Late Night Tips

There was a song in college that my wonderfully hilarious friend, Crispy Marshall BROWN, sang called 'Late Night Tip.' This post reminds me of that song...If only Crispy were here to sing it as only she can:
'Working the desk' is what I call my night job but really it should be called 'Late Night Chats with Random People.'  That is exactly what I do.  Some of the neatest people I've ever met have been during the late hours of the night as I sit at the desk sipping my coffee while Charlie studies at the kitchen table trying to stay awake after devouring a fresh batch of his favorite cookies.
For starters, there is Robert who walks by every hour on the hour toting his usual bag of blankets. When he wants to talk, he looks in the glass doors that face PCH and I jump up from the desk to run out and meet him on the front steps leading up to the hotel.  He tells me the most interesting stories about his family and life.  However, when he is NOT in the mood to chat he just keeps walking like he doesn't see or hear me yelling his name!! Although this may not be the most socially appropriate way to communicate, I now know this about him and don't take it personal when he pretends not to hear me.  I actually think we have a great friendship.  I told him only true friends can honestly let the other one know when they just don't feel like talking and still be friends! 
Then there are Jenn and Sarah...my favorite Marmalade Cafe runners who deliver our room service orders and often throw in delicious little treats for Charlie and me.  Jenn is such a special friend who JUST GOT ENGAGED. We literally got to know each other while at work.  She encourages me daily and I love that God is never far from her lips. 
Of course, recently one of my favorite people to chat with has been Ken Starr, while this has only happened once, it is such an awesome memory!  Charlie and I were working the front desk together as President Starr walked up to check in.  Talk about GENUINE.  I loved him! Did I mention he sang an old song called 'Pick Me Up On Your Way Down by a famous old country singer named 'Charlie Walker?!?'  Priceless.  Then, we talked to him about which of his professional jobs he enjoyed most...Was it a being a lawyer, a federal judge, Solicitor General, Independent Council, law school dean, or university president?  Typically I would have been intimidated by someone with his credentials but he made even 'front desk workers' like us feel at ease.   His recommendation to Charlie was plain and simple, (and I quote) "Be a judge."  Done! :)

So this leads me into my story...it never fails that one of our guests calls and needs a ride from the airport to Casa Malibu and they don't want to take a taxi.  There is only ONE person I recommend,  SOUL.   Soul is from Syria and is the happiest person in the world.  After getting to know him over the phone and through dropping off guests at the hotel, he invited Charlie and me to eat a real Syrian breakfast at his house! I'll admit we were skeptical, but excited about the free meal and a chance to spend time with Soul.  He lives simply but couldn't wait to share what he had with us.  The food was AMAZING and the hot tea was literally the BEST we have ever tasted!! His trust is solely in Christ and was so refreshing to witness.

Soul refers to Charlie as "Big Charlie."

Our delicious meal! We added scrambled eggs and meat cooked in olive oil to the pita bread and

put all of these side dishes on top!  I was stuffed!!!

Most recently we had the great pleasure of having a late night chat with Brad Buck, our wonderful friend from Birmingham who came out for a visit to L.A!!  He attended Alabama for law school and is not too far removed from the craziness of it all.  He is such an encouragement to Charlie during this stressful finals time!! So thankful for his friendship...we just missed JENNY!!!!!

Well, besides work, work, and school our lives are pretty normal! I still love my speech-path job- the preschoolers are a challenge, elementary kids are hilarious, I adore the middle schoolers, and am constantly questioning what in the world I'm doing working with high schoolers!  I have recently started a Boot Camp Class that meets at 6:00 am three days a week. Charlotte makes my body ache...I'm talking BEYOND SORE but for the first time I have more energy than ever before!! Seriously, I have never believed working out actually gave you energy until I started working out in the mornings before work, now I am a believer! This is the rough view from our last class:

Don't be fooled by the gorgeous beach, it is a beast to run on!

Charlie is gearing up for finals and will officially be finished with class this Wednesday.  Then, he takes his last 1L final on May 10th. Our living room is slowly turning into a huge study board...pictures soon to come.  Speaking of law school  I want to share one last picture from an Easter picnic that turned into an unexpected downpour. These are some of Charlie's awesome law school friends.  They were such good sports despite the rain.

To wrap things up I am reminded of how God continues to show me that life is all about relationships and not being selective in who we show his love to. He is showing me that the people I am most apprehensive to talk to and those that I question having anything in common with are the ones who open my eyes to what love is all about, so be BOLD.  And that is MY late night tip. :)

Special Guest Series

We have had some hilarious guests recently!  They truly keep me laughing...this weekend we had a sweet couple from Arkansas.  As the elderly man fixed his breakfast plate, he told me that he and his wife had been coming here for 3 years now and he was SO excited to see the same 'one legged bird' again this year that he has seen the past two years.

"Wow, I've never seen him?  Be sure and point him out to me if you see him again!"  I replied.... :)
Fifteen minutes later he walked back into the lobby and said, "I feel like a dummy. I started watching those birds (seagulls) and realized they're like flamingos.  They like standing on one leg and a bunch of 'em do it all the time!" Hahaha, I thought this was too cute and hilarious   Partly because I have thought the SAME thing.  While running on the beach I stopped one day to look at the 'one legged seagull' only to realize they seemed to be resting their other leg and after a few minutes would put it down and walked using both legs.  There are so many bird jokes, wish I could have thought to say: Maybe they were on the 'last leg' of their journey?!?! :)

 

There is no story to accompany this picture, but just wanted to share how a sweet family made our day by delivering us a goody bag with this note attached!  Her husband stayed with us in early December.  We can't believe they remembered 'Malibama.'

Charlie is the subject of my final 'happy' this week.  This is not really humorous but it is A HUGE STEP for Charlie and I couldn't be more proud!! Any of you who know Charlie know that he does not cook.  Trust me, I've tried to motivate him like I do my students by coming up with a dish he can 'own' and really be good at making...we've tried pancakes but the batter gets too messy for him.  After he helped me make scotcharoos once I thought that would be a good specialty for him!  I even rewrote the recipe card and titled it 'Charlie's Famous Scotcharoos,' but that didn't stick.  He said it takes too long for them to chill and when he's hungry for a sweet he needs it quick!  SO, the story started on Sunday afternoon when I asked him to run to Malibu Seafood to pick up some tilapia for the fish tacos I was making for our small group that night. 
Well, when he arrived home 30 minutes before we were set to eat, he told me they were out of tilapia so he got tuna steak! 

WHAAAAAT?!?!?!?! (Can you hear me screeching this?)  I immediately picked up my purse, got in the car and went to the grocery store a block away to pick up some fresh tilapia.  It all worked out BUT we were left with 1 1/2 pounds of expensive, fresh, tuna steak.

When I walked in the house Monday I saw something my eyes had NEVER seen before, Charlie was in the kitchen with a Paula Deen tutorial video playing on his computer, there was butter sitting out so it would be at room temperature when it was time to make the lemon butter compound, and Charlie had the grill fired up! Oh my stars! I was so impressed!  Not only did he find this recipe all on his own but it was delicious, seriously one of the BEST meals we have had in a while and it was so simple!

Since we have no dishwasher, Charlie and I agreed to only use paper plates during the week!
This was our tuna steak meal, the lemon butter melted perfectly on top of the fish and mashed potatoes.

That is just about all of the excitement going on in Malibama for the moment.  Charlie is finished with Spring Break and mine starts next week!! 3 more days and counting!! 

The Californian's!

After an exciting adventure Paddle Boarding, a NEW California license plate, AND a trip to the Beverly Hills Hilton I feel like a true Californian.  :)  Charlie and I have had a great couple of weeks despite the heightened stress that his appellate brief has brought into our lives. 

Last weekend my friend, Beverly, and I went paddle boarding!! I can't begin to describe how much fun we had.  It was a little rough since I got dominated by a wave during the first 5 minutes on the board AND lost my favorite pair of sunglasses...but not the end of the world!! After a minor bump...OUCH!

 Bev and I were back on our boards.  Standing up was harder than I thought, but I had a great teacher!!!

 



 

We paddled over to Casa Malibu to pick up Charlie so he could give it a try. Unfortunately, the waves were especially strong during his lesson and he didn't get to stand up too long. :) The funniest part about watching this was HEARING Charlie scream as he fell into the water! Lol It is sooooo cold!

Beverly and Charlie!! Can you tell who is who?!?! :)  I think Charlie had just fallen in!  

The weekend before this Charlie and I attended his law school dinner at the Beverly Hills Hilton! We had the best time with our wonderful friends!!!

 

 

So proud of this team!

 

Of course a Cherin night out would not be complete without a pit stop for junk food on the way home! Chocolate shakes and cheeseburgers from In N Out did the trick.

 

In other news, I officially have my California tags! I feel like I'm doing the state of Alabama a favor by not negatively representing them in a car that is constantly changing lanes at the last minute as I continue to figure out how to navigate traffic.  I'm doing SO MUCH BETTER but am waiting for my first 'GPS FREE' week.  It will be a momentous week when I can say I made it to all three of my schools and ran errands in different parts of L.A. without using a GPS!!! :)

  

 

That's all the updates for now!! Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with my little ones to the L.A. ZOO! Can't wait.   

 

 

FAVORITES

#1
It has taken a long time for me to find cookies that I prefer just as much as Home-Made, but thanks to Dustin Hesseltine, I have found them!! DIDDY RIESE is their name.  After Charlie and Dustin finished their paper for Legal Research and Writing it was SO late and they had worked SO hard, so they went to celebrate with a hamburger and promised to bring me back a goody.  Well to be exact, they brought back a dozen goodies!! These cookies were to die for, so soft and delicious!! This is definitely one of my new FAVORITE things.

Check out their Menu...so reasonable!!

#2
Valentine's Day this year was a little different than usual since we had to be at work at 6:00 but that didn't stop Charlie from making it perfect!  We went to eat at a restaurant we had never tried before called Sage Room.  This is the third Italian restaurant in Malibu that we have tried and by FAR the BEST! Charlie said the bread and sauce tasted just like he remembered from his summer spent in Italy!  After dinner Charlie gave me a little surprise so we would always remember our first year in Malibu...

I LOVE this pillow because literally every word reminds me of a special memory and I know after 2 more years there will be many many more. :)

#3 Finally, I have to share a few pics from this past weekend that I got to spend with my FAVORITE NEPHEW!!! :) I went back to Alabama for my very LAST orthodontist appointment, (braces are coming off in 36 days) and also got to see precious family.

Check out those arms!

We were both riding in the backseat at night so when the flash went off Cooper closed his eyes but I still think this picture is too cute!

Now, it's back to the weekly grind. Thankful for a short work week AND excited about the Law School Dinner at the Beverly Hills Hilton this Saturday! I will give a full report Sunday!!

Leave of Absence...

I knew this was going to happen! I am so embarrassed about my leave of absence from my own blog.  Let me explain... :)
December was a whirlwind!  We had so so so so so much fun being with our families...especially one little person in particular.

 

 

For Christmas, Charlie and I traveled to Alabama, then Arkansas, then Kansas and back to California where the Walker's came to visit for a week.  We got to do so many fun events while they were here including the Rose Bowl Parade, hiking Pt. Dume, DISNEYLAND, Nixon Library, AND ate some of the best food in town!

 

 

Three days after our company left I started a brand new JOB with The Help Group, January 7th! This has been a huge blessing and I truly feel back in my element to be doing what I am passionate about. It is challenging for sure, but I am learning and hopefully growing as a professional.  In order to beat L.A. traffic I leave work as soon as I am finished seeing kiddos each day which puts me home between 3:30 and 4:00.   This gives me just enough time to run an errand or two, make dinner, and be at the front desk by 6:00!
In the midst of the daily grind we also had some wonderful friends recently come to visit.  Harding friends came to California over MLK weekend and we had the best time!!

Our days were jam packed with sight seeing and good eating.  We stayed up late into the night taking/analyzing the Myers Briggs Personality Test for each other.  This may sound a bit boring, but it really was so hilarious and interesting.  We loved sharing our new home with dear friends.

After our Harding friends left one of our favorite Birmingham couples came to visit L.A.!!! We had such a wonderful time catching up with Brad and Jenny.  Jenny brought us National Championship t-shirts AND O'LEXUS cake AND she and Brad took us to eat at NOBU!!! Who could ask for more thoughtful friends?   We laughed so much with them! Unfortunately, Jenny took the pictures on her camera so I don't have one of us :(

In other news, Charlie got a six week judicial externship with a federal judge in Birmingham this summer! This is a huge praise!! We are still not quite sure if we will both be in Birmingham or if I will just be making long visits but either way it is exciting!  I am in awe of God's mighty power and plan.

Speaking of Charlie, we are still trying to carve out time in our weekly schedules for just the two of us to spend quality time exploring the hikes around Malibu.  Here are a few pictures from our latest adventure...

 

 

The views are breathtaking and I love the time Charlie and I can spend together enjoying this amazing creation we live in!!

So, now that I am starting to get the hang of life again I am planning to blog once a week! I think this is a realistic goal that I will actually be able to keep.  Stay tuned! :)

"All Day Long"

Last Wednesday was a momentous occasion for two reasons, 1) Charlie turned TWENTY-SEVEN 2) It was his LAST day of class!! We celebrated with some of our friends from law school by eating pizza and birthday cake at our apartment.  I made Charlie's favorite chocolate cake that Mrs. Beth has made famous!  The recipe I used was straight off of the Hershey's Cocoa container and was the moistest cake EVER.  Mrs. Beth told me this is the recipe her mom used when making cakes for her dad, so that made it double special.  :) 

God has blessed us with truly wonderful and hilarious friends!!  "All day long" and "Totally" are two of our favorite sayings from Richard and Two Bunk John.  So, Katelin decorated the front of Charlie's delicious package with these reminders! 

Apart from the SEC Championship Game (which was incredible!!!) our lives have been pretty routine...Eat/Study/Sleep...repeat.  Malibama looks like a classroom with all of the posters hanging up.  I have looked at them so much I am starting  to learn more about Torts than I ever dreamed possible, especially considering I didn't even know the word 'Torts' in August!  It really is fun and I have found that when Charlie and I study together we both win.  He gets to be productive and I get to feel like we're having quality time!  

Ok, back to studying...

So many posts, so little time!!

 Ugh, I have not officially updated my blog in ages!! Although, I have started about five potential posts I have yet to finish one since my birthday weekend.  This is so ironic to me since I have been preaching at Charlie to "FINISH STRONG" during these last three weeks of finals!  Today, is fairly slow at the front desk so I decided I would make myself post something! :)  It's more like a conglomeration of all of my potential posts, so I apologize in advance for the randomness. 

It seems like our lives lately have revolved around eating! Because we worked on Thanksgiving Day, we did not get to be with our family.  However, Dean Sturgeon and his family prepared a delicious feast for us and other students who couldn't make the trip home. I contributed two of Charlie's favorite dishes, Strawberry Pretzel Salad and Squash Casserole.  There was SO MUCH FOOD.  I got home at 6:00 that night and went straight to bed and didn't wake up until work the next morning! :) 

So, besides Thanksgiving Charlie and I have been in full blown exam mode! I made this calendar to help him stay focused and motivated during this intense study time.

Since he doesn't have much time for breaks, we have made meal times our break times!  When we lived in Birmingham, Charlie and I found a list of the Top 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die. We had SO MUCH FUN traveling all over the state just to cross a restaurant off of our list.  When we got to Malibu, I soon realized that an important part of our job was to make dinner recommendations to guests so Charlie and I decided to keep the tradition going of eating at as many new places as our budget would allow.    

Our latest find is a small Thai place called Cholada in Malibu.  It's right off PCH and looks like a simple, small blue shack, BUT the food is amazing!  I told Charlie that I wanted us to become 'locals' at this restaurant 1) Because it's Thai food and sounds exotic and 2) because this restaurant is one of the few in Malibu that is actually in our price range!!!  He begrudgingly agreed. :)

Another great breakfast stop we have recently tried is about a two minute drive from Casa Malibu and is called Country Kitchen.  As you can see, it's nothing fancy and is just a walk-up window restaurant but the breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches kept us full until mid afternoon!! I was a little skeptical of eating a sandwich with mayo/lettuce/tomato before 10:00 in the morning but I was SO wrong.  This was another hit!

As I reflected on why Charlie and I love sharing meals together and have made it a point to eat together every night (even if it's at the front desk) I was reminded of a chapter in Pilgrim Heart that is called 'Feasting: Memory and Mealtimes.'  Darryl Tippens talks about how a meal uses so many of our senses- the aroma of food cooking, the holding of hands as the food is blessed, the sight of the food that has been prepared, and the sound of other's voices as you engage in conversation and how these all work together to make such deep memories.  He also talks about the many references in scripture to meals both secular and sacred.  I love this verse he quotes,

"Day by day...they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people." Acts 2:46    

This verse reminds me of the importance of having others into our home to share a meal AND to not forget to praise God for the 'simple' blessings like food we enjoy too much of! :) 

HERBS

 

I am trying to keep my  herb garden alive but it is really difficult!  Thankfully, the lavender we planted back in early October is doing well so I used this to make Lavender Butter.  I found a recipe with only three ingredients.  This was a hit with our small group:

1 cup Salted Butter
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh lavender
Mix these together and serve on hot rolls!

Charlie and I are so excited to watch the Iron Bowl in just a few minutes.  Then, we plan on spending the rest of the day with him studying and me compiling his packets to send out for judicial externships for this summer.  Thankfully, I have some pork in the crock pot that I will use to make my first batch of Brunswick Stew tonight!!  I never thought I would think of 60 degrees as cold enough for soup weather, but I officially do! :)  RTR!