Introducing Emma Irene

Emma Irene, newborn, birth story, newborn photos, baby girl

Hey guys! New Mom here. That still feels weird to write but it provides me with a new excuse for my delay in posting to the blog so I’m going to run with it. Cool? If you’ve been following along on social media, you’d be crazy not to know that Matt and I were greeted […]

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Mummies, Monsters and Sweet Little Pumpkins

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You may be wondering where this post is going based on the dichotomy of a title, huh? Me too. Don’t worry we’re all in this together. I sometimes wonder what it’s like to plan out blog posts. To have them be strategic and organized versus a brain dump of the tiny elements of creativity or […]

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For this child, we have prayed

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It seems fitting that I begin any of my less-than-frequent blog posts lately with an apology. The intro is typically where I tell you how busy we’ve been or how sidetracked I’ve gotten with work or Finn or my success in developing a white chocolate chip cookie recipe with a texture hard enough to break […]

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The year of cotton

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Can you still count yourselves as newlyweds if you sit down to dinner the week of your second wedding anniversary and agree that neither of you have anything important on the schedule this week? Oops. The truth is year two was just about as full as year one, minus a few international soccer trips. Let’s […]

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Christmas Cookies: New Additions to the Family

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If you follow me on social media and/or are a co-worker or family member (which let’s face it is about 99.9% of my readers), then you know I recently finished up a batch of sugar cookies. I know what you’re thinking. We get it Sarah. You bake. Blah. Blah. Blah.  If that’s what you’re saying […]

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Bad karma and good chocolate

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Have you ever had one of those days where you knew the whole day was going to be off before you even left the house? You know the kind. You’re just leisurely walking the dog (emphasis on the leisurely because your dog suddenly walks like a 90-year old who needs a hip replacement) when your […]

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Seasonal Changes

St. Louis, Greater swiss mountain dog, st. louis cardinals, greater swiss, swissy, finnegan

Pop quiz. Where’s home to the one of the most successful franchises in baseball and soon two Zalewskis and a Finnegan Murphy? Hint for Cubs fans: they have 11 World Championships so Chicago is out. Site of the 1904 World’s Fair. The first American city to host the Olympics. Hometown to Jackie Joyner Kersey, Maya Angelou and perhaps most […]

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Let’s Talk About Christmas Lists

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I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas Lists. You see, I’ve always enjoyed the tradition of paging through catalogs around the table after Thanksgiving, each family member attempting to jog memories of all the things they desperately needed throughout the year but can’t seem to remember when the blank yellow pad of paper is in front of them. […]

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Cookies and Catch Up

pumpkin cookies, halloween sugar cookies, royal icing, ghost cookies, baking, dessert, holidays,

Great news, guys. The Murphalewski Bed and Breakfast just wrapped four straight weeks of out-of-town guests. That means 7 midwesterners are entering the winter season a little bronzer than usual and many local restaurant staffers here in Sarasota are actually starting to think I have friends. It’s a win-win! Now you may be asking if I’m […]

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Wedding Snapshots: Bridal Party

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You know this whole newlywed thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure it started off easy enough. Honeymoon in Italy. Frequent trips to Crate and Barrel to buy more ramekins. Date nights every weekend. But then three months go by and you find yourself feeling isolated and filling the time with conversations with your […]

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