MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Murphy Family Christmas card has been ordered, can't wait to send out our first family card! Here's the picture we used, watch your mailboxes :)

A WEEK OF VACATION?

Murph and I had some time off to burn so we decided to take the 3 days before Thanksgiving off and get ourselves in a full week of "vacation". Here's a breakdown of what went down.

Saturday - Painting. We decided to paint the entire first floor of Hawthorn Drive. The front room went pretty quick earlier in the week leaving us with the kitchen, family room and 1st floor bath. For 10 hours on Saturday we painted, and painted, and painted. By the end of the day we primed all of our crazy red walls and randomly painted brown trim and took care of the kitchen ceiling. That's right the ceilings were part of the plan. We were shot and things were looking, well a mess.

Sunday - Painting. After 7:45a church and a little breakfast action at Cozy Cafe we made our 3rd or 4th trip to Menards in a week. I really think this is my new favorite store. Ridic I know, but I actually look forward to trips there haha! We took to painting again. Our goal was to completely finish our family room and put life back together a bit. We made goal and the fireplace mantle as well as the bathroom cabinet and trim got 3 coats of creamy white paint. We saw progress but were still surrounded by disaster.

Monday - Errands and Painting. Meeting with an accountant, name changes on land and car properties, a visit with baby Rylie and back to the grind we went. The goal, finish the kitchen and bathroom and get this place clean! Mission, pretty much accomplished :)

Tuesday - We attacked a week's worth of laundry, picked up downstairs a bit more, packed and then scrubbed our massive kitchen/bathroom linoleum. Oh, it was nasty. We both despise this shitty flooring even more than before and I think it motivated us to get our debt paid down so we can celebrate with a little wood floor instillation project in our future. We loaded up the car and headed with WillyDog to LC. There we got my parent's new computer unpacked and began the 3 day printer/email/file move debacle.

Wednesday - LC shopping, a lot of yard work for the parents, a wax job on the car, and 5 hours trying to get the printer we picked up for the parents to pick up a wireless signal. Unsuccessful result.

Thursday - 17 people Thanksgiving celebration. WillyDog stopped eating, barfed, and I the ever eager housewife attempted to take care of the mess, only to have Murph step in after he heard me dry heaving. Um, how am I going to have kids? That night we worked again on the computer, this time taking several hours to figure out how to move Mom's emails to the new computer from the old one with internet speed similar to dial up. The printer got boxed up as I scoffed at the "easy wireless setup" text on the box.

Friday - We said our goodbyes packed up WillyDog again and headed to C-Town. We watched the Hawks lose, and celebrated Murph's little bro turning 21 with a dinner on the town.

Saturday - C-Town shopping with my MIL and an 88th Birthday celebration for Grams with all of Murph's cousins and their kiddos. Pots of soup and copious amounts of dessert were consumed by all, especially the kiddos. Christmas card photos were attempted and one fussy dog did not want to cooperate.

Sunday - Back to Clive we go. WillyDog is a wreck. He's still not really eating at this point and cried the entire way home. Murph and I contemplate leaving him on the side of the road because his high pitched cries are so annoying but opt to keep him instead ;) We haul the Christmas decorations upstairs and I excitedly decorate Hawthorn Drive for our first Christmas as a married couple. WillyDog has passed out from the week and slept the majority of the day, he's seriously like a drunk when's he's that tired Murph and I laugh continually at his grunts and groans.

It was a crazy week! And after we finally sat down on Sunday night we realized we were shot and there was little vacationing that took place. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. There I sat with my wonderful little family of 3 in awe of the love and blessings we were a part of in the last week. We are making this house a home and have 2 other places to call home too, we are truly blessed beyond measure. Thanks were given for jobs and friends and each other and needless to say we slept good Sunday night. Monday night I was greeted with my normal bouncy pup so clearly vacation was rough on him too ;)

GRADUATES!

Well after 9 weeks of 90 minute classes Murph and I are graduates! That's right we are done with Financial Peace class and are living on a budget. Wow, that's something I never thought I would be able to do! Our $99 investment is something I am certain will be worth so much more than we paid for it and I am actually not hating our budget as much as I thought I would hehe.

Over the course of 9 weeks we covered everything from creating our budget, to dumping our debt (mortgage included), to retirement, to estate planning and even college planning for those little nuggets we hope to have one day. It was a ton of AMAZING information for us and best of all we have our financial goals aligned.

I highly recommend the Financial Peace program and our church will be offering 5 classes of it this fall (Fri-Tues nights) too. The main reason Murph and I did this was not only to become confident in paying off our debt (hopefully it will all be gone in under 7 years eek!) but so that one day we will be able to give abundantly, how exciting! I also look forward to paying cash for our future car purchases and maybe even that dream home I've got my heart set on building ;)

Anyway this program is for everyone! Married, single, young and old, doesn't matter where you are in life check it out and if you want to take the class holler this way you won't regret it!

ON YOUR LEFT!

Last night was a fun new adventure with some great friends and I can't wait to try it again! Murph, Jare, and I tagged along with our friends Kyle and Sarah for a bike ride to the Cumming Tap. Kyle and Sarah were amazing and hooked me and Murph up with bikes, lights, helmets, water bottles and showed us the ropes of their fairly regular Wednesday night ride. We began at 5:45 or so at Pal Joey's on 63rd, wound our way through Water Works Park and Willow Creek Golf Course before taking a quick beer break (where I took the picture above) at a covered picnic table just outside of Cumming. Then we hopped back on the bikes and headed to the Tap where we each grilled our own steak, had texas toast, baked potatoes & salad for just $10! We got our lights hooked onto our bikes and headed back to the city and I realized I was pretty cold, sore and a little tired but I plowed through and we made it back around 9:15. We put about 24 miles on the bikes and had a great time hanging out and meeting another rider Kyle and Sarah cruise with. We also got to hear all about Kyle's Ironman experience, and that made my 24 miles look like a warm up! Overall great time with great friends, I hope I can get a bike soon ;)

CURRENT OBSESSION

So, I needed a makeup change and I am loving tinted moisturizer! As a faithful wearer of mineral makeup for the last 5 years I began to feel chalky and dull looking and was tired of the mess it makes all over the bathroom. It was always to much effort for me as I am a 10 minute makeup kind of girl. I had received a sample of tinted moisturizer back in the Spring from Sephora and loved it. I was always worried tinted moisturizer wouldn't give me any coverage and that it was kind of a scam but the product was light and illuminating, pretty much 100% opposite of my mineral makeup. I also worried that my somewhat oily skin would get even oilier with a second moisturizer, but this oil free gem seems to be doing great even when I combine it with my regular skin care regimen. In fact it makes me wonder if my mineral makeup was actually drying me out and my skin was oily from trying to catch up! Anywho when I went back into Sephora on the hunt for the sample I used they ALL recommended Stila's Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20  saying how blend-able it was. So I went for it am an in love. It's quick, easy lightweight coverage that is much lighter than typical liquid foundation and gives my skin a good even tone and texture. Acne is down too, bonus! Anywho, I am loving the stuff and just had to share. I recommend getting it at Sephora (talk about a easy place to drop $100), as they color matched me in a second, something I am always terrible at :)

PHEW, IT'S ALMOST FALL

Wow, this Summer was so busy. I thought after the wedding things would slow down, but I'm beginning to think things will never slow down! Cooler temps have arrived, AMEN, football is back on the TV and taking over some of our weekends, but the pace seems to be slowing and per Murph's advice I am learning to say, "no" every once in awhile. Here's what has been keeping us occupied!

New bedroom furniture!

In our quest to build our home we finally have received the bedroom furniture we purchased with the generous gift of money we received for our wedding. Combined with a beautiful big poppy print handed down from my friend Holly and we are on our way to furnishing the bedroom. We purchased a sleigh style bed and large dresser and I am now on the hunt for nightstands and lamps. I seriously love our new furniture especially since my clothing has a true home now.

Guest bathroom makeover!

Of course I forgot before pictures but I will do a home post shortly and give you the afters. This project started because our guest bathroom needed a new shower rod. Since we would be installing a curved rod that is a little more involved I decided we should paint too .... and get new fixtures ... and replace the mirror ... and spraypaint the other fixtures .... and get some frames ... and well that little project took up the whole weekend. Eeek! My hubs was a champ though and although he is not sold on the deep teal blue color we both can agree the room is much nicer for our guests to use and is looking  good with all of the accessories we registered for.

New light fixture in the laundry room!

Ok, I know some of you think I'm crazy for how much I love my laundry room, but it was the first room we started working on together and Murph snuck out to get a special ring from my parents while I was painting it so I guess it's a goofy reminder of the future that was to come for us. I finally, thanks so Stacy, was able to pin down a light fixture for this little space and let me tell you the cost, $17!! That's right World Market marked it down from $50something and we scored on the clearance table. Wooo Hoooo. Just a few finishing touches and we can check the laundry room off the list!

New buffet!

When my grandmother passed away I asked to keep her crystal collection. I will forever remember eating dinner in my grandparents dining room on their crystal, and the relish tray stocked with carrots, celery, cheese and green olives. I knew it would need a special place in our home so after seeing Holly's buffet I had to get it. This was another World Market purchase and it's on backorder but should settle into our front room around the 1st of October. I can't wait to fill it with a fantastic family heirloom.

Budgeting!

Now that we are Team Murphy around here I can't be as selfish with my money, damn. Kidding! Murph and I are working very hard to establish a budget and hope to become entirely debt free in the next 7 to 10 years (mortgage included!). We both have hopped on the Dave Ramsey train and start his Financial Peace class at our church next week. I love Dave's motto, "Live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later!" Living within your means is something I think a lot of people our age have completely thrown to the wind. I watched my parents work hard, never have debt and I was always happy with what I had. Although I feel the crunch and get defeated every once and awhile right now I just have to look at what we've done so far to get excited. We paid off one of our vehicles and have knocked out almost 30% of my student loan debt! I can't wait for the day we get to do our debt free scream!

Menu planning!

It was clear early in our marriage that a point of stress would be dinner. Since I get home almost 2 hours after Murph does it is so helpful to know exactly what we are having for dinner. On Monday's we usually write our menu and shop for the week (avoiding the crazy weekend traffic at HyVee). This not only makes dinner a breeze, but Murph is always stepping up to the plate to help. Next step, coupon-ing :)

I think those are the big highlights. I told Murph we could stop with the home projects for awhile and enjoy some free time. Some painting and decorating will happen this winter and then we will tackle our yard and maybe the basement come Spring. We are truly enjoying this marriage thing and learning so much about each other along the way. We are so blessed to be making Hawthorn Drive our home.

1 YEAR LATER

Well, one year ago I left retail for good. After 4+ years with VS, 18 months at B. Bro and a long but very beneficial 16 months at Fran's I called it quits. BEST. DECISION. EVER! Ok, marrying Murph was the BEST. DECISION. EVER. but this is a close second.

I told Murph on a walk last night that no amount of money could outweigh working nights, weekends and holidays, and I will never go back on that statement. Although, I LOVED the business and creative side of retail, being on my feet all day and the discount, I love spending quality time with friends and family so much more.

Cheers to my first year out of the mall, can't wait to see what's in store!

28

Another trip around the sun, another year of blessings. On Monday I was able to celebrate what I think should be a national holiday, my birthday! Often I deem it Birthday Month with Nic, so here are some of the fantastic celebratory things I've done.

BC '12
Our 4th annual Booze Cruise was at Saylorville Lake this year. Our pontoon was in rough shape and we almost filled her with water once but overall the day was a success, that is until the winds rolled in and we struggled for an hour to get back to the dock! Here Nic and I are "poppin' bottles" except it was a screw off top and didn't really "pop" :)

Les Mis!

Although I can't cash in on it until October, Murph got us tickets to Les Miserables at the Civic Center, can you say pumped! 

State Fair

After sleeping in Murph and I hit up the State Fair Monday. His job is generous and give us free tix and $10 in food coupons or we probably wouldn't go, truth be told. But the weather was finally cool enough to enjoy a day outside so we roamed through a few buildings, got our fill of grinders, turkey & funnel cakes and left in 2 hours time. Now THAT's how you "do the fair"!

iPad Revival

After shattering the screen on the iPad shortly after our return from Jamaica, we finally took her in. This whole process was a mess but we have a brand new iPad now and I won't be throwing a jar of garlic at this one!

Starbucks and the Couch

We quick stopped at Starbucks after running a few other errands and it's much more of a treat for me now that I no longer have daily access to it and spent the rest of the day on the couch. We grilled, had delicious Peace Tree beers, celebrated with friends who stopped by and relaxed. It was a wonderful low key day spent with my favorite person on earth.

Peace Tree Brews

Classy ... party of one!

Des Moines market bag from S&J & Nic! On our new memo station

Of course WillyDog was there too, some people see a mutt, but I see the greatest naughty er I mean cuddly and lovable pup ever. He melts my heart.

FINANCIAL PEACE

I guess this whole getting married thing has made me feel like I should be more of an "adult", and a big task Murph and I are undertaking is combining our finances and coming up with a life plan. I won't lie, it's exhausting! I am the dreamer and thankfully Murph is the realist. If it were up to me I'd have a new wardrobe every year and lots of other fun things, but Murph helps me keep things in perspective. We've already met with a financial planner and are in the process of finding a good accountant too, but the biggest step will be paying off our debt.

Our friends S&J took Financial Peace University while we were in our marriage prep class last spring and couldn't say enough good things about it so we are taking the plunge and following in their footsteps starting on September 17th.

If you haven't heard about FPU before head over here and you can read all about it. Essentially Dave Ramsey suggests 7 baby steps to becoming debt free, mortgage included!
#1 - $1000 Emergency Fund
#2 - Debt Snowball
#3 - 3-6 Months of Savings
#4 - 15% in Retirement
#5 - College Funding
#6 - Pay Off House
#7 - Build Wealth and Give

Thankfully Murph and I aren't in the position of the person we heard on Dave's Podcast yesterday who was $330,000 in debt JUST IN COLLEGE LOANS, um guess I won't be a pediatric dentist any time soon! But we do want to start off on the right foot and take care of my student loans ASAP.

I am so excited to take this class, just listening to Dave's podcast makes you eager to get to a position where you can give freely, and that is our overall goal. To be able to give without looking back sounds AMAZING, and I can't wait to share our 9 week adventure with you. Stay tuned!

WISH LIST LOVE

Just some must haves topping my wish list right now...

Des Moines Market Bag - $68 at Badowers

Ok, I agree $68 is a little pricey but I love the leather, canvas & burlap and it makes Des Moines look pretty darn classy! 

Pink Nosed Pup - $125 at the Des Moines ARL

This is Pepper a 4 mo. old Border Collie pup, and she's at the ARL here in Des Moines. Murph and I have been in serious discussion over adding her as a second pooch, but can't pull the trigger on owning 2 big dogs. We love her pink nose though,  and we refuse to go look at her knowing we couldn't say no to that face! He's gonna hate me for posting her pic here :)

Schoolhouse Numbered Hooks - $15/each at Pottery Barn

We are on the hunt for some entry way organization and have two small (24") walls to work with, these hooks and the system below top my list, but a sale would make them sweeter!

Union Office Collection - $49/each at Pottery Barn

New 'Do!

In desperate need of a haircut and I can't get in until the end of September, erg! Thinking this simple long bob might be the way to go for the fall.

Monogrammed Bracelet on Natural Leather - $45 available on Etsy here

Loving the monogram right now, wish this was stamped instead of engraved though, might have to have my friend Emily help me out with something like this

What's on your wishlist?

HAPPIEST OF DAYS

We finally got our photos back from our photographer at the wedding and we couldn't be happier. Seeing as I have around 400 of them I've decided to post some of our favorite's here. I love how he captured how insanely happy we both were that day, along with everyone else. A big smile was in every photo and so much laughter too. Marrying Murph was the easiest thing I've ever done and I am so happy we will have these photos to remember the day with.

Fantastic flowers, so natural and simple

Maybe my favorite decoration we came up with, willow and baby's breath in the windows

Getting ready to see Murph

So happy to see each other on our big day

The pastor walking in on us kissing

Our family

Really, I look up to her

Maybe one little man wasn't in the mood for pictures

The pastor announcing us by my last name, not Murph's. NOT planned!

On the fountain in the city square

At the city square

Our ride broke down, and no one wanted to stop to help!

Trying to thumb a ride, and showing a little leg

Even the boys couldn't figure out the problem

Wonderful speeches from wonderful friends

All smiles at the reception

Love seeing everyone have such a great time

We couldn't thank everyone enough for sharing in such a special day.

REFRESHER WEEKEND

Since Murph and I got engaged we've been working through the house tackling some of the previous owners insane tastes. We've replaced light fixtures, worked over the back yard (which is out of control this summer), painted the laundry room (post to come, you wont believe the original paint job), painted and furnished a guest room (post to come) and this weekend we tackled our attached master bath.

Let me say our master bath is small and I love product. Hair, makeup, lotions, nail polish I love it all and Sephora is a happy place for me, but our bathroom was not functioning when it came to storage of my stuff. Murph has all of 6 things in this tiny room and I took over the rest, and most of it landed on our tiny counter. Thanks to my mom I HATE stuff on counters and this room was no exception. So I began collecting ideas on pinterest and we went for it this weekend.

Our home is from the mid 90's and thus is filled with golden oak everything. Golden oak trim, golden oak cabinets, it's a golden oak fest along with almond fixtures. While I love wood furnishings I am not so much a fan of the golden oak and I personally despise almond but we weren't looking to completely demolish our bathroom so I did my best to live with it. Here are the embarrassing before photos.

You get the idea builder grade everything, crap everywhere. What you can't see is that the previous owner went caulk crazy, then painted that caulk blue, then Murph tried to paint but the blue stuck out everywhere on the caulk. Erg what a pain these people were. Please my friends I beg you don't paint the caulk! Anywho, here are my inspiration photos. I loved the concept of the floating shelves rather than a medicine cabinet, the clean lines and crisp colors make my heart pitter patter. 

We started by taking out everything, every towel bar (the one above the toilet drove me crazy), the shower rod, light fixtures, vent fans etc. We pulled all of the old caulk out (cursing the entire way), took down our builder grade mirror, replaced all of the almond outlets and light switches with white, spackled and sanded. We painted the ceiling, painted the walls a cool putty brown/gray, re-caulked (Murph did a fantastic job at this), spraypainted all of the old lighting oil rubbed bronze and hung floating shelves, hooks for our towels, a curved shower rod for a bit more room for the elbows and bought a new mirror! None of it would have been possible without the stud finder (we couldn't hang anything on one, they never were in the right spot) or the laser level (my new favorite tool).

We went to town and were exhausted, but we are so happy with our little refresher. All of my goodies are stored in the long brown baskets and jars clearing off the counter top. The wall color pulls out the brightness of our almond fixtures and I don't hate them as much now. Our vanity is still oak but I think I can strip and stain it darker if that's a route we decide to go. We've also looked at other models as an investment for the future. The rust red, and deep brown match our bedroom, while the little bit of yellow is a fun pop. Our tiny space isn't something you'd find in House Beautiful, but it is practical and works for us, and that is most important! Afterall a pretty bathroom is great but what is the use if it doesn't solve your problems.

More photos to come as we hang the mirror and add other finishing touches. Hopefully I can find a better way to capture our tiny space in better photos! I love making this house Murph bought 6 years ago into a home with him. We are learning so much about each other as we work on these projects and the fact that we were able to hang 3 floating shelves equidistant and centered over our toilet this weekend without throwing a hammer at one another is cause for celebration!

RUN TWO AND NEW SHOES

Well I can say we've been on two runs now and the 2nd went much better than the first. I told Murph to take us up to his pace, which he laughed at but we ran that fast for all of a few seconds then I settled into a slower pace. What I was aiming for was to get my body moving faster, I never seem to be able to consistently run faster than 10:00 min/miles, and it worked! We finished the same 2 mile loop we did last week in 18:51 taking my pace to 9:25 min/miles. I won't call it progress since it happened one time but knowing I can move faster is nice to see. Not to mention being thoroughly out of breath at the end of our run proved I worked a little harder this time

I do think that my new kicks probably aided in my speed, or at least they should have for the price! I had been getting some pain in my knees and ankles and decided new shoes were in order so I will be putting my next 500 miles on these. The Asics Gel Nimbus 14. And yes that is the color I got them in :) I hit up Fitness Sports with Murph and after a few jogs through their hall decided that I would try Asics out again. They are squishly, lightweight, and yes, super hot pink. The backs gave me some blisters already but I hope to have them broken in soon and think they will be a great shoe for me.

ON THE RUN

Murph loves a good workout. Me, well not so much. Typically any sort of fitness routine requires me to have a partner to become successful, otherwise I find something better to do, like eat raw cookie dough or grab a blizzard from DQ, or even play solitaire on the iPad (which is my newest addiction, like solitaire is a new fad or something). Taking this into account I decided I needed something to work for and told Murph we should train for the Des Moines 1/2 marathon. Lofty goals I have. Anywho, after some convincing and reminding that I am not a fast runner I got Murph to agree.

This is the point where he says, "We've gone on 1 run, let's not say we've truly committed to a 1/2 marathon Les". But it's true. Last night we laced up our kicks and took Willy along for our first family run (well 2nd we tried once this Spring and I was not having it). I chose to start with 2 miles, and hope to get myself in a 2-3 mile groove for a bit before we officially start a training schedule. Running with the Hubs and Pooch is good because I won't give up, but watching your dog move at a pace slightly faster than our typical walks is frustrating and having Murph try and keep up with my blistering 10:00 / mile pace is a strain for him ... ok not at all, he is struggling to run at my speed which is 2:00 / mile slower than his typical pace. I also must mention there was one point where we were headed up a long but not very steep hill where Willy stopped to turn and look at me like, "what's the hold up?!" ... twice. I guess that's motivation for you!

Although, I felt like we were cruising along last night at a faster clip than usual, of course we rolled in right at 20:45 UGH. Murph did comment that I was not out of breath at all so we could go faster, so that was reassuring. Either way I was happy we did a family run, it hopefully can be a great thing we do together most nights and can enjoy together. I am lucky to have Murph by my side, and WillyDog out in front. Even if the 1/2 marathon doesn't come into fruition we will be doing the Des Moines Color Run on October 6th, a 5k so that is something to look forward to. As motivation and to give you all a good laugh I will re-post one of my favorite photos of me running .... or should I say speed walking at the Drake 8k. Hahaha, good times.

HI THERE, YOU MADE IT!

Welcome to Hawthorn Drive! A big new adventure called for a new blog so here we are! This is me and the Hubs, Murph in the photo. We met online, fell in love and got married 18 months later, it was the easiest thing I've ever done :) We are opposites, but like peanut butter and jelly we go great together. We love God, and know deep in our hearts He brought us together. We also love working on our home and yard, walking our dog and have a mutual love of all things sweet. We disagree on who is the better college football team in the state and I will not be becoming a Hawkeye fan any time soon ... or ever for that matter!

This is WillyDog, our lovable pup we adopted a year ago. He's a handful and loves attention, but is a big lover and gives some of the best cuddles out there. He hates dancing and my singing, loves tennis balls, his Wubba and long walks through our neighborhood. Don't know how we would live without that face.  

But you probably know all that about us already. After we got married, I moved in to Murph's house on Hawthorn Drive and now we are building a life together and working to make this place home, I couldn't be more excited! Stay tuned, there will be much more to come and many memories to capture here at Hawthorn Drive.