we had our friends jeri, john, and taylor over for dinner! it was a jam packed day {with guests} and hc worked really hard to prep some damn good meals for us.
they stopped by our house in the early evening. john’s son, taylor, lives right by us! so, they were on their way to dropping him off and we had planned for them to stop on by to say hello and then stay for dinner.
hc had slow cooked some savory pork, made a delicious coleslaw, buttery mashed potatoes, and seasoned a slew of his signature brussel sprouts. dinner was going to be good! the house smelled delicious and i couldn’t wait to eat! to top off our meal, jeri & john brought over sweet mandy b’s desserts…oh em gee. one of my favorite bakeries in the city! i was extremely excited for the desserts! total bonus points for being the best guests!
[jeri, taylor, and john]
before dinner, john drove taylor home to his mom’s and then came back for dinner. while we waited for him, we opened up the gift they had brought for miss olive. oh, they are so sweet and thoughtful. i am so thankful for their kindness and totally appreciate that they thought about miss olive. jeri had picked out the cutest outfits for olive!! i loved it! i told her that it was like i picked them out myself…the colors and cuteness were perfect!
we then sat down for dinner. it was oh so good. the food was so flavorful and the company was fantastic. we had a really good time chatting it up with them. they are such a great couple and taylor is a really cool, sweet kid. i really enjoyed having them over.
[we were about to open olive’s gift from jeri and john…not sure what is going on with olive’s hair?!]
[slaw, pulled pork, smashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts]
[olive giving jeri the birdie..lol]
after relaxing through dinner and catching up on a lot of life’s craziness, i brought out the desserts. oh, i was in heaven. jeri and john had selected different flavored cupcakes and yummy cookies to share. i sliced all the cupcakes in half and we all dug into the flavors that we wanted to taste. mmmmmm! so yummy!
we all hung out a bit longer but it was a ‘school night’, so jeri and john decided to head out. it was truly a wonderful night. we had such a great time hosting and having them over for dinner. we committed to more get togethers {especially when the weather gets warmer…don’t we all wish that here in chicago?!}.
thanks jeri and john for hanging out! we loved having you guys over!
it was a calm, snowy morning. we were waiting for olivia and aaron to swing on by for a morning brunch at our house. so, {a little bit about miss} olivia is always so tardy for everything. aaron had committed to a brunch time of 11am, naturally, we didn’t expect them until noon {because olivia is always soooo late!}. well, eleven o’clock rolled on up and i had just put olive down for a nap, finally got myself dressed for the day, and i was helping hc set up for our brunch when the doorbell rang. whaaaaa?!!!! they were on time?! holy cow! i will credit mr. aaron for getting to our place on time, he said he was the one who committed to the time promised and by golly, he was going to fulfill it. oh, how i love him for that!
thank goodness we were ready!
hc was just finishing up the last dish and we got down to business. he had made a delicious quiche and hash for brunch. we served lots of coffee, beer {yes, beer for the boys}, optional berry mimosas, fruit, and cinnamon rolls to top off our menu. it was so good. yes, it was. i’m so lucky to have such an amazing cook of a hubby!
[olive finally letting olivia be near her]
[delicious quiche, hash, and fruit]
after brunch, we just hung out. it was pretty awesome to have them over. it was quite chill and relaxing. olivia and i ‘gossiped’ {according to aaron 😉 } and the boys talked shop and talked shop and talked shop. oh, these two will definitely be boys together. it’s kind of funny…olivia and i fall into such girly gossipy roles {um, we love our long talks!} and our two men will be such gearheads and exchange a bunch of jargon non stop. honestly, though, lately it feels like i never have enough time with my dear olivia! i do miss our girl time together when we would talk for hours on end. no joke, get us together and we can jibber jabber like no other! oh how i miss those days.
[the boys chillin’ with olive || it was a pajama morning for her]
[tickle tickle]
[pouty face]
[always making a mess]
[i love baby pigtails]
[the group trying to get in on a pic with olive…she was like ‘nope’]
after a few hours of hanging out, olivia and aaron headed on out. they had lots to do for their upcoming week! it was incredibly awesome that they had come out to our place for brunch {and vice versa…we love going to the city to see them!}. we love, love hanging out with these two and adore them both so much. such a great couple and of course i heart olivia to bits. she’s such a sweetheart.
it was definitely a wonderful morning brunch. cheers!
the other night, my famille was over just to hang out. it was a true lazy day for all of us. we ate lunch, chilled, and the kids played together {like little crazy rug rats}. a few hours after lunch, little b wanted cake. chocolate cake to be exact but i didn’t have any to offer. so i decided i would make cupcakes for everyone {little b was just fine with it being vanilla}.
b was so excited. he really wanted to help. he was in the kitchen with me pretty much the whole time. asking me questions about everything! he was most curious on how long everything took. how much longer until the batter is done? how much longer for them to bake? how many more minutes unit they’re done? how many more minutes until they’re done? how many minutes until they are cool? are they still cooling? are they done now? can we frost them now? what about now? hehehehe. too cute…such a kid thing, no?
[helping me line the cupcake tins]
[filling the liners with batter]
[frosting manic!]
so, the cupcakes were finally cool and b frosted them with me! we had a great time frosting and sprinkling each one. i gave him a little spatula knife and he dug his little hand and little knife into the frosting and slowly swirled on bits of frosting onto each cupcake. he did well! he, at first, had a hard time swiveling his wrist back and forth so he could spread the frosting around but with a few tries, he finally got it.
[a little sprinkle never hurts]
we got all the cupcakes covered and sprinkled half of them to dress some of them up. thennnn, it was time to gobble them up! r, b, me, and thuy each had ourselves a sweet treat. it was great to have made cupcakes with my darling little nephew b. he was the best sous chef evah!
so us goofy gals {okay, olive has no choice || right now|| but to be a goofy gal with me} decided to coordinate our p.j.’s in celebration of valentine’s day!
yes, corny me is getting excited for valentine’s day! i’ve been thinking a lot about what to do, what to make, when to decorate {i am hoping i have the time to squeeze in some fun stuff…it’s so precious lately}. i’m a fan of this upcoming holiday…it’s a day to celebrate love, love for your family, love for your husband, love for your significant other, love for your friends, love for your children, love all around!
alright, lots of mommy and olive pictures coming right up! we had a blast hanging out in our heart p.j.’s for the day {well, really for the evening}. i love coordinating our outfits but it’s a once in a blue moon kind of thing. i’m into that idea {love it} but i’m not into the dedication, time, and effort! i only wish i could sit around all day and think, coordinate, and buy outfits that matchy matchy. shyeah right. i’d rather put an effort in to get creative with her ensemble but sometimes that is a fail! so, typically for special occasions, i’ll whip together a cute twinnie outfit of the day.
[what am i doing in this photo? i’m not sure…chillaxin’…being pensive, or just waiting for miss olive to return to me so we can snap more pics?!]
[so sweet]
[she looks so much like her auntie kim in this photo!]
i hoped you enjoyed our twinnie outfit of the day! olive was somewhat cooperative. she’s a babes on the move, as of late. getting her to snap some decent photos is a complete challenge! i’d say we were quite successful…i’m loving our heart pajama session. anyhoo, on that note, i love valentine’s day and can’t wait to celebrate it.
i was excited to see kim and brady, it had been a few months since i saw them {at olive’s first birthday party}. we set up a date and decided upon a mid morning brunch…that meant skipping olive’s usual morning nap. i’ve only done it twice before and twice was it a disaster. well, okay not a total disaster but you can definitely tell when the babes doesn’t get her usual morning nap. she does get grhhummpyyy!
we met kim and brady at wild berry; we had met in the area, at the adjoining restaurant once before. it was when kim was on maternity leave and i was pregnant! it was a short wait to be seated…our pager went off within minutes and we were led into the dining area, to the back. they had high chairs for the wee ones that were really short. the kiddies kind of sat below the table line versus at it or above it. kim and i both commented on it…it was just that the babes were trying to see over all the ‘stuff’ on the table, so it was a bit difficult for them to look at each other!
anyhoo, we just started gabbing and gabbing. we started off with drinks and fruit for the kiddos but didn’t bother to peruse the menu. the server came by and we had her come back another time so we could look over the selection and decide on something.
kim and i talked about all sorts of stuff. i love that we are still friends and in touch! we have known each other for 4 1/2 – 5 years?? it’s so crazy to see it in writing…that it’s already been that long, and sometimes it seems like we just met but no, we’ve been ‘single’, engaged, married, and now we are mamas!
i love that we can connect on soooo many things…it’s great when you can share ideas, frustrations, and happy stuff with a friends and feel comfortable doing so. kim shared some amazing news with me! i am super delighted about the big announcement and look forward to the progression! life is good. life is great!
[hiiii brady]
[my babes]
[kim and brady]
it’s so interesting when you hang out with your friends with babes. it’s {obvs} all about them! we constantly fed them, obliged to their grunting, and did our best to entertain them if they were fussy. olive was eventually dunzo with sitting in her highchair and so i pulled her out and she walked back and forth, back and forth between the tables, crawled under her high chair a few times {my cat baby} and sat underneath it for a bit, and then she would eventually crawl back out and circle around again. it’s amaze that we can even hold a conversation with each other with all the distractions that we face when we are with them!
we finished up our meal {um, i walked away realizing i ate pretty much nothing!}, paid the bill, and headed out. i knew the little babes was going to knock out with a nap in the car. we said our goodbyes, it was too adorbs what happened next {i wished i snapped some pics!}! we put brady and olive down next to each other and told them to hug each other and give a kiss. almost a full make out session ensued! they hugged and kissed and kissed each other. oh em gee…i almost died from the cuteness! that was the best. a sweet little entertaining ending to our fun brunch date!
my friend marina is having her third baby! wowza! it’s kinda crazy how many friends of mine are pregnant right now…and they are all having girls!!
so all the gals {initiated by miss kris} got together {via social media} to get marina a bunch of cute baby gifts in lieu of a shower, so it sprouted into a little sprinkle gift! how sweet. we were all so excited to do this. all the girls sent me their gifts {from different states!} and i put it all together in a white woven basket, surrounded it with pink colored tissue, flowers, and handmade a cute little pink banner to adorn it with.
we had planned a night where we could head over to marina’s house and give her the presents. i put olive in her pj’s…yes, it was going to be a late night {i figured we would be at marina’s ’til 8:30ish}, too close the her bedtime and i wanted her to be ready to go down once we got home.
we got to rina’s around 7:30pm and pam was right behind us. it was so great to see her and the boys! it was absolutely adorbs how sweet and interested maddox was in olive. he was trying so hard and saying some cute things like “take a picture of us!”…how sweet and yes, of course we took a ton of pictures!
[maddox being soooo cute with miss olive…he asked us if we could take a picture of them together!]
[she was not impressed, and then he showered her with gifts 😉 ]
[playing together]
[chillin’]
[oh, that belly]
after we hung out for a bit, chit chatted about life and the crazy changes that are happening very soon {a lot of changes that will be bittersweet as well}, we wanted marina to open up her gifts {i wish all the gals who participated could have been there too}! she was so surprised and excited! it felt great and wonderful to be able to give her some fun, needed presents for her little bundle of joy.
[her little sprinkle]
[somebody found a fun, new toy!]
after she went through all her girly goodies and needed necessities, maddox dug into the basket and, of course, found the breast shields and got super creative with them. he was being so funny!
it was a great, quick evening at their household. we had an excellent time just chillin’ while the kids played around and got silly. i was so happy marina was so delighted over her presents. we cannot wait to meet her sweet baby girl! yay!
our last day in cali started out quick. our flight out was in the early afternoon, so that left us with only a few hours to do a few things before we had to head out to the airport.
first things first: eating. we wanted to go to a place called tart, but in typical fashion, huy and tashina got there before us and said it was a two hour wait…whaaaaa?! no thank you! i really wanted to try tart but we did not have the time to wait around nor would we have if we even had the time!
so, huy and tashina had us meet them at king’s road cafe. it is a cozy little restaurant, not very big…what you see down below in the photos is what you get. our tables were right next to the kitchen counter, so not a lot of space! the coffee was strong and delicious. the food was good, typical breakfast fare. tashina and huy ordered and ate first because tashina needed to get to a dress fitting within the next hour. did i mention that she is a dress designer & stylist?! so ah-maze and talented! check out her website here. oh, and i’ve said it before…my brother is an accomplished and incredible photographer, so together they are quite the powerful, artsy, brilliant couple!
anyhoo, after brunch, tashina left and we met our brother at the LACMA. waaaayyy cool. thuy and lan actually went there the night before…when kim and i were pooped out and wanted to shower and go to bed {yeessssss, we were tired}. they took some pretty cool pictures that night…obvs, a light installation is much cooler in the dark!
[sneakers, flats, and taps oh my!]
i really wanted to see the rock. huy and tashina told us a story about the rock the night before at dinner. i was totally intrigued. how it took so much money {$10 million in total} to transport this rock to it’s home, they literally took apart signals, utility lines, and cables to allow this rock to be transported to the museum because it was so big {it took up three highway lanes}. bananas.
of course we took a gazillion pictures of the rock and then we walked around towards the light installation. as i said before, pictures at night would have been cooler but taking some in the daylight sufficed!
i am so glad we stopped by the LACMA…it was the perfect ‘last day’ destination. i had such a good time exploring some unique artwork. i love art! there is always something so dark, inquisitive, mysterious, thought provoking, enigmatic about the artwork you see. it makes you curious about the madness behind it. it makes you excited to see people’s creativity, vision, and the final product that they conceive.
[the 340 ton boulder | michael heizer’s levitated mass]
[ahhhhhh, green grass & the warm sun]
[light installation at LACMA]
[thuy hitting up the light installation the night before]
and that’s a wrap! we had the most wonderful time celebrating thuy’s birthday in L.A. it was a pretty awesome weekend! i am very thankful we also were able to spend it with my brother and tashina. they totally made our weekend fabulous {thanks to them for taking us around!}.
on our second day {the temperature was puurrrrrfect}, the sun was shining and i couldn’t wait to let it hit my skin {spf anyone?}! we got ready and headed out to our first destination of the day – bottega louie.
oh em gee. i was in heaven. i love, love this place. it encompassed everything i love: white, light, delicious food, coffee, ambience, interior design, pastries, gifts, candies, cakes, and macarons. beautiful, colorful, tasty, perfectly made macarons.
my sister kim had found this place and put it on our list of things to do. we arrived early and there wasn’t a wait. i couldn’t get past the first few feet, running directly into the macaron cases! they were being seated and i was still straggling around in the front.
[beverly hilton hotel]
[ready to parrrtayyy!]
[we found olive’s street!]
[diiiiirty sidewalk. ew.]
[almost there! eeekkkk!]
[so excited…the pastry cases alone had me in heaven!]
[auhhhhhhhhh! nom nom]
[beignet appetizer with a raspberry compote]
we sat down and ordered the beignets as an appetizer. i die. i ordered, as usual, an orange/grapefruit juice mix and a decaf americano. for my breakfast, i selected the belgium waffles and a side of bacon. natch. it was all soooo good. i loved the scene, the food, and the company.
after we ate, i went up to the cases of pastries to purchase a selection of macarons. i bought the birthday girl a box of pistachios and then myself, a mix of flavors to take home. i wanted to buy so much but i always have to calm myself down and get real. one person can’t eat two dozen macarons in a few days {well, to keep this figure, one can’t do that!}.
[belgium waffles, seasonal berries, chantilly cream {vanilla bean: i die}, and vermont maple syrup]
[i wanted one of everything]
[decisions, decisions, decisions]
[strawberry, raspberry, lemon, espresso, and vanilla bean]
after brunch, we met up with huy and tashina and they walked us around downtown L.A. i had the best time. there was so much to do and look at. the first place we hit was the bench from the movie, 500 days of summer. it was fenced off {no trespassing!} but that doesn’t stop us. at least not me. i’m such a rule breaker {or very antiauthority…it does get me in trouble sometimes}, so naturally, i jumped the fence. what?! the worst anyone could do…tell me not to be in there? well, i was willing to face that. it was fantastic. we snapped some great photos! i loved every moment of it!
[whaaaa? you can never have too many designer purses on at once!]
after we visited the bench, we walked around the area. we stopped by a pretty water court, made a pit stop at MOCA {bought some great gifts for olive and the boys}, and spun by the disney concert hall. we snapped fun pics all along the way!
[water court downtown L.A.]
[frank gehry]
[i love simple|cute|fun packaging]
i had to stop by the car {for a mommy pit stop} while the group hit up the bradbury building {a cool, antique space}. after visiting the building, they went into the grand central market. i met everyone there, it was sooo busy and crazy inside. we walked around for a bit, exploring before we narrowed it down to what we wanted to get. lan, thuy and i decided to get ice-cream {from mcconnell’s} while kim got tacos.
decadent. the ice cream was so smooth and creamy. it was filling and sweet! we sat around outside while we ate our food, enjoying the beautiful weather. ahhhhh, i can’t wait for summer in chi town!
[grand central market]
[wexler’s deli]
[mcconnell’s icecream]
after our escapade downtown, huy took us to the area where he usually bikes {up a mountain}. it was a crazy route there. we were on our way to the griffith park observatory but before we got there, we made a stop at a coffee shop. huy stated that we would totally love the quaint little coffee shop and he was right. yes…this is where we were shoulder to shoulder with beyoncé, solange, and little blue ivy. can you believe it?! as tashina put it, it was like finding a unicorn! yes it was!
they were with two other friends and their kids. i was standing right next to solange. i kept thinking to myself…wow, do i know her? why does this girl look so familiar?? duh! by the time i realized it was them, they were already walking down the path to the street! boo! i can’t believe i missed the photo op! after we got our coffee and hung out a bit at the coffee shop, we walked back to the car. this is where i realized they were still hanging out around the area! i was able to snap a few photos from afar but hey, it’s better than nothing!
[the trails…the infamous spotting of beyonce and solange!]
we drove another two miles to our next destination…it was cuckoo. the road was so tight and it was cray crowded but we finally made it to the griffith park observatory! the views were ah-mazing! now, i am scared of heights and being so high up freaked the sh*t out of me but it was so worth it. we nabbed some awesome photos, created some great memories, and checked another awesome view off our list!
we then headed back down and hit up another shopping center! glendale galleria and americana way. it was like a mini vegas. seriously. it felt like i was in vegas with the way they had built the buildings, all the lights shining all around us, and how crowded it was.
[griffith park observatory]
[our view of downtown L.A. from the griffith park observatory]
[deluca’s italian deli at americana way]
we stopped for a snack before we headed out to dinner. yes, we did eat before we ate. hehe. anyhoo, we explored the malls for a bit and finally headed out to our final destination: the boiling crab. huy and tashina got there first and text us that the wait was two hours and forty-five minutes?!!!!! wtf. no thank you! they then suggested a place across the street called banh mi cali. yes, please. we were sooo in the mood to eat pho and bun bo. it totally hit the spot. no wait, delicious phood 😉 , and it was $5 and change a bowl. woot woot.
[pho at banh mi che cali]
that was our last stop of the day. phew!!! what a whirlwind day. we squeezed in so much and it was perfect. i had the most wonderful day with my sisters, brother, and friends. we visited so many awesome places and i was a happy camper {well, i don’t camp and if i was camping, i probs wouldn’t be happy…so, maybe i should really say happy as a clam but are clams really happy??…okay, okay…i’ll stop analyzing now.}.
the time had come to head out to l.a. we had booked this trip months ago and it came upon us in a blink of an eye.
i wasn’t ready. i hadn’t done much of anything to get ready. it was going to be a short trip {to celebrate my sister’s birthday!} over the weekend but i typically prepare, think about packing, and get random stuff {purchased} to go on vacation with but this time around i didn’t. i was having a little anxiety about leaving little miss olive. i knew i was going to miss her incredibly! nonetheless, i got myself ready {pedi and mani all set!}, packed my clothes, and went to bed. i was definitely ready for some warm weather, relaxation, and yummy eating to ensue!
we arrived in cali {golly, it felt like the longest flight evah?!}, rented our car, and skedaddled on our way to the beverly hilton hotel {thanks so much to thuy…she was the driver the whole time!}. we relaxed a bit before we headed out to the grove. we freshened up and went on our way. it was sooooo lovely out. the weather was fantastic. sunny and warm. ahhhhh. i was loving it!
we got to the grove and went straight to the farmer’s market! we were so hungry! we walked around to weigh our options and decided on some delicious gyros. i love the farmer’s market. it’s so quaint and fun. there are so many shops and tasty places to eat at. i also couldn’t get over the beautiful weather. i was in heaven sitting outside, all toasty, eating my food. after we noshed, we walked around a bit to get something sweet. i bought toffee for my dad {although we snuck in a few bites}, thuy and lan grabbed some doughnuts, and kim purchased a coffee. perfect.
[the ubiquitous cali shot]
[i always fancy pastries]
[the original farmer’s market // we are so into it…well, at least me!]
[yum]
[these toffee’s were divine!]
[of course i had to take a pic of bennett’s ice cream shop!]
after eating, we walked the grove. we stopped into a few shops…i needed to get a few errands done. it’s funny how i live at a mall at home but yet i never stay long enough to pick up anything that i need! i’d rather get home to my family than stay and shop. so, i took advantage of this moment to get some things i needed to get and get done.
[the grove: coffee and pastries will always do]
we shopped until huy and tashina arrived at the mall. we all met at morel’s for dinner. our usual stomping ground when in cali. it was soooo great to see them! i was excited to spend some time with them while we were here. we ordered up a storm, toasted to thuy, and drank our night away.
[face timing the boys at morel’s]
[cheers to being in l.a. for thuy’s birthday!]
[charcuterie plate]
[i wear my sunglasses at night…especially when i eat a burger]
[the gang]
[left only! directing traffic…]
our evening was short lived. although we were out until eleven o’clock {hey…that’s one o’clock chicago time!}. we were spent. traveling always takes a toll on you! we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.
it was a pretty good first day! we had a great time exploring the farmer’s market, getting around town, and eating a tasty dinner with our brother and tashina at morel’s! until tomorrow {next post 😉 }.
as always, i get super excited to meet up with my darling dana. we both had prior commitments {conference call, possible venue searching, and a doctor’s appointment} but we don’t let that stop us from getting together! the good news is that everything else fell through and it was just going to be a me, dana, and olive day! i love how that happens. i told dana that i love how we are so busy but we will always squeeze in time for each other and the cards will all fall into place. natch.
so we met up at our usual place and ordered our usual breakfast’s, and did our usual thing. chit chat chit chat chit chat. we all sat together on the same booth, with olive in-between us. it was perfect. she was trapped, i could pay attention to them both, it was easy to feed her, keep her comfortable, and enjoy myself {because she’s content}.
[plethora of beverages]
[hey, i’m just chilling]
[always soooo serious]
[the southern aka the usual]
we hung for a bit at the restaurant. it was nice to just take our time, relax, and be on our own schedule. we did our typical walk over to anthropologie after brunch, we perused the racks, checked out the sale, and then moseyed along to our cars to head to our next destination. we decided we would spend the rest of our date at target. woooo!
[juice drinking maniac]
[shopping our favorite store // olive loved riding shotgun just like this…so safe!]
after i changed her diaper and fed her, she was a running fool! she did.not.want.to.be.in.the.cart. she just ran everywhere. she’s a fast little devil. i was trying to shop but i was basically just chasing after her! she was too cute. she would slightly touch everything but not mess anything up. she would run up and down aisles and she ooh’d and ahh’d over everything at her eye level. i was amused just watching her.
[so chic, oh baby olive fashion]
[keeping up with her]
[mean mugging at starbucks]
after an hour or so in target, olive was spent. she had the tiniest, tiniest morning nap and she was not happy by the end of our shopping trip. she was dunzo. it was time to strap her into the cart seat and have her go down for another nap. and so it was. i have to add in that it was not very easy to get there. {my next ten minutes goes like this} she was screaming, wouldn’t let dana watch her so i could use the restroom, i kept losing track of my stuff due to her fussiness distracting me {where is my phone? where is my wallet? stuff you shouldn’t lose track of!}, dana and i then spilt my venti coffee all over our cart and into my shopping bag {ugh!}, and when we finally got to my car, her car seat seat belt was all twisted {and i couldn’t get it untangled!} and my baby girl was screaming in her seat! oy…what a debacle. it was not the kind of end to our date that i wanted! i shooed dana away with a big hug and proceeded to tackle the seat belt with success. score: seat belt 0 – moi 1.
we finally drove off {phew!} and little olive was out within five minutes. she was a tired little peanut. all in all, it was quite a wonderful morning/afternoon with our lovely miss dana. muwah!
![[slaw, pulled pork, smashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts]](http://tandeminlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/image272-853x1024.jpg)
