Oxford MS! What an amazing town!!! I am not going to lie when I got released to Oxford I was a little on the fence! Then I landed in Memphis and while waiting for Katy to land I sat in the rental car and listened to XM Elvis Station and it was amazing! Katy arrived and we made our drive to Oxford and when we rolled up we were blown away by the beautiful hotel that was before us and how ready they seemed to be for us! Hope would join us a couple of days later as she was the FOSSE trainer! I was so excited to work with two new trainers that I had never worked with before and excited/nervous that Katy has agreed to let me take point on the Bistro so that I could get some more practice under my belt. While their we ate some amazing food, drank some interesting drinks (more below), I got to meet Archie Manning, we got a tour of Ole Miss from the DOS's husband, and got to train with some of the most amazing folks that I've had the pleasure of training. Katy and I facilitated Bistro and Hope took housekeeping and FOSSE, it was a great group of folks at this hotel! Katy and I kept saying that everyone was so nice it was Miss Kandi and Miss Katy; and A LOT of yes ma'am all day which at first I wanted to say I'm not a mama, but then you realize it is just in their southern culture and it is so nice!!!! This hotel had 58 associates, the most I have had since joining the training team! They all worked so great together, joked with each other, helped each other and had a great week together as we worked towards opening their hotel. At the end of a training 12 days I am usually ready to go as I'm exhausted from training and just ready to go home for a rest. However even with my Courtyard scratchy training voice (Katy had it as well) after 12 days of leading kick off each morning for 58 folks, games outside that you had to shout for everyone to hear you and yelling over the hood and construction in the kitchen during training....I would have stayed another 12 days with this team as they were such a pleasure to work with. They are a group of extraordinary individuals led by a group of managers that I would put against any other hotel, I am excited to keep my eye on them and hopefully go back in the fall to see them and maybe catch a game!!! Hotty Dotty, Ole' Miss!!!! P.S. I didn't get to see the Tuohy's, but I did get to see their basketball center and Michael Oher's jersey!!!! I started asking Nicole (DOS) as soon as we arrived and found out her husband worked at Ole' Miss if she knew the Tuohy's....she just laughed at me!
Just hanging out with Archie Manning! Such a nice guy and was all about taking a selfie once he realized I wasn't crazy and that I worked for the new AMAZING Courtyard that was opening in Oxford across from Ole' Miss! He said, "it was a welcome addition to the community!" Olivia (his was) was nice as well, however didn't seem interested in me or a selfie!
Part of my kitchen crew! They were so awesome to hang out with during the week! They had me laughing and were such fast learners! I am so excited to see the great things that come out of this Bistro! And if you are ever near Oxford, Ben, who is one of their main cooks does a mean impression of me!!!
When you are at Walmart for the 4th time in a week to get things for the hotel....you must try on the sequence hats and take a selfie! I had such an amazing week with this lady! We laughed as after team meeting when we realized that we might be a lot alike, we determined they would never put us on a project together! They did at it was an adventure that I am glad I got to experience!
UMMMMM.....pickle martini! We might have gone back a couple of times for these Equal parts KOSHER (very important) Dill Pickle Juice and Tito's vodka...it was amazing! You think it sounds weird I know what you are thinking...however it was refreshing, lite and something that I will try to make at home but I am sure will never taste the same as it did on that porch with those people!
Another pickle martini (it was the same one!!!) and a couple of lovely ladies! It was a great week in Oxford with them by my side!
In the middle of no where....but Nicole told us we HAD to go to Taylor Grocery Store for Dinner (good thing we did that is where I met Archie) :)
Nicole was nice enough to take us to Taylor Grocery for dinner....her hubby was out of town and she was lonely! So you go in and give them your name and the sit on the porch and wait for them to come out and call your name! Also it is a dry place so you have to bring your own booze so we came prepared with a couple of beers to drink on the patio! It was so southern, sitting on the porch I made friends with a few of the people around us and just enjoying the beautiful weather and outstanding company. Nicole knows EVERYONE so she was off socializing about the soon to open hotel!
Selfie photo shoot....I said her mouth was covered and she said that it was better than her eye...then we got the next picture! She makes me laugh!
Like pirates!
They give you a sharpie to leave your mark on the table at Taylor Grocery.....so I left some hashtags to make us stand out! #courtyardoxford #makeroomforalittlefun #thebesttrainingteam #hottytoddy
Memorial Day Monday everything was closed in town as class is out! However Funky's Pizza was open and they have 8 Slurpee machines that have daiquiris in them! This is called a T Swift...it is the 4 flavors on the right side all mixed together. I of course asked if the 4 on the left side where anything....its called a Katy Perry...I did not have one of those! They also had some awesome pizza that we enjoyed!
On the way home we passed this sign and Katy and I couldn't resist a picture with it! She might have needed a boost to get up on the sign!
Archie Manning's signature on the wall of the locker room at Ole' Miss!
Ole' Miss gloves on display in the uniform room! It was amazing....row after row after row of uniforms....tee shirts...shorts...windbreakers....anything team associated!
Practice field selfie!
Michael Oher's jersey hanging in the locker room. Their were lots of pictures of him and one picture in the hall way that was inlaid with the cover from the Blind Side movie.
With Jason (Nicole's husband) in the NFL Hall of Fame, anyone that leaves Ole' Miss and is drafted into the NFL the put their name on the glass wall in front of the NFL Jersey. It was really cool!
They are currently ripping up the field to put real grass down! While we were their they are working on watering the dirt and getting it ready for the sod. We didn't get to go onto the field because of this, but got to see the entire stadium from the Suite Level...not to bad!
We stopped on the way to the airport and bought a tee shirt....we liked the same one so we rocked it twin style! "I'm a Rebel, Let's Party"....Ole' Miss are the Rebels...we realized after we bought the shirt that no where on it is their an Ole' Miss logo so we just look like a spring break ad!!!! We are adorable!
Our last selfie before we part waters in Charlotte! Thanks for a great week ladies, safe travels until our paths cross again!
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