Since Ben and I didn’t have tickets to the opening game of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ football season yesterday, we brought the game, and the ultimate home tailgate, to us!
Instead of huddling in a tiny tent somewhere in Iowa City while it was poured nearly the entire game, we setup shop in our cozy, dry garage. (Yes, we were those neighbors for the day! ;) )
I laid out food and drinks galore, while Ben setup a tv to watch our boys take on Tennessee Tech. This is the way to do it!!!
We masterminded the whole indoor tailgate party on Friday night circa 9pm, a couple Skinny Girl Margaritas (her) and Hoptoberfests (him) deep, which didn’t leave us a lot of time to cook much of anything. Instead I opted for buying the most basic, crowd-pleasing food options for the wide variety of people we had invited to stop by.
A plethora of munchies,
including Parmesan Garlic Popchips (YUM!),
freshly sliced peaches dusted with powdered sugar,
assorted veggies & dips,
smoked baby back ribs,
and White Chocolate Covered Popcorn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, this stuff is like crack. I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to make it again because my hand was in the bowl ALL. DAY. LONG. It was AMAZING (the popcorn, not the fact that I ate about 16 cups of it!) FYI – I used puffcorn instead of popcorn. UNBELIEVABLE!
Our guests, including my parents, started trickling in about 10:30am for an 11am kickoff.
We grabbed a drink and got ready for another great season of college football!
Our boys played relatively well, and won, considering the fact that it rained the entire game. The fans looked like they were having a great time regardless, but you know I have an irrational hatred for getting rained on. I was so glad to be home!
Friends and more family trickled in and out throughout the game and the day.
And at one point the rain stopped long enough for Ben to get an impromptu haircut!
In the driveway.
Please don’t judge us! ;)
Oh boys, no, do it this way!
Oh, tailgate shenanigans!
Back to business. :)
Aaron, our barber, cut Ben’s super long hair into a mohawk to rock for the day.
But the resulting rat tale was just too much for anyone to look at longer than a few seconds.
All cleaned up!
The festivities lasted all through the afternoon, evening AND night, and Ben and I didn’t hit the hay until nearly 12 hours after we started.
Party animals! Who are we?!
We woke up feeling surprisingly good, and are off on a loooong, LOOOOONG, walk to burn off some of those extra calories. Gah – I forgot what an ish-show tailgating can be! Oh well, no regrets!
See ya!
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What’s your favorite tailgate treat?
That is the tailgate of all tailgates! I love it! And I must get my hands on some of that popcorn. I would help you eat it all no problemo. ;)
I love this idea! Rain or not, I definitely want to try it out this season :)
Pickle wraps are my favorites! We managed to stay somewhat dry yesterday thanks to the ponchos we brought. We left right after halftime and were almost to our car when the major downpour started again. That was awful b/c it was windy and rainy. It was an experience, but I so wish we had today’s weather yesterday.
I was at the game getting poured on! It was actually a ton of fun! And I was wearing that same T-shirt! TJ Maxx?
My favorite tailgate food is buffalo chicken dip or jalepeno popper dip. I made the popper dip for the first time yesterday and it turned out really good.
Oh goodness, this is absolutely hilarious! Love the snacks.
Fun times! My favorite tailgate food is a giant hot dog. So GOOD!
I hung out with your brother on Saturday. Finn was there too and got himself a girlfriend. He even kissed her a couple of times. It was hilarious :)
OMG he is such a little charmer!!!
I’d have to say buffalo chicken dip. :) Looks like a fun time!
You are so totally “those kind of neighbors”, but those kind are my ultimate favorites!
Ummmm…yeah. So we braved the elements and sat through most of the game (we left when it started thundering and the sky looked pitch black…5 minutes before the storm delay). I’ll be blogging about it tomorrow, but I think there comes a point where being a crazy fan starts to become just CRAZY. Like sitting in the rain freezing…but GO HAWKS!
Have a great rest of the weekend, and yeah our tailgating was an ish-show too. Need to work off the pancakes, sausage, hash browns and donuts…oh and the alcohol. God I need to go run 10 miles now….ciao!
Looks like fun! The smoked baby back ribs look delish & Ben’s friend (in the Nebraska t-shirt) giving him the haircut is very cute :)
I was in Iowa City for the game and let me tell you, I was soaking wet before I even reached Kinnick Stadium. We had a blast though but my shoes are still drying out.
I really enjoy seven layer dips and burgers… yummy!
looks like fun! i love partayin at home…….all the comforts just a step away! WOW…that golden tree is beautiful! i love fall but not sure i’m ready for it just yet! favorite tailgate food (favorite ANYTIME food!) would be chips and AE dip. and i LOVE those Stacys naked pita chips! you should try the HyVee brand kettle chips. buffalo bleu cheese or garlic parmesan….so darn good! you’ll be hooked!