Homecoming '09 + Me = 30!

Last weekend we traveled to Columbia for Mizzou's Homecoming and to celebrate my 30th birthday, which happened to fall on game day. All I really wanted to do for my birthday was spend a long weekend in Columbia, hit some favorite local eateries and, of course, go to the football game. We did it all! What fun. Here's the (not-so-quick) rundown:

THURSDAY:
Matt and I picked Lori up in Lebanon. We stopped at the Osage Outlets in Lake of the Ozarks to hit a few stores. Then on to Columbia for a late lunch at The Pasta Factory on Broadway. We all had the Mostaccioli con Salsiccia: "(a Factory favorite), tubular noodles tossed with Italian sausage from The Hill, hot red pepper flakes and a rich creamy tomato sauce, available tossed or baked with mozzarella cheese." (We had it baked.) Definitely not on our good-carb-good-fat-low-cal diet, but it was a special occasion. (It's definitely okay to splurge now and then.) And boy was it delicious. (Side note: This is Matt's favorite dish. His uncle Larry took us to the Pasta Factory one football weekend for dinner, and this is what he recommended. We try to duplicate it at home on occasion, but it's just not the same.) After lunch we checked in the hotel, rested, ran a few errands for Saturday's tailgate and scoped out the University Bookstore for Mizzou apparel (that we would wait until Friday to buy, because it's 25% off all Mizzou apparel the Friday before a home game). We met my parents, Caldwell and Kate at Murry's for dinner. An order of Brock's Green Pepper Rings to start, house salad and the tuna steak, feta and pesto sandwich for my entree. Mmmm.

FRIDAY:
Back to the bookstore to pick up our 25% off merchandise, including a football jersey for Oscar (see below), an official Mizzou plaid scarf for me (see left), plus a copy of Where the Wild Things Are for Matt... because he's never read it! We met Megan, Patrick, Tom and Carol downtown for lunch at Flat Branch. (I told you we ate a lot.) Chokes & Cheese, please! After lunch we loaded in the Mizzou bus and headed for the winery, where we met Billie, Beth, Jordan and Beth's parents, Mike and Adele. It was in the high 40s, completely overcast and super windy. We were the only crazies at the A-frame. Thank goodness for propane heaters (at least one worked), heavy coats, gloves and hats. And wine, of course. From there to Willie's, where Caldwell had reserved a room for us to have a (surprise to me) birthday party! Complete with decorations, hats and cake. From Willie's we walked to Harpo's (a Friday night tradition during Homecoming), where we met Hannah and stayed for the evening. We ended the night with the perfect Columbia nightcap: pokey sticks. If you don't know what those are, it's useless for me to even try to explain. If you do, then you know they're heaven.

SATURDAY:
Game day. Even with a 7:12 p.m. kick-off, we arrived in the parking lot before noon. Saturday was my actual birthday, and the weather was glorious. Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. Mid to upper 60s. Absolutely gorgeous. A perfect day to be outside and grill. (Yep, more food!) We had sliders (cheeseburgers and turkey burgers), brats, hot dogs, wings with Syberg's. And, we had some excellent side dishes. Beth's homemade pasta salad was so delicious. Whole grain pasta, feta, artichokes, black olives, homemade pesto. Wow. I really need that recipe. Susan's slaw was also very yummy. I had multiple helpings of each. Megan brought some yummy dips, and her cowboy caviar was a hit. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not show up for my birthday, er, I mean, for the game. Despite the loss, it was a fabulous weekend. :)