Nashvegas!

First things first: Our lovely boss is at it again with her festive sales call gear. With St. Patrick's Day approaching, she is taking full advantage of a costume into which none of us could fit; she wears that sucker well.....

our little leprechaun!

She's hilarious.

Anywho, so last week, we went to see one of Ali's friends [Kali] in a theater production over at McKendree. Well, she's also an artisan. She made a couple of rings for Ali and Marianne; it was for this reason specifically that we made a trip down to Nashville [IL; don't get too excited ya'll...] tonight.

Check out these wire rings!

borrowed from fb ;) | "A" & "M" .. by Kali

Pretty awesome.. and they looked even cooler in person. So... Marianne & Ali met me at my house and the three of us headed off in the direction of Nashville, IL. I'd never been, and neither had Marianne. It was instant hilarity as soon as we hit the exit and started heading into the heart of Nashville. Well... first you have to pass through Little Nashville, which is essentially just a cover page to the actual Nashville: an adorable little town that embodies that podunk feel that I personally just...love.

Not to mention, there is a KROGER there. For all you Ohioans who thought I may've been totally jipped moving to IL, nope... there's a Kroger in Nashville, IL. Sure, it's the size of a Dollar General here, but it's a Kroger no less, and that alone made me happy. 

wahhhh!!! illinois kroger??! .... score.

Oh, and there are enough yachts for sale on one strip of highway to fill up the empty parking spots in the field dealership lot of the neigboring tractor dealership. Marianne was convinced that every silo we passed was filled with poop, as opposed to grain, feed or really anything else, and I quickly decided that if there were to ever be a fabulous yacht club, Nashville IL would...... probably not be... that place. Heheh. I'm really not poking fun, because I grew up in the country and I didn't hate anything about that place. Plus, it produced Ali, and this world would be a bit more dim without her. Everyone wins.

We ate at this place called Girolamo's, which is pronounced something like Gironamo, if for some reason you thought it was like Gyro - Lame-o, like we did when we saw the sign. Luckily, Ali had mentioned the name beforehand, but all I can do is laugh now at the fact that my mind is only recalling the name when I think Gyro-Lame-o. Sorry Nashville. haha.

clover marianne drew | heated conversation
yachts of nashville | girolamo wall art, aka marianne's new home | map of italy 

Oh, and Girolamo's is an Italian joint. It's a really good Italian joint.
I don't have many words for the conversation[s] that ensued over dinner, but what I will say is that it's been a while since I laughed that hard.

A few gems that materialized out of our visit to GIROLAMO'S [and shortly thereafter]... in NASHVILLE, ILLINOIS:

- Marianne self-enrolled herself into an arranged marriage. FRANK, aka SIR to those of us who are not from Nashville, kindly agreed to keep his eyes peeled for a legit Italian boy, in Italy, to whom Marianne will probably be married and live a long and prosperous Sicilian life.
- I recognized the danger of trying to execute a genuine laugh with a mouthful of 7-UP and an ice cube. It WILL end up in your nasal passages and it takes an exorbitant amount of self-control to keep it from coming out of your nose.
- Ali knows everyone... in Nashville, IL.
- Dairy Queen delivers ... in Nashville, IL.
- Marianne's hair can be transformed into the doppleganger styles of: Jimmy Neutron, Carson Dailey, Cogsworth [the clock from Beauty & the Beast], Tim Curry from the original 1985 production of Annie, Goku, Ace Ventura, Wolverine, Steve Carrel, and the much more unfortunate Hitler. It's... amazing.

angry opossum... possum... blech

- We are officially forming a band. Since Rebel Wilson already thwarted the name Fat Amy & the Chubb Chubbs, we may very well go with Ginger & the Re-Re's or something equally-babblish. Oh, and I'm slated as the interpretive dancer for this project. Our first album's going to be a re-make of Lion King. Haha....

- Opossums and possums really are not the same exact thing [thanks, Google], but we'll go with opossum, because it seems trickier, and because we almost hit one tonight. Apparently, Marianne has a pre-conceived vision of these things, and folks, it ain't pretty.

- One of these two things happened in real life: [Setting the scene: A woman came in, clad in a nylon jacket, on the back of which was embroidered the very large, very colorful banner of the 2004 FOOSBALL CHAMPIONSHIP] - Either A) There really was a national championship tournament somewhere in Missouri in 2004 and she earned that jacket.... or B) she bought that somewhere and was just giving us false hope that she may be some sort of local celebrity..... haha.. either way, WICKED cool jacket, but it definitely begged the questions [& prompted further hilarious conversation] in the rules and bylaws of said foosball championships.

these things really exist; i checked ... lol...

Yeah.. that's something I'll have to research later......
.... anyway, we stopped by Ali's mom's house [hi, Mom!] to see her for a bit and visit with her before we made a drive-thru run at DQ... and headed back to Shiloh.

All in all... a.... great.... night. These two girls are a wicked good time (:

Time to go stare at the back of my eyelids and choreograph my routine for the opening scene in Lion King.

;) ... See ya'll in the morning.

xo | cmd