Scottie's Wedding Festivities

One of my very close friends got married a few weekends ago. I met Scottie while at Delta State. She was also a Phi Mu and a Speech-Path major. We lived together our last semester on the Phi Mu hall and then I lived with her and Stacy in Conway while we were in graduate school. Scottie and Daniel are one of a few couples that I know of that dated longer than Bailey and I did before tying the knot.

About a month before the wedding, all the girls got together for a Bachelorette weekend. On Friday night, we went to dinner and saw Bridesmaids. Then we went back to Stacy's to make ice cream sundaes, have the lingerie shower, and have a slumber party.

All the girls after the movie

With the beautiful-at-the-time-bachelorette

On Saturday we did some shopping and then got ready for a night out. We talked about doing some sort of theme for the night but just decided on black dresses. We went to eat at Spaghetti Warehouse (which was absolutely delicious) and then headed to Beale Street. As we got downtown we noticed several food trucks. Several of them approached us to try to come try (buy) some of their food. Turns out that it was Food Network filming The Great Food Truck Race Season 2. However, none of us signed releases so you won't be seeing us on the show.

All the girls at Spaghetti Warehouse

Several of us at Silky's with some random guy-from-a-wedding in the background 

Scottie being sung to/about. I think it was some rendition of "Going to the Chapel."

The day before the wedding, a bridesmaids luncheon was held. Please excuse the blurriness of the pic--not sure what was up with the camera, and no one else has this one posted on facebook.

That night, of course, was rehearsal for the wedding and dinner. We ate at Colettta's. It was soooo good. I ate the Shrimp Diane and Bailey, the Lasagna.

 All the girls

 The Fab Four. My BFF's from Conway. The only way we survived grad school was with each other. We used to have weekends full of eating, shopping, and lots of talking! I miss those days with the girls but I certainly don't miss school.

Then Saturday was THE DAY!!!

 The gorgeous bride being laced up

All the Phi Mu's at the wedding.

It was a wonderful weekend. It was great seeing and catching up with so many friends that I don't see nearly as often as I'd like, especially Lori. We hadn't seen her in about 2 years and we still haven't met her little man, Walker B. Congrats Scottie and Daniel! We love you and are so, so happy for you!

1,243 Miles Later--Finale

On Sunday, we got up and started the trek home. We wanted to go to the zoo, but the weather wasn't looking too good. We took a different route home so we could stop in Springfield, MO to see Lincoln's home.

After our stop in Springfield, we drove to just outside of St. Louis to stop for the night. We decided to go by the Arch the next morning.

We saw a good bit of flooding while traveling through MO. Here is just one example, a road flooded in front of the arch.  

Waiting to go inside. 

 One view from the top of the arch.

Another view--Busch Stadium 

After lots of fun, a few days and 1,243 miles later, we arrived back home in Tobie town. We had a really great time. Bailey and I are looking forward to being back in Chicago in a few weeks for World Changers with the youth from our church.

1,243 Miles Later--Part Two

Saturday morning we walked back down to Wrigley Field. This time to watch a game.

We got there early enough to see batting practice, walk around and get pictures, and of course, get some yummy, not-at-all-healthy food! This is what Bailey and I decided to go for first--jumbo nachos. We ate every.single.bite.

Enjoying suffering through sitting at the game. It was much cooler than we expected it to be. And it also misted/rained through most of the game. Luckily our seats were covered and we didn't get wet (yet). After the game we went back to the hotel for naps and then went to Gino's East for dinner. This was one of those "must-do" things while in Chicago--you have to go eat Chicago style pizza.

Our SMALL meaty legend pizza. I only ate one piece, along with some salad, and I think Bailey only ate two pieces. It was quite filling.

We debated on what to do next as it was still raining/misting. We decided to brave the rain and go to Navy Pier. We managed to take the "L" and a bus to get us there.

Waiting at the bus stop.

Chicago skyline and Navy Pier

Just in case you needed to know how far these places were from this spot at Navy Pier.

We got a little wet but it ended up being a pretty nice evening. We did a little shopping and, luckily, they started the Ferris wheel up right before we were going to leave.

A not-so-great picture from the top of the Ferris wheel.

One more post to follow about the remainder of our trip. Stay tuned.....

1,243 Miles Later--Part One

A few weeks ago Bailey and I took a road trip to Chicago with his parents. Here's a recap of some things we did.....

We started our drive on Thursday afternoon. Our first stop of the trip: Lambert's--where we ate a huge delicious meal.

Mrs. Connie and Mr. Jeff

After Lambert's, we drove a few more hours before stopping for the night. It took us a few stops before we actually found a hotel that had room. It just so happened that the Illinois state track meet was going on and most of the hotels were booked solid.

Friday morning we continued the drive to Chicago. We headed straight to Superdawg's because if you're in Chicago, you have to try a Chicago dog. Superdawg's is a drive-in similar to Sonic so we got to enjoy our meal outside.

The "superdawg." The superdawg comes on a poppy seed bun with mustard, piccalilli (tomato), dill pickle, onions, and hot peppers, and served with fries, of course. Mrs. Connie, Bailey, and I were all very brave and ate them fully dressed (well, I didn't eat the tomato, but I did eat everything else). And to be honest, it really wasn't too bad. I might could eat it again.

After Superdawg's, we headed to our hotel to check-in.

We stayed at the Inn at Lincoln Park. It was an older hotel but was pretty nice and had lots of character. We really liked the location and the fact that we could walk to Wrigley Field, which we did that afternoon. They had a continental breakfast with fresh pastries and bagels each morning which were fabulous!

We went down to Wrigleyville to see the stadium, do a little shopping, and take a few pictures.

Then we hopped on the "L" (Chicago's subway) at Addison (right behind the stadium, as you can see in the picture below) and headed downtown for the Magnificent Mile.

We walked around the Magnificent Mile for a while and then stopped in at Garrett's Gourmet Popcorn where Bailey and I got CaramelCrisp with pecans and his parents had the Chicago mix--CaramelCrisp mixed with CheeseCorn.

On one end of the Magnificent Mile was the Realtor building, which is the national headquarters. So we had to take a picture of it for Bailey. Then we went to dinner at the world famous Billy Goat Tavern. We went to the original one that is downtown, under the Magnificent Mile.   

The Billy Goat Tavern was made famous by an SNL skit that John Belushi was in years ago. You can see part of it here.

 

As we were on our way back to our hotel, we came across hundreds, maybe thousands, of bike riders. We asked a local what was going on and he said, "It's Happy Friday." On the last Friday of the month, people show up for a bike ride through the city to show that bike riders own just as much of the road as cars. We waited for the bikers to pass for 10-15 minutes, so that we could cross the street, and they had been going before we had even gotten there.

To be continued.....