during the second half of the holidays, my dear friend laura came to stay with us and sweetly let me show her around my home state for a week. you may recognize her from my visits to alabama for whitney's wedding last year, and jessica's wedding the year before that.
it felt like christmas round two for me, i was so excited counting down the days until she was physically here!
[the four of us altogether]
[favorite deli]
once we'd picked laura up from the airport, we freshed up at the house, and set out to show her around some of our favorite norman locales...this of course had to include a walking tour of the university. i mean, how could we not show her a bit of sooner pride?
[hanging in the stacks]
[art touring]
[insert heart eye emoji here]
[happy hour hangs]
the weather couldn't have been more perfect - not winter-like, but a cool, crisp fall day. the exact type of weather you want for walking around campus and showing off the sights before quenching our thirst. plus, it ended up being a great op for her to try a few okie beers.
later that night, we took her to one of my favorite pasta shops with m+j for dinner. i mean, one of my favorite gal pals comes to town so, we have to get pasta at some point, right? at least it does in my book.
[group shot]
[late night sips]
the next day, we slept in a bit, i cheered (again) that she was here, and we made our trek out to the wichitas for a light hike. sadly we couldn't bring the pups with, but i don't think they minded too much since they were due for their afternoon nap.
[livin' on the edge]
[michael's viewpoint]
at some point, T and michael took off to explore a cave they hadn't noticed before while laura and i took in the views. i had a feeling she'd love seeing how rocky the trails looked against the red earth. plus, i just knew she would get a kick out of seeing wild bison and longhorn cattle being the avid animal lover she is.
[best buds]
["that's so cool to see them in nature, and be so close"]
[hey handsome]
that night was our night to show her some of our favorite okc spots. thankfully, a good amount of christmas decor was still up so she got to view the city all dolled up.
[grilled pineapple tres leches...i still dream of you]
we tried all the things at dinner from apps to cocktails to entrees. of course it was delicious, but i was more focused on the great company and conversation.
[cocktail tasting]
[shades of red]
[late night ramen snack]
[bar hopping]
[solo and his girlfriend]
now, i have to take a moment to note how much the pups fell in love with laura. not kidding, they spooned with her in bed every night, and soaked up every single cuddle and head scratch from her. i'm pretty sure they were in love with her, and the scent of her gorgeous blonde lab molly.
[jingle juice and cranberry sangria]
during the day, we lounged in our pjs, snacked on yummy food, and watched some of our favorite 'feel good' movies. that night, we invited a few friends over to sip cocktails, have some laughs, and ring in the new year.
[nye dressed]
[oven nachos with all the goodies]
T and i are not ones for bars and huge parties on nye so our little get together with some of our amazing friends was exactly our cup of tea. i loved introducing laura to our gang and seeing them have such a blast getting to know her.
[late night slumber party...with solo on my lap]
the next day, we took it easy and made all the yummy foods for laura. T whipped up his infamous cowboy breakfast (steak and runny eggs with toast), senor crockpot helped me with southern black eyed peas and cornbread for lunch, and we had my turkey noodle soup for dinner. it was perfectly laid-back and was ripe for girl talk. T very sweetly didn't mind a bit.
[the biggest lap dog you ever did see]
[new year's day traditions]
[beer decisions]
[laura and T's okie-themed beer pics]
the next day, we got a strange gust of warmth in so, we decided to take advantage of it with some corn hole and beer (well, cider for me). it was a great way to gear up for T and i's (ou), and laura's (auburn) upcoming sugar bowl game that night. now, normally rivals are talking smack, down playing the opposing team, and making faces at the others' colors. laura and i couldn't be more opposite. it was probably the friendliest rivals you've ever seen. in fact, we both had predicted the other to win.
[cheers]
[sugar bowl rivals]
laura's last day turned bitterly cold outside, so we thought warming up by exploring a local coffee shop, and meeting one of my favorite local makers was the best way to warm up. good thing we were right ;)
[hand tarts and cafe]
[trying out a new (to me) sandwich shop]
then, we took her back to the airport, i got weepy, and we hugged goodbye at least ten times. even the pups were pouting.
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