Fall Festivities // Rocky Horror, Hayrides & Pumpkins

This past weekend was full of so many fun fall activities. I don't know how we packed them all into 3 days! 

Friday night was the Rocky Horror  Masquerade Ball at the Alabama Theatre. This was my first year going, so I was a rookie. Thankfully my amazing friend Mary-Kate got us tickets (she was a judge for the costume contest) and she let me know what to expect! To say it was amazing is an understatement. There were people dressed up as everything you could imagine. From Mrs. Doubtfire to  Bob Ross and Ace Ventura to Thor. My sister, Erin, dressed up as Bob Ross. He is famous for being the painter on PBS in the 90's. "Happy Trees" and "Turn those mistakes into birds" became his catch-phrases! 

 Erin entered the costume contest, but sadly did not place in the top three. She was robbed! I thought her costume was one of the best! I dressed up as Black Widow from The Avengers. Only a few people knew who I was. Oh, well. Can't win them all! 

 

The whole Rocky Horror production was amazing. They have the movie playing in the background and the actors act the scenes out. The audience gets VERY into it. Before it starts, you have the option of buying a "prop bag" which has a bunch of stuff you can throw during the performance. For example, when Janet and Brad are at a wedding, the audience throws rice. I feel bad for the people who have to clean the theatre after Rocky Horror, but man was it fun throwing bread, rice, and toilet paper! It was truly a great night and everyone was in the Halloween spirit!

My parents were babysitting the twins this weekend while Ryan and Kristin were at a wedding, so we decided to take them out to Hayden, AL to the Great Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. This has been a tradition for years - probably because we wanted to go to a town with the same name as me! Haha! Charlie, Hardin, Ya-Ya and Rachel met up with us for the day! We ate way too much fried food (even a fried peach pie) and took a hayride to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were quite small, but it was a fun time! If you are ever thinking of a place to take the family, the Great Pumpkin Patch is amazing. They have horses, a petting zoo, bounce castles, and inflatable slides! Kids love it. I know Charlie does. 

 

 For the girls 1st birthday, I bought them two little kitty stuffed animals. Turns out they are one of their favorites. They both carried them all weekend. We even almost lost one while walking around the pumpkin patch but Aunt Hayden came to the rescue and found it! 

 

 Saturday night was spent relaxing with the family. Those are some of my favorite days. Spent with the ones I love the most!

 Sunday was pumpkin carving day! I love how my friends embrace my crazy side when it comes to fall and everything that it includes. I love it! Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite things to do. I love scooping out the seeds and keeping them to cook later! I used to always find the most intricate pumpkin design to carve, but as I have gotten older, I am not patient enough for that! I chose to do the Cheshire cat, or my version of it! I think it turned out great! Everyone had a fun time carving pumpkins and watching Hocus Pocus for the millionth time! 

 

 

 

It is the week of Halloween, so I am looking forward to all the movies, parties, and candy this week!

Have a safe and fun Halloween! 

Until next time, 

-H

Auburn vs. LSU // WDE

Last weekend I made the trek back to Auburn for the first full weekend since I graduated college. Yes, I had gone back for the Alpha Psi Rodeo – but that doesn't count in my book.

My dear friend, Jack, let us use his lake house for the weekend which was incredibly generous on the part of his parents. Very thankful, because in the long run it saved us hundreds of dollars. Over $300 a night for a hotel room for LSU weekend? No thank you! Just wish Jack could have been able to make the trip down from Winston Salem! 

Will, Lindsey, and Lee joined me for the weekend trip. I was so excited to see everyone again and to finally get to spend the whole weekend in Auburn. Will had bought two tickets to the game – one for Lindsey and one for himself. I had no luck finding a ticket, so my plans were to tailgate and watch the game on TV. As we were all finishing getting ready to head out on Friday night, I walked into my room to find a football ticket placed on my suitcase. Sneaky Will. He had acquired a few extra tickets and being the sweet friend he is, he gave me one. I was ecstatic! 

We had planned on trying to eat someone nice on Friday night but literally EVERYWHERE was over an hour wait. So we grabbed a quick bite to eat downtown. It was like the old days. Going before nine to get a stamp at Sky Bar to avoid paying cover then heading over to my old stomping grounds, Quioxtes. To tell the truth, I felt SO OLD. Everyone looked like they were eighteen years old. Well, a lot of them probably were. After seeing a few familiar faces and grabbing a few drinks at the Q, we braved Skybar. And man has it changed. It is enormous! We could only handle a hour or two once we decided to head home for the night.

Saturday morning was accompanied by cold weather. Perfect football temperature! We started the day pretty early with a breakfast of corn nuggets (closest thing to a corn dog that we could find) since you know, we were playing LSU! We got into Auburn and did a little bit of game day shopping – J&M Bookstore, Kinnucans, and of course ABC! 

 

We mixed our drinks and decided to walk to the amphitheater to tailgate. We passed the stadium, the RV park, and probably over a thousand Auburn tailgaters. It was officially game day on the plains! Throughout the day we saw old friends and relived our college days. Once it was time to head to the stadium, I was pumped. This was my second time to attend a game this season! I was on a roll. We were pretty much at the top of the stadium, so the crisp breeze was definitely not welcomed like it was that morning. We happened to sit next to a group of dads who were from Charlotte and were hilarious. A definite plus! 

The best part about sitting high in the stadium is seeing the breathtaking sunset. Everyone around us were taking pictures – including myself. 

As our game was starting, the Alabama/ Ole Miss game was ending. And lets just say it was not a great turnout for Alabama. Poor Lindsey was surrounded by thousands of Auburn fans as her team lost. Still love you, girl! You are a real trooper! 

Auburn played a heck of a game and beat the hell out of LSU. I couldn't wait to head down to Toomer's and roll downtown! I know I have said this before, but Toomer's is not the same after the poisoning of the trees. They now have wires erected to help, but the effect is nowhere near the same. 

We ended the night with another trip to Quioxtes and a stop at Checkers to grab late night food. So typical and so like the college me! Maybe that is where the freshman fifteen came from! 

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone Sunday morning, but we had such a wonderful weekend. It is truly great to be an Auburn tiger!

Until next time,

-H