here we are celebrating my brother in law’s birthday at revolution brewery. i’ve been there a few times and have always had a wonderful time each visit.
one night, hc and i were scrolling through movies to watch and he happened to fall upon this movie called drinking buddies. it was based around revolution brewery! pretty awesome. it was a low key, low budget movie that we really enjoyed! plus, we were loving that a few chicago favorites, like the empty bottle, were mentioned in the movie and we happen to be living right down the street from it! very cool.
well, here we were at the restaurant eating organic egg topped farm burgers & bacon fat popcorn. life is great. soooo good. what is better than celebrating your loved one’s birthday and eating amaze food?! not much. oh, it makes me want to go back there soon! yum.
well, my lovies…i hope you enjoy a wonderful, cool, fun restaurant this weekend..possibly celebrating someone special or something special {whatever it may be!}.
here weeee goooo! it’s the start of the lenten season!
wow…i felt like it just popped up on me. i was so unprepared. it was like boom! it’s time to fast {i’m hungry!}, reflect on our relationship with God, repentance, penitence, basically go back to square one and it came out of nowhere. literally. wednesday came and i was like whaaaaa? it’s ash wednesday?!
anyhoozle, this journey that we embark on every year is about cleansing our minds. it’s a time to think and pray. to challenge yourself to be better, give back, forgive, and think about, truly, how fulfilling your life is. it’s not the material items that complete you but your kind actions, kind words, and kind thoughts that should make your life fulfilling and complete.
annndd, then there’s the part of giving something up. the question is what? what will i give up that will really be impactful? it’s a decision that has so much weight to me. i think about the suffering that Jesus endured for 40 days and nights and it makes me feel like giving up anything is so minuscule! nevertheless, it’s a reminder for us, that even though what we give up is nothing compared to Jesus’ suffering, it our way to bring ourselves close to God.
every year, i love this time because it really challenges me to be a better person. to slow down and appreciate the life all around me. to love the people around me even more. to try, try, try again because i am not perfect. i will stumble and fall. i will get back up to try again to be at my best.
you are dust, and to dust you shall return genesis 3:19
doesn’t my ashy cross look more like a thumbprint?! ha.
i’m excited to embark on this season of lent. a time to renew myself, work on my commitments, and give back. cheers to a fulfilling and grateful lenten season.
on valentine’s day evening, we swung on by my parent’s house for some love day fun. the boys were over and wanted grace and olive to come by to play. plus, we also had their vday gifts to give as well!
we started with a valentine’s day themed meal. we were crazy about anything heart shaped! we ate a heart shaped pizza, finished off our meal with a heart shaped cake on heart shaped plates! natch. the pizza was ordered by kim and the cake was made by terry’s mom, barbara! how sweet!
we munched away at our dinner and then our cake {delish!}, while the kids played and ate…well, mostly played! they were itching to open up their gifts. oh, kiddies…they have no patiences do they?!
[how adorbs is this heart shaped pizza??]
[twinning]
[heart shaped chocolate cake by barbara]
[b really wanted to be in the picture]
we finally gave them the green light to open up their gifts. they were super excited! we lined them up and they were ready to go.
[ready for presents!]
thuy and the boys gave olive the cutest gifts! pretty outfits, toys, and make up! yes, you heard that right…make up. she loves to watch all the ladies of the house get ready in the morning. that’s her thing…sit on top of the toilet and watch me{us} put on make up and get ready. she loves to brush her teeth {baby toothbrush}, comb her hair, and put on bronzer. so, auntie thuy gifted her with bronzer, make up brush, and a hair brush for her purty hair. so fitting.
[she loves make up and getting gussied up already…]
[my cute tiffany blue colored pouch from thuy]
after the kids opened up all their gifts and reveled in the goodies, thuy surprised us with a little gift! how sweet and thoughtful! she gave me a beautiful tiffany blue zipper pouch…how cool. i love the color and the bag.
well, that was our valentine in a nutshell {or really in a two part blog 😉 }. we had a wonderful, blessed day celebrating with our loved ones. ♥
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” first corinthians 12:4-8
yeah, valentine’s day was probably a three part event. well, kinda. it was quite the beeesy weekend for us. we had people over or did something three days in a row, so yes…it was beeesy. it’s so normal for me to not sit still and boy, i wasn’t sitting still at all this entire weekend.
friday, i spent the morning with my dear olive, then i dropped her off at my parent’s and skedaddled on my way to pick up miss grace {which is such a trip!}. that evening, we had terry and the boys over for wings and drinks {root beer for the kiddos and beer beer for the big boys}. the kids had a crazy time playing together…it was non-stop until they left! phew!
on saturday morning {happy valentine’s day!}, we woke up bright and early, thanks to miss olive, and got ourselves ready for our vday brunch in the city! hc had made all the plans…he made reservations for an early morning brunch at the carriage house, in our old stomping ground. oh, don’t get me started on the city! *sniff* how i miss thee on a daily basis.
anyhoo, we arrived at the restaurant and there was just a wee bit of a wait for our table. it was bustling. i do recall this place being built…hmmm, was it a year or year and half ago? we never ate there even though we lived down the street from it! but now it was our time.
[grace and her dad]
[carriage house]
[i love, love her face in the pic]
[aannndd this photo…olive’s face is priceless]
i loved the interior…very earthy and rustic. i was excited to try the menu and hc was excited to try the drinks 😉 we were seated in a comfy spot and ready to peruse the menu. we started out with drinks…an old fashioned for the hubs and juice {always orange and grapefruit mix for moi} for the gals. olive nibbled on some crackers and we had ordered her some cheesy grits. she was all about the grits {which were sooo delish} at first but then she turned her nose up at it. whaaaaa? it was so good but oh well, more for us!
hc ordered the chicken and biscuits, i ordered the mushroom, truffle, and egg {with a side of bacon} and grace ordered the beignets. mmmmmm. it.was.so.tasty. i was a happy camper. the sun was shining. i was brunching with my loves. we were in the city. the restaurant was cool. the food was delicious. it was valentine’s day. life was good.
[cheers to love]
[mushroom, truffle, and egg with a side of bacon]
we even dressed the part! hc had on a red sweater, as well as grace. i wore my red hunters as my nod to the day and olive wore hearts all over herself! happy valentine’s day it was! we had the most wonderful time having brunch together. hc did a great job coordinating it all!
i hope everyone had a fantastic love day with their loved one. we sure did! as i stated it the beginning of this post…i still have more love day goodness to come. stay tuned my lovies!
today takes us back to…2014! i wanted to post a pic of me and rich from a few valentine’s day ago but i couldn’t resist this photo!!!! oh em gee. look.at.her. i die. soooooo sweet, small, cute, & perfect! such a little peanut! *sigh*
i’m dying over her short, shiny hair. her round buddha belly. her fat chunky, chubby, cheeks. she is barely 2 1/2 months young here. what a doll! plus, i loved her sweet little outfit: a pink cardi & heart printed pants. she was definitely my valentine!
oh, how time is flying. i can’t believe how tiny my babes was. *sniff, sniff* i seriously wish she could stay little forever. don’t get me wrong, i am loving every moment with olive as she grows but looking at photos like these makes me miss her at this size! soooo stinkin’ cute.
last year, we celebrated one day with our family {my sisters and my nephews} and exchanged gifts. then we celebrated at home {sweet home chicago} with just me, the hubs, and olive. it was pretty awesome…having the new babes and all. it was a very special valentine indeed.
well, i hope everyone has an amazing valentine’s day! i hope you are spending it with someone special, your family, or friends! enjoy this day of love! happy valentine’s day lovies!
now, who wouldn’t want chocolate covered heart s’mores?!
i had been contemplating the idea of making something fun for valentine’s day. i wasn’t sure what. i had sugar cookies on the radar. i bought the raddest copper cookie cutters the other week {pictured on instagram} and totally want to use them {no worries…i will definitely find many uses!}. anyhoo, i love hearts, i love s’mores, i thought why not make conversation heart s’mores?! i got my inspiration from love from the oven but i fine tuned some things to what i preferred. i love making anything s’mores!
my stash: graham crackers, lollipop sticks, a bag of nestle milk chocolate chips & two bags of white chocolate chips, edible ink pens, fluff, and a small {1 1/2 inch by 2 inch} heart cookie cutter.
[ingredients]
i first cut out the graham cracker hearts. yes. it’s pretty cool to do so and they don’t break! i love it. make sure your surface is free of debris {sweep the crumbs off to the side of the counter after each cut} and evenly apply pressure as you press and ta da! heart shaped graham crackers!
[graham crackers]
after i cut out the hearts, i spread half of the hearts with fluff. i then melted the chocolate and spread the melted milk chocolate {for a dozen hearts…i would use 1/4 of the bag…don’t over heat the chocolate!} on the other half of the crackers. i placed the sticks {about an inch} on one half and took the marshmallow covered heart and gently placed it onto the chocolate heart and stick.
i placed the pops into the freezer to stiffen them up and moved onto making the white chocolate. i used food coloring to get the desired color for the hearts. ok, ok. so i know there are so many opinions out there. folks say to not add anything to chocolate, because it’s already such a delicate form and you should use colored chips instead. plus, people also say to not use nestle chips for dipping. that candy melts, almond bark, and chocolate melts are best for dipping. honestly, it doesn’t taste as good! so, nestle chips it was! adding the food coloring didn’t do anything to the chocolate’s consitency but i definitely should have added shortening to the chocolate to thin it out! next time. it will definitely create a smoother coat.
i let the chocolate dry for an hour or less. after they hardened and cooled, i took my red decorating pen and wrote fun messages on each heart. so cute! i then individually wrapped each heart in a festive cellophane bag and voila! a cutesy valentines’s day treat for your loved ones!!
goodness. we finally had our chance to meet up with jodi and jett. it had been awhile since we had last hung out {maybe a few months ago?}. of course, the holidays had hit us and we were busy, busy, busy! so, finally we sealed a date!
so, on this snowy day, olive and i packed ourselves up and headed out to jodi and matt’s new housey! i was super duper excited when they purchased their place…it’s always a fantastic feeling when you buy a new home {a sense of accomplishment}! there really isn’t anything like home sweet home. it’s always the best place to be, isn’t it?!
i was a bit bummed it was so snowy. i just didn’t want to deal with it since our commute was on the longer side and i didn’t want to struggle with bad road conditions or even traffic {yuck}. but it wasn’t so bad…we cruised there and the roads were fine. we arrived at their house in no time. it was too cute…jodi and jett were already at the door waiting for us, happy we were there.
we got inside and jett immediately wanted to show me his room. so, we all went to his room and hung out. olive and jett were slowly warming up to one another. jett was much more keen with me than he was with olive! slowly and surely they started to play together. or it was more so, olive tagged along while jett was running around like a mad man!
[warming up to each other]
[she was really loving this toy]
[tooooooo cute]
it was so sweet, since jodi and jett missed out on olive’s first birthday party, they had gotten her a gift! so thoughtful. we opened up the gift and then sat down for some lunch. jodi made a yummy pasta salad and we also had sandwiches and chips. we fed the kids while we ate, but soon jett and olive lost interest and wanted to run around. jett was insistent that we head downstairs to play! jod and i brought our plates downstairs while the kiddos ran back and forth…their interests peaking from one toy to the next!
[opening our gift!]
[‘reading’ her card…too adorbs!
]
[her cute little outfit]
[sweet jodi and me]
[playing around and giving hugs]
[this pic makes me laugh. it’s jett running towards olive, hugging her, but he flew at her full force where they both just plummeted to the ground and jett landed right on top of her. as you can tell, olive really didn’t know what hit her. she was totally startled.]
[my cat baby trying to fit herself into a box]
[giving kisses!]
[drunk love]
we hung out downstairs for awhile. time was totally flying by! i didn’t realize it was already so late in the afternoon! we could have hung out all day and night! the hours just flew right by and before we knew it, it was time to go {we didn’t want to get too stuck in traffic and you know how i like to time out olive’s naps!}.
it was too cute, olive and jett gave each other several hug goodbyes and sweet kisses! adorbs! anyhoo…i had a fabulous time catching up with jodi…she is the best! i love talking up a storm with her anytime and always!
today takes us back to…i’m not sure?! i think this picture was around 8 years ago? maybe my sisters will have a better memory about this than me. unfortunately there is no date attached to this picture, so i don’t know!
we were at the tasting room, in chicago, celebrating thuy’s birthday. i did love the tasting room. it had a great atmosphere and delicious bites. but i hear it’s closed now. boo. so sad…it was a great spot to meet up with friends for a quick drink or a perfect place for a celebration. the last time i was there was in 2013 and i remembered it being wonderful then.
anyhoo, here we are celebrating thuy’s birthday. we were there with {my brother in law} terry and friends; noshing, imbibing, and having a ridiculously silly time together. i remember it being a cold, cold, snowy evening but quite warm and toasty inside the restaurant with free flowing libations and a plethora of charcuterie to munch on. deeelish!
look at us! three sisters who do not look alike {or so we think} and three sisters who also have very, very different personalities and style. it’s always such a wonder that we came from the same two parents! it’s interesting to see how unique we all are, yet we are all the same {a lot people say thuy and i have the same voice and tone} and different. siblings are great, non? built in friends and confidants who will always be there for you, no matter what. it’s an amazing blood bond that will never break. as a parent, you will always wish that for your children {i do and i’m hoping that will be the case!}.
well, my lovies. i hope everyone has a fantastic fun friday and an awesome weekend! cheers to family!
well, it was quite the crazy sunday. the snowmaggedon ’15 was bananas. the snow came down hard and fast. they were ginormous cotton balls falling down fast like it was rain. it was exciting to watch {as long as you were inside, safe and sound!}. can you believe this past snowstorm was ranked the 5th highest snowfall in chicago history?! wowza.
hc, olive, and i just holed ourselves up in our cozy little house. we played, relaxed, and hc cooked up something tasty for dinner. i was so not ready for a mini super bowl party at our house {honestly, i’m so not a football fan gal}. but i’m always game {natch} for a party regardless! i could have gotten creative and made some fun super bowl snacks and drinks {hello pinterest!} but this one definitely got away from me. hey, there’s always next year for football cupcakes, football mason jar drinks, and football fun foods!
so, we kept it pretty simple. some apps and some chili. done. and it was all so delicious. i whipped up the guac and hc made the chili. for the guac, i sliced up the avocado and mashed it with a fork. i then diced up tomatoes and finely chopped a white onion. after i had mashed up the avocado, i sprinkled in salt and pepper, first, to taste and then i added in the tomatoes and onions. i know purist say that you should only put salt and pepper in guac but i beg to differ. i’m sure you are also wondering where the cilantro comes into play with this…um, that would be a no. this girly does.not.like.cilantro.
we then watched the game…well, hc really watched the game! i played with miss olive, we ate, and we played some more! it snowed and snowed and snowed outside but we were cozy and comfy inside. the game was exciting…so close!
[hc not happy with a play…olive was like ‘hmph, i’m just enjoying my snacks’]
[nothing fancy…just guac || avocados, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, a dash of salt & pepper]
[daddy daughter time]
[kisses]
[hc’s chili…yes, i smothered it with sour cream, ginormous oyster crackers, and lots o cheese!]
[ha! while hc sleeps, i’m snapping selfies]
it was definitely a low key super bowl sunday. we had a wonderful time together {i think hc shoveled/snow blowed outside 4x!!!…whoa!}. i hope y’all did something fun and ate too many bad foods for you this past super bowl sunday!
NFL Super Bowl XLIX
Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
New England
Patriots(15-4)
28
Seattle
Seahawks(14-5)
24
so, i don’t usually go crazy in the decorating department for valentine’s day but i do love to jazz up the house just a wee bit. nothing big, but i like a spark of color…especially since january {and february} can be such a dreary month!
a few of the banners i hung, i made myself last year. yes…while the little babes was just a newborn. i crafted some quick banners to jazz up our house because being at home on maternity leave during the polar vortex {a.k.a chiberia} was monotonous and bland. putting color in our place was mandatory!
i totally enjoy valentine’s day decor. it’s pretty, fun, and brightens up the home! so, i placed a few banners across the living room window, it looks so pretty when the sunlight is shining through. i strung the festive strand of circle paper cutouts across a wall in our living room as well. i drew up some fun lettering and design on our chalkboard in the kitchen. i also nabbed an awesome gold heart for our front bay window! i didn’t get to snap a pic of it, but maybe later, it’s pretty darn awesome! i ordered red, pink, and white heart lights as well…but they haven’t come in yet. i want to drape it around the gold heart for a pretty, festive effect. there are still a few things coming in the mail that i will add to the decor around the house. once those items come in, i will {almost} be done! 😉
of course, i then snapped a few pics of miss olive with some delightful valentine’s day props. it was too sweet and she is too cute!
[my handmade banners…doily hearts + crocheted little circles and a hand cut paper ‘kiss me’ banner]
[die cut paper circles strung together on twine]
[my valentine’s day chalkboard]
[baby olive getting into the valentine’s day fun // that’s the gold heart i mentioned above…it was relocated to our bay window!]
[nordstrom’s baby bling headband, zara scarf & shirt, heart leg warmers, & stitches and soles latte bow moccs]
well my lovies, what fun decorating ideas do you have for this valentine’s day? it’s always so sweet to add a little festive love fun to your abode, non?!
