When I was packing my bag for work today, I packed a swim suit (and a change of clothes) because starting this afternoon, I'll be spending 24 hours inside the Peabody Hotel. The historic downtown hotel is one of Memphis' finest, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there over the course of a full day.

I'll be live-blogging the whole experience here starting at 3 p.m. this afternoon. If there's anything you'd like to know about the hotel, anyone you'd like to meet, anything you'd like to see, or any missions you'd like to send me on, you can post them in the comments, or send them to me via Twitter or Facebook.

3:44 p.m. - The Room

I checked into the Peabody about 45 minutes ago, and they gave me the keys to my room, the W.C. Handy suite:

You guys, I'm pretty sure this room is bigger than my first apartment. It's massive. There are six rooms - a half bath, a dining room, a living room, a kitchen (no stove, but a full-size fridge), bedroom, and huge master bath (with a Jacuzzi). It's total rock star lodging.

It actually is a rock star suite - the Peabody tends to put visiting celebrities in its suites on the seventh floor. Apparently, there must not be many tonight, because here I am, blogging from the extremely swank dining room table. I actually feel a little weird being in such a nice room by myself.

PS - this is my view:

4:23 p.m. - Sunset

5:32 p.m. - It's 5:00 Somewhere, and That Somewhere is Right Here

The afternoon duck march is over, and the tone of the lobby has totally changed. There are businessmen in suits huddled over drinks and laptops, tourists hanging out before dinner, and some sort of wedding meeting involving a ton of paper at the table next to me. There's a guy playing standards on a piano in the corner. The whole vibe is super classy - I feel like I should have changed out of my jeans and into something a little more formal.

My mom is on her way downtown to meet me for a drink. I beat her here, so I went ahead and ordered mine - a gin martini, very dirty. The bartenders did their due diligence and carded me (and told be about three times how young I look). It's an excellent martini, though - it's got a perfect brine-to-gin ratio, and it's frosty cold.

Somehow, a gin martini seemed the only drink appropriate for the occasion.

(PS - If you're into collecting overheard conversation, the lobby bar is an excellent place for it. It's a total see-and-be-seen location.)

5:47 p.m. - Breaking news

I just found out that I'm going to be the honorary duck master at tomorrow morning's duck march. I'm now instantly paranoid that one is going to stray from the red carpet and start terrorizing the lobby on my watch. If that happens, I wonder if they'll make me chase it down. How do you catch an errant duck?

7:50 p.m. - Dinner time!

I'm completely stuffed from dinner at Capriccio. The Italian steakhouse is one of four restaurants inside the hotel (the others being Chez Philippe, the Corner Bar and the deli).

All day, you guys have been telling me how good it is over Facebook and Twitter, and as usual, you were right. The food was awesome. I had a bowl of the lobster bisque, which came to the table in two parts. There was a bowl with buttery lobster covered in cold cream and a gravy boat full of bisque. It definitely makes my top five list of the best soups ever - it was so creamy and rich and well-seasoned. If you'd like to make it yourself, download Capriccio Lobster Bisque Recipe.

For dinner, I had the linguine pescatore. It was a mess of noodles, shrimp, thin strips of tomatoes, capers and sweet, flaky crab meat in a butter sauce. I made it through about half of the bowl before giving up and asking for a to-go box.

The to-go box is sitting in the fridge in my room, along with a slice of raspberry cheesecake. Bonus points for the kitchen, who included plastic cutlery when they packed the food up.

9:15 p.m. - Just so you know.

Since I got back from dinner, I've been lounging around the suite in the fabulous bathrobe that appeared on my bed during turn down service. It's ridiculously comfortable, and it kind of makes me feel like Hugh Hefner.

10:05 p.m. - A quick swim

When I asked earlier today what you guys wanted to see at the Peabody, the most popular answer was "the pool!" So, by popular demand, the Peabody hotel pool:

The pool is located in the fitness center, which is on the lower level (sort of in the basement). The deep end is 5 feet deep, but it seemed like it was at least 5 feet, 3 inches when I tried to stand up (I'm 5'2"). The pool is heated, and there's a small hot tub that overlooks the bigger pool. There are plenty of lounge chairs draped with towels, and you can watch people lifting weights or running on treadmills while you swim.

11:00 p.m. - Basketball Time!

If I can't make it to the FedExForum, I can hang out in my room and yell at one of the two flat screen TVs.

1:36 a.m. - Food time!

The Tigers won (just barely, 72 - 68), and I'm celebrating by eating my leftover cheesecake from Capriccio while listening to people shouting in the streets.

It's really good cheesecake.

2:05 a.m. - After hours

The Peabody lobby at 2 a.m. -

The bar is closed, housekeeping is mopping around the fountain, and a few Tigers fans are hanging out post-game.

7:23 a.m. - Awake, sort of.

I slept for a few hours more than I had intended. You would have, too - the bed was awesome. I made myself a little nest out of down comforter and pillows and insanely high threadcount sheets and was out cold before I could order 3 a.m. room service (because you can do that here).

I'm headed downstairs to the pastry kitchen to hang out with Chef Conrad and work on the Peabody's annual gingerbread sculptures.

8:15 a.m. - The Pastry Kitchen

When I got to the third floor pastry kitchen at 7:30 a.m., Chef Konrad Spiztbert had been awake for hours. He and his assistant Tawanna Fuller were working on this year's gingerbread sculptures for the hotel lobby. They put me to work, following Tawanna around and pressing wrapped peppermints and fondant poinsettias onto bright green icing.

There are two gingerbread sculptures this year, but I can't tell you what they are yet. You'll have to wait until they appear in the lobby next week. What I can tell you is that so far, Chef Konrad's crew has used more than 100 lbs. of sugar and about 150 lbs. of Rice Krispies in the construction of the sculptures. Both of this year's sculptures are taller than I am, and they have to be able to fit in an elevator.

Any guesses as to what Chef Konrad and crew are building?

Pro tip: While everything on the sculptures is edible, don't try to eat them. They're sealed with a light dusting of shellac (to keep the humidity from getting to them), and they've been sitting out for a few weeks. Just don't do it.

9:45 a.m. - Lil' Wayne Slept Here.

A few of the hotel's famous visitors: Johnny Cash, Julia Child, the Dalai Lama, Jessica Biel, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Michael Jordan, Lil' Wayne, Meatloaf, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Burt Reynolds, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, Jack White, Kevin Bacon, Fabio.

10:09 a.m. - Ask the Concierge

Helen the concierge is a sweet, no-nonsense woman who spends her days answering questions, giving directions and making recommendations for the Peabody's guests. She's a little camera shy, but she's not shy about answering questions:

Me: How long have you been the concierge at the Peabody?

Helen: 11 years

Me: What's the most common thing you get asked about?

Helen: Definitely the ducks.

Me: What's the weirdest question you've ever been asked?

Helen: What day is Sunday brunch on, and do they serve food.

Me: You're joking right?

Helen: No.

10:31 a.m. - Christmas Comes Early to the Peabody

After talking to the guys from Holliday flowers, I'll never again complain about decorating my tiny house for Christmas. The five-person crew from the local florist has beed decking the Peabody's halls with 11 trees and more than 600 feet of garland for the past 20 years.

This year's decorating is being led by Reed Long, a 24 year-old who's been participating in the Peabody's holiday preparations since he was old enough to carry boxes of garland into the building.

Reed and his crew will spend about five days getting the lobby, ballrooms and building exterior ready for the holidays. Holliday Flowers is a family operation - Reed's dad, Mark, is on the team, and the youngest members of the family help string lights and hang ornaments on the lobby's 30 foot main tree.

11:41 a.m. - Kerry Crawford, Honorary Duckmaster

One of the things that makes the Peabody so famous is the duck march, which happens twice daily (at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.). The march is a Peabody tradition, a tribute to a practical joke played by some Jack Daniels-fueled hunters who placed live ducks in the lobby fountain in the early days of the hotel.

Every day at 11 a.m., the Duckmaster (a guy named Jason) makes a short speech about the history of the hotel and the tradition of the ducks in the lobby. After that, he heads upstairs, retrieves the ducks from their rooftop penthouse and shepherds them back to the lobby, where they waddle down the red carpet and into the fountain. The whole thing is repeated in reverse at 5 p.m.

I got to be Honorary Duckmaster today, a title that came with a cane, a rubber ducky and a proclamation. As Honorary Duckmaster, I got to ride up to the roof with Jason to fetch the ducks.

It was cold and wet on the rooftop, but the little guys were totally ready to go when we got there. Jason opened the Duck Palace door, told them it was time to go to work, and they bolted across the rooftop toward the elevator. We walked behind them, more herding than leading.

At the elevator door, Jason radioed down to security to tell them we were coming. He counted to 16, we got in the elevator and returned to the lobby. He thought that the ducks would amble out of the elevator, pause for photo and then head for the fountain, but that wasn't the case. As soon as the doors opened, the ducks bolted down the red carpet, wings out, tails wiggling.

Check out this video of the ducks marching from the roof to the lobby:

12:02 p.m. - The Facilities

The bathrooms at the Peabody are insanely nice. All of them. I just thought you should know.

12:20 p.m. - Lunch

I had lunch in the Peabody Deli, a narrow little restaurant right across the hall from Capriccio. Their menu is simple - they've got a few salads, build-your-own sandwiches and an impressive array of desserts (think cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, rolls and tarts). It was a little expensive - my sandwich, chips and drink was $11 - but their ingredients are all quality.

1:13 p.m. - On serving duck

On the mezzanine, there's a small room full of artifacts from the Peabody's long history. My favorite, though, is a letter from the hotel's general manager Gary Belz to Charles Roseman, the executive chef at Chez Philippe that addresses the issue of serving duck at the hotel thusly:

"We are basically taking our logo, slaughtering it and serving it, and I'm not sure how this is to our benefit."

Well, then.

It's noted that Chez Philippe may be the only French restaurant in the world that never, ever serves duck.

1:30 p.m. - Shopping the Peabody Lobby

If you're looking for souvenirs, you've got options in the Peabody Lobby.

There's a newsstand that sells magazines, candy, drinks, and small souvenirs like beach towels, barbecue rub, cookbooks and rubber ducks.

The Lucky Duck has possibly the largest collection of duck-shaped and duck-themed items anywhere. There are duck Christmas ornaments, duck books, duck soap, stuffed ducks, duck-themed clothing and fuzzy, mopish duck slippers.

The most well-known store in the Peabody is Lansky Brothers, a men's clothing shop that was one of Elvis' favorites. They've got dress shirts, bowling-style shirts, ties, and all manner of accessories for the extremely dapper (and extremely flashy) guy.

Next door to Lansky Brothers is Lansky 126, a hipper, more casual shop that's got cute clothes for guys and girls. They've got some of the best Memphis-themed t-shirts in town, and I can't help but get all googly-eyed over their coats and boots.

Down the hallway, towards the Third St. entrance, there's a gaudy, shiny Galleria. It's a collection of shops that sells knicknacks, chandeliers, jewelry and tons of jade. If you can think of it, I bet you can find it made out of jade at the Peabody.

2:05 p.m. - Getting Pampered

This is my friend Monica, hard at work:

Monica works in the Gould's Salon and Spa on the lower level of the hotel. She's been cutting my hair for almost two years, and I can't recommend her enough.

The spa is pretty cool - it's full service, and some of their services are free for hotel guests. Any hotel guest is free to use the sauna and hydrotherapy pool (essentially, a really fancy hot tub).

2:55 p.m. - Fin.

And with one last drink at the lobby bar (a gin and tonic, taking a cue from my mom), I close out my 24 hours at the Peabody. I came, I saw, I duckmastered. I drank cocktails, slept in the most comfortable bed ever and worked on gingerbread sculptures at 7 a.m. It's been a fun 24 hour vacation, but I'm ready to go home, see my dog and take an epic nap. Thanks again to the staff at the Peabody for being so accomodating - you guys rock my socks.

You can check out all of the photos from the 24 hours here.

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Editorial note: A huge thank you to the staff at the Peabody for helping me out with this story. They were kind enough to give me an all-access pass to the hotel for a day, as well as a room to periodically crash in. Thank you, Peabody staff! Just to be clear, all of the opinions in this post are mine and have not been influenced by the Peabody.