Murphy Annual Christmas Party

The Annual Murphy Christmas Party in the Hoodbridge is always a well attended event and includes all ages and groups of people. I think my first party was during my college years where I was introduced to Mrs. Murphy's IKEA Swedish meatballs. They are amazing, and I look forward to them every year (I guess I could make these on my own, but they just taste better at the Murphy's). It's always fun seeing the four Murphy sisters always with their beautiful curly brown hair, and it's crazy how they have grown up...Murphy and her sister Katy are now Moms!

Check out these Gerber Baby pictures of little Anna.

Yes!

Matt and I got engaged By the Side of the Road in Harrisonburg, VA. Somehow, he did manage to surprise me. It was a perfect weekend, and I still can't believe it happened! We usually do a B&B trip every year around Christmas before Matt heads to Indiana, so when he said he was planning a little getaway, I wasn't too suspicious. He kept talking about how we were going to do a big beach trip somewhere fun in January, so I thought that may be the time. I had a killer work week and didn't see or talk to him too much, so my guard was down. We enjoyed a nice dinner Friday night after work in Harrisonburg (he wasn't showing signs of nervousness at all).

The Bed and Breakfast was very impressive and we had our own little cottage complete with a fireplace, vaulted ceilings and a spa. He was very prepared and had packed everything we would need on a weekend away, water, diet coke, wine.. Once we settled in, he grabbed both of my hands and started telling me about the first time he saw me..aww). After the big question was asked and I provided the proper response, Matt brought out the champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, flowers (tulips of course)...the works.

And the ring is amazing, beautiful, more than I could have ever imagined (and so sparkly)!

We had a really relaxing weekend in Harrisonburg and managed to hit a few local spots. The B&B delivered a breakfast basket every morning to our doorstep. It was so cool. We left Sunday morning in the middle of a wonderful winter wonderland, which made for a nice backdrop for a few photo opps. Now let the planning begin...

Oh, and thanks to Cashdollar for the sweet blog tribute!

Tacky Sweaters

We attended Katie and Maggie's annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party at My Brother's place bar. Angela has declared that this is her favorite Christmas party, and it's mine too (even though it's usually my only Christmas party).

Since I always have to complicate things and be different, I went with more of a slutty outfit rather than tacky. I actually made this little Mrs. Claus outfit out of a Wet Seal dress and some Party City supplies. Matt was excited about his tacky sweater find at Macy's in the woman's department. He especially liked the built in collar and shoulder pads.

Ang's boy, Troy also got creative with his Uncle Eddie sweater (from National Lampoon's Christmas vacation) complete with a homemade turtleneck dickey. Ang and I had to convince Troy that a dickey is a real thing that women actually purchase.

Lis and Serge were too cool for tacky and came looking fashionable as usual.

It was a great night with lots of tackiness, and it was fun finding out where people dug up their sweaters. Unfortunately, our sweaters weren't special enough to win any prizes this year. We'll have to step it up next year.

Artsy Fartsy

Matt and I hit the Corcoran Galley of Art last weekend because they are running exhibits of both Annie Leibovitz and Ansel Adams. We really enjoyed it, but since it was a Saturday, the place was packed. This took a little bit of the fun out of the experience. I was so surprised at how many people invaded my personal space that day. I would be staring at a photo and find someone breathing on my neck or stepping right in front of me.

I learned that in addition to his cool national park pics, Ansel also has done a lot of Americana photographs, and I love Americana so that made me like him even more. Of course Matt's favorites were Annie Leibovitz's naked Demi Moore pics. I guess it's a start at being artsy.