would tell our children about.. I was there for the Miracle in Jordan Hare!  Little did we know what was coming! 

Cotton appropriately gave the "TOUCHDOWN, AUBURN!" pose that week. She could hardly contain her excitement! 


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

florida atlantic game

Lines and Tigers and Beers, oh my! 


That's what I said about my game day outfit. Being the Florida Atlantic game, I didn't feel the need to break out the big guns (aka a lucky dress or face tat). I did make Murray take this picture bc I realized I could use the line from Wizard of Oz in regards to my ensemble. 

It was late October, so one of those days where it's hot in the sun, but cool in the shade, and cold once the sun goes down. 


I usually try to schedule art shows on small games like this. I didn't have one, and let's be honest, it really doesn't take much to get me down to Auburn, so I was there with my orange and blue bells on. Also, there wasn't another home game for three weeks, so I had to get my game day fix. 

The tradition continues of taking exciting pics of the eagle in her cage before the flight!


The 1983 SEC Championship team was honored at the game. 


Bo Jackson was on that team, but couldn't be at the game, so he nicely made a video saying how he wished he could be there. 

Excellent photography of him speaking on the jumbotron, if I do say so myself:


The eagle flying!
(36yd line on the right side)


Holding up the eagle


Murray and me at the game


It was the game where they bring high school cheerleaders and dancers from across the state to perform at halftime. Naturally, I was DYING to get on the field and cheer with them. 


It got cold enough that I had to break out the always fashionable Auburn gloves!


Super pumped that we WON! 


War damn! 


Sammy at night.


Rolling of the wires. Not near as exciting as the last two home games.. 


So pretty!


That next week was the last I got to spend with my D man. I wouldn't have brought it up again, but I found these pics on my phone, and I had to share them. 

He had never slept like this before, but I thought it was hilarious. 


And this happened all the time, but I never had gotten a pic of it. Whenever there was a squirrel, jogger, mailman, etc. outside, they would both go to the door and bark. Cotton could see over the wall in front of the door, but Diesel couldn't so he always balanced on his sister's shoulders. She didn't mind. So cute.


I still miss him terribly. 

I have a new little man that I will introduce as soon as I catch up on posts. He reminds me of D in lots of ways. The hole in my heart is a little bit smaller now that he's here. 

Also, puppies are way harder than I remember. More on that soon! 

Monday, February 24, 2014

auburn vs. texas a&m

Well shipoople. Auburn made it all the way to the NC and didn't win. Wah wahhh! Fear not, friends, I'm still gonna recap the season! First up, the Texas A&M game! 

Naturally, I went to Auburn before the trip since I was riding with my sister. I ate lunch with ol' daddio the day before and got yet another shot of him and one of his hot rods. 


Binky and I had a plan to find people on Facebook in the Auburn Ticket Exchange group to ride with us/split the gas. We were in luck and found 2 random guys who didn't know each other and also didn't know us (but we're all part of the Auburn family, right?). Binky stayed up the whole night before, slept during the afternoon, and drove us the entire way of the journey starting at midnight on Thursday night.  

Sunrise over Louisiana


We stopped in Baton Rouge for a gas station break at 6am, and low and behold, ran into one of my friends from college! He works in BR, so it was a crazy coincidence. I should've taken a picture, but sleeping in the car for 4 hours = no bueno in the looks department.

We made it into Texas by mid morning. Binky and I made some friends last year at the A&M game in Auburn, and we kept in touch all year, so we had plans to hang out once we got into College Station.


Our buddy recommended we eat at the Dixie Chicken, so that was our first stop! It was delicious, and there were lots of Auburn people there for the game. How exciting!


Gotta love the Aggie cheers!


Burgers and beers! Yum! Our friend Blake was able to meet us for lunch and gave us some suggestions on things to do. Such a friendly Aggie! 


Watch out, College Station! The Herring sissies are in town! 


We stayed at the Knights Inn, and it was in manageable walking distance to the bars. College Station has an area called Northgate which has tons of bars and restaurants. It was where the Dixie Chicken was, and one of our favs was the SHOT BAR! Woo! 

Our friend Adris from Dothan was there. He gave us a call earlier in the night, and it turned out he was staying 2 doors down in our same hotel. How convenient! Naturally we ran into him at the bars. 


Soon enough it was game day! EEEE! We brought along mom in coozie form. 



Then she and my auntie Carol found our tailgate! Aunt Carol lives in Texas, and ma stayed with her. They drove over to College Station on game day. 



Our friend Blake and his friends had this tailgate and graciously hosted us. It was awesome with grilling, beer, and games, even some TVs to watch the other games going on that day.



That's him behind/between me and Aunt Carol with the cowboy hat.



Binky and I played a game (was it called washers?) with some Aggie friends, and even though we had never played, we won. We joked that it was foreshadowing for the game. 

Our host of the tailgate so nicely found us some tickets to purchase so we could go to the game at Kyle Field! They have this awesome system where you can transfer/buy tickets through a website then they scan your phone for entrance into the game. Easy peasy! 


Bink and I hiked to the stadium. We noticed earlier in the day how NICE everyone is in College Station! We had several people tell us they hoped we had a nice time in town and enjoyed ourselves. 


Once we got up to our section, we saw this:


We giggled, because WHO WOULD TOUCH A BAT?! haha! Kyle Field is supposedly full of bats (we didn't see any), and they are undergoing a massive remodeling of the whole stadium that's going to take a couple years (therefore should be ready by our next visit!). 

We sat in an Aggie section. I was a little nervous, because I know how some other SEC schools handle visitors. Our plan was to keep to ourselves and not go totally nuts if/when we scored. 

They did a flyover! 


We all know I love a good flyover. 


Auburn running onto the field! It was a glorious day. That whole side is the A&M student section!


Aw wee! 


Right before the game started, Binky noticed the guy to her left was taking her picture. I thought we were about to rumble until he told us he sold his tickets to a guy who sold them to us after he swore he was going to use them himself (and most especially wouldn't sell them to the opposing team's fans!). He was sending him a text of all the orange he was next to. We became fast friends with Jeremy and his lady Carolyn. 


We chatted throughout the game. Meanwhile, some amazingness was going on down on the field. They would score, we would score, they would score, we would score. At one point, Binky leaned in and said "WE'RE REALLY DOIN IT, HARRY!" (which is from Dumb and Dumber and was probably the quote of the whole season). 


One thing I wanted to mention was how the Aggies act at halftime. They all stand and watch the band. Their band is pretty awesome, and it was cool to see how much the stadium respected their performance. I also saw someone else who wrote about their experience, and noticed that Texas A&M flies the visitor's flag in the stadium (in our case the AU logo). How classy! I probably would've shed a tear had I noticed! 

The game was very stressful when we scored with about a minute to go. All Johnny Football had to do was get it down the field one more time. Good ol' Dee Ford put a stop to him, and we miraculously won! EEE! 


At one point right before the game ended, our new friends asked if we liked liquor or beer. I think we answered in unison "BOTH!". They asked us if we'd like to join them at their tailgate after the game. Of course we did!


Right after it was apparent we had won, they asked if we were ready to go to the tailgate. I remember Binky asking if they were sure they still wanted to have us. They replied of course, good game! We shuffled out of the stadium in a sea of Aggies trying to contain our excitement.

"Get a shot of me with the field!"


While we walked down the ramp, we were grabbing each other like we were little kids not allowed to talk even though we wanted to shout from the rooftop. At one point, we were tackled from behind by fellow Auburn fans (whom we didn't know) but we hugged and gave high fives.

Auburn section from the ramp:


One of the things I remember most was several Aggies telling us "good game" and "have fun tonight!" and "hope y'all are enjoying College Station" as we left the stadium. SO NICE! 


Here we are with our new BFFs Jeremy and Carolyn! Their tailgate was huge! A big tent and an open bar with TVs and places to charge our phones! We had drinks and hung out for a long time.


My friends Stephen and Dorothy Powell were in town for the game as well. They moved from Bham to Ohio, so I was glad we got to catch up for a few minutes after the game. The tailgate we were at was close to the stadium, so they hung out for a bit.


Another Aggie brag: While I was talking to them away from the tent (so as not to make our Aggie friends hear us squeal with excitement), Jeremy brought me another full drink because he saw mine was empty! I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Jeremy and Carolyn ended up knowing Blake, so we walked back to our other tailgate. We watched the end of the Ole Miss/LSU game (which Ole Miss won, a day of miracles indeed!) before heading back to Northgate. 

Our new friend Matt aka Chaca went with us to all the bars, and I'm sure was amused with the War Eagles we told everyone in orange and blue. 


Apparently the Dixie Chicken has a rattle snack in the back! We weren't told that when we went earlier, so of course we had to check it out.


We had too much fun that night, especially for having to drive back 12 hours the next day. We ate lunch in College Station then headed back to Alabama. One of the guys that rode with us ended up flying back since he was from Texas and decided to visit family. That meant I was banished to the back and had to deal with this by myself:


Oh, the joy of little sisters. We ended up eating dinner in Baton Rouge. I'm sure they were thrilled with the Auburn gear we were all rocking, including my face tat. 

It's safe to say the Aggies were the nicest fans ever. I won't every forget how welcoming, kind, and full of Southern manners they are. I can't wait to go back! 

……………………………………

I'm on a mission to get through regular football season posts before March. I can't make myself not post them, so just bear with me until I can catch up!