Five on Friday: Halloween/Florida-Georgia edition

Tomorrow is the annual Florida/Georgia football game!  It's always held the Saturday of Halloween (which just happens to be one of my favorite Holidays), so I absolutely love this week! Therefore this Friday I'm teaming up with Darci, Liz, Christina, and Natasha with my five favorite things about the week of Florida/Georgia!

[ONE]

"Birds flying high

You know how I feel..."

It seems like every year there is always some awesome musical act that performs.  The past two years The Zac Brown band performed the night before the game.  This year it was Michael Buble' (this may have been a coincidence, but that's not important)!!!!  Now before you go accusing me of owning an AARP card you should know that he is phenomenal! I swear, even if you haven't heard his music, he will entertain you. For example, my husband agreed to go because we were invited by some of our friends.  And by the end of the concert even he admitted that he had a great time and was impressed.  Buble' tells stories, cracks jokes, and puts on a true show! There was no lip syncing (his voice was so crisp and clear) and he played for over 2 hours straight. It was the perfect event to start the week...

[TWO]

Jack-O-Lanterns. Joe and I learned the hard way last year that if you carve your pumpkin too early it rots...quickly.  So we waited until Wednesday night to carve our pumpkin. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 4 pumpkins we picked a pumpkin carving pattern that was 1, thinking we could get it done quickly and go to bed.  Well...Joe made the first cut at 7:45pm and didn't finish until 11pm.  It truly was a pain in the booty!  

BUT, I was able to get my hands on two+ cups of fresh, delicious pumpkin seeds. These are my favorite to roast; the only downfall is that they are usually gone within the first 24 hours.  Oh well!  This year I altered the usual roasting recipe and combined two of my favorites (garlic & seasoned salt).  

Ingredients:

~ 2 cups pumpkin seeds
~ 3 tablespoons canola oil

1/8 - 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle sea salt AND cracked ground pepper until lightly coated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir pumpkin seeds, oil and seasonings until the seeds are evenly coated. Pour seeds onto a greased baking sheet. Roast seeds for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden and crunchy.

[THREE]

Halloween! I think the reason I love this Holiday so much is because it reminds me of some of my favorite things about Michigan; the crisp cold air, pumpkin recipes, Fall colors, jeans, boots, sweaters, etc... So Halloween is big in my house especially since this is Wake's first.  He dressed up as Albert the Alligator (GO GATORS!) and just to make it official we carried him next door for one "trick or treat" and a lot of pictures; plus I got to eat the candy :-).
  

I had chili going in the crockpot (the same chili that won me the award at the chili cook-off two weekends ago), cornbread on the stove, candy in the dishes, and all the candles lit. After Wake went to bed, Joe and I hunkered in on the couch with a glass of wine and another favorite tradition...a scary movie.  We alternate who gets to pic the movie every year; Joe picked Psycho last year and I picked Monster Squad this year!! It's a cheesy 80s flick, but again, it reminds me of my childhood and I LOVE IT!

[FOUR]

Tailgating!

"We are the boys from old Florida

F-L-O-R-I-D-A

Where the girls are the fairest,

the boys are the squarest

of any old state down our way. Hey!

We are all strong for old Florida
Down where the old Gators play
In all kinds of weather
We'll all stick together
for F-L-O-R-I-D-A."

"The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is a game played annually by The University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs nearly every year since 1915. It is one of the great rivalry games in college football, and since 1933 it has been held in Jacksonville, Florida, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries. The game attracts huge crowds to Jacksonville, and the associated tailgating and other events previously earned it the nickname of the "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party!"  Florida Times - Union sports columnist Bill Kastelz was the first to call the Florida - Georgia game, "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."  That was back in the 1950s, while when covering the game, he spotted a drunken tailgater offer a drink to a policeman.  The "moniker" stuck, because fans from both schools loved it and thought it made perfect sense.  And it's true...there are cars and people as far as the eye can see.  It's an experience, to say the least, and I can't even begin to explain how exhilarating and fun it is to be apart of.  If you've never been (fan or not), add it to your bucket list!

Blue vs. Red...the sides divided

[FIVE]

The Outfits.  Planning your outfit/being prepared for the Florida-Georgia game is very important.  One year it was 90 degrees out and I got a massive sun burn.  The next year I was wrapped up in a parka and blankets while being pelted with freezing wind/rain.  North Florida weather is so unpredictable this time of year, so it's very important to have options ;-).  With that being said I have two looks for Saturday; the first is the one I want to wear...the second is in case the 60% chance of rain comes true ;-(. 

FLA/GA option #1 

Now...I do not own this exact DVF wrap dress, mine is the same style but white and blue instead of black & blue; I just couldn't find a pic of it online. And I definitely don't own that $700 alligator ring BUT I did find an almost exact knock off at Forever 21. Gotta love that savvy shopping!

FLA/GA option #2 

If it rains, as they predict, I'll have to make a game time decision whether I 1) even want to go down to tailgate and 2) should wear the jeans or jorts (yeah, yeah, Gators wear jeans shorts...so funny! These ones are cute though!). If I commit to making an appearance I'll also have to lug my trusty rain jacket with me ;-(...  Fingers crossed the weatherman is completely wrong. And yes, I do own a pair of orange and blue stadium stompers!!

~ Happy Halloween & Go Gators ~
Morgan