Super Bowl Weekend in Atlanta

I think almost a full week later I have finally recovered from Super Bowl Weekend here in Atlanta.  We were lucky enough to get to attend the big game and loved the entire weekend.

It started off on Friday afternoon when we made our way downtown to check into our hotel.  Even though it was in our home city, I was really happy that we had a place to stay.  Traffic was crazy getting in and out of the city and just around in general.  We were at The American Hotel and it was right downtown so we could walk to everything! 

We went to a delicious dinner at Morton's Steakhouse and then got to see Imagine Dragons at the Tabernacle.  It was such a great venue for a concert and so small and intimate. It was nice to be able to see everything up close and they put on a great show!

Friday night I wore my favorite leggings and this awesome faux fur vest that I have shared before. 

leggings//vest

On Saturday we went to came home to do some stuff with the kids and then went back downtown Saturday night for the Cardi B and Bruno Mars concert.  

We were in the Atlanta Social area and it was super nice VIP section. 

There was quite a bit of excitement before the concert began when we sat down with some friends of ours and they pointed over to who they thought was Lady Gaga.  I about lost my mind. I'm a huge Lady Gaga fan!  When I saw her thought I just wasn't sure. I asked all of our Instagram followers on our story and the majority of them thought it was her, too. She was in a separate section, had security with her and everything. 

So then when she got up to go to the bathroom I saw her face to face and realized that it wasn't her, but we knew the guy she was with did have to be someone famous.  The security and body guards were actually with him!  

I texted the pic to a few friends and put it on our story and sure enough, within a few minutes we had an answer. It was recording artist named Maluma. Never heard of him myself, but still fun entertainment before the concert began for us to fan over. 

shoulder tie velvet top - on sale for $25

Cardi B played first and then next up was Bruno Mars. He was amazing and put on such a great show. Lots of dancing, which I loved!

We slept in on Sunday morning and then had brunch to fuel us for the rest of the day.

My foot had really been bothering me all weekend so I decided to dress for comfort. I knew that we would be walking quite a distance from the hotel to the stadium and be on our feet a lot of the day.

jeans//shoes//tee//jacket

We had a pre-party tailgate to attend and got to see the Patriot's cheerleaders.  I wasn't really cheering for the Patriots, but I love all cheerleaders so got a picture with them and an autographed poster for my daughter that cheers.  

Walking through downtown to the stadium was exciting, scary, crazy and full of excitement.  There were people EVERYWHERE.  People just hanging out and wanting to be a part of the action. 

Once we got in the stadium and found our seats I looked up and was amazed!  I had been in Mercedes Benz Stadium a lot of times and never seen the roof open!  

They had it open so that we could see the fly over during the national anthem.  

It was such a quick moment, but so very cool to see. 

I sort of wish they had left the roof open, but as soon as it was over I looked up and it was closed.  

The first half of the game was Boring with a capital B.  But when it was time for the half-time show we were pretty pumped! 

I heard a lot of criticism on the radio and social media the next day.  However, in person it was a great show and very entertaining.  

Overall it was a great night and we were so thankful that we got to attend.  I always have to stop myself and just take it all in because it is a surreal experience. 

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Super Bowl Weekend Is HERE

This post is sponsored by Moroch Partners. All thoughts and opinions are our own! 

Super Bowl weekend is here!!!  We are so excited to be able to take part in a lot of the fun Super Bowl festivities this weekend and having it all in our backyard makes it that much better!  

I was lucky enough to go to my first Super Bowl a few years ago in San Fransisco and then again in Houston.  There is something special about being in the heart of these cities and being surrounded by all of the excitement.  Seeing the city we love and the one we call home be able to host the big event is something I'm thrilled to be able to be a part of.  

Buildings are wrapped, hotels are packed and Centennial Olympic Park has been transformed into Super Bowl Live.

There are people everywhere and it is completely free to enter!  It is filled with different exhibits, performers, athletes and and sculptures. 

We checked out the Deion Sanders sculpture by New York artist, Michael Murphy. He was commissioned to design the piece that represents the amazing Deion Sanders from two different perspectives.  Depending on how you look at it you can see the football player from one angle and the baseball player from another angle.  

I grew up cheering for the Braves and the Falcons and watching athletes like Deion Sanders.  I find his story of playing both sports professionally  so impressive.  ESPN has introduced their new 30 for 30 film, “Deion’s Double Play.” The film takes viewers back to October of 1992 when Sanders attempted to play a pro football game and a baseball game in the same day. In different cities.  I mean, I am in charge of transportation of athletes in our household and I know how tricky those logistics can be.  Can you even imagine getting someone from one city to a completely different one for professional sports?!? You can learn more about the film HERE. 

Be sure to check back next week and I’ll be sharing all about the Super Bowl fun! 

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Super Bowl Weekend {Part 3}

First up today, we wanted to say congrats to the winner of our Feathered Nest Boutique giveaway!

The winner is Gina Tabor. 

You have 48 hours to email us (themagnoliamamas@gmail.com) to claim your prize.

If you have absolutely no interest in the Super Bowl I'm sorry and I've probably been boring you to death this week.  Good news is, this is the last post I'll do about it this week!  For those of you who have loved seeing a behind the scenes of what it is like at the Super Bowl, today will be exciting!  

Sunday morning everyone was so pumped up about the game.  We woke up, put on our red and black, and were very excited.  The Mr. had bought some Falcon's socks the day before in honor of our little Boo-Boo who is obsessed with "pull-up socks." 

Remember a few weeks ago when I helped the girls make Valentine's Day tassel bracelets?  I made a game day one for myself, too!

We grabbed an early lunch at Moonshiners and it was the best meal we had all weekend long.  The food was SO good, service was amazing and the atmosphere of the restaurant had a fun, southern vibe.  We loved it and I would definitely recommend it to anyone in Houston.

Next, it was time for the official Super Bowl 51 Tailgate.  There was yummy food, drinks, and lots of live music, including Lady Antebellum. 

It was dark and really loud in there so I didn't really bother taking any pics.  Next we were ready to check out the stadium and walk around a bit so we made our way over.  There were fans everywhere and it seemed to me that the Falcons fans were outnumbering the Patriot fans.  We did a little shopping for souvenirs! 

Then we found our seats which were in the end zone about 15 rows back.  We knew it would be hard to see anything going on at the other end of the field, but we had a good view when they were close to us. 

Really, we didn't care though. We were just so excited and happy to be there! 

The energy and awe of everyone in the stadium was so high.  When the teams were announced it was so loud.  Since the stadium has a retractable roof (more on that in a few) they were able to keep it closed since the forecast was calling for rain and that made it even louder in there. 

Luke Bryan sang the national anthem and did a wonderful job.  

The former President Bush and his First Lady were escorted onto the field for the coin toss.  It was so sweet to see them and all of the players seemed honored to shake their hands.  

Anyone who watched the game knows the first half was awesome if you are a Falcons fan. We couldn't believe how well they are doing and that we went into halftime with such a huge lead.  We thought for sure we had this game in the bag. 

More people asked me about the half-time show than anything else about the Super Bowl.  I loved it! I have always loved Lady Gaga and feel like she is such a great performer.  She puts on a good show and that is what everyone got. 

As soon as halftime began the roof to the stadium started opening and I knew that Lady Gaga had mentioned in previous interviews that she wanted to do something from the roof.  As they were setting up for the show everyone kept staring at the sky searching for her.  Come to find out after the fact that part of the show was pre-recorded, but when she started her decent into the stadium the spotlights focused on her and everyone saw her about half-way down.  I have no idea where she came from but it had to be way up high, so for all I know she did come from the roof.  

 Because of where our seats were we couldn't see the front of the stage, but there was still plenty for us to take in.  The lights, the fireworks, the set changes...all of it.  I will say though that I loved coming home and watching a video of the full performance, because it was so much better to watch on TV! 

The second half of the game just started to get worse and worse. As the Patriots were inching closer and closer to catching up with us our spirits just kind of kept sinking.  We couldn't believe how we could have had such a big lead and then to have lost it.  It honestly didn't feel real. Going into the first overtime ever in Super Bowl history had to say something about our team though and the fact that we made it there was such an incredible accomplishment.  Here's hoping next season will be as wonderful as this one was! 

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Super Bowl Weekend {Part 2}

If you missed it, yesterday I shared day one of our time in Houston for the Super Bowl and moving right along, today I'm sharing day 2!  

Remember yesterday when I mentioned that we had to wake up at the crack of dawn...3:45 AM to be exact.  Well all I wanted to do on Saturday was sleep.  Seriously.  I did not want to be woken up early and had no desire to set an alarm.  It didn't help that we woke up to an overcast day so sleeping was just what I did all morning long.  

After a quick workout (with Thomas Rhett and his crew working out in the same small hotel gym...totally crazy and awkward at the same time) we got ready to hit the streets of Houston.  Along with all the other Super Bowl fans! 

We had commented on Friday afternoon that there didn't seem to be that many people in town yet because everywhere we went was pretty dead.  Well that all changed over night because there were people EVERYWHERE! 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then made our way to the NFL Experience.  It was so crowded and so busy, but wen wanted to see what it was all about.  

There were a ton of fun exhibits and things to see.  Everything from team gear, to the Super Bowl trophy and even a display were you could see all of the Super Bowl rings over the years.  

The only problem though were the crowds.  We didn't want to wait in line for close to an hour for each exhibit, so we just kind of walked around and took it all in.  

There were a lot of fun interactive activities were you could try to catch footballs, kick a field goal, run obstacle courses, etc.  The whole time we watched I kept thinking how my kid would have loved to try that stuff and there were a ton of kids trying it out.  It reminded me a lot of the College Football Hall of Fame Jen and her family went to not long ago.  

 We were told by a few of the people working there that we came on the wrong day.  Apparently, if we had come during the week you could have walked up to every exhibit, every interactive activity and not had to wait at all.  Atlanta peeps...take note.  When the Super Bowl is here in a few years, take your kids during the week to experience the fun with little or no wait times. We still had fun being there in the middle of all the excitement and surrounded by fans everywhere we turned! 

After our time there we walked back to the hotel and got dressed for the happy hour, dinner and concert that evening.  

I wore my favorite black skinny jeans again and this fun top I bought not long ago. I loved that it was a flowy floral print, and I especially loved the lace detail on the back! 

Before going to dinner we saw the famous Atlanta Falcons Super Fan, The Bird Lady.  She was nice as could be and had no problem snapping a pic with us! 

Most of the restaurants we ate at during the weekend didn't seem to be prepared for the crowds that would be in town for the weekend and we experienced long wait times, but good food and dinner was no different this night.  After dinner we made our way to White Oak Music Hall for a VIP concert featuring the Goo Goo Dolls and Sting.  It was such a neat venue and a great show!  

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the real reason we were there...the Super Bowl!!!  

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