About two years ago, my dear friend Kelly Blewett offered her home for a group of us to watch the 6-hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. About 6 of us gathered together for brunch and all day of Colin Firth as the incomparable Mr. Darcy. After 6 hours of some of Jane’s best story-telling, we talked about going to our respective homes. But we didn’t. Instead we went out and rented Jane’s Emma and watched that.

I tell you this story to tell you what happened this past Saturday. A couple months ago, I was chatting with my friend and office-mate Ashley. We both love Jane Austen movies, and I mentioned what Kelly had done a few years ago. Ashley said it sounded like a great idea. We kept talking about what a good idea it would be, but we never really got anything planned.

Until about 6 weeks ago. That’s when we set a date, one we figured would be cold and we’d want to stay inside (of course, Saturday was a beautiful day, no snow, and actually rather warm) and sent out invitations. We got a group of 6 girls together who wanted to spend an entire Saturday devoted to watching Jane Austen movies.

Fast forward to Saturday, and Katie, Stephanie, Amy, Ashley, and I met at 10am for breakfast burritos (thank you, Amy, they were awesome!). And then we sat down to enjoy Mansfield Park–the old-school version with Frances O’Connor and Johnny Lee Miller. Ashley and Amy had never seen it. Or Northanger Abbey. Or Persuasion.

Oh, my word! It was amazing! With appropriate breaks for nachos (thank you, Steph, for the amazing nacho cheese!), puppy chow (Ashley, you rock!), and other assorted snacks, we made our way through the first three movies. It was agreed upon that our third flick of the day, Persuasion, as absolutely the best–receiving appropriate swooning from Amy and Ashley. Katie and Steph and I were already well acquainted with Rupert Penry-Jones’s awesomeness, but it was great to be validated by our friends.

By the time we finished Persuasion, it was nearly 6pm, and Jess Barnes, our 6th hadn’t made it over yet. (She claimed her dog groomer held her poor pup hostage all day. Hmm … likely story.) When Jess finally made it, we decided for one more Jane Austen movie–Sense and Sensibility, the one with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.

Add a little Chinese food for dinner, and boy howdy. We were stuffed, and super-giggly-girly after a day of Jane’s heroes. It was awesome! 🙂

I think we need to have a Jane Austen-athon every year! Maybe the 6-hour Pride and Prejudice will make a return next year. What’s your favorite Jane Austen movie?