i heart you s’more

now, who wouldn’t want chocolate covered heart s’mores?!

i had been contemplating the idea of making something fun for valentine’s day. i wasn’t sure what. i had sugar cookies on the radar. i bought the raddest copper cookie cutters the other week {pictured on instagram} and totally want to use them {no worries…i will definitely find many uses!}. anyhoo, i love hearts, i love s’mores, i thought why not make conversation heart s’mores?! i got my inspiration from love from the oven but i fine tuned some things to what i preferred. i love making anything s’mores!

my stash: graham crackers, lollipop sticks, a bag of nestle milk chocolate chips & two bags of white chocolate chips, edible ink pens, fluff, and a small {1 1/2 inch by 2 inch} heart cookie cutter.

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[ingredients]

i first cut out the graham cracker hearts. yes. it’s pretty cool to do so and they don’t break! i love it. make sure your surface is free of debris {sweep the crumbs off to the side of the counter after each cut} and evenly apply pressure as you press and ta da! heart shaped graham crackers!

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[graham crackers]

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after i cut out the hearts, i spread half of the hearts with fluff. i then melted the chocolate and spread the melted milk chocolate {for a dozen hearts…i would use 1/4 of the bag…don’t over heat the chocolate!} on the other half of the crackers. i placed the sticks {about an inch} on one half and took the marshmallow covered heart and gently placed it onto the chocolate heart and stick.

i placed the pops into the freezer to stiffen them up and moved onto making the white chocolate. i used food coloring to get the desired color for the hearts. ok, ok. so i know there are so many opinions out there. folks say to not add anything to chocolate, because it’s already such a delicate form and you should use colored chips instead. plus, people also say to not use nestle chips for dipping. that candy melts, almond bark, and chocolate melts are best for dipping. honestly, it doesn’t taste as good! so, nestle chips it was! adding the food coloring didn’t do anything to the chocolate’s consitency but i definitely should have added shortening to the chocolate to thin it out! next time. it will definitely create a smoother coat.

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i let the chocolate dry for an hour or less. after they hardened and cooled, i took my red decorating pen and wrote fun messages on each heart. so cute! i then individually wrapped each heart in a festive cellophane bag and voila! a cutesy valentines’s day treat for your loved ones!!

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via tandeminlove.com

xoxo

new housey

goodness. we finally had our chance to meet up with jodi and jett. it had been awhile since we had last hung out {maybe a few months ago?}. of course, the holidays had hit us and we were busy, busy, busy! so, finally we sealed a date!

so, on this snowy day, olive and i packed ourselves up and headed out to jodi and matt’s new housey! i was super duper excited when they purchased their place…it’s always a fantastic feeling when you buy a new home {a sense of accomplishment}! there really isn’t anything like home sweet home. it’s always the best place to be, isn’t it?!

i was a bit bummed it was so snowy. i just didn’t want to deal with it since our commute was on the longer side and i didn’t want to struggle with bad road conditions or even traffic {yuck}. but it wasn’t so bad…we cruised there and the roads were fine. we arrived at their house in no time. it was too cute…jodi and jett were already at the door waiting for us, happy we were there.

we got inside and jett immediately wanted to show me his room. so, we all went to his room and hung out. olive and jett were slowly warming up to one another. jett was much more keen with me than he was with olive! slowly and surely they started to play together. or it was more so, olive tagged along while jett was running around like a mad man!

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[warming up to each other]

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[she was really loving this toy]

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[tooooooo cute]

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it was so sweet, since jodi and jett missed out on olive’s first birthday party, they had gotten her a gift! so thoughtful. we opened up the gift and then sat down for some lunch. jodi made a yummy pasta salad and we also had sandwiches and chips. we fed the kids while we ate, but soon jett and olive lost interest and wanted to run around. jett was insistent that we head downstairs to play! jod and i brought our plates downstairs while the kiddos ran back and forth…their interests peaking from one toy to the next!

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[opening our gift!]

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[‘reading’ her card…too adorbs!

]

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[her cute little outfit]

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[sweet jodi and me]

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[playing around and giving hugs]

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[this pic makes me laugh. it’s jett running towards olive, hugging her, but he flew at her full force where they both just plummeted to the ground and jett landed right on top of her. as you can tell, olive really didn’t know what hit her. she was totally startled.]

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[my cat baby trying to fit herself into a box]

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[giving kisses!]

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[drunk love]

we hung out downstairs for awhile. time was totally flying by! i didn’t realize it was already so late in the afternoon! we could have hung out all day and night! the hours just flew right by and before we knew it, it was time to go {we didn’t want to get too stuck in traffic and you know how i like to time out olive’s naps!}.

it was too cute, olive and jett gave each other several hug goodbyes and sweet kisses! adorbs! anyhoo…i had a fabulous time catching up with jodi…she is the best! i love talking up a storm with her anytime and always!

xoxo

flashback friday

today takes us back to…i’m not sure?! i think this picture was around 8 years ago? maybe my sisters will have a better memory about this than me. unfortunately there is no date attached to this picture, so i don’t know!

we were at the tasting room, in chicago, celebrating thuy’s birthday. i did love the tasting room. it had a great atmosphere and delicious bites. but i hear it’s closed now. boo. so sad…it was a great spot to meet up with friends for a quick drink or a perfect place for a celebration. the last time i was there was in 2013 and i remembered it being wonderful then.

anyhoo, here we are celebrating thuy’s birthday. we were there with {my brother in law} terry and friends; noshing, imbibing, and having a ridiculously silly time together. i remember it being a cold, cold, snowy evening but quite warm and toasty inside the restaurant with free flowing libations and a plethora of charcuterie to munch on. deeelish!

look at us! three sisters who do not look alike {or so we think} and three sisters who also have very, very different personalities and style. it’s always such a wonder that we came from the same two parents! it’s interesting to see how unique we all are, yet we are all the same {a lot people say thuy and i have the same voice and tone} and different. siblings are great, non? built in friends and confidants who will always be there for you, no matter what. it’s an amazing blood bond that will never break. as a parent, you will always wish that for your children {i do and i’m hoping that will be the case!}.

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well, my lovies. i hope everyone has a fantastic fun friday and an awesome weekend! cheers to family!

xoxo

super sunday

well, it was quite the crazy sunday. the snowmaggedon ’15 was bananas. the snow came down hard and fast. they were ginormous cotton balls falling down fast like it was rain. it was exciting to watch {as long as you were inside, safe and sound!}. can you believe this past snowstorm was ranked the 5th highest snowfall in chicago history?! wowza.

hc, olive, and i just holed ourselves up in our cozy little house. we played, relaxed, and hc cooked up something tasty for dinner. i was so not ready for a mini super bowl party at our house {honestly, i’m so not a football fan gal}. but i’m always game {natch} for a party regardless! i could have gotten creative and made some fun super bowl snacks and drinks {hello pinterest!} but this one definitely got away from me. hey, there’s always next year for football cupcakes, football mason jar drinks, and football fun foods!

so, we kept it pretty simple. some apps and some chili. done. and it was all so delicious. i whipped up the guac and hc made the chili. for the guac, i sliced up the avocado and mashed it with a fork. i then diced up tomatoes and finely chopped a white onion. after i had mashed up the avocado, i sprinkled in salt and pepper, first, to taste and then i added in the tomatoes and onions. i know purist say that you should only put salt and pepper in guac but i beg to differ. i’m sure you are also wondering where the cilantro comes into play with this…um, that would be a no. this girly does.not.like.cilantro.

we then watched the game…well, hc really watched the game! i played with miss olive, we ate, and we played some more! it snowed and snowed and snowed outside but we were cozy and comfy inside. the game was exciting…so close!

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[hc not happy with a play…olive was like ‘hmph, i’m just enjoying my snacks’]

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[nothing fancy…just guac || avocados, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, a dash of salt & pepper]

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[daddy daughter time]

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[kisses]

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[hc’s chili…yes, i smothered it with sour cream, ginormous oyster crackers, and lots o cheese!]

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[ha! while hc sleeps, i’m snapping selfies]

it was definitely a low key super bowl sunday. we had a wonderful time together {i think hc shoveled/snow blowed outside 4x!!!…whoa!}. i hope y’all did something fun and ate too many bad foods for you this past super bowl sunday!

NFL Super Bowl XLIX
Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

New England
Patriots(15-4)
28
Seattle
Seahawks(14-5)
24

xoxo

love day decor

so, i don’t usually go crazy in the decorating department for valentine’s day but i do love to jazz up the house just a wee bit. nothing big, but i like a spark of color…especially since january {and february} can be such a dreary month!

a few of the banners i hung, i made myself last year. yes…while the little babes was just a newborn. i crafted some quick banners to jazz up our house because being at home on maternity leave during the polar vortex {a.k.a chiberia} was monotonous and bland. putting color in our place was mandatory!

i totally enjoy valentine’s day decor. it’s pretty, fun, and brightens up the home! so, i placed a few banners across the living room window, it looks so pretty when the sunlight is shining through. i strung the festive strand of circle paper cutouts across a wall in our living room as well. i drew up some fun lettering and design on our chalkboard in the kitchen. i also nabbed an awesome gold heart for our front bay window! i didn’t get to snap a pic of it, but maybe later, it’s pretty darn awesome! i ordered red, pink, and white heart lights as well…but they haven’t come in yet. i want to drape it around the gold heart for a pretty, festive effect. there are still a few things coming in the mail that i will add to the decor around the house. once those items come in, i will {almost} be done! 😉

of course, i then snapped a few pics of miss olive with some delightful valentine’s day props. it was too sweet and she is too cute!

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[my handmade banners…doily hearts + crocheted little circles and a hand cut paper ‘kiss me’ banner]

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[die cut paper circles strung together on twine]

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[my valentine’s day chalkboard]

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[baby olive getting into the valentine’s day fun // that’s the gold heart i mentioned above…it was relocated to our bay window!]

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[nordstrom’s baby bling headband, zara scarf & shirt, heart leg warmers, & stitches and soles latte bow moccs]

well my lovies, what fun decorating ideas do you have for this valentine’s day? it’s always so sweet to add a little festive love fun to your abode, non?!

happy decorating!

xoxo

stitches and soles

so, if you guys follow me on instagram, you might know by now that my little miss olive is a brand rep for stitches and soles! we are soooo excited for this! alena’s moccs are amaze. they are well made {super sturdy}, have that awesome hidden elastic {it makes it sooo easy to put on the babes and stay on!}, and they come in the most wonderful colors! a whole rainbow of goodness to choose from!

we are very excited to rep her shop. like, beyond thrilled. i am very thankful and grateful that she chose little miss olive rep.rep.represent! we have been a fan of her moccs for awhile. i eyed them for a bit last year and then finally broke down and bought a pair…it took me awhile to get them on her feet because she pretty much went barefoot all summer long, and then we finally dressed her up in her moccs and it was nothing but pure love since then. *sigh*

alright, down below are two out of her four styles that she offers. my favorite are the fringe moccasins. they are classic, cute, and really do add sass to any outfit that my little one one wears! i also love the sequin moccs and the bow styles, they are all so adorbs and fun.

styling olive in fun outfits to go with the moccs is the best part! who doesn’t love to dress up, ham it up for the camera, and capture some awesome memories?! me! me! me!

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[sugar plum leather moccs]

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[love those chunky thighs and the latte bow moccs]

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[latte bow moccs, heart leg warmers, jcrew dress || on sale!, zara scarf, and hair bow headband by her awesome aunties]

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so, last but not least, because we love her moccasins and we love you…you can get 10% off her moccasins! yes, you read that right. just go to her site at stitches and soles and use the code OLIVE10 to get your discount! tell your friends and spread the word! these moccasins are fabulous for your little ones, as gifts for soon to be mommies, the list goes on and on. these moccs are too cute not to have!

happy shopping friends!

xoxo