thanksgiving...

Here we are...hosting our first Thanksgiving!!! We only had 16 people in our little townhouse, but we managed! It was such a honor to have our family over and for the first time in a long time, not have our Moms stuck with all of the work! I had nightmares about burning the turkey and everything going wrong, but thankfully, I have an amazing husband who never hesitated at all to help out and take charge.

My Grandma got me this amazingly adorable apron for my engagement party! There couldn't possibly be a better opportunity to wear it!

Here is a sample of what the decor looked like! Jen and I worked so hard putting things togther, we were exhausted before the party began! If you would like to see more go to www.ohbabyblush.com and check out the rest of the decor!

Jen an I have started a styling, event coordinating, event planning, etc. business and are so excited for what the future holds for us. We use every opportunity we have to be creative and to push ourselves. I love working with her and I am so proud of the team we make!

Thanksgiving is always a time of year that I reflect on what I am truly thankful for and remember all the wonderful blessings God have given us! We have a roof over our head, food on our plates, and two jobs that we both love...but most importantly we have eachother and we have love. We have an amazing family and we have remarkable friends that give us so much joy and support! We live in a country that offers us freedom and encourages us to be "something & someone"...but, most importantly we have a God that loves us unconditionally and sent His Son to die for our sins so that we can have the gift of eternal life, not on our own merit but by grace alone....and THAT is something to be thankful for. 

halloween...

This year we continued our tradition and visited Bate's Nut Farm in Valley Center! It's a true pumpkin patch with millions of pumpkins to choose from and lots of sweet treats!!!

Jeff hosted a Halloween party together with his neighbors and invited us to share in the fun!

We were supposed to be a Hollywood Red Carpet Couple, until Lauren suggested we be David & Victoria Beckham! I loved the idea, Brad on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled...but we made it work!

our birthdays...

Brad and I celebrated our 27th Birthday's this year!!! 

Brad is probably the only person I know that enjoys receiving birthday presents related to his job, but he does! I got him an "out-of-county" bag and his parents got him a new fire helmet (his favorite gift, by far!) among other things. He is such a practical person who is able to seperate his needs from his wants...how I envy him for that remarkable quality!

I attempted to surprise Brad by asking all of his friends to meet up a local bar in Ladera and they did!

This year, I wanted a simple celebration! Just my family and a few of my closest friends. We all went out for mexican food that night to celebrate with margaritas...

I really do have the best friends!!!

souve wedding...

My little brother got married this June to his beautiful bride, Kelcie!

We are so excited to have her in our family and we are so thankful for the amazing additions our family has been blessed with this year. Of course, his wedding happened to be in one of my favorite places in Temecula, PONTE Winery...so of course I was perfectly content! It was a wonderful celebration of love between two people and it was an honor to be there to witness it.

...my best girl friends...

Jen & I at my favorite local spot!!!

our recent loss...but a new beginning

We lost our first little monkey "Sam" this year and I was completely devestated. She was my little furry companion when Brad was working, so needless to say it was pretty lonely around here for a while when she let herself outside to wander away. We put up signs and spent many days outside walking around our neighborhood calling for her. People must have thought we were crazy!!! We loved her and she brought us great joy. 

So, for an early birthday present, my wonderful husband, decided that a new kitten would be an excellent gift, and it was. We had been looking at the local shelter's website for several weeks after losing Sam, hoping to find her when we discovered two adorable baby girl kittens. We fell in love immediately and went that morning to see them. They fit EXACTLY what we were looking for, a girl that did not resemble Sam. But, of course, we came home with a boy that looks almost exactly like her. 

We couldn't help ourselves...he was absolutely ADORABLE!!! He was so calm and so loving. He purred when you put your hand near him and he would actually wear a collar (so different from the other one). He became part of our family immediately and we loved him right away. 

We named him MYLES!!!

And like I said earlier....he is so calm!!! haha 

to keep everyone updated....

I guess it has been a while since we updated...a long while...so I am going to keep this blog post short and sweet and try to squeeze the last eight months into this entry. We have made several additions to the house since then and because I absolutely adore my house and decorating, I have to share. Some additions are tiny, but bear with me, I can't help it. 

We spent a Saturday painting the guest bedroom (I mean, Jen's bedroom) and the guest bathroom and although it was hard work (haha!) it was definitely worth it. It's amazing what a little paint can do. We are constantly changing this room and adding new things to it...hopefully one day we'll get it right...and just when we do, it will be time to turn it into a nursery!

Here is the guest bathroom with new paint, a framed mirror, etc. All we need is a picture and that shouldn't be difficult to find with Mongo around. 

Our kitchen is pretty much the same with the additions of barstools and a wine rack! We have a project this weekend to fix it up even more....looking forward to that. We will definitely post pictures!

We framed the mirror in our master bathroom...and I love how it turned out!

We received a bunch of Restoration Hardware gift cards for the Wedding and were able to splurge on this amazing bedding. It makes our room look so much more modern and gives me more reason to make the bed in the morning! Thank you to all who contributed. 

This summer we purchased new patio furniture for the balcony...YEAH we can finally use it!!! We love sitting out there, talking, and just spending time with eachother. Since then, we have purchased a coffee table and hopefully (if I get my way), we will have another addition out there soon...stay tuned for that!

This room really hasn't chaged much other than the pictures above the couch and the floor lamp, but I couldn't help but share. 

Our house really is starting to become a home and we really love living in Murrieta! We enjoy finding projects around the house to keep us busy! It's going to be hard to leave it one day...I imagine everyone feels this way about their "first house"! You make so many memories here, it's going to be hard to leave them behind! Well, I guess that all depends on the next house...it may be easier than I think!!!