flashback friday {happy halloween!}

happy halloween lovies!

today takes us back to 2012. the family took a trip to bengston farm in homer glen {where?!}. it was a fun, fall event. there were plenty of pumpkins, rides, and greasy food to nosh on. we had a swell time exploring the place, there were plenty of fun activities for the kids like train rides, carousels, petting zoo, and haunted houses.

we played around and had a great time with the family. there were so many people there! it was a beautiful sunny day and it was perfect weather for us to hang out outside. i really do love going to a pumpkin farm, apple farm, any type of farm in october. it’s a tradition, it’s a must. it adds to the festive mood of the season. it totally gets me happy.

here, reagan and i snuggled onto the big wheel bench. look how small he was. so adorbs and cute. i love this pic because it’s sunny, cute, and sweet. i love this little guy and he is so wonderful to olive, such a caring cousin he is! what a cutie patutie.

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i hope you have some fun, exciting plans for this halloween night! we sure do. we can’t wait to experience olive’s first halloween. we are ready! what is she going to be?? shhhhh, it’ll be a cute surprise {something fluffy, furry, and adorbs…of course}!

happy, spooky halloween y’all!

xoxo

pumpkin carving fun

haphaphappy hallow’s eve! oh my gosh…i can’t believe it’s heeeerrre! well, we decided to have a pumpkin carving party the other day. it was so beautiful out; it was a perfect time to get messy outside!

hc set up a carving table outside {after he blew all the leaves away and cleaned up the driveway} and set up all of our ‘tools’. he cleaned off our pumpkins and we proceeded to dream up some cool designs we wanted to do.

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[hc with his jigsaw and us with our old fashion carving kit]

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[our pumpkins…all clean by hc and ready to be carved!]

hc took his drill and cut out all the tops of our pumpkins, to get us started. on a whim, i drew out the words ‘oh baby olive’ and started carving. like water, i rush with my actions and kinda messed up the carving of the word ‘baby’. oops. but no worries. i recovered, as you will see down below!

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[here we go]

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[oh!]

i love carving pumpkins…it’s a must do every season. it’s so much fun, it brings back such fond memories, and i always love the finished product. no matter what design we carve. there is just something magical about candle lit pumpkins at night. it’s so festive, spooky, and cool.

while we were carving out our pumpkins, olive was having the best time in her new radio flyer wagon! hc and grace set out that morning to find her a wagon. we wanted one because you just have to have one of these! but really, it’s a great item to have for any place you go to {kids love riding in it} and we thought it would be a perfect ride for her when she goes trick or treating. well, they came home, successful, with this awesome wagon! hc put it together right away and he took olive for a spin in it around the house. she was totally digging it.

so, we covered the bottom with a fluffy, comfy blanket and added in her toys, books, and stuffed bear. she was super duper happy! she played with her toys, she ‘read’ her book out loud to us, and she snuggled with her bear. she happily sat there and played the entire time we carved our pumpkins. it was too sweet to see. she is so darling.

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[olive enjoying her brand new radio flyer wagon // we got her comfy with a cozy, fluffy blanket and toys]

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hc used his jigsaw to carve his pumpkin {pshh, cheater!} and grace and i did it the old fashioned way…with the cheap pumpkin tools you can buy at the store. they both did funny faces and i ended up carving out my words. they all turned out lovely! i couldn’t wait until it was dark outside to light our fabulous creations!

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[not lit]

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[lit]

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[family selfie]

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ahhhh, loving our pumpkins! they turned out fantastic. i love the eerie glow. happy halloween eve everyone!

xoxo

dgn! dgn!

honestly, i don’t think i have been back to downers grove north since i graduated. maybe once? i really can’t remember. high school was quite meh to me. i liked it, i was very involved but i was so beyond the conventional mentality of the student body. buuuttt, i was a very different person back then {weren’t we all?!}, so insecure, so waifish, so melancholy. i was trapped in a stereotype and desired to break free. i knew there was so much more to life, people, and experiences waiting for me out there. i wanted to live it, find it, and have fun.

anyhoo, life’s journey has been a good one. i did {and still do} experience some amazing things. i think back and giggle at the little girl i was in high school and appreciate my life’s twists and turns that have led me to where i am today. being married to an amazing husband and having a beautiful daughter.

hc mentioned to me that hinsdale central and dgn were playing each other on a friday night and asked if i wanted to go. of course! hinsdale happens to be the school my brother in law, terry, had graduated from and obviously, my sister kim graduated from north! so it was going to be a fun rivalry!

we met up in downtown downers grove to have dinner at a place called another round. it was alright…it was a dirty bar with bar food {not my kind of place} but it sufficed in stomping out our hunger. olive was fast asleep {amongst the crazy noise}. we perused the menu and i finally decided on fish and chips.

it actually took awhile to receive our food. by that time, olive had woken up and was a bit grumpy. we tried to feed her dinner but she was not having it! she was more interested in what the kids were doing than consuming any of her baby puree!

we were finally served our food and we noshed away. olive preferred to eat my fish and dirty rice off of auntie kim’s plate! so, i fed her so. after we ate, we were finally on our way to the game…woo!

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[reagan, grace, and bennett entertaining themselves]

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[someone is awake]

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it was interesting to see the newness of the school and nostalgic to see everything old and still the same. the north side was buzzing with excitement and chock full of peeps. it was super crowded and exciting to be there. there i was, with my husband, my baby girl, and my stepdaughter…a bit surreal and cool.

 we were waiting for the rest of my family to get there. kim text us that her and terry were on the hinsdale central side. as we were walking over, we bumped into thuy and walked our way together. it was a bit more quiet and less crowed over there, which was much easier with having olive.

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[football!]

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[love the boy in the cubs hat]

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[dgn vs. hinsdale central]

we watched the half time performance, we played around, and we socialized. it was great being back. it brought back a lot of fun memories! i was really glad to be there and it was funny to see how small and young all the kids are. the super cray cray part?? olive will eventually attend dgn! just like her momma! the kicker? she would be the class of 2031…whaaaaa?!!!

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[olive doing pull ups on the fence]

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[that’s all folks!]

once it started to drizzle, we were out. besides that, it was getting very, very, veryclose to olive’s bedtime, so we had to scadaddle!

i had a wonderful evening with my famille and a fantastic time visiting my old alma mater!

xoxo

happy eleven months!

happy eleven months olive!

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[photos taken on 10.27]

weight: she’s probably more than 20lbs

height: baby girl needs some height though!

ah! we are one month away from her first birthday! where did the time go?! i can’t believe our little baby olive is getting so big. this past month has brought us many wonderful memories and milestones.

no walking yet. i really thought she was going to take her first step around the ten month mark. only because she is standing by herself, she was walking everywhere {albeit holding onto something}, and everything was pointing in that direction but nope. don’t get me wrong…i am aaaa okaaaay with her not walking yet. i hear all bets are off when the little nub starts a walking! then the real trouble starts! 😉

she is such an eater. this girl loves her food. she is still eating purees but has graduated to eating solid, solids {like mac n cheese, fish, beef, chicken, salmon, rice}. she doesn’t refuse anything but she loves to eat whatever we are eating. she will eat 3-4x a day with snacks in-between. breakfast is usually something like bananas and cereal. lunch is typically fruit and cereal, and dinner is usually something heartier…like salmon and carrots. we gotta keep those chubby cheeks fat!

sleep is her best friend. it’s the same as it has been since almost the beginning. baby girl will go down around 9:30 and sleep until 8am. her morning naps are like clockwork but her second nap is unpredictable. she typically goes down for the second nap around 4 but it could be 3 or it could be 5. it’s all based on her morning nap and how long she sleeps for that first round. sometimes she won’t get that second nap in but overall, she sleeps at night and that is what matters!

olive loves to play by herself {sometimes}. she loves to explore. she is getting stronger and wiser and funnier. her humor is silly, her looks are so sweet, and her giggles are too presh. it is so awesome to see her personality develop. she loves to copy you. she intently stares and will copy what sounds you make and what movements you do. she’s becoming a little girl and i love her to bits.

omg. she is crawling up the stairs! um, we need to get a gate pronto! of course, like any babes, she knows how to get up the stairs but has no clue how to get down the stairs. typical. she thinks crawling head first down the stairs is the right way. nope baby girl, no. we’ll learn the right way later {well, hopefully sooner than later}.

officially, her first word was bye. it comes with a hand wave and a meek ‘byyyyyeeee’. you walk towards the door, she waves her hand and says “bye”. she sees you grab your purse, she will wave her hand and say “bye”. you put her in her car seat and she will wave her hand and say “bye”. way too adorbs. the second words? ‘uh oh’. everything she drops on the ground comes with an “uh oh”. so stinkin’ cute.

this past month, you have totally developed an affinity for your stuffed animals. you love your teddy bears {the little one and the big one} and your kiki doll. it is so sweet to see you snuggle with them. it melts my heart when you give them kisses and hold them close.

well, those are her ten month milestones in a nutshell. wow. again, i can’t believe she will be one next month! eeeekkkkk! we are all so excited for this. olive continues to amaze us and our love for her is growing and growing beyond capacity. how can all that love fit inside my body?? sometimes i feel like i might explode! i can’t wait to share some great moments from this coming month!

xoxo

trick or treat

i can’t wait for halloween! it will be olive’s first one and she will be trick or treating! of course, i got the little one a lovely little trick or treat bag. i couldn’t refuse a cute little black felt treat bag with her name emblazoned on it!

i spied this treat bag on pbk. i thought the black kitty cat was adorable and i loved the idea of personalizing it. i stopped by the store to check out the bag. i was sold! i purchased the bag and left it there to get embroidered. i was excited i could choose from a variety of colored thread and whether i wanted to place her name on the front of the bag or the back. i felt the back of the treat bag looked better. i didn’t want it to interfere with the cute cat face in front.

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i was super excited when they called me and told me the bag was ready! yay! i swung on by and picked up the cute bag. i was totally happy. the pink thread was perfect and her name looked so cute on the back of the bag. i couldn’t wait to show little olive. to commemorate the showing of the bag, i dressed her up in an adorbs halloween outfit and presented her first treat bag. she was quite happy and you can see in the photos down below!

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[trick or treat!]

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[outfit from carter’s]

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we played around for a bit, i snapped a ton of photos, then we decided to move on. or at least miss olive made that choice! i hung her bag up on her dresser; i’m sure the kitty cat is eagerly awaiting to be used and abused this upcoming halloween! bring on the sweet treats or tricks 😉

xoxo

caaaaramel apples

i made some caramel apples! so easy peasy. annndddd, i was able to finish out the bag of apples we had from our apple pickin’ outing. woot. woot.

i had to only pick up a few ingredients. i really wanted to use branches for the caramel apples but, honestly, i wasn’t about to go into the yard and hunt for sticks. although, i am really digging the aesthetics of it but not enough to treasure hunt. hmph.

so, lollipop sticks it was. i purchased a bag of sticks, a tub of marzetti’s caramel sauce, and sprinkles. i washed and dried the apples, then removed the stems. once that was done, i took a lollipop stick and tried my best to center them into each apple. i pulled out a sheet of parchment paper {what i had on hand} but you could also use wax paper if you have it.

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[stick it to ya!]

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i then warmed up the caramel sauce in the microwave. i did it in ten second increments because the sauce heats up quickly. between each interval, i would stir the sauce to even it out. once that was complete, i took each apple and dipped it around and around in the tub, evenly coating the apple. i then placed each apple on the paper to cool off.

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i decided to do a variety of toppings. i crushed animal crackers, i crushed nuts, and i had halloween colored sprinkles. i then pulled out another sheet of parchment paper {it’s easier this way and neater!} and would pour the toppings onto the paper. i rolled each apple around and around over each topping. i covered the base first and then slowly rolled each apple until i got to the desired coverage.

i did tricolored toppings. just sprinkle toppings. mixed toppings. simple toppings. all sorts of yummy flavored toppings. i had a lot fun decorating each apple! i then cut out little squares for each apple to settle on.

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[pummeling some animals…crackers that is!]

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[walnuts and almonds]

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after i decorated each apple, i then placed them all in the refrigerator to harden. after that, i wrapped each one in cellophane and finished it with a black ribbon. woooo! i was done and super happy with how they turned out. it’s so easy to make, totally festive and fun, and of course….yummy to eat! sweet and tart. a perfect combo!

xoxo

flashback friday

not that long ago…hc and i celebrated our six year anniversary. six years of being together! not long compared to some folks i know but six years sounds like a long time but, honestly, it’s been a blink of an eye for me. it feels like we just met! which, i guess, is a good thing!

here we are in our hotel room {i can’t remember which hotel it was?!}, in chicago. we were celebrating our one year anniversary. we were so excited. one whole year together! hc planned for us to have dinner at le colonial. i love that place. it’s so yummy good. i love the ambiance and the decor.

we got ourselves ready and headed out the door. we walked to the restaurant and enjoyed ourselves a yummy, delicious meal. it was a wonderful time. after dinner we strolled back and enjoyed the bustling avenue. i love chicago.

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it’s been a fabulous six years together. oh my, how eventful it has been! we have hit soooo many milestones in our short six years. so many wonderful milestones. i am thankful for all that i have been blessed with and i am fortunate to have this man in my life!

xoxo

october delights

to celebrate autumn and halloween, i started to dress our abode with some festive fall decor. it took a few weeks to collect everything, especially since we have a new house and all the decor had to be bought {next year will be easy peasy!}.

i hung our pretty crate and barrel wreath on our door…always a warm greeting! this one is from a few years ago but there is a similar one here. we purchased a few pumpkins to put by our door too. another festive welcome to any of our house guests!

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[the changing of the leaves]

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[a view from outside…i wish i could capture a better pic! i just love the way the windowsill looks!]

i purchased a bunch of pumpkins from pottery barn kids…i just love, love that store! they had the cutest, most fun halloween stuff this year! my favorite purchases were the white star pumpkins, i love the way it looks! especially when i light a candle inside of it. it gives it an eery, spooky glow. the black cat and the orange pumpkin are actually treat containers but i thought it looked best as scary additions in my window display. i’m glad i bought the pbk decor early because all these items are sold out now!

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i debated on placing burlap autumn leaves underneath the pumpkins but decided to go with a burlap runner. it was a more even, flat foundation than the burlap leaves on a wire {it was too bumpy for the pumpkins to lay flat}, plus it looked better.

i bought the regular looking pumpkins from hobby lobby. the burlap runner, the corn husks, and the colored leaves are from hobby lobby as well. oh, that store is wonderful…i can find so many wonderful things there. the fall leaves were the perfect, final touch to the window display.

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[i was experimenting with different burlap…leaves or runner? the runner won]

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of course, we hung the bright lab lights up! i love these lights. they were the final, final perfect touch to the halloween decor!

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throughout the house, i added a few festive touches. like these pumpkin candles from bath and body works. the smell is so yummy. pumpkin, pecans, and spice, so nice!

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i purchased these white pumpkins from hobby lobby. i love the look of these pumpkins. very ethereal and cool.

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the halloween banner is from pbk and the burlap autumn leave are from hobby lobby. the candles are led vanilla scented candles from target. the pumpkins i bought while we were on an outing with our friend dana, one afternoon.

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well, that’s it. that is all i have for this decorating moment. i had a great time scheming up ideas on how, what, and where to decorate in our home. it was so much fun putting everything together! i’m really enjoying our festive home right now and i hope you enjoyed it too!

we love holidays and festive fun stuff! i hope your home is full of fun, spooky, cozy decor and warmth. happy halloween!

xoxo

as american as apple pie

so, after our apple picking fun, we ended up with a big bag full of delicious apples. buttttt, we couldn’t possibly eat all those apples! what to do. what to do. apple bread? caramel apples? apple pie? why, yes. apple pie. let’s make us some apple pie! i pulled up a recipe from the wonderful wide world of the web.

one night, hc and i got a crackin’ on making us some apple pie. it was total teamwork. he started the walnut base, i washed and peeled the apples, he started the pie crust, i cut and seasoned the apple slices.

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[a small but crucial ingredient]

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[the main ingredient!]

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[slicing apples for the pie]

we both laid down the base of the pie crust. we learned a very important lesson: we should have rolled out the pie crust a little bit more. the issue we were having was that it was super sticky and not rolling out right. we figured out that if you put saran wrap underneath and above it, it rolled out quite nicely. so, before we figured that out…we ended up stretching out the pie dough over the bottom and trying our best to get it up the sides! we did a pretty darn good job.

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[placing the crust for the base of the apple pie]

we placed down the base layer of the walnut mix. then the apples were coated with lemon juice, butter, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. i scooped them onto the pie crust and hc proceeded to put the extra pie dough as the top crust. the first pie was okaaaay. the pie crust didn’t stretch out as far as what we wanted it too {remember, we didn’t figure out the rolling part yet!}. but nevertheless, it turned out pretty darn nice.

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[cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, butter…yum]

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[baking fools!]

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[the pie above is the not so great crust pie :p]

our second pie turned out for the better…we rolled the dough out more and had a better pie crust overall. i brushed the top of the pie crust with milk and sprinkled it with sugar. phew! we were almost done!

we had preheated the oven and it was ready to go. we popped the pies into the oven and 55 minutes later, we had delicious pies! the whole house filled up with the sweetest smells. the aroma of apples and cinnamon wafted throughout our abode. it was fantastic.

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ta da! our finished, tasty, edible product. i must say…they were delicious pies! it had a flaky crust, the apples were sweet and tender, and the walnuts added in a wonderful texture and nutty flavor. my tastebuds were in heaven!

we had a wonderful time baking these pies. total hubby and wifey teamwork! we still have some apples left…hmmm, what shall i make next?!! happy october y’all!

xoxo

city living

yaaay! we finally got a chance to visit olivia and aaron in their new abode in the city!

oh boy oh boy. we were running sooooo behind. i don’t know why i even agree on a time to meet up anymore! olive napped later than what we expected and that set us all behind. let alone we had to do some errands before we headed in to the city. so an hour and a half past our scheduled, agreed upon time…we finally made it into the city! phew.

they live in river north, in an area where i have had plenty of friends filter through. it’s a cute little nook in the city. you have to walk a bit to get to some good spots but overall, it’s pretty accessible to everything. hey, anywhere in the city is a favorite spot of mine. oh, chicago…how i adore you.

we headed on up to their place and walked in to some good, savory smells. aaron was literally cooking up multiple dishes. he was cooking a soup, salmon, brisket for his chili. but more on that yummy goodness later.

their place was too cute. a cozy, quaint place tucked away on the tenth floor. we snacked on salty chips and delish guac, while we caught up on life. the boys drank some sorta beer and we sipped our refreshing crispin’ beer {love that beer! i discovered it at beer hoptacular one year}. olive was loving life, she was happy as a clam pulling everything out of her diaper bag on the floor.

the boys decided to head out to the liquor store to pick up…yes! some more liquor. so, us gals got some quality girl time together! i love hanging out with olivia…it’s always a good time chatting it up with this sweetie!

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[pouting like a pro // she sure loves her sunglasses]

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[olive and her ‘cheeeese’ face! zara baby clothes: pants & sweatshirt]

once the boys were back, aaron served up his delicious soup/stew {while we watched the bears game!}. it was sooooo good. it was served with a sourdough asiago bread {purchased at cute little bakery shop in evanston}. the dish was hearty, tasty, and totally filling. i was stuffed. i was already so full from the chips and guac but i couldn’t stop eating the stew. so, yes, gluttony ensued.

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[cooking some soup]

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[the hearty soup turned stew?]

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[daddy daughter time]

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[olivia is so sweet with olive]

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after eating, olivia and i decided to go for a walk. we wanted to pick something up for little olive {she’s teething and her sore little gums make her grumpy} and it was so freakin’ nice out, we had to take advantage of the weather! we walked down to their local mini mart, no goods for the gal available, so we walked up north and east to the walgreen’s and got what we needed. of course, it there is a starbucks, i’m there! so we swung by and i got myself an iced coffee {decaf of course}.

we strolled our way back {totes enjoying the weather} and back to the apartment. olivia’s brother henry {who came later in the afternoon} and their friend tom was there chillin’ {both there to nosh and hang out}. once inside, i needed to nurse olive and then it was time for us to go.

it was a lovely, lovely afternoon hanging out with the great couple. it was fantastic to just chill, hang, and relax. we love these two! what a perfect day.

xoxo