Fayetteville: Home of the Hogs

Greetings from Springfield! Wait… Fayetteville. No, Springfield.

Are you keeping up with our tour around the Missouri/Arkansas border? Because I feel like I’m even lost.

Every time Scott and I schedule a trip home, we know it is going to be filled with car rides to visit familiar faces and places. With our trip coming to an end tomorrow, we are trying our best to make our final rounds and get in all of our goodbyes.

Yesterday, we spent the day with friends and family in Fayetteville! We missed seeing Scott’s best friend from college (Joe, the best man from our wedding) since his family moved down to Houston, but we got to stay with other friends, Reagan and Roland, to spend a quick visit with them and their kids.

University of Arkansas

Reagan, Scott, Joe and Amanda (his wife) all go way back to college cheer and dance together at the University of Arkansas! Here is a throwback photo of them from our last trip home, right before our surprise engagement dinner!

Each time we go through Fayetteville, we have to stop by their old stomping grounds and visit the Razorback Stadium. I didn’t even go to here and just walking up the hill to the place makes me want to attend a football game so very badly.

Scott says thinking about the games and traditions still gives him chills.

Andddd apparently chills cause incredible balance.

Woooooooo Pig Soooie!

We didn’t spend too much time on campus, but made sure to visit most of the highlights.

We drove by all of the Greek housing, and chatted about how we both lived vicariously through our friends in fraternities and sororities while in college.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my college experience at the University of South Florida, I feel like it would have been really neat to attend a state school with decades of traditions. I love visiting big school campuses!

And, the Razorback(s).

 A Day With Everything Mary

I got a glimpse of what it was like to work in the office setting again yesterday. As I awoke at 7:30 a.m., I worked on the computer for a few minutes before hopping in the shower to get ready for the day.

Instead of putting on my normal workout attire, it felt kind of nice to pick out “real office clothes” and do my hair and makeup before breakfast. I can’t remember the last time I did that, with the exception of game or stage makeup for a dance appearance.

By 9:30 a.m., I was out the door and on my way to Scott’s brother’s office. He works for a crafting and accessories line called Everything Mary, whose owner is looking to branch out into the world of blogging and social media. I felt honored when they asked me in for a consultation and was taken back by how many Housewife Glamour fans there were in the office!

Last time we were in town, we swung by the warehouse to catch up with Rob (Scott’s brother), and I remember noticing how cute everything was. It’s like a crafting and scrapbooking storage gold mine!

I originally planned to spend the morning there, but Mary and I hit it off so well that I ended up staying a few hours into the afternoon. As we broke for lunch, she mentioned the word “McAlister’s” and my entire face lit up.

I used to frequent the McAlister’s Deli back in college at least twice a week. When I moved back from Tampa to Orlando, I was really bummed to find out we didn’t have one. I haven’t seen any in Michigan, so when we travel and see one I always try to convince Scott to stop in.

Per usual, I ordered the Chicken Tortilla soup and a salad. This time, however, I was able to upgrade from a garden salad to a Southwest Cobb. Woohoo!

We continued to talk shop over lunch, and I was really happy to see how excited she was to start applying what we went over. She’s fabulous and so much fun! Check out that glitzy, PINK glamorous office.

As we wrapped up, she took me on a tour and I left with an adorable makeup bag as a parting gift. Although you can’t find this exact design on their website, there are some similar ones that might catch your eye.

Thanks for a great day, Mary!

AQ Chicken House

After a trip back to Reagan’s to get in a quick nap (I wasn’t feeling very well and was trying to fight off a migraine), we were on our way to see the new house Scott’s brother is building and stopped by a few of his childhood landmarks on the way.

(We’re sad because I’m lame when I have headaches.)

Look at that super white face!

We had plans to eat at Mary Maestri’s for dinner, and for the second year in a row got denied by a “We’re Closed” sign. Scott raves about this Italian place and their homemade noodles, but we always forget they close on Mondays.

Next on our list to eat at was a more casual place full of culture.

AQ Chicken House has been in business since 1947 and has been awarded the best chicken in Arkansas! Considering AR has some of the best chicken in the country, that’s a pretty tough title to get.

As soon as we walked in, a giant chicken named Ozark Red greeted us. Scott told me to “rub his wattle” and as soon as I gave him a raised eyebrow he pointed out the sign below him.

It’s for good luck!

As we sat down in a booth, Scott mentioned that the place wasn’t nearly as packed as it used to be. Known for the chicken and spaghetti, both Scott and I ordered the AQ Combo to try a sample of all their best.

Everything was really good, but not as amazing as Scott said he remembers it to be. Back in the day, servers dressed in maids attire, which gave it a home cooked meal feel. President Clinton often dined at the restaurant and even held numerous official presidential dinners in their banquet rooms.

It was neat to walk around and look at all of the photos that told the history.

Before leaving, we made sure to leave our mark behind. I was shocked to see that no one from Detroit had already claimed the city!

Boom.

Well, almost. Apparently I was a little too west to where we actually live, and Scott made sure to hit as close to our neck as the woods as possible.

A perfectionist he is.

After dinner, we made a few more visits before heading back to Springfield to spend today with Scott’s mom. We don’t have any concrete plans, and for once I am quite okay with that. No plans Tuesday, here we come!

Question of the Day

• Have you ever revisited a place or memory from your childhood to only discover it wasn’t as good as you remember?

This has happened to me so many times. Growing up, I thought of certain places, TV shows, or even movies to be highly entertaining or “the best ever.” If I ever get a chance to revisit something from my young childhood, I jump on it.

Scott and I were just laughing about the dream house he used to pine over as a child. Today, we could easily buy it, and he wonders what was so good about it anyways? I do the same thing with movies. There are always the classics, but some movies I remember loving as I child I will re-watch and ask myself why in the world I thought it was so great. Too funny!