Bleaks-burg Game Day

Earlier in the summer, C & I made plans with my sister & her husband to head down to Blacksburg in October and attend a Virginia Tech football game. We did the same thing last fall over Halloween weekend, and had such a great time that we wanted to do it again. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a different plan since I am currently Sober Sally, but a day at VT is a day at VT and I won't pass that up! We bought our tickets and a parking pass to secure a tailgate spot, and planned a fun weekend. Last Saturday was game day, and I could not wait to return "home" - even sporting this basketball-stomach I've currently got going on.

Little did we know, after a long, dry summer, the rain would start (and not stop) the very weekend that we were scheduled to head to the home of the Hokies. In case you were living under a rock last week and didn't know, Hurricane Joaquin and a gross nor'easter both made their way to our area and dumped a massive amount of rain on most of Virginia. The weather forecast leading up to the game on Saturday was obviously quite poor. We are dedicated fans, though, and we committed ourselves to a very wet day in Blacksburg. My beloved college town certainly earned it's nickname that day - it is known locally as Bleaks-burg most of the winter, as it turns gray and sad for a long time in the cold winter. That was just weather we got for the only game we are going to make it to this season! Boo.

We headed from the lake house at Smith Mountain Lake to Blacksburg early on Saturday morning, and set up our tailgate in the pouring rain. My sister and I ventured downtown to the bookstore to pick up some new maroon & orange gear - I needed something to wear the rest of the season since none of my VT shirts fit this fall! I settled on two different scarfs, and found a pair of dress socks for C - grown-up Hokie gear. AND I managed to avoid buying Baby W one single piece of Hokie gear - it was hard, but I restrained myself. We have baby showers coming up!

Let me tell you - tailgating, sober, in the pouring rain, is not exactly my idea of "reliving my glory days." It is definitely not that much fun watching everyone put their beer blankets on while you sit shivering in the rain drinking hot apple cider (not that apple cider isn't delicious, but it's NOT THE SAME) - and it also didn't help soften the misery when our team played terribly and lost the game. Sigh.

We did enjoy ourselves, though, and C & I had a blast hanging out with my sister and my brother-in-law. I am thinking maybe we will make this an annual tradition - and next year we can bring Baby W!

This might be a sign that we are getting old... but I'm pretty sure the best part of the day was driving back to the lake house, where we promptly all took naps before watching a movie and eating a comforting dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was certainly not the same as bar-hopping in Blacksburg, but it was a great way to spend the evening after being cold and wet all day! Even with the horrible weather, we all agreed that we had a wonderful weekend, and would do it again in a heartbeat. Now, if only my football team could figure out a way to win games for a change... sigh.

The Lane Stadium Effect

Before college, I didn't really "get" football - I watched it, I knew about it, it was on in the background on Sundays, sure, but it wasn't really a big deal in our family. Neither of my parents had / has a strong allegiance to an NFL team, and when we moved to Virginia, my sister and I decided we were Dallas Cowboys fans out of pure stubbornness because everyone around us was a Washington Redskins fan. What can we say, we were in elementary school!

I chose to attend Virginia Tech for a multitude of reasons, but being a "football school" was not one of them. I knew little, if anything, about college football. I didn't know about the game, I didn't know the history, I didn't know about tailgating or traditions or superstition. My freshman year, I went to a couple of games, and they were fun, but I didn't really care. I had a long-distance boyfriend that I would have rather spent the weekend visiting with, and hadn't made a lot of friends or connections yet.

Sophomore year, though, I found a group of friends who really cared about football, and I joined a sorority, both of which totally changed my attitude about Hokie football (not just because of tailgating, promise, although that was an added benefit!).

My roommate, Michelle, and I

I finally figured out how much fun it was to experience a game, packed into the stands with a huge group of friends, proudly wearing your school colors and screaming your heart out, watching your team play hard and win (or lose). I learned about BeamerBall and the Lunch Pail Defense. I shook my keys on cue and lost my voice from cheering.

One of my favorite views of campus

After that, I'm pretty sure I never missed a game while I was in school, and some of my very favorite memories are were made in and around Lane Stadium. Words fail me here, because I don't think I can truly describe the experience - unless you've been there, you just won't get it. When you're in Lane, you're with 65,000 of your closest friends and it always feels like home.

Thursday night fireworks

Friends and sisters <3

Ten years after I started college (WHAT), I fully understand that there are weekends when you get up at the crack of dawn to tailgate (12 PM games are the devil). I don't think twice about face paint and noise makers and cornhole and grilling in parking lots. I faithfully wear my maroon and orange on game days and I know that my team will likely break my heart at least once a season. I planned my wedding around football season, and I don't make plans on Saturday afternoons (and the occasional Thursday night) in the fall (unless you want to watch the game). Hokie football means the world to me, and any time Enter Sandman comes on, no matter where I am, you better believe I am going to START JUMPING.

the best.

wonderful weekend

Our first "no plans" weekend in a long time turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. C told me several times yesterday that this weekend was the most fun one he's had in a while... and that's saying a lot, because we've been doing a lot of fun things! Just goes to show that sometimes downtime is crucial.

We kicked off the weekend with dinner and a concert - totally low-key style. As I mentioned, we got tickets to go see Dierks Bentley with some of my book club girlfriends & their significant others. We started out by meeting everyone for dinner at Chipotle, and hung out for a while debating the merits of getting to the venue in time to see the opening acts. In the end, we just meandered our way over, and got there right before Dierks started. No one minded!

We had a great time, and we were back home by 10:30. How's that for a rowdy Friday night??

On Saturday, we had Stephanie and her husband over for an impromptu football-watching party... and unfortunately had to suffer through a VT loss. The guys cooked up some wings and cheese fries, though, and we picked up a Sam Adams fall sampler box, so at least the eats and drinks were good, though the game was not so much. 

We tried to use our Caps tradition to swing the game's momentum... no such luck.

After S & C left, we deemed nap time necessary, and snoozed for a while before hitting up the nearest Red Box for Spiderman 2 and pizza-making supplies. We were going to order pizza, but as we wandered around the grocery store, we realized that we really prefer making our own. So, personalized naan pizzas it was. Yum!

Look at these cuties who are finally starting to get along! #pileofkittens

Sunday morning called for a lazy breakfast. I pulled out the cast iron skillet and whipped up a new recipe from Iowa Girl Eats - it totally hit the spot!

C & I were brainstorming ways to remake this one, but change it up a bit next time. It's totally versatile and delicious. While C mowed the lawn, I got to work on a major house-cleaning session: from ceilings to baseboards and everything in between. It was a gorgeous day, and it felt so good to open the windows, get some fresh air in the house, and wipe away a season's worth of dust. Ick. Everything gets so polleny in the summer, there's no way to avoid it or ever truly keep it clean. The end-of-the-season wipe-down is critical. And refreshing!

I couldn't let the first truly fall-like day get away without a run, so I headed out for a few miles on a local trail while C pulled together a pot of chili for dinner.

I made the mistake of telling him that I didn't think it was spicy enough when I got home.... the final result had us both sweating! I have been looking forward to chili season for weeks, and I was so happy to have the first pot on the stove. It's been a long time coming!

Next weekend, I'll be getting ready for another business trip, so having some time to spend this way was wonderful. It felt like I recharged my batteries - no crazy to-do lists, no racing against the clock, just moving from one activity to the next whenever I felt like it. There is so much to be said for days like that!

And we allllll slept soundly last night. Hooray!

How was your weekend? How's the weather where you are? Did you do anything fun? Make it a great week!

bring on the snacks: it's tailgate season!

Happy Friday! I've got an all-day meeting to get through, and then I've got an impromptu lake weekend ahead of me! C and friends are doing his fantasy football draft at our house this weekend, so I decided to vacate the premises and head down to SML with my mama. I am sad to say that I haven't had a lake weekend since Memorial Day! This summer has just been too busy. So I am looking forward to some down time! There is some rain in the forecast, so we may not get much sun, but I know it'll still be a great weekend. Wahoo!

Even though summer isn't quite over, I've got fall and football on the brain (sorry not sorry), so I thought that for my Five for Friday this week, I'd share some fun new tailgate snacks that I'm wanting to make this year. We are already making plans for some game-watching parties with fellow Hokies fans, and everyone knows that the best part of a football game is the snacks! Football season is basically a free pass as far as snacking is concerned, right?? There's nothing better than a table full of appetizers and an ice-cold beer. Bring it on!

Here are a few recipes that are piquing my interest so far!

1 // Caramelized Onion and Shallot Dip - this looks like a fancier version of my kryptonite: Helluva Good French Onion Dip (that stuff is like crack!)

[source]

2 // Beer-Cheese Hushpuppies - golden brown bites of deliciousness... These would be amazing with a hearty soup or chili!

[source]

3 // Asiago-Artichoke Dip - Spinach-artichoke dip is one of C's all-time favorite foods, and I'm pretty sure he would love this indulgent version.

[source]

4 // Cheddar-Bacon Loaf - I have made "Crack Bread" several times with very positive results, and this looks like something that would be just as much of a crowd-pleaser. Carbs, cheese, bacon, happiness.

[source]

5 // Seven-Layer Dip - I don't really need a recipe for this one, but this one will do if you've never made it before. This Mexican-oriented dip is my favorite tailgating snack, and I could probably eat a pan of it myself. Always a good go-to dish!

[source]

So tell me...

• Are you a football fan? College? NFL? Both? Who's your team?
• What's your favorite tailgate snack?

  linking up with karli and amy  

& linking up with erin