christmukkah

dana and i were able to meet up for lunch during this holiday craziness that has enveloped us. we were so excited! we had tried the week prior but we were so busy, we couldn’t get together but not the following week {score}! woo!

of course, we decided to meet up at our favorite place: southport grocery. we love eating there! olive and i were totally on time {can you believe that?!}. we got there right when we said we would; the only reason why we were on time was because olive didn’t take her morning nap, she woke up so late that morning that it was not in the cards. although she did end up falling asleep on the ride in, which was totally fine and perfect. a little cat nap is what she needed.

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[southport avenue // my old, old, old stomping ground]

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[the crooked picture frames bug me]

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[my little babes fast asleep]

dana had arrive there first {and early} and put our name in, there was a bit of a wait so she trekked on over to cvs to pick up a few things. i arrived and scored a front parking spot across from the restaurant.  the little babes was sleeping so i kept her in her car seat…thank goodness she is still small enough for that car seat and i can keep her sleeping! as i was finishing up, i saw my eye doctor walking down the street and we waved hello! {i have been going to the same place on southport for over ten years!} we walked inside the restaurant and they were ready for us, just then, dana walked in as well – perfect.

our brunch day was a designated holiday gift exchange. i brought dana a hanukkah gift and she brought me a christmas gift! although i didn’t get her eight gifts…it was a darn, good gift! : P anyhoo, i opened up my gift {wrapped in a plastic bag from jerusalem} and discovered the cutest little knit ornament! it was a llama from peru!! i love it! she had visited her dad, while he was on business, in peru and brought me back the gift…so sweet!

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[miss dana with her hanukkah gift]

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[my cute little knit ornament from peru]

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[i love her]

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after we exchanged our gifts, our delicious food arrived and we noshed away, making our bellies and minds happy. we typically get the same dishes every time. once in a blue moon, we will change it up but we are creatures of habit!

after we finished eating, dana and i decided to make gift baskets for some people on our list. i love southport grocery for all their little goodies inside. they use fresh, organic ingredients for their food and their little grocery store inside is so cute! we picked out some yummy stuff and they wrapped it all up in pretty metal basket. we were so excited when we saw the packaging. what a great place to build a gift for anyone!

while we waited for our baskets to get wrapped, dana and i trekked over to anthropologie {of course!}. we perused the whole place and commented on all the stuff we love or want. i ended up buying some candles and wrapping decor for the christmas presents i needed to wrap.

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[the southern…so delish]

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[panda feet]

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[trying to get friendly with the doggy but he wasn’t having it]

we finished up at the store, swung by to pick up our awesome baskets, and walked over to starbucks for get a coffee. after a few hours of hanging out, it was time to go. i drove dana home {it took seconds, she lives so close} because she came with nothing and left with something. so much so that it wasn’t possible for her to walk back home!

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[starbucks]

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we had such a wonderful afternoon together. i love this girl. we literally were skipping down the sidewalk holding hands…that’s how awesome it is to spend time with her.

cheers to great friends and holiday charm!

xoxo

kind of a date night

so, we had an impromptu date night. yes, the stars were aligned and we jumped right on it!

our day started out with just me and olive. we chilled in the morning, did our usual routine, and then we got ready to head out to olive’s one year doctor’s appointment. traffic wasn’t so bad but {harhar} we were running late! we were about 15 minutes late and scored a close parking spot, so we were right on time to our predicted late time {ha!}. i was super excited to see how much my baby has grown! olive was in the 85 percentile for her head and height but she was at the 50 percentile for her weight…not too shabby. i really thought she was going to weigh more, but everything is just perfect. she is super healthy and just stinkin’ wonderful.

after her appointment, we went to starbucks and i bought a coffee. we then cruised down southport to check out some shops. of course, we stopped at our favorite store: anthropologie! we walked around and around enjoying all the holiday decor, knick knacks, and beautiful clothes. the store is so whimsical and fun but not only that, they have the coolest, prettiest dresses! after we shopped around for a bit, we decided to head out just in time for olive’s second nap during our car ride home. natch.

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[at our favorite store – anthropologie]

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***

olive woke up just in time for a shopping trip to target. we bought a bunch of grocery items and some holiday decor. while i was shopping at target, my sister text me about wanting miss olive to come over to my parent’s house because our nephews were over and they wanted to play with her! so right after our shopping excursion, i headed over to my parent’s house and dropped miss olive off!

i headed back home to unload the groceries and hc declared that we were going to take advantage of this alone time and go out to dinner! when he first mentioned doing something together, my mind immediately went to doing some errands together but he firmly said no. he said we were going to spend our time together doing nothing but enjoy a lovely dinner together with just us. what a fantastic thought!!

wow…it had been awhile since we went out to dinner, sat eye to eye, conversed, and not get interrupted by anything! it was amazing. it felt good. it felt like a true {short} date night! it’s crazy to think we haven’t done something like that in months! how simple things like that can be taken for granted! i loved every second of our alone time together. i am super thankful hc insisted on it and grateful he is a romantic like that. gosh, he helps me slow down and enjoy life, ’cause sometimes i move at warp speed and i need someone to tell me to stop and smell the roses.

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xoxo

november snapshots

oh my goodness…november has come and gone. it’s been such a whirlwind month. like seriously cray. i planned like a mad women for olive’s first birthday party, we had thanksgiving, olive had her first visit with santa, and we had a lot of fun times in between with friends and family.

november was so much fun! i had the best time getting ready for olive’s birthday {okaaayy, i was a bit stressed for some of it!}. i spent most of the month {and prior months!}, scheming up ideas and putting together the decor for her party. hosting the event at our house was definitely the highlight of my month!

olive learning how to walk was, seriously, the best moment evah! i was delirious with excitement and joy. her tyrannosaurus rex walking style is so stinkin’ cute…the way she tucks and curls her arms up and wobbles all over the place is so adorbs, i could eat her up!

of course, all the times i spent with my family {doing fun festive stuff} and friends is always awesome. there were plenty of moments where i met up with friends for brunches, chilled with the fam, and spent oodles of time with miss olive!

via tandeminlove.com[first time with santa!]

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[olive’s first birthday cake]

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[mama is still sleeping]

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[olive’s first birthday party]

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[auntie kim]

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[being silly]

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[brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?]

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[helping momma put together some christmas lights]

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[run run run run runaway]

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[how does it taste?]

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[matchy black and white]

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[baby cheeks]

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[cookie favors]

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[silly gal]

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[i pose, therefore i am]

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[shagalicious]

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[first birthday cake]

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[bunny blankie]

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[little goat]

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[chubby cheeks]

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[chocolate cupcakes!]

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[she loves to put anything in her mouth and let it hang there like a cigar]

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[learning how to blow her nose]

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[being a super, super fussy gal]

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well, that’s a wrap up of november! a lot of olive cuteness and a bit of other things. 😉 i can’t wait to share with y’all some jolly ol’ december goodness!

xoxo

olive’s 12 month loves

month twelve.

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etch a sketch classic doodle // melissa and doug animal wood puzzle // plan toys dancing alligator // brown bear brown bear book // pottery barn kids chair // princess barbie four wheeler

{insert sad face} my last monthly post about olive’s monthly loves. *sniff sniff* it’s been such an amazing year with this little gal and i loved discovering, along with her, all of her favorite little likes and dislikes. children are so amazing. so innocent and loving. they are pure happiness, they live in the moment and have no barriers. that thought breaks and melts my heart at the same time. i would do anything to protect her from this imperfect world but alas it will only make her stronger to experience life’s crazy paths. until then, she just loves her toys and that is all that matters right now! so onto more lighthearted banter!

she received this etchy sketchy thingy on her first birthday. now granted, her interest in items, maybe, last a minute or two but she does love doodling on this contraption. she loves to give it to me, i’ll write something on it and then she will yank it away {like how dare i enjoy her toy!}, and then she will give it back to me so i can draw on it again. she usually keeps up this cycle for a few minutes until she wants to grab another toy and give it to me.

auntie missy gave this wood puzzle to her. she does enjoy it. she loves to whip all the pieces of the puzzle onto the floor and never put them back. yay! so i place all the shapes into their respective homes and then she whips them back onto the floor! woo! although, i think the puzzle toy is haunted. the animals just randomly make sounds when no one is near! and we ‘lost’ the cat piece, so the cat meows and meows and meows. sometimes in the middle of the night, the cat will howl out from the wood puzzle. eerie.

olive received this wood alligator from andrea! it’s so cute! it bounces it’s behind when you pull it along. click clack click clack . i love plan toys and, as always, i love wood toys! the colors of this toy are catching for olive’s eyes and she loves to pull it along the floor. she has a great time with it!

oh my goodness. olive really, really loves this book. she loves to pull the tabs back on each page to reveal the animal picture, even before i finish each sentence! the colors are so rich and vivid on each page; and i love to make each animal noise for olive so she can understand and relate. it’s currently her favorite book, unfortunately it’s so heavy! she cries every time she picks it up and brings it over to me. she will typically drop it twice before i come over to rescue her from it.

she received this chair from gramma and papa for her first birthday and it’s her absolute favorite. she loves to sit in it and chill. she will cuddle with her bunny blankie, or brown bear, or her pink bear while she watches t.v. it’s so cute to see her sit in her chair like a grown up! her big sister loves it just as much and they always have a little showdown on who will sit in the chair! olive always trumps this one!

her new favorite thing? cars, anything with wheels, anything she can push and roll around the house with. whether it’s a wooden car, a big plastic four wheeler, or a shopping cart, she’ll push that thing around until she can’t push no more! she absolutely loves to be pushed around as well and that can be trouble! it’s soooo tiring to push her around, she wants more and more and we are so old and tired! she gets so upset when we stop but i get so out of breath and exhausted…so my family and i will take turns to push that little princess around.

there ya go! the ‘last’ of olive’s monthly loves! oh, how bittersweet. we look forward to olive’s future loves {a post here or there about her growing favorites!} and her soon to be big girl ways! our little babes is getting so big and independent already, slow yer roll baby doll, slow yer roll!

xoxo

deck the halls!

we finally and slowly decorated our home. annndd, it’s still not done. well, let me explain. since we are in a new home {and first christmas here!}, there’s so much more space and so much more we can do! so, the old decorations we had at our place in chicago totally suffice, but we want to do so much more {in time my dear, in time…what’s that proverbial phrase? patience is a virtue. hmph}.

we did our usual routine, we whipped out the decor, turned on the christmas tunes, and drank some wine! well, this time around {with us having olive} it was quite the slow process. there was a lot of holding her. stopping. there was a lot of giggle time. stopping. there was a lot of her crying because she either wanted to touch the ornaments or just be in our arms. stopping. wow…decorating took a l o n g time. it actually became a part deux!

well we did it! we finally got our decorations up. it is still a work in progress, i am still adding little things here and there as i assess how ‘festive’ our home is. i definitely don’t like getting too crazy {haha…some might argue} with the decor but i know that there isn’t enough oomph yet in our house for it to scream holiday!  slowly but surely, it will all come together…

in the meantime, enjoy the pics and captions! some things have already changed since i took these photos, but naturally that will be for next year’s holiday post! 😉

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[boxwood wreath]

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[banner by little dovie]

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[bright lab lights and our lit bushes // i actually found these cute little white reindeers from target that i added around the pine trees…so fun! it still needs a little something else, i’m still trying to figure it out]

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[decking the halls in our pj’s!]

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[my cuties]

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[olive was very good at helping out]

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[we took a little snuggle/goofy time break in-between decorating]

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[goofy girl]

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[then she got grumpy]

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[she was happy in our arms, so she helped with the star topper]

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[handmade snow ‘globes’, silver mercury, and holly]

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[pottery barn pillows]

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[my handmade card holder! a diy from a few years back!]

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***

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[holly berries in a silver mercury vase]

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[the reindeer vase needs more cheer! i will be shopping for some pretty florals to add to this]

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[i will also be adding more holiday pizazz to this mantle…possibly some glitzy ornaments]

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[i will be adding in some red ribbon and possibly ornaments]

***

next up, olive’s room! i did some tiny little touches of christmas to her room.

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[mr. gingerbread man from the land of nod]

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[olivia helps with christmas // tiffany’s rabbit piggybank]

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[the personalized christmas mouse book from her aunties last year and olive the reindeer book]

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[i love vintage, i love kitschy]

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there ya go! our holiday makeover. i love adding a little cheer to every room in the house. it definitely is the most wonderful time of the year!!!

xoxo

santa’s bag: the ultimate christmas gift tracking app

can you believe christmas is just around the corner {12 days left}?! we’re all doing our best to get everything prepped and ready for the big day {so much to do!}! in between shopping and putting up the tree and hanging the christmas lights, we’re all rushing about! christmas shopping is one of those things that can sometimes get pushed to the sidelines and forgotten until the very last minute, when you end up scrambling for gifts {not this year!}.

luckily, the folks over at clay pot software LLC have created an app that makes christmas shopping easier: santa’s bag. already featured on Forbes’ “8 santa-approved apps for big savings this season “, the app is proving to be a favorite among christmas shoppers {pretty cool, right?!}. the app lets you set a budget for all your christmas gifts, and then import a list of recipients from your contacts {so easy}.

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you can then assign a gift {or two, or three} to each recipient, as well as their own individual budget. you can then organize the items based on recipient or place where you’re buying the gift from, so your list of presents can become a shopping list with the tap of a finger. once you’ve purchased the items, you can then input the total cost of the gift, and the app shows you how much total you’ve spent for each recipient, and whether you’ve gone over or under the budget. isn’t that just spectacular?!

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of course, because you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got this app running while you’re out shopping, it’s important to remember to close any other apps you might have running. a blog post on Pocket Fruity says that forgetting to close apps you’re no longer using is one of the reasons why your battery doesn’t last as long as it should {duh! great advice!}. they also add that, “another way to prolong your battery life… is to adjust the brightness of your screen to a more suitable, less energy-consuming level. you’ll find this option somewhere in your mobile settings.” i love that…the brightness on my phone has been adjusted and it totally helps. if you’re going to be using this app the way you’re supposed to, you’ll want to make sure that your phone’s battery lasts long enough to get your christmas shopping done. we all have been in that situation, no? i definitely need my phone battery to last, especially since i will be on it a lot while i christmas shop!

well, lovies, I hope you find this app and tips useful. i sure do! christmas shopping will now be a breeze, organized, and on budget!

do you use any other apps to help you prep for the holidays?

xoxo

sugar cookie making and baking

as i stated in my prior blog post, i love making sugar cookies for our thanksgiving get togethers. it’s a fun activity for the kids {decorating & eating them!} but it definitely gets me in the holiday spirit when making them. it reminds me of all the times i made sugar cookies as a kid and how excited i would get to make ’em and then eat them all {yum!}!

so the day before turkey day, hc and i broke out a bottle of wine, put on christmas music, and i got to work on making some yummy cookies. this recipe is a classic and so easy to do. the recipe will yield up to five dozen cookies, give or take a dozen {depending on the size of your cookie cutters!}.

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[let’s start with the first ingredient…wine]

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[cheers]

ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of butter, softened
  • 2 cups of white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 5 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt

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[a few ingredients]

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in a large bowl, cream together the {soft} butter and sugar until it’s smooth. then beat in the eggs and vanilla. then stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. split the dough into two halves and wrap it each with saran wrap and chill in the freezer for an hour.

after the dough chills, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and start rolling out the dough {about 1/4 inch thick} onto a floured surface. start cutting out all your fun, festive shapes and then transfer your cookies onto a greased baking sheet.

bake your cookies for 6-8 minutes {or until the edges are slightly browned}. don’t over bake your cookies or they will be too crunchy and hard! after you take your cookies out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack so you free up your baking sheets to start the cycle all over again!

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[whip it good]

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[wine + baking = some damn good sugar cookies]

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[decorated sugar cookies by my nephews and grace]

there you go! some delicious, soft, yummy, sweet sugar cookies to festively decorate and eat! tis the season to overindulge. i hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i do. it’s such a great way to keep kids entertained, get them to be creative, and start a fun holiday tradition.

xoxo

turkey day

oh goodness. i have been so behind with blogging/posting. life has been so hectic and busy. i’m trying so hard to squeeze in some much needed sleep as well…which i have been terribly lacking in. that does not make me happy. i love sleep. loooooove it. but of late, i have been so very sleep deprived and that is no bueno. hello…that is why they call it beauty sleep and i am currently no beauty…just way tired looking!

anyhoo, i’m finally posting about thanksgiving. yeah…that was how long ago? but better late than never, non?!

we started off our morning right. relaxing, coffee, and just us being together. olive took her nap and after that, we gathered our stuff together and headed over to aunt wendy’s. they always have thanksgiving ‘dinner’ early. usually around 1:30pm. so, it always works out for us because my family has always had thanksgiving dinner around dinner time…6-7pm. we are able to split our day between both families.

we got to aunt wendy’s and settled in. we had brought a birthday cake to celebrate olive’s first. she was born one day before thanksgiving last year, so this year, it fell on thanksgiving day! the food was ready within the hour, i grabbed a plate for olive first. i fed my little babes her first thanksgiving meal {it was only colostrom last year!} and then grabbed a plate for myself! yum. the food was good…and very, very unhealthy! just keeding…it was all fat free 😉

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[olive not having a meltdown in auntie missy’s arms]

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[daniel and missy ready to give miss olive her birthday present]

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[birthday gifts from auntie missy]

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[my little babes]

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[daniel and olive…cousins]

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[me and lori]

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[gramma and olive]

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[‘lunch’ is served]

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[darling morgan and miss olive]

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[sister grace]

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after we ate, we hung out for a bit. we caught up with the family and olive played around. she has to get warmed up and become familiar with her surroundings before she gets comfortable. once she is, she will start to explore and become friendly with the people around her.

after a bit, we decided to break out her birthday cake since the other desserts were being served. we lit her birthday candle, brought out the cake to the dining room table, and sang happy birthday! she didn’t even wait for us to sing. she saw the cake and dug her finger right into it! ha!

after her cake, we chilled for just a little bit longer and then headed over to my parent’s house to another round of thanksgiving dinner and birthday cake!

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[birthday cake!]

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[before we sang, she had already stuck her finger in the cake! // make a wish!]

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***

when we arrived at my parent’s house, we were delighted by the cute little presents waiting for miss olive! my sisters did such a wonderful job putting her presents together! so sweet.

my sister kim was downstairs, still whipping up our delicious dinner. we all pitched in to help finish it up while the kids played around. every year, my sister kim always makes the yummiest thanksgiving dinner. it’s soooo good! everything is delicious, tasty, and savory. my favorite dishes are the brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. this year, though, i was really loving the mushrooms. like i said before…it’s all fat free!

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[cutest gift…a ‘target’ shopping cart and goodies inside!]

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[if you’re vietnamese…you’ll know what’s inside the container thuy is holding!]

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[cheers!]

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[my sweet brother dan]

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[thanksgiving table]

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[happy birthday olive!]

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[here comes the food!]

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[cheers!]

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[the boys were super excited mom found the wishbone!]

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[bennett ended up with the winning part]

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once we were done with dinner, we relaxed a bit at the table, and then the clean up began. of course, in old school fashion, all the women cleaned up while the kids and the men chilled.

after the dishes were done and the food was put away, we brought out olive’s birthday cake. kim and thuy got olive the prettiest cake and candles! it was covered in sprinkles! who doesn’t love sprinkles?! we sang happy birthday and she made a ‘wish’.  so perfect!

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[my sweetie]

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[olive with her crazy aunties]

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***

after cake, the big kids were super excited to decorate cookies. every year, i bake a few dozen sugar cookies {a blog post to come!} and bring them over so the kids can have fun decorating cookies! it’s creative, fun, and yummy {maybe a few get eaten before it’s all done 😉 } it’s entertaining to watch them, how creative different they all are and what fun designs they come up with on each cookie.

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[fun festive decorated cookies]

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[olive and grandma]

while the kids decorated cookies, we opened up olive’s birthday gifts from her aunties and cousins. i loved every little detail! the purr-fect card, the ‘target’ cart, the french word blocks, the best baby book {it’s so fun and interactive}, and the cutest, coziest cat hat for miss olive! so perfectly thought out and alls so useful! olive is so lucky to have such generous aunties!

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[a cat card for my cat baby]

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all in all, it was the best ‘first’ thanksgiving for miss olive! we had such a wonderful time celebrating her birthday, eating the most delectable foods, and spending time with our dear family. pure success in the ‘it’s a wonderful life’ department. woot. woot.

xoxo

fam jam night

it was a friday night and it called for a dinner night out with the fam. after doing some fun holiday activities, we all met up at a restaurant in hinsdale called vistro. a cool vibe eatery by paul virant {owner of vie & perennial virant}. it was bustling and busy. we scored a close parking spot and cruised on in. we originally had a high table but that wasn’t going to work with ms. olive. so, they were super kind and accommodating to us! they quickly relocated us to a booth. i was quite pleased at how wonderful they were with our situation.

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[olive doesn’t get a high chair…she sits on the table like a lady]

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[famille]

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[pouty]

we sat down and ordered some delicious apps and beverages. the crispy tuscan kale and brussels sprouts were soooooo good. i could have eaten those two dishes as my main meal. seriously. so yum. but i did not regret my burger. that was delectable as well.

i loved the vibe of the restaurant. it was quite cozy, warm, and friendly. the service was fantastic and everyone was so nice. obviously having a baby {who wants to move around} can be a challenge at a restaurant but everyone thought she was a cutie. duh, of course. olive wanted so badly to walk everywhere in the place…i tried my best to not have her interfere with other patron’s meals. we cruised around the tables and walked into the hallway where the bathrooms were and turned back around to our table. and then maybe start over again.

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[festive cocktails]

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[this brussel sprout dish was soooo tasty!]

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[kim doing her best RBF]

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we were doing pretty well throughout the meal but near the end, it was time to go! she started to get a bit fussy and it was close to her bedtime.

we had a great time being silly, relaxing, and noshing on some super savory food. it was a wonderful end to a great day.

xoxo

flashback friday

today takes us back to december 2008.

our friends and family gathered together at 10pin for a holiday bowling party. nerdy hc and me decided to get matching bowling shirts personalized with our names on them {from strange cargo in wrigleyville…i love that store!}. ha! it’s a shame we have never worn them since. i guess that means we need to go to another fun, bowling party soon. dust off the duds and roll some balls!

we had just started dating here, barely together for two months in this photo! look at us! we look so fresh and happy; i’m loving our ‘looks’. anyhoo, we met up with everyone {my sisters and a bunch of friends}, bowled our hearts out, and noshed on some yummy not good for you food.

it was a swell time. we were loving our bowling shirts and loving each other. ah, the start of our relationship is so sweet to reminisce in. when we first met, it was quite rocky {at least on my part…as many of you know, i didn’t take to hc at first} and then we fell hard. december was a wonderful month for us. it was full of love, laughter, good times, and newness.

so, a bowling party like this was a fabulous memory we now revel in. we got all geeked out in our shirts and had a great time bowling with everyone. or at least i tried my best to avoid getting my balls in the gutter 😉

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[heine and deuce]

what are some of your favorite memories with your significant other?? what holiday pasts have you done that brings you joy? hopefully nothing bad that the ghost of  christmas past will remind you of {not scrooges allowed}!! i hope it brings a smile to your face when you reminisce! happy friday y’all!

xoxo