You Can't Have a Baby Shower Without Cheese Straws

“Headed down south to the land of the pines…”

Airports are one of my favorite places. I love people watching and there are few places as rife with people-watching opportunities as major airports. I sat down in BWI the other day to wait for my flight back to Jackson. Three women waiting for their flight to Birmingham were sitting behind me and, as Southern women are known to do, they were having a conversation at a volume loud enough for their terminal neighbors to hear. They were discussing grand children and baby showers and my ears perked up when they mentioned cheese straws! I knew I shouldn’t invite myself into their conversation but the Mississippian in me was just dying to brag about Yazoo City’s very own Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory! These women were talking about buying Target brand cheese straws, which aren’t that bad, but they’re no MS Cheese Straws.
After a few minutes I gave into temptation and turned around and said, “Have ya’ll ever had Mississippi Cheese Straws?” They said they had not, but conceded that they felt better about the future of my generation knowing the great tradition of cheese straws would not die.
Cheese Straws are a staple of southern pantries. One of the women was talking about picking some up before a baby shower and said, “You just can’t have a baby shower without cheese straws!” And it’s so true. I could probably count on two hands the number of parties I’ve been to that did not include cheese straws in the menu.
Today I realized, once again, one of the many reasons I love food: it connects people. A simple discussion of cheese straws with perfect strangers made me feel that much closer to home. Food is rarely an important component to relationships, but it is often the conduit for good conversations and creating good friendships.

DC Wrap Up

I feel like I need to give a quick overview of the last three weeks I had in DC before I move on in my posts!


First, some of my best friends came to visit! We had the best time taking them around the city, going to visit museums, and showing them how we had spent our summer. They arrived on Wednesday and Thursday night was the Capital Club's Sinatra Soiree! The party was at the Building Museum (very cool building) and they had a great Sinatra cover band... it was so much fun to have my DC friends and my school friends all together! We had a great weekend with them, complete with a late-night visit to the Lincoln Memorial!


My friends left on Monday and Tuesday night several of us went to "An American Playlist" at the Kennedy Center! Going to something at the Kennedy Center was on my DC Bucket List so I was thrilled to be able to go to this concert-- especially since the performers included Smokey Robinson, The National Symphony Orchestra, and John Mayer! The concert was all about promoting music programs in schools and encouraging American children to invest in the arts.


On Thursday the Boy Scouts of America came to DC for the National Jamboree and so did my parents and sister (not for the Jamboree though)! Friday we toured around Capitol Hill and met Congressman Harper! It was so fun to introduce them to my boss and the people I worked with this summer. My family came for the hottest weekend DC had had that summer so we didn't spend much time outside on Friday! On Saturday we went to Great Falls (a beautiful part of the Potomac) and that night we went to see some of the monuments! I LOVE the monuments at night-- it's amazing to see them lit up and standing out against the dark sky. Sunday we ate brunch at the Chesapeake Room (restaurant review to come) and then Mom, Dad and Caroline departed on the train for BWI. I made my last trip to Eastern Market that afternoon and almost cried when I left!


The last week of work was a sad but a lot of fun! Work itself was busy then we had softball on Monday, a Nationals game Tuesday, and an SEC tailgate party Thursday! Chaille, Caroline, Lauren, Emily, and I went to the rooftop bar at the W Hotel for happy hour after work! The W is just a block over from the White House and you can see the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial so the roof has a beautiful view! We met some MSU Chi O alums for dinner after that and then made our way to the SEC party. We knew we were there when we saw guys with "frat swoop" haircuts in chacos, khaki shorts, button downs... it looked like game day! haha


Friday I went to the office to tell everyone goodbye and then took the train to BWI. I got home around dinner time and had my first night back at home. It's good to be back!