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! :)