It's about time...

Just wanted to let you all know real quick, I finally caved (more like TK finally agreed to it) and got myself an iphone! and like every good blogger the first thing I did was download instagram...





Come say hi!

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!

From me and the murphers.

Forgotten Posts of 2011: 2 A.M. Makeovers

To finish off this little series of forgotten posts, I have a treat for you. A glimpse into what happens at 2 am when you are with your besties and have nothing better to do...

I turn into a cholla



Happy Friday!

Forgotten Posts of 2011: Sometimes we have parties

Since we purchased this house we have thrown a New Years party each year. This was our 3rd go around and I have to say, I think it was a success!
Debbie made delicious red velvet cupcakes and I made the cake pops. We had an awesome hot dog bar with a dozen toppings but I of course forgot to take pictures.




We do a white elephant gift exchange at every party and the pickings never disappoint...





Then we played just dance and this happened...


My only regret is not taking more pictures of my wonderful friends and family. It's such a blessing to be able to ring in the new year with the people I love. I know its late, but here is to a great 2012!

Forgotten Posts of 2011: The number 2

December 28th my beautiful little niece turned two years old. Two! How did this happen? Just yesterday I was booking a flight and rushing to L.A. to be there when she was born. Anyways, since she lives in California and does not get to visit as often as we would like, we wanted to throw her an awesome 2nd birthday party and my mom is the perfect person for that sort of thing. She turned my house into a princess palace sure to please any little girl let alone one who refers to herself as Princess Liela!

The whole family participated in pulling this shindig off. My sister in law Debbie made the adorable star cupcakes and I tried my hand the giant cupcake for the first time.


Liela found it all pretty amazing. When she walked in the door she went around the room saying "Ooo, pretty!"


Of course, you can always get treats from Grandpa!


At the wise ol' age of 2, she has become an excellent gift unwrapper

Liela loved her party and all her gifts and treats! I am so happy we were able to celebrate her birthday in Arizona this year!

Forgotten Posts of 2011: L.A. Food Tour

Over this week I will be posting on the stuff I was too lazy to post in 2011. Better late than never right?

No one knows or enjoys food better than my sister in law Debbie, so when you have a free day in L.A. and an empty stomach she is the person you want to be around.

First Stop: Philippe's- French Dipped Sandwiches
Everyone in L.A. knows about Philippe's since it has been an L.A. staple for over 100 years but this was my first time. On my own I would rarely, if ever, order a big roll of bread stuffed with a load of red meat but I was told it was a life experience everyone should have so I did it. And I loved it! The sandwich was great, so flavorful and tender and they have a ton of sides to choose from. There is no wonder why this place holds the fame they do.





Next Stop: Bottega Louie- Restaurant and Gourmet Market
The crazy thing about Debbie is she has two separate stomachs: One for real food and one solely for desserts so she knows how to hook it up when your in need of a sugar fix. She certainly did not disappoint with Bottega Louie. It is a beautifully designed, clean crisp restaurant with dozens of gorgeous confections to choose from and a delicious array of macaroons!






Final Stop:Orochon-Ramen
This place might sound familiar if you are a fan of Man Vs. Food. Remember the episode with the huge bowl of insanely spicy noodles? Yeah that's the place. TK and I love Ramen but don't know of many places in the desert that serve a decent bowl so we were pretty excited about this place and it was definitely worth the trip!


Sometimes love is found over noodles


We ended the night satisfied and with a good movie. and maybe a few pounds heavier. Success!

Not Today...

Sometimes it is hard for me to say No. Specifically in regards to making plans with other people. If we are invited somewhere, or there is a fun event going on, I try and work my schedule any way that I can, including sacrificing sleep and food, to be apart of it. Just a couple months ago, I was basically on my death bed, not able to stand up without getting dizzy kind of sick, and was still planning on going out so that I did not have to call off the plans we made earlier in the week. Thankfully my friends are aware of my craziness and this stand up couple basically refused to hang out and forced me to stay in bed.

Since starting school I have reached a whole new height of exhaustion and an equally unfamiliar level of busy. I am a night owl by nature but these days by 10pm I am crawling to my bed. The other night I crashed on the couch and I woke up so disoriented I looked at Tim and asked him who he was! (If you want to freak your husband out, wake up from a dead sleep and say the following "Who are you? Where am I?" and then go back to sleep)

Yesterday I had basically reached my limit. We had plans to attend a superbowl party and I realized that I was kind of dreading it when the time to get ready rolled around. Not at all because of who would be attending (i love you all!) but mostly because the idea of having to put real clothes on, brush my hair and stay awake for the next several hours made me feel sick. I was just simply tired. So as much as it killed me, I decided to pass on the party and stay home. I don't even like football and when I weighed things out, I knew it was an occasion that I could skip and not feel regretful about. So I spent the day sitting on my couch, cuddled up with a blanket and my pups, watching One Tree Hill from the 1st season. (don't judge fools)

Maybe I am becoming more of an adult, but a constant theme for me these days is learning to listen to myself, and yes I am aware of how cheesy that sounds. I have realized that I have specific goals I am trying to achieve right now and in order to attain them I have to relate them to all areas of my life. And sometimes that might mean sacrifice, and other times it might just mean I need to take a nap.

P.S. I just wanted to say that I have been a faithful OTH fan from the beginning and the first time around it was Lucas all day but now that I am older and wiser, Nathan is my man!

*image via (and I love this print!)

Talks about TK...