Christmas Eve and the Nutcracker

This year, because I had to work Christmas, Chase and I decided to celebrate Christmas together on Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful day together. Chase took me to see the Nutcracker Ballet this year because I had mentioned wanting to see it in the past. It was a spectacular show with a great symphony.

In front of the tree at Symphony Hall

After the afternoon showing of the Nutcracker, we went to the early evening Christmas Eve service at our church, Redemption Arcadia. We celebrated the first coming of Christ and rejoice that He fulfilled his purpose then and will come again.

We when returned home, we opened our stockings that we made for each other. We opened gifts from under the tree, and then we had the most delicious dinner of breakfast casserole (a Christmas favorite at the Murphy house), fruit, and mimosas. Such a wonderful night!

Our cozy living room with plenty of candles and Christmas decorations!

(our TV is in our bedroom for a movie!)

What a wonderful night!

Desk is FINALLY done!

Chase very graciously allowed me to pick up this vintage writer's desk in Flagstaff back in September. I really wanted to refinish it as I loved the beautiful structure and brass pulls.

This is the "before shot," and yes we did manage to fit it in Chase's car -but not without difficulty...or an audience.

Chase sanded it down for me.

After priming it and painting it with several layers of "heirloom white," I began to distress it with a sander, on the edges.

After several attempts at a polycryclic finish, I just sanded it off and used a wax

All finished! Had to move the desk to another wall to make room for the Christmas tree. I prefer the white desk against a brown wall, though.

The wooden thing originally had 3 hooks and a mirror attached to it. Chase took off the mirror and hooks for me and sanded it down. Then I stained it with a walnut stain. I love the authentic look to the wood that the stain gave to it. And the silver pitcher is a gift from Chase:)

Thanksgiving in Indiana

How lovely it was to return to my hometown for Thanksgiving with my whole family! Chase and I flew in on Tuesday, arrived about 4PM, and stayed until Friday evening. All of my brothers and sisters were home on Thanksgiving (the farthest one only lives about 30 min away). I was really excited that both my grandmothers came as well! Grandma Jean drove from Illinois, and Grandma Jackson barely made it because of a knee injury, they were both determined to come!

Grandma Jackson and Grandma Jean

My family's tradition for Thanksgiving is to spend it with our cousins from my mom's side. My mom's sister, Aunt Pam and her husband Uncle Alan, have 6 kids, so both our families getting together is a lot of fun. We switch where it's held almost every year too, some years in Vincinnes, others in Zionsville. In recent years, since we've all grown up (our youngest cousin on that side is 23), not everyone can make it back for Thanksgiving. But since several of us have gotten married in the last year, it's kept the size of the party up!

The whole fam with our spouses

My mom and her sister, Pam

Nuptials in North Carolina

The first weekend of November, Chase and I opened our travel season with a BEAUTIFUL wedding in North Carolina. Chase's best friend, Josh Moore, married a lovely lovely lady named Mary Grace. It was the most beautiful wedding, under a tent on a brick patio of a golf course. The tent backed up to a calm pond and AMAZING changing leaves. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 50s/60s. Such a gorgeous day! It was punctuated by two people so in love with each other and Christ. Josh wrote a song for Mary Grace and performed it live, right before their vows. He said he couldn't look at her or he would lose it. I definitely cried...it was honestly an incredible song! Mary Grace was unfathomably beautiful, all eyes were on her. Looking at my handsome husband standing up there wasn't too bad either - Chase looked pretty sharp in a tux (haven't seen him wear one in person since OUR wedding.)

I love hydrangeas. Reminds me of our wedding flowers!

The newlyweds with Korky (the minister - who officiated our wedding 6.25.10...it was his first!) and his beautiful and pregnant wife, Helen - it was so good to see them.

My man lending me his jacket - I am very aware that I married a gentleman

This was probably the best part of the wedding as far as Chase was concerned (jk...but he LOVES his UNC)

And some shots of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner held at the Moore's. Josh's mom, Robin, worked her butt off and put together this vintagey/urban farmhousey chic decor for the rehearsal dinner. It was fantastic!

L to R: Korky (officiant), Josh (groom), Preston (Josh's bro), yours truly

These rose balls were decor for another event that night and they are fantastic!! Never knew I loved rose balls this much until this moment.

Desserts at the rehearsal dinner! UNC everywhere...(yes, chase grabbed one with the emblem)

Gorgeous. I love Mason jars. Made by Ball of course. As in Ball State. Yep.

Hydrangeas and roses - what more could you want.

The boys. Korky mentored both these boys in college through College Golf Fellowship. (yes, Chase is on a lower step)
Such a beautiful night.

We had several hours on Sunday before our flight back to Arizona to reminisce on UNC's campus. Chase and I hadn't been there together since before we were married. We had a blast. As much as I LOVE Ball State, UNC is just a special college. It's insanely beautiful and old and preserved and prestigious. It was a delight to go back and explore the campus once again.

Of course we stopped by Finley Golf Club so Chase could visit UNC Men's Golf clubhouse and hit a few balls...He spent 5 years doing exactly that!

In the quad behind Old Well. Wish we didn't had to have left!

Last stop, UNC's Landmark: Top Os. or Top of the Hill. A delicious brewery.

Awesome trip. We both love and miss the south. But 50 degrees was COLD! It was worth it to see the leaves...I haven't seen changing leaves in so long. Since I was at Ball State in 2009 probably. What a wonderful treat that I took for granted the first 24 years of my life!

A little trip down memory lane

Chase and I cleaned out a few boxes in our storage area. They were mostly filled with Chase's accolades and possessions from college. A few were filled with all my soccer stuff; certificates and articles. We made it quite fun, here are a few pics:

Chase's Letterman jacket, golf sign, and basketball banner (nat'l champs 2005)

Some certificates saying "yayyy! you're an ACC champion!" (we all know the ACC has nothing on the MAC................)

From left to right: Rachael Ball State MAC conference championship ring 2006 and 2007 (notice the latter MAC championship ring is exponentially more elaborate than the former...guess the AD didn't want to shell out serious cash if it was a fluke win, eh?). Chase UNC ACC conference championship ring 2006, Chase high school state championship rings (not sure of the years)

Adorning chase's rings and medal (while wearing my BSU soccer shirt #00...actually I only really own BSU soccer shirts...and I plan to keep it that way).

Those were some fun years, but we only lived in the past for 15 minutes. We had a fun time telling stories and sharing memories. Oh how we loved college!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffin Tops

I stumbled upon the most delicious looking pumpkin chocolate chip cookies the other day.

Well, they are a mix between cookies and muffins. I used cut up chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips. I made them for Chase originally. Then he said he would need some for his office Halloween party, so I made a double batch...and had tons of lefts overs! I brought the rest into work with me and my co-workers - not to mention all the ancillary staff that comes through - finished them off.

I found that the clove was a little too strong for my taste in the first batch, so I used less when I made them a second time.

Original recipe: http://www.yumsugar.com/52-Weeks-Baking-Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-689007

Winter is (almost) here

It's starting to cool down, which means the golden days of Phoenix are coming. It's in the 90s now, but that is a far cry from the 110s of the summer. When it consistently hangs in the 70s and 80s, that's when it's quite glorious.

Chase just got back in town a few days ago from a business trip to LA. He was doing training with other Cintas Fire locations about how to make the company more efficient in certain areas. Of course it's always quite boring when he's gone. I missed him!

Last Saturday we went on a date to dinner at the Wrigley Mansion. Yes, the gum maker. It's an old mansion, built in the late 1920s. It was built on a hill and has a SPECTACULAR view of Phoenix. We got there just as the sun was down and enjoyed seeing the completely clear sky show a range of colors with a deep red at the horizon, blending into a brilliant orange, soft blue, and a dark midnight. You could see the whole skyline of downtown Phoenix. It was fantastic.

We'll both be traveling to a dear friend's wedding in November. Chase's best man, Josh Moore, is getting married in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are so excited to be able to BOTH go. I love weddings, and it'll be a blast to see North Carolina again - I haven't been there in almost 2 years. Chase is a part of the wedding party and is so excited to see Josh get married. They've been talking on the phone a lot about marriage in general...it's pretty cute.

Then shortly after that we will be in Indiana for Thanksgiving - first holiday I've spent with my family since 2009, so I am quite looking forward to that. Wish it was Christmas, but I work Christmas Day (and new years eve). Last year, I was unemployed for so long after we came out here, we had to conserve our money so tightly, and couldn't afford to fly anywhere for any holidays. It was so sad! But we are more thankful now than ever at how the Lord has provided so much in a year's time.

Excited to enter a busier season of life!

5k Race for the Cure

I signed up for a 5k so I could get some training in. This was my first race ever. There were thousands of people there! Chase came to cheer me on. It was pretty fun, especially after the race was OVER!

The start of the race

After I finished

Racers crossing the finish line

I have a great husband!

Making an "M" with my hands for Melinda and Marilyn,

Chase's mom and grandmother, both had breast cancer.

We went out to a delicious breakfast afterwards at OverEasy. We split pumpkin french toast and a bacon, egg, and cheese mixture smashed between hash browns. Yea, it was so good. We headed over to church, and finished up the day by laying in bed and having a movie day with mimosas. It was a fantastic day!

Camelback Mountain

Chase and I climbed Camelback Mountain last Saturday. It was around noon and 100 degrees. We went through about 3 liters of water, and it took us about an hour to get to the top. It was insanely difficult, but one of the most famous hikes in Phoenix.