p!nk aunties

Posted on July 30, 2014 by tandem in love

p!nk aunties kt and kar came to visit us!

i was awaiting for miss olive to awake so we could head out to brunch. i am unfamiliar with the restaurants around the ‘burbs. we had so many favorites in the city {oh, my lovely city} and it was always so easy to pick a place! so, these moments are a lot of trial and error; picking a place, rating it, and moving on to the next.

the restaurant of choice? labriola bakery and cafe. it was quite busy when we got there. grace and i perused the menu while we waited for kt and karen. it is a place where you preorder and then sit down. grace and i drooled over the bakery displays. we wanted one of everything! after a few minutes, katie and kar finally showed up. we squealed and gave lots of hugs. we excitedly gabbed and kt and kar were just loving olive. o started fussing a bit, so i pulled her out of her car seat and karen went nutty over her!

[kt, o, and kar]

[oh em gee…s’mores cupcakes]

[*drool* i want one of each please]

[macarons + delicious buttery cookies]

we ordered our entrees, i got the california turkey on multigrain and grace got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes. we went and found ourselves a table and waited for karen and kt to finish their order. it was a little awkward because it was busy so they weren’t clearing the tables right away. so, we nabbed a table with dirty dishes on it but it wasn’t cleaned up right away. kinda annoying, since we really wanted to sit down and settle in {i mean, i had a baby in my arms, drinks, a stroller to situate, grace, and the diaper bag!}.

we were served our meals but miss olive wasn’t cooperating. i had to hold the fussy missy so i only ate my chips 🙁 but that didn’t stop us from yakking nonstop! we were catching up with so many good things; love, life, relationships, kids, friends…ya know, all the good and not so good bits that makes life go round.

after noshing on our meals, we headed over to the bakery to get something sweet. we looked at the dessert cases but had briefly forgotten about the gelato! it was on the other side of the restaurant, karen mentioned it, and grace’s eyes just lit up {of course!}. we scurried over and grace chose the hazelnut gelato and started wolfing it down.

[cali sandwich and savory chips]

we packed up and headed on our way out, back to our place. once we got home, i had to feed olive and then we got down with the tour. i showed them the entire inside {and, of course, explained our remodeling plans} and walked them around the outside of the house. it was such a beautiful day!

karen soooo wanted to hold olive. i said, “go ahead! anyone can hold her, it’s about if olive will let you hold her!”. i gave karen some advice…i said to just take her. don’t gingerly grab for her. just aggressively take her and distract her. most people cautiously take her and she senses fear 😉 so, grab her she did. olive happily sat in karen’s arms!!!!! it was a miracle! i called kar the baby whisperer. not since o was a newborn had she let an unfamiliar face hold her. olive was happy as a clam in karen’s arms! i was amazed and excited. i want people to enjoy holding miss olive and it was pretty awesome to see this! i was loving it myself…although karen might have been loving it more than me! she was over the moon holding olive!

[grace, karen, o, and kt]

[karen the baby whisperer]

after touring around the house, we came inside and chatted up a storm. karen insisted on me opening olive’s present. it was soooo sweet of them! they bought little o the most adorable outfit! a putty colored knit cardigan and chambray embroidered dress from peek and the cutest, softest, stretchiest pink headband from nordstrom! it was so sweet and thoughtful of them. i love, love the outfit and i can’t wait for miss olive to wear it!

[a gift from kt + kar]

[the cutest outfit from nordstrom!! love + love peek]

after opening up her gift, kt really wanted to hold olive too! i gave her the same advice and olive was just a doll! she let kt hold her too! wow. it was a record. olive was loving her p!nk aunties and they were loving her back!

[katie super excited to be holding olive!]

[doting on olive]

after our non stop gab fest, kt and kar had to go. wah, wah. we were sad. we were having too much fun with them! grace was loving them {she said they were soooo nice!} and so was olive. we walked them out to their car, wished them safe travels, and waved goodbye.

we had such a blast with them! kt and kar, hurry back! little miss olive is missing her aunties!

xoxo

sunny funday

Posted on July 29, 2014 by tandem in love

our sunday funday consisted of great weather, warm temperature, church, brunch, furniture shopping, and long walks {a summer to do!}.

after mass, hc, olive, and i took a lovely stroll to our brunch restaurant of choice, frances. we love eating there and for some reason, after the 9:30am mass, there is always outdoor seating {any other time, there’s a wait}! we love brunching alfresco on sunny sunday mornings!

olive happily sat in her stroller while hc and i enjoyed a delicious brunch. i ordered the lox sandwich and hc ordered a spicy egg thingy breakfast. as usual, i wolfed down every delectable bit of it.

[going for a walk]

[olive in her beloved bugagoo]

[trekking along on this beautiful day]

[eating alfresco]

[me and my babes]

[lox and bagel]

after a very relaxing time outdoors, we strolled our way back to the car. we were in debate of hitting a spot in the city to walk around a little bit more {and shop, of course!} or heading back to oakbrook to do some outdoor shopping there. we decided on the latter because we wanted to furniture shop and it was more convenient because all the furniture shops there were consolidated, therefore it was easier!

we hit a bump in traffic {perfect timing for baby o to take a nap!} and finally made our way to the mall. it was so darn lovely out! we nabbed some starbucks {of course} and hit all the furnishing stores. we were mainly shopping for side chairs. we need a few {some for the kitchen area and maybe some for the living room} and exchanged ideas on color, style, and size. oooohhhhhh, the options! it’s a lot fun until you have to really decide on what you are going to buy!

we found a piece or two at crate and barrel and restoration hardware but i am also a fan of online shopping. it’s a bit more difficult that way because you can’t see it live…the way it feels, sits, and the dimensions, but i love gaining ideas that way to help with the decision process and clarifying the aesthetics.

[bar globe at restoration hardware]

anyhoo, the day was perfect. i loved seeing familiar faces at mass, being outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and spending time with my lovely family.

it was a happy sunday funday!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on July 25, 2014 by tandem in love

today takes us back to july 2012.

hc and i drove up north to visit grace. it was a beautiful summer night. we picked the kiddo up and went out to dinner near a downtown area somewhere, um, i don’t know the towns up there at all! after that, we knew we wanted to swing by a cruise night {we spied one on our way to dinner!}.

we walked around the beautiful area and admired all the cool classic cars. It was a pretty large showcase of vehicles that evening and hc and grace really enjoyed examining each one.

it was a lovely summer evening spent with the family, doing a fun summery type activity!

i hope you have something fun planned up your sleeve this weekend. it’s going to be a warm weekend…maybe some pool time? zoo time? or just some cool down time with popsicles!

whatever it may be, enjoy & revel in it. happy friday y’all!!!

xoxo

commitment ceremony

Posted on July 24, 2014 by tandem in love

our longtime friends, pete and ken, were married!

hc had met them years ago when he lived on the ‘bend’. we’ve become very good friends with everyone on that little strip of houses. they all have been to our wedding and so forth. over the years, we have kept in touch and have been able to hang out with them several times a year, whether it’s a summer night in the backyard or a holiday party over the winter. they are truly a great group of people!

we were so excited to receive the invite to pete and ken’s commitment ceremony a couple of months ago. it was such a cute idea…a balloon you can blow up with their invite information on it. so cool.

we dropped off olive at my parent’s house for the evening and headed on our way to the city. traffic was totally fine and we cruised there. we got there a bit early, found an awesome parking spot {right next to the building}, and headed our way in.

they had a door lady who was checking everyone in. we were waiting patiently when ken came busting out of the doors. we said our jubilant hello’s, checked ourselves off the guest list, and trekked our way in.

we entered into the event space and we were wowed by the bright, colorful decorations! they had pinwheels all over the place and the sweetest, funniest pictures of themselves. ken had worked so hard on all the picture banners hanging from the ceiling. he printed out each picture and framed every single one of them. they had pretty little flower centerpieces on all the tables and they also had matching table cloths, runners, and plate ware.

[festive decor]

[picture banners]

[lisa – the fab party planner]

right after we got there, we ran into lisa {one of the cool people on the bend} who helped pete and ken coordinate this whole event. she basically was their day of coordinator. she did such a wonderful job! everything ran so smoothly and perfect.

hc and i hung out and chatted it up with ken for a bit. the rest of our friends were still on their way {apparently there was an accident and a concert at wrigley that was causing traffic delays}. one group arrived and the crazy fun began! carrie, dave, nancy, pat, and pete made it there right after us. we were so excited to see them. they are such a fun bunch and i was glad to be able to hang out, i don’t get to see them as often as hc does.

[flower centerpieces]

[me and the groom]

[ceremony outdoor space]

[carrie, pat, nancy, hc, dave, and pete]

[cute photos of the couple]

[the gals]

once all the guests arrived, the ceremony started. it was so sweet. pete was walked down by his brother and ken was walked out by his daughter. ooohhhhh, they were so emotional. it was quite endearing. before they started, they were already in tears…i think it got everyone going. i started to get weepy too. they exchanged their vows through quivering voices, exchanged their rings, and were pronounced husband and husband!

[walking of the grooms // pete with his brother and ken with his daughter]

[vows and exchange of rings // husband and husband!]

they had us shake maracas once they were announced! it was fantastic! you could tell pete and ken were so relieved! they were a bit anxious leading up to the ceremony and once it was over, they were so happy, and then the party really began!!!!

[we shook our maracas once they were pronounced husband and husband!]

[carrie being super silly!]

[darrin and bethany…she’s eight months pregnant]

the food was served and we noshed until our bellies were full. they had chips and salsa, tacos, coconut shrimp, empanadas, ribs, and much more. we socialized while we ate and mingled around a bit.

unfortunately, we could not stay very long. my parents were watching little odog and she goes to bed early, but so do my parents! it was so hard for us to leave. we were hanging out with people we don’t get to see very often and we wanted to stay to continue the celebration of pete and ken’s union!

after the food, the party continued upstairs in the building’s other deck. everyone relocated and that’s when we said our goodbyes. we were so sad to be leaving but we needed to get home to relieve my parent’s from their babysitting duties.

[the food being served!]

[wedding cake]

[ken’s wedding band]

[the after party upstairs!]

[we finally snagged a pic with pete]

it was absolutely wonderful to be able to celebrate pete and ken’s relationship that evening. we had such a swell time partying it up with all of our friends. thank you to the fabulous couple for letting us share in this special moment in your lives…we love you guys!

xoxo

hb gracie!

Posted on July 23, 2014 by tandem in love

it was grace’s birthday! we trekked our way up to dick and jane’s house to celebrate grace’s day. when we got there, the kiddos were on the boat with gramma and grandpa, tubing. olive, hc, and i chilled at the house until they returned. once they got back, jane started to whip up some dinner.

while we were waiting, everyone was playing with miss olive. as soon as olive saw her sister grace, she was nothing but smiles. she loves her sister! grace is the only person who can make olive laugh and laugh.

[olive loves her sister!]

[hb gracie!]

[daddy with his girls]

jane made spaghetti, meatballs, and sausage. i decided on the pasta and meatballs with a pound of parmesan cheese, please! we sat down for dinner, while olive {miraculously} played on the floor by herself! we were pretty impressed, i love seeing her change and grow and how she is now so content with entertaining herself. so, she scooted around, grabbed at her toys, and gabbed out lout while we downed our dinner.

[marbled birthday cake]

[papa, daniel, olive, grace, and hc]

[spaghetti and meatballs]

gramma made marbled cake with chocolate frosting for grace! her cake was adorned with m&m’s and different colored sparkler candles. we lit them up and sparks started to fly from each one…a very fun, pretty sight for everyone. we sang happy birthday to her and then her dad tricked her into getting up from her seat…he gave her a birthday spanking! every year she falls for it!

[olive singing happy birthday to grace!]

[make a wish! grace couldn’t get all the candles blown out!]

[birthday spanking!]

[cake and ice-cream]

she opened up all her gifts and then we had to jet! i felt bad we had to leave right away but we were behind schedule. we were suppose to leave at seven, due to olive’s schedule, but we ended up leaving at eight. i was not a happy camper…i’m adamant on sticking to olive’s schedule. it takes an hour or more to get home and i knew she would fall asleep in the car. baby girl goes to bed at nine…that meant we would be home after nine, she would be sleeping that entire hour {when she should be awake!}, we still needed to give her a bath, and i needed to feed her. she ended up staying up later because she wasn’t tired {because of the nap} but all was well in the end.

[opening her gifts]

[she’s outgrowing me!]

happy birthday grace! it was fabulous to be able to celebrate it with you. happy twelve years little lady. here is to many more wonderful celebrations!

xoxo

unlicensed daycare

Posted on July 21, 2014 by tandem in love

i was finally able to meet austin! my friend dawn just had her fourth, yes fourth baby! austin is seven weeks old and quite the guy! at his one month appointment, the little dude was over thirteen pounds! oh my gosh! i said to dawn…,”what will he weigh at his two month?!” he probably is as big as olive! olive is probably a little over sixteen pounds and she is almost eight months old!

[baby austin]

we arrived at dawn’s house and walked into craziness. jodi was already there with jett and dawn’s other three kids were running amuck. we said our hello’s and i pulled olive out of her car seat, we walked over and said hi to little austin. he was quite content in his swing, such a calm baby.

[playtime]

i put olive on a cute furry beanbag dawn had in the family room. she was quite happy sitting there for awhile. kaitlyn and savannah came over to play with her. they were so good with her! they were sweet, gentle, and really got olive engrossed in playing with them.

[my cutie pie]

[kaitlyn and olive]

[such a cute pic with kaitlyn and savannah]

[i love this!]

[injury = popsicle]

[jett icing his boo boo]

[jodi wanting so much to hold olive!]

we chatted up a storm while the kids whirled around us. dawn and i had a lot of catching up to do. i do miss seeing her! we had gotten very close over the years of knowing each other {over 10 years!} and we have become good friends!

we were in awe over life and it’s changes. how, when dawn and i first met, she was just married with no kids…jodi and i not married yet, living life ‘single’, and look at us now! all of us happily married, with kids, and closely connected in life.

after a bit, dawn whipped out a bunch of food. she’s so cute, she said she is up so late most nights…she has to do something, so out came a wonderful spread of food. she also stated, what could she make that was easy to eat since us mommas would probably have one hand available, if we are lucky! so, it was a lot of easy finger foods and quick, light bites…perfect!

[finger food for quick noshing]

[dawn, olive {curiously watching}, and moi]

[yum]

of course, olive was in nooooo mood to have anyone hold her…oh, that babes. savannah soooo wanted to hold olive. she was so sweet towards her. both kaitlyn and savannah, such great little girls, they were both wonderful with little miss olive. they entertained her, played with her, loved showing her some fun toys to engage her; it was so cute to watch them together…it just makes your heart melt.

andy, dawn’s hubby, came home for lunch. it was awesome seeing him! he’s such a great guy…i’m glad we got to chat it up for a bit. he was a bit bummed leaving…i mean, c’mon…we were partying it up at their house! of course he didn’t want to leave the craziness!

andy tried playing with olive…oh em gee…it freaked her out! it was hilarious. i was over in the kitchen, cleaning up olive’s bowl and spoon {i had just fed her solids}, and andy scooted his way over to olive and she just freaked out! such a sensitive baby!

[andy trying to play…and scaring olive : / ]

[savannah sooooo wanted to hold olive]

[olive loving her new toy from the family]

dawn gifted olive with some pretty sweet treats. she gave olive a few adorbs outfits, play toys, and this wonderful, wonderful wooden alphabet abacus. olive loooooves it. she played and played with it and still plays with it. it totally entertains her. she spins and spins the wooden blocks around and around.

[smiley selfie]

[savannah took this pic! jett was not happy!]

[olive finally letting savannah hold her…so sweet]

[my lovely friends]

after noshing, playing, chasing, chatting, feeding, and getting a second to relax, it was time to go. the hours just flew by! before we knew it, it was late afternoon {we arrived late morning} and we had to go! we needed to meet the hubs to be on our way to another gathering…we’re always on the go. oy.

it was such a lovely afternoon with the ladies and the kids. oh, times like these i just cherish. these become the best moments in life. it’s amazing how life evolves and you find happiness in the simplest things.

happy day my lovies.

xoxo

perfect evening

Posted on July 19, 2014 by tandem in love

we finally coordinated a date to have matt and johann come visit us! it was quite the debacle last time they tried to travel out here to see us. on their way here, it rained heavily and flooded the streets! they were stuck 🙁 they were on the road for over three hours and weren’t moving anywhere. we were so bummed but everything turned out for the better…the following week, they were able to come visit us on a beautiful evening and danielle was able to join us!

[olive and momma]

matt and johann brought us a housewarming gift and something for miss olive! they gifted us with a beautiful wood wine rack from a cute little boutique in chicago and gave olive an adorbs little onesie from hazel.

[a sweet little gift for olive]

[fun bicycle card…so fitting!]

[the adorbs onesie…how accurate]

beer was the drink of choice this evening. although johann switched it up by making some old fashioned cocktails for hc and himself {with the guidance from me! i make it for hc all the time!}. hc whipped up some cheeseburgers and chicken on the grill. he also made his delicious cauliflower and broccoli specialty…yum.

[old fashioned…cheers!]

[cheeseburga…cheeseburga!]

after dinner and many amusing topics, i served the decadent dessert! i am in love with this tres leches cake from a local grocery store down the street. it is soooo stinkin’ yummy! i could eat slice after slice if it didn’t have any fat and calories 😉

[tres leches]

johann was so good with olive…oh he loves babies. after dinner and desserts, i put olive on her play mat so i could clean up a bit and johann beelined for her. he played with her, entertained her, and was just loving her. so cute!

[johann just loves olive…he loves babies]

[guncles doting on olive]

after relocating to the living room, relaxing after a full meal, and putting olive down, the clan had to go. it was soooo good to see them. we love them so much! such great friends and we were so happy to finally host them at our new home. it was a perfect evening.

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on July 18, 2014 by tandem in love

today takes us back to june of 2010.

it was little b’s baptism…look how cute he is! those chubby cheeks and that blondish hair. so adorbs. we had the ceremony at the queenship of mary, fr. quyen presided over the blessings. it was a beautiful sunny day to celebrate his path into the catholic faith.

after the baptism, terry and kim hosted a luncheon at the harry caray’s restaurant. it was fun, delicious, and quaint. we had a lovely private room where we could converse and visit one another with ease. i remember little b falling asleep in his car seat and we stuck him under a table…lol. it was a wonderful day with friends and family.

[the little cutie pie]

happy friday y’all! enjoy this beautiful weekend! i sure will…we have lots going and can’t wait for the awesome weather this weekend.

xoxo

oohhh, beer and pizza

Posted on July 17, 2014 by tandem in love

we were so excited to have johnny, janice, georgia, and charlotte come to visit our new house and meet little olive!

they arrived at our house in the early evening. we decided it would be best to have a casual dinner night…pizza and beer! yum. hc toured them throughout the house and gave the usual spiel.

the girls settled down on the couch and cruised through the apple tv selection to find a movie. they snuggled in with their dolls and were quite content.

we broke open several beers and cheered to finally getting together. we chatted for quite a bit before we decided on what we were going to order. we tried a place called aurelio’s and it was delicious! we got some apps and ordered their specialty pie of the moment.

[georgia and charlotte {rich’s goddaughter!}]

[revolution brewery]

[janice and olive]

while we were waiting for the delivery, we had lots of fun catching up on all sorts of events. janice and i talked a lot about nursing, the guys did their talks, and we circled around to discuss more things like babies, triathlons, vacations, family, and life.

olive really took to johnny! oh, she loved him. she actually let him hold her and she giggled at him! awww, it was very sweet.

i love janice and johnny. they are such a cute couple and so fun. hc has been friends with them, what seems like forever! when rich and i first started dating, johnny and janice were so welcoming of me and we instantly hit it off. their humor are off the charts! we love it when we are able to get together with them.

olive also received the cutest gift from them! so, janice is from canada {oh canada!}…they got little olive a pink fleece set emblazoned with the words canada all over it. it’s just the cutest little outfit and we can’t wait until she can wear it!

[olive was very fond of johnny[

[joining us for dinner]

[aurelio’s pizza]

[these two cuties enjoying some desserts]

the pizza came, the beer was being guzzled, and good times were being had. how cute are georgia and charlotte? they are such sweet, kind, polite little ladies. they are growing up so fast!

the family brought the desserts, so after a bit, janice set them out and we devoured them! the tarts were so good! i loooved the chocolate, caramel, hazelnut one…to die for. it was amaze. it just melted in my mouth. yum. i could have eaten five of them…hehehe.

[delicious pastries from whole foods]

after several hours of hanging out and putting olive down in-between it, it was, sadly, time for the family to leave. we had a wonderful, wonderful time with them. thank you so much for the cute gift for olive and thank you for stopping by! come back soon! muwah!

xoxo

darling dana

Posted on July 16, 2014 by tandem in love

dearest dana came to visit {finally}! after we moved, it was a constant debacle trying to get us together! our schedules weren’t coordinating. if we happen to have the same day off, she or i would already have plans, or she would be out of town, etc. welllll, we finally, last minute, got ourselves aligned! hallelujah!

she came over bright and early in the morning {no traffic…woo!}. i walked her through the house…a tour of what has happened {remodeled} and what was to come. we chilled at the house for a bit before heading out to brunch. dana tried multiple times to hold olive…um, fail. baby girl will only be in my arms if i am in the room *sigh*, i do wish she would let others hold her but a screaming, crying baby is no fun for anyone! dana, being dana, was so amused and found it so hilarious! thank goodness 🙂

[dear dana loving olive]

[olive giving a shoutout to the westside!]

[attempting at another round of holding olive]

so, after many tries of holding olive, we digressed and moved along on getting ourselves to the restaurant. i offered a few options and we settled on trying a place by our house. a breakfast place {new to us!} that we have been interested in trying for awhile.

[orange juice for dana, grapefruit/orange juice for moi]

it was cute inside and not busy {bonus!}. we settled into our seats and perused the menu. there were so many choices! i decided on the banana walnut pancakes with a side of bacon and dana went for the eggs over easy, hash browns, and a side of chocolate chip pancakes.

[banana walnut pancakes]

[noshing]

we did a lot of catching up over brunch. the food was yummy. the company was even better. we yapped for awhile, until olive was getting a bit fussy. it was good timing with the fact that we were dunzo…check paid, we were ready to go when olive started fussing. so, out the door we went!

we went back to the house to hang out some more. olive needed to eat her solids, so i prepared her food and asked dana if she wanted to feed her. gosh, miss olive answered that for all of us. she was liiiike, um no. momma is the only one who will feed me! what a picky lady! poor darling dana…olive wouldn’t even let her feed her!

[oh em gee…poor dana trying to feed olive…nope]

[flashdance…she’s a maniac, maniac on the floor!!]

after a few hours of lounging, dana headed out {before crazy traffic could build up}. it was fantastic to finally get together and just hang out {what we do best}. olive and i miss her already.

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Category Archives: c’est la vie

p!nk aunties

sunny funday

flashback friday

commitment ceremony

hb gracie!

unlicensed daycare

perfect evening

flashback friday

oohhh, beer and pizza

darling dana