my little rock star

once olive started crawling, a few months ago, she has been so curious! she is learning and playing with all sorts of stuff {um, some stuff she shouldn’t be playing with!}.

my parents have a piano and olive love, loves to crawl over to it. she stands on her tippee toes, stretches her whole body up so that the tips of her little itty bitty fingers can slightly touch the keys and play the piano!

so, with that…i have had my eye on a cute little piano from land of nod. olive showing interest in my parent’s piano, i had to have the wolfgang amadeus red piano! once it was purchased, i couldn’t wait for olive to see it! i knew she would be so into it, and right i was!

she loooves to play with it. she bangs on it, she hits the individual keys, she giggles, she smiles. it probably brings her as much joy playing with it as i have watching her play with it! let alone, it’s the cutest little piano evah! and it perfectly matches her room  {not even on purpose, natch!}.

a few days after she was gifted with this cute piano, we were sitting in her room together {me in the process of dressing her}, when she crawled over to the piano and started playing. the best part of this moment?! her totally rocking out on it! she started out playing with it by sitting and the next thing you know, she is standing up, banging on the keys and then, all of a sudden, she kicks her leg up and just started playing with the keys like a little mad pianist! i was in love!!!! it was tooooo stinkin’ cute!!! seriously, i die! i was freakin’ excited i was able to snapped the cutest photos of her in the act. what a presh moment.

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i am thinking, seriously, it was the best gift for her so far. music, singing, creativity…a perfect ‘toy’ to help develop the musical genius inside of her. oh, i love my little rock star!!

xoxo

kt + kar

olive got to see her pink aunties. yay! olive and i had a late start {as usual!}. she woke up later and napped late, so therefore we were behind! as any mom knows, getting out of the house with one kid {let alone two, three, or more kids!} can get hairy. i remember the days when i could wake up, get ready, leave early, and just chill. now it’s always rush, rush, rush because i’m always late!

thank goodness traffic on the ike was light. we cruised down to the city and got to the restaurant in no time. we met the ladies inside and gleefully got hugs all around. karen and katie are baby crazy. well, probably kar just a little more than kt. as soon as we walked in, karen cooed and ahhh’d over olive. it’s too presh. i love how they dote on her and olive loves it back.

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[breakfast of champions…olive’s cereal puffs]

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[karen playing with olive and her teddy bear]

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karen played and played with olive. baby girl soaked it all up. kar was olive’s new best friend. they giggled together, laughed together, and smiled together. olive loved watching karen, anxiously waiting for her next funny move that would entertain her.

2sparrows was industrial inside. it was cool looking and the menu options sounded delicious! i really, really wanted to get the maple bacon doughnut for hc but {boo} he was still traveling. and that meant it would not be fresh, so that was a no.

i was really feeling a classic breakfast. so eggs, toast, and bacon were in order. the bacon was perfectly crispy, the eggs over easy were cooked just right, and the toast was thick and hearty. i was loving every bite.

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[eggs over easy, bacon, and greens]

all through brunch, karen was picture cray cray. she snapped and snapped pictures of olive like she was the freakin’ paparazzi! she seriously got the best pics of her though!

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[auntie karen was camera crazy…]

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[say cheeeese olive!]

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[fox tee and jeggings from carter’s]

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after brunch, we decided to do some errands with karen. we hit up party city for some birthday supplies {her friend’s birthday!} and possible halloween costume ideas. we played around with wigs, we put fun things on olive’s head, and picked out some cool birthday decor for karen’s friend.

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[hanging out at party city]

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after perusing for quite some time, we finally settled on some fun choices and checked out. kar and kt were going to continue on with their afternoon shopping but me and the babes decided to call it quits. it was close to her afternoon nap and i knew she would knock out in the car and get a good one in, so off we went!

it was a fun afternoon with these two lovies. olive absolutely adores her two pink aunties! they are so sweet and loving towards her. until next time my ladies!

xoxo

flashback friday

this lovely pic takes us back to 2007.

carol and ted just celebrated their anniversary a couple of weeks ago and it made me think about what a great time their wedding was! they were married at lake forest academy, a beautiful, beautiful place! it was a perfect day, the weather was warm and sunny, the ceremony was perfect, and the reception was a blast. don’t we all look so tan and fresh in this photo?!

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[jaime, pam, marina, carol, and moi…we are missing, from the picture, the other bridesmaid kelly]

carol and i have been friends for years. to date, we have been friends for about 29 years?? omg…does that just age me?! ok, just keeding. we’ve been friends for only 20 years and we met when we were just wee little ones at 5 years old 😉

we were neighbors and our families still live in the same houses! our infamous first meeting is still talked about with lots of laughter. just ask carol about the monkey bars…hahaha!

carol and i have been through everything together. we met at such a young age and have grown up together with life’s ups and downs. we went to middle school and high school together. i was probably at her house more than i was at my house! her parents would call me the other daughter. when she came home from college and switched schools, i practically lived at her apartment in chicago that she shared with jaime and amber.

although she currently lives in seattle with her husband and two beautiful children, we remain close as ever. friends for life, friends forever. or how bout best friends forever. whatever cliche statement you want to say, it fits. i’m lucky to have such a wonderful, longtime friend in my life!

having a friend like this is hard to come by. reach out to a close friend and say hi today. life is too short to let simple, meaningful gestures like that pass you by! happy friday y’all!

xoxo

rain, rain, go away

it started out as a dreary, cold, rainy morning. bummer. hc and i wanted to go to downtown hinsdale, stroll around, and shop. we drove there and got coffee at the starbucks {first things first!}. we decided to grab some grub and to wait out the icky weather. we stopped into a little mom and pop restaurant called page’s. it was cramped, old, and not the cleanest but hc really wanted to eat there. he can’t pass up a greasy joint evah!

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[olive and i struggling to get a goodie photo in…um, fail?]

so, we plopped down and ordered some greasy food. we actually ordered a lot…but in the end, it just disappeared! how did that happen?? hee. i got eggs over easy, hash browns, bacon, and pancakes. yum. olive got lots and lots of cereal puffs. we ate, olive giggled and screamed, and we filled our empty bellies up.

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after breakfast, we walked back outside and it was raining. boo. we were super bummed because the weather was just not cooperating. it was cold, dreary, and rainy. a bad combo for wanting to walk outside. so, we decided to head on over to oakbrook. there, they have awnings and it’s more protected and easier to shop around. of course, on our way there, the day took a turn and the weather had become super sunny and warm! natch.

we spent the rest of the afternoon there and had a great shopping day! hc got some new things and we browsed around for olive. baby girl needed a new fall wardrobe {new, cozy fall clothes on the horizon}! we had a lovely time walking around and checking out some new, fun stuff.

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lately, i’ve noticed how big olive has gotten {watch out…total mom stuff coming}. i mean, she’s less a baby and more a little girl. oh, it makes me a wee bit sad. very bittersweet. i’ve enjoyed so much of her baby stage but now she is starting to show her independence. i like that she likes to entertain herself and can be on her own, but at the same time it makes me miss her totally dependent baby moments. i love her so much right now. we have such a bond and i’m amazed at how lovey she is. i love her hugs, kisses, and laughter. she is so freakin’ quirky and cute.

for example, the photos below…she was being so cute and funny. she kept swinging her legs back and forth and making funny faces. kids, they are so innocent and sweet. they totally live in the moment with such joy.

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our day ended up being fun {well of course it did}, rainy day or not, we will always have a swell time together! cheers to olive’s cuteness!

xoxo

happy october!

it’s october. oh, how i love you october. it’s one of my favorite months. it kick starts all the holidays {i loooove holiday season!}. i love that it’s a ‘spooky’ month. i love that halloween is this month. i love to see all the leaves change into their vibrant colors for their last hurrah. you can wear, buy, collect all sorts of boots and throw on a cozy sweater and scarf to keep toasty warm!

i love that first chill in the air. ya know, that morning you feel that coldness and you know old man winter is starting to creep up on you {stay away mr. winter!}. you smell the aroma of burning leaves, you watch the sunset burn across the sky. you see people scatter pumpkins across their doorsteps and decorate their doors with autumn leaves. i’m about to fill our house up with the smell of pumpkin candles and spice. so nice 😉

i’m excited that fall is here. i look forward to trick o treating. i can’t wait to buy olive’s halloween costume…hmmmm, what shall she be? {most likely something to match her cousin’s minecraft costumes} suggestions welcomed! i’m ready to decorate the house with fall accents. i’ve been scheming up some great, festive ideas for decor! we’ll be spending more time indoors, so it’s time to get it all cozy inside, don’t you agree?!

via tandeminlove.comautumn to do list:

1. apple picking

2. pumpkin carving

3. trick o treating

4. decorate the abode

5. jumping into a pile of leaves

6.  buy a new pair of boots

7. drink hot cider and eat an apple cider donut {again}

8. go on a hay ride

9. eat a caramel apple

10. eat anything pumpkin(y) {cookie, latte, pie}

hmmmm, with this list, i might have to add in exercise to negate all those extra calories! or maybe not. hehehe.

what’s on your autumn to do list? i hope it’s full of fall type activities, goodies, and fun! happy october everyone!

xoxo