Hey, it's ok.

I am here to tell you that if you have a bad day it's ok to go home and make a batch of homemade chocolate icing and eat it.  Really, because bad days happen and we all need a little something to help us over the hump.

I am giving you all the permission you will ever need. So, go ahead.

Do you want my recipe?  Its the best.

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 stick unsalted butter (I believe in unsalted butter)

1 block cream cheese

However much Hershey's Cocoa you'd like (about 1/4 cup)

Some people may call this justification but I call it therapy.

Here is a little back story before I spill my guts about yesterday.  All throughout college I have been a babysitter.  I am a great babysitter.  I love children, I think they are the breath of life.  They say the funniest things and when they run as hard and as fast and crash in to you its one of the best feelings ever.  When they put their little hands on your face and talk to you, you feel so respected and loved.  Someday I can't wait to be a mommy with John.

So, yesterday I was babysitting two kids.  They are 3 and 5.  In order to protect those involved I will not disclose the genders and names of these kids.  I was doing my job picking them up from school and as soon as I got the one kid the kid flipped out and told me "I'm going to be mean to you and I don't want to be your friend anymore.  I'm going to put you in jail"  OUCH.  So, I tried to talk to the kid to see what happened at school.  Then things escalated (I'll spare ALL of the HORRIBLE details) and lets just say I ended up being spit on twice, hit, and scratched.  I called the parents immediately because I had never dealt with anything like that before, ever.  It made me so sad.

On the way home from work I called my mother crying.  I felt like the worst babysitter in the world and all of the sudden so very incapable of doing something that I have always been good at.  But I know I handled that very sensitive and difficult situation the best that I could.  It was so scary and I tried to control it the best I knew how.

So, when I got home I let out my frustrations and sadness on some cooking.  Being in the kitchen is my therapy.  Cooking makes me feel so calm and I know it is something that I am good at, and at that point I really needed to feel confident about something.

I made:

Creamy and Sweet Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Croutons

Here is what you'll need:

3 tablespoons brown sugar

15 oz can pumpkin puree

2 cans chicken broth, 14 ½ oz each

1 cup chopped onion

5 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

whole wheat bread loaf (bread cut into cubes)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 tablespoon white pepper

1/4 tablespoon white sugar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix together 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter.  Dip bread cubes in the mixture and place on baking sheet with buttered side up and bake for about 8 minutes or until the bread is toasted.

Sauté the onion in the rest of the butter in a saucepan until tender, then add half the chicken broth. Stir the mixture well, bring it to a boil, then cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

Process the broth in a food processor or a blender until it is smooth, then put it back in the saucepan and add the other can of broth, the salt, cinnamon, white sugar, brown sugar, white pepper, pumpkin puree, and black pepper.

Stir the mixture well and bring it to a boil.

Cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let the pumpkin soup simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring it occasionally.

Stir in the cream and warm it throughout without boiling.

Ladle the soup into 6 serving bowls and top each one with some yummy cinnamon croutons.

On another note:

You have until Monday October 25th to enter our GIVEAWAY!  We are giving away A CUSTOM MADE GUITAR STRING RING and 4 ANTHROPOLOGIE LATTE BOWLS

(enter here)

Give Oh Give Away!

But before you can know what it is you'll need to read this story to understand part 1 of our giveaway!

So, who wants to know how John and I got engaged? 

Oh, everyone? 

Ok, well here you go.

We took people by surprise in the cold early month of January. A lot of people said phrases like, "I didn't even know that they were dating!" or "Wow, that was pretty fast!" You probably are wondering how it all went down so here it is, the low-down.

We met at church in September 2009. John moved to Atlanta to take a job working for a company that provides video conferencing for law firms. I had been living in Atlanta for the past five years as a vocal performance opera student at Georgia State University. We met playing dodge-ball and at first I fell in love with a handsome boy who I cheered on from the sidelines named, "Shaun." To my embarrassment later that night I was informed that the so called stud "Shaun" was actually named John.

Soon after, one night, I came home to find John in my living room playing guitar. That night we hit it off playing music for one another till the wee hours of the morning.

We started dating and were a little unsure of what would happen seeing that John had plans to move out to Utah and attend Brigham Young University in January. After a couple weeks of dating one night John asked me how I would feel if he stayed in Atlanta. I felt surprisingly peaceful and excited about that prospect considering the short amount of time we had spent together. The next day the decision was divinely made and everything came together perfectly. John had decided to stay to see where things would go...and go they did.

Our courtship was short and romantic. It evolved around music and laughter. I was involved in a basketball accident (trying to keep up with John's mad skills) in early December. I fractured my heel bone and got a third degree sprain in my ankle. John took care of me the whole time I was recovering, carrying me on his back to the bathroom and bringing me my toothbrush in bed so I wouldn't have to walk to the bathroom. I was wheelchair bound for a little while.  I knew through his selflessness and willingness to serve me that he would take care of me the rest of our lives.

We have always shared a passion and deep love for music. We have loved learning new music together and serenading one another. 

One night John was changing the strings on his guitar who he had affectionately named "Hannah" and I made us matching rings out of the strings, the "g-string" naturally was MINE. A few nights following John took that that G-string ring and put it on my finger and said, "I want to be with you forever. Will you be my wife?" I said "Yes!" and the rest is history!

"So, what does this have to do with me?" you may ask.

For part one of our giveaway we are going to give you a custom made guitar string ring!  The ring will be made out of the very strings that John played on the whole time we were dating, engaged, and as long as we have been married thus far.  They are Cleartone strings.  This will be a special ring that had been the bearer of many songs.  It will look a little like this one.  (This is the one he proposed to me with.)

Now for part 2.  I'm sure you are all dying to know.  Because we all think these are the best the winner will receive...

4 BEAUTIFUL ANTHROPOLOGIE LATTE BOWLS!

Two mini mustard lattes...

and two large blue lattes.

(But happy they are going home to you!)

Leave a comment on this post for each of the following that you do.  Here is what you have to do:

1. Become a follower of the blog.

2. Get our button and post it in your HTML on your blog.

3. Send us a yummy recipe at tunesandspoons@gmail.com

4. Tell us what song you would like to hear us do together.  Hear a lovely example (here).

5. Blog or facebook about it.

You will get one separate entry for every one you do.  So your name can be in our hat a max of 5 times!  (If you have already done some of these please still leave a comment letting us know that as well!)

We will pick the winner from a hat randomly and announce the winner on Monday October 25th!

Good luck Spooners!

My Male loves the Mail

One of my favorite times of the day used to be checking the mail.  Now that I am a married woman I have a husband who also really likes to do that too so I have lovingly given up my affection for checking the mail.  But I must confess...I miss it.

I love the feeling of going in to the mailbox and seeing a handwritten envelope. We should all write hand written letters more often.

OH IT MUST BE SOMETHING GREAT!  Junk mail makes sad and hand written letters and boxes make me oh so so happy.  Don't get me wrong, I still check it every now and then but I have left that joy to the Mr.

Yesterday I received some lingering birthday cards and gifts.  My sweet step  mother-in-law sent me the handmade angel.  It is from an old quilt!  So CUTE! She said we could use it as one of our Christmas ornaments but I am going to see about what I can do to make her the topper on our tree.

(I love the pearls in her hair.)

On Saturday I received my package from (this girl). I entered one of her giveaways several weeks ago and won something that I am sure every girl in this world would want, an Anthropologie gift card.  Yep, thats right.  Free money to one of the most whimsical, magical, and expensive places on earth.  I was determined to make this gift card stretch as far as I could.  So, I did.  With the help of my %15 off birthday coupon I only paid $13 bucks for all of this...

and...

but wait thats not it...

4 beautiful latte bowls

Who has a photo shoot with their new latte bowls?  Oh, that's right, we do.

(Dear bowls, I am going to make pumpkin soup in you on Wednesday)

thats still not it...

We got a pack of three lovely kitchen towels that I used on the table for a centerpiece instead.  Eeek!  $13 bucks!  I walked out of that store BEAMING yesterday.  I must say I did pretty good except I did almost throw up when I saw a candle holder for $138 bucks.  I'm sorry thats a little ridics don't you think!?!

Anyhow, as we were admiring our new finds there was a knock on the door.  Some latinos were selling Mexican sweet bread door to door in our apartment complex.  Have I mentioned yet that I am only 1 of 2 American women in our complex?  I love it, I never feel unsafe and there are precious latino babies running around all of the time!  I had never had the sweet bread before so John went down to their van and bought it out of the back of their trunk like it was a fake Fendi purse.

We got...

Yummy!  Hearing John speak the Espanol to them was a special treat.  I love to hear him speak in spanish. RAWR!

We LOVE our new finds and we ended the evening learning a special new song on the guitar and uke.  Stay tuned to hear something lovely.  Here is a hint: We want to get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France.

Thanks Ashleeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Heart and Soul

I spent Saturday here...

with them...

i have pearls on my shirt. this makes me happy.

(i'm not so secretly jealous of her long gorgeous hair. i'm so tired of looking like a colonial soldier with my short ponytail.)

The tender mercy happened after our 3 and 1/2 hour journey to the Columbia, South Carolina temple. (i CAN'T WAIT for the Atlanta Temple to open back up soon so that we can have a temple closer) When we got to the temple I ran in to an old friend in the temple.  We had been in the Hillard North Carolina Singles Ward together and she was GETTING MARRIED that very day!  

So, she invited my sister and I to come to her marriage sealing.  Turns out she married a boy that my sister and I were in PRIMARY with! So, we got to see so many people that we knew when we were little kids!  It was great.  I saw my old bishop and his wife.  That felt good.  She was like a mama to me when I lived in Charlotte.  We also saw Nina Hemby, an old family friend.  It felt like a family reunion in there.  

I wonder if thats how heaven is going to be,  seeing people you didn't even remember how much you loved and missed, but then instantly feeling those ties of love again?

Tyra and Cameron were BEAMING.  Their sealing ceremony was so special and an incredible spirit was in that room.  They looked so happy and I was reminded of when I was sealed to my husband for time and all of eternity.  

How grateful am I for that sacred blessing.  I can feel the power of that phenomenal binding tie.

Then one of the best parts was when I got to see this girl.  She was also there for Tyra's wedding.  Jamie is my soul friend.  I was in North Carolina when she was learning about the Mormon Church.  We became close very quickly and I went to a few of her lessons with the missionaries.  She was so ready to accept the gospel and was baptized last summer. I sang at her baptism.  We were instant friends.  We stayed up late playing volleyball at church.  We went to playgrounds late at night with our friends and we pushed each other around in old grocery carts.  We shared deep feelings and many of the same struggles. I love her dearly and cant WAIT for her marriage to Jay in December in the Raleigh Temple!

It was a very special day and I can't help but to feel that we were there for several very special reasons.  I missed my John who was yet again at his Saturday interpreters course.  But when we came home he, mom, and I went to Honey Camp and he serenaded us by the fire.

Dear Weekend,

I love you, I wish you'd come around more often.  This weekend was perfect.  I really loved camping, being with my mom for her birthday, making breakfast for lunch with my sister and her husband and John today, and going to the temple on Saturday.  Hey, thanks for being so fun.  See you in 5 more days.

Love, The Murphys

Mum picked Mums by the Moonlight

My mother is a trickster.

My mother, sister, and I had planned on going camping at Fort Yargo last night for my mother's birthday.   When I was on my way my mother called and said, "I forgot the foil dinners at home could you run by and pick them up before you come to the camp ground?"  The exact same phone call was placed minutes before to my sister who was also on her way. Hmmm...tricky tricky.

As I arrived to our 10 acre farm, I feared that our woods had caught on fire! The closer I got the more I realized...tiki torches lined the path back to our creek down the hill.  It looked like a glorified episode of Survivor.  My mother had set up camp right there in our woods.  It was glorious.  We had a campout in our very own backyard.  My mother had spent the day raking and putting up tents and building bridges across our creek.  It was beautiful and it was ours.

We called it (Honey Camp)

We spent the night reading stories from our favorite childhood book.  The Adventures of Mabel by Harry Thurston Peck.  This is another one of the many wonderfully thoughtful gifts that I received from my husband on my birthday.  I had mentioned to him in passing ONCE that The Adventures of Mabel was a book I read when I was a little girl.  I was sad I didn't have a copy because my sister got the copy of the book that was read to us when we were small.  He found it online for me as a used book.  I love it.  The first night he gave it to me, I cried and we laid on the floor and I read him a story about Mabel.

 our foil dinners:

carrots

potatoes

sliced onions

cubed steaks

salt

pepper

a splash of italian dressing

fresh basil

garlic

put in tin foil (wrap twice)

oven 350 for an hour

*then you sneak it out to the campfire and trick your children in to thinking it was cooked on a campfire grill.

They said I looked like Aunt Jemima...

No camp-out is complete without plaid flannel shirts.

a kiss for you...

and a kiss for you.

We kept our vitamin waters in the cool of the creek. The water rushed by and kept them at the perfect temperature.

the mums mum picked

mmmm...hot chocolate

nature is good for the soul.

We dug little holes and put 8 candles in the ground.  The 50 was just implied.  Happy 58th mommmmeee.

We slept to the sound of the trickling creek. We peed in the woods.  We didn't brush our teeth.  We giggled by firelight.  We were surrounded by deer at 5:30am.  We loved being together as women.