Happy Holidays!

We are looking forward to our very first Christmas in our new home. We are hosting Christmas and our parents are coming to us this year. Wish us luck as we attempt to cook Christmas dinner...we can't promise that it will be edible!


Our first tree is decorated (does that ornament look familiar- it was our cake topper!)...


Our first batch of cookies are baked (yes that is a pink oven mit!)...


Our first Christmas lights are strung (that is a light "river" for our deer lol)...

Stuff On My Cat

We're so proud- Sparkles made it on StuffOnMyCat.com lol!


The website wrote that Sparkles was going for the Barbara Bush look...she was actually going for the Hillary Rodham Clinton look ;-)

Work In Progress

After a week of living out of boxes and fighting for the 1 folding chair in the house we now have furniture!!! Our house is still a work in progress and we're estimating that it will probably be that way for the next couple years but it is starting to look like our home instead of a strangers home.

Everyone here is super friendly and we're starting to meet a few of our neighbors. Our neighborhood is soooo quiet...seriously you can hear crickets chirping lol. Other than that we are just busy unpacking, which for some reason is worse than packing!

Here is our comfy living room furniture...


Our lovely TV console for Rich's toys :)



Here is the awesome Crate and Barrel Dining Room Set/Wine Tower that we found on Craigslist in perfect condition...


We found these cool guys at Marshalls (love that store!)...


Check out this candle holder I found to match our birdie painting...

We're officially Arizonians!

After a looooong drive with 2 crying cats we're finally in Arizona! The movers come tomorrow with all of our stuff but until then we are enjoying an echoing house :)

I'll post another update soon!

Our Home Is Almost Finished!!

I just got home from a quick trip to AZ for our walk through! Our home is pretty much finished besides a few minor things that will be complete before we sign next week. I can't wait to be all moved in and with Rich again!

Our home!! The front yard landscaping is finished...very low maintenance and perfect for a non-green thumb family! We picked plants and shrubs that bloom pink and purple throughout the year ;-)

Check out our little rock river...


I love how our kitchen came out! We had to pick our cabinet/tile/granite colors based on a tiny little square and it was really hard to picture so I'm glad that everything matches!


Yay for double sinks! The guest bathroom also has double sinks so come visit!


Our fans throughout our house...


The light fixture in our nook...


My favorite fan out in our back patio...


Our dirt backyard! Landscaping back here should be complete in the next couple of months.

SNL Couric interviews Palin

Hehehe...nuff said ;-)

Home Bitter-Sweet Home

Our home is almost finished! The builders are putting the finishing touches on it but Rich said that the walls are painted and the appliances are already in. We're still working out a closing date but we have our final walk-through on October 10th! I can't wait to see it and to of course see Rich again! This pic was taken last month.

As excited as I am to move into our new home, it is also very bittersweet to leave our first home- Austin, TX. I moved here right after graduation from NMSU to attend grad school at UT in 2004. I immediately fell in love with Austin and when Rich moved here it quickly became our "home". No more Freebirds, no more Amy's Ice Cream, no more Vivo, no more Congress Avenue Bats...there is no place like Austin! Mostly I'll miss the kiddos that I work with and I feel very blessed to have known them and they will forever be in my thoughts. I'm a different and better person because of them. Wow I can't believe that I only have 1 more month here! I know that wherever Rich is, is my "home" and we'll do our best to "Keep Peoria, AZ Weird" ;-)

The Heart Gallery

Rich just got to AZ safely for his new job that starts on Monday and once I wrap up my job here I'll be moving there too. Our apartment is just not the same without him and I miss him already!

At least my job will keep me occupied in the meantime. We had the unveiling of this year's Heart Gallery on Thursday night and the new portraits are amazing! For those of you who don't know what the Heart Gallery is, it is a traveling exhibit of portraits taken by professional photographers featuring children who are waiting for their forever families. The Heart Gallery not only promotes adoption but it also helps educate the community. These children are just like any other children except they are even more resilient, more compassionate, more lovable because they know what it is like to not feel like they belong anywhere.

Click on the image below and click on "portraits" to see just a handful of the children who are waiting for forever families.

The Color Purple

"I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it."



Rich and I saw The Color Purple musical in San Antonio, TX last weekend and it was absolutely amazing! I have seen the movie at least a hundred times and have read the book a few times so I wasn't sure how the musical would compare but it absolutely did the movie and book justice. The performance was moving and the story was of course an inspiration. If you ever get a chance to see the show, we highly recommend it!

Meet the Coppola Furbabies...

Name: Chyna Coppola

Nicknames: Chyna Doll, Chyna Dolly, Dolly-Lama, Princess

Breed: Maine Coon

Hobbies: Playing in the water, stealing mom's hair ties and putting them in water, playing with the laser pointer, chasing Sparkles around the house, eating, sleeping and being the princess of the house.

Aspirations: To be featured on the front page of Cat Fancy one day.



Name: Sparkles Coppola

Nicknames: Sparkle Doll, Bunky, Bright Eyes, Monkey, Rolly Pollie

Breed: Domestic Shorhair

Hobbies: Playing with paper or ribbons, following mom and dad around the house, chasing Chyna around the house, eating and sleeping.

Aspirations: To sleep, eat and sleep some more!

Our New Blog!

With friends and family living throughout the country, I thought this blog would help us better keep in touch with everyone and allow us to share what us crazy Coppola’s are up to. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep up with this blog!

Life is good and busy as always. We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on August 11^th. Rich gave me tickets to see the Color Purple in San Antonio, TX for our “paper anniversary”. The Color Purple is one of my fave books and movies…I can’t wait! I made Rich a book full of pictures of us with our ceremony written throughout the pages. We celebrated by going to dinner at a Japanese restaurant where they cook the meal in front of you and after we watched our wedding video. It was a perfect way to remember our lifetime promise to one another. This past year went by so fast but it has been a fantastic adventure with such a caring, supportive and loving husband! I can’t wait to see what year 2 has in store for us!