Friday Favorites: Meridian Edition

It's hard to believe but we have already lived in Meridian for an entire year!  When I got married, I knew my life would be full of adventure but I can honestly say, I never expected to live in Mississippi!  When we moved here, I had a little bit of culture shock but I can genuinely say life in the Deep South has far exceed my expectations!  Today's Friday Favorites is dedicated to some of my favorite things about Meridian!


1.  Our House
This will go down in the books as our very first house together.  We lived in tiny apartments and spacious condos on the beach but this was our first official house.  And I LOVE it -- 25 year old tile floors and all!  Sitting on the porch in the mornings to drink coffee, grilling out in the backyard, not having to worry about neighbors below us while working out...it is so nice having a space of our own!



2.  Our Neighborhood
I am forever grateful that we decided to live on base in Meridian.  While I never thought it would be something I wanted to do, it turned out to be the best decision for us.  I absolutely love being a part of a neighborhood with block parties, impromptu cookouts, and being able to walk home after Wine Wednesday.  I love that our friends live right across the street and are always down for crazy ideas like Flip and Slide, getting season passes to the waterpark or hooking up the TVs outside for college football.  When Rob has night flights or is gone on a cross country, I feel completely safe being home alone.  It is so comforting to know that I can literally ring any doorbell on the street and ask for help if I needed anything.

Another perk of being on base is we live in a bubble!  I love that I can leave my house at 5:50 when I realize I need "just one more ingredient" and be in and out of the commissary before it closes at 6!  I love that Rob has a five minute commute and is able to come home for lunch between flights.


3.  The Community
I am convinced that the smaller the town, the tighter the community.  While we absolutely loved everything about Pensacola, most of our friends were people we met on our own and I don't think I ever went to (or even heard of!) an event with Rob's squadron.  Total 180 to Meridian!  I can honestly say that they really do everything they can to make this a tight-knit group.  The OSC has events every single month, big events like the squadron Christmas party and Lady Eagle Day are a blast, and everything feels very inclusive.  I've met some of the nicest, most welcoming people here and really have been blessed by this community.


4.  Wine Wednesday
When I moved to Meridian, I was added to the Wine Wednesday Facebook page and realized that pretty much every in the student spouse world is filtered through Wine Wednesday.  It's super informal -- someone volunteers to host each week.  The host makes snacks, everyone brings their own wine.  Sometimes there are five people and sometime there are 25!  Sometimes there is even a sunset yoga class before the wine!  One of my favorite things about WW is that it is always fluid -- old people are always moving and new people are always coming in.  I remember going to my first Wine Wednesday and meeting a girl who's husband just winged.  I remember thinking she was "so old" and "so cool" and that we would never get to that point!  Now it's weird to be just a few months away from the other side!


5.  Location
Location?!  What?!  Sure, Meridian might not have a Target...or a Starbucks...or a Whole Foods BUT Meridian is centrally located to so many awesome Southern cities.  On the weekends, Rob is approved to go 300 miles without taking leave.  Within that circle we have been able to explore Memphis (twice!), Nashville, Atlanta, Pensacola (a ton!), Birmingham, New Orleans and attend college football games in Tuscaloosa and Starkville.  There is so much to see within a quick day or weekend trip that sitting in Meridian and complaining that there is nothing to do is just plain silly!

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