2weeks later, and a taco tuesday

so it's been just about two weeks since i last posted, sorry about the lull. things have been a little crazy around here. we have a ton going on with our little family, and thankfully we have just begun a two week vacation. our anniversary is in 6 days, i can't believe it's been a year already! it seems like this year has been forever and just yesterday all at the same time. to prepare for being gone on vacation, work was slammed [thankfully!] last week. i more than doubled my normal week and worked a ton. so that's in part for the reason for no posts.
anyway, we don't know what the plan is for these two weeks, surely rest and enjoying each other, maybe an a few over night trips, or maybe the best stay-cation there has ever been. who knows! but i'm up for whatever and i'm loving the time off. hopefully i'll be able to put this lovely camera to use tons and can update ya'll on some adventures! as for tonight, we are enjoying dinner with my parents & brother; i can't wait!
and speaking of dinner, last week, tuesday to be exact, i made tacos for dinner. they were nothing super special, just absolutely delicious! if i do say so myself of course :) oh, except i DID make homemade guacamole using my moms fantastic recipe. thank you momma! taco tuesday should be weekly; i love tacos. at very least monthly!

br00tal + kevin

last night mr. phipps and i were playing with our monsters [or dogs, whatever you prefer] in the office. i was thinking that aside from phones & computers, we've never taken actual pictures of them. i thought you might want a peek, so here they are:


kevin is our almost [his birthday is february 14th] 1 year old brown/tan miniature dachshund.
br00tal is our 11-ish [his birthday is march 14th] month old grey miniature poodle.
they both have such enormous personality & are wildly different. br00tal is slightly, okay no a lot, spastic, and kevin thinks he's the boss of the universe, but he's such a love pie. he always wants to cuddle. the poodle can't stay still for more than a second.

those are our boys xo

early birthday + sneak peek

so even though my birthday isn't for another 3 months, my absolutely amazing/wonderful/truly great husband gave me an early gift today. AND- i couldn't be more excited!

however i may or may not have switched over to the dark side...

i've always been partial to Nikon, but we got a great deal and all the reviews/articles i've read out there make comparable models seem pretty equal. anyway, i started playing with it tonight, and i am already in love. so, so stoked. tomorrow we are heading to Sacramento. while mr. phipps is in a business meeting i will be making friends with my lovely birthday gift. YAY! 

also, as a side note, we are making tons of progress on the house. our bedroom is nearly finished; the bathroom is coming a long nicely. everything is slowly but surely finding a home and ideas are actually materializing. we have been greatly blessed the last few days with mega deals all over the place. furthermore, we are officially a grown up, married couple as we just purchased a new table that seats eight. it works perfectly in our dinning room & i can't wait to get it all together in there so we can have a fabulous family dinner! or maybe a housewarming party. or BOTH! 

here's new progress on the room: 

hopefully, now that i have a new camera my posts will include more photos. which was part of my original plan, but until now just hasn't always worked out. 

moving, unpacking, organizing

things have been so crazy for the last week. we finally got into our new house, and although it's been stressful, we are finally making progress. it's actually looking like a home. we don't have internet until wednesday, so blogs will be minimal. either way i'm getting stoked on being at our place, and all i want to do is get it all together. i'm loving our space! the house has so much character, and i cant wait for it to all take shape. last night we did some decorating in the bedroom; i'm really liking how it's coming along.
also, there are a lot of little projects we've talked about and are working on. our refrigerator looked totally beat up and had been painted, which was mismatched, so i gave it a face lift. my dad installed our washer/dryer and a mini chandelier in the kitchen. he's been SO amazing through the move. well, he always is, but especially so. i have some big ideas for the living room and i'm hoping to get some sketches going so i don't lose motivation or ideas. i'll be sharing more when i can.
here's a peek at some of the happenings:

                         
                      

so close & so far away

i can't believe that there are only 5 or 6 weeks until our lease is up, and that means moving time! even though there is so much to be done in that amount of time and the holidays make it seem like a lifetime away, i know it's approaching quickly. i'm getting excited to organize and decorate a whole new space; i've been trying to draw inspiration from everywhere! as much as i hate moving i absolutely love putting it all together once everything is in the new spot. hopefully we will get into our dream house. if we do i already have a vision for most of the house!

[2008 winner luxist.com, click image to visit site]

speaking of houses, i'm going to make my very first gingerbread house from scratch this week. i love the one above. it's reminds me of "Home Alone" for some reason. stay tuned for pictures and a review of the recipe. baking time has finally arrived this year. 

and beyond

so obviously i have some updating to do. it's been a crazy week with lots going on & i've been feeling a bit under the weather, as are so many. that being said today i will share the week through pictures. wednesday, i made mr phipps breakfast in bed [i got to use my new spode christmas tree dip bowls] & we had a date day. it was much needed & really enjoyable. the sky has been quite overcast in our lovely city lately. mr phipps band also played this week at a local bar.



oh! and i found a gingerbread/royal icing recipe. it looks pretty promising. i found it in a cookbook i totally forgot i had [Rose's Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum] it was perfect timing because i was unable to find one & was getting pretty discouraged. i'm really excited to try it out. it will be my goal to get that done next week. once i try it all be sure to share, maybe even with a review of the recipe.



side note from the week: we went to see Disney's Tangled. it was so adorable, and i loved every minute of it. if you are a Disney fan please do yourself a favor & see it.

it's beginning to look a lot...

well, christmas has officially booked a spot in our home.
we had a great time decorating our first tree together & look forward to a time when we can have a giant tree [we had to get a baby 3.5ft tree so our sweet little monsters don't eat it!]
but i think it looks amazing for the tiny little thing it is.
i can safely say our color scheme is red & gold this year. and plaid. i have this thing for plaid. and yes, i would say it is wildly connected to my absolute love for the look of the lumberjack. silly? probably. manly? completely!

anyway, as the holiday gets closer, less than 3 weeks now, i've been wanting to get a few projects done, hopefully i'll get around to them. and, of course, when i do i'll be sure to share. i'm so excited for the ideas mulling around up in this brain.
one, is to make a gingerbread house from scratch. i've done the kits before, however, i've always thought it would be neat & challenging to make one entirely on my own! i'll be looking for a good recipe today. if i find a good one i'll share. wish me luck!