morton arboretum

Posted on October 13, 2015 by tandem in love

the last time i was at the morton arboretum, i was just a child. it had been soooooooooo long since! i was excited to head back and especially excited to go with my friends jaime and pam and their kiddos!

it was a perfect day. not too cool and not too warm. just a few layers and we were set. i knew the day would warm up nicely and it was going to be lovely out. we set out late {well, knowing that it was only a bit away…eep!} but arrived just a few minutes behind our agreed upon time and ended up being the first one there! jaime was unloading her car as i strolled on by and pam was just pulling up.

it was so awesome to see them! it had been awhile since we all had been together and it took awhile for us three to coordinate a time to get together again! our schedules are so crazy and busy that months later, we finally secured a date!

[ready to go out!]

[the moms and our babes]

we trekked inside and started walking around. it’s so beautiful there…so many lovely things to look at and i loved how kid friendly it was! the children’s garden was interactive, playful, fun, and secure. you always had an eye on your kid but you didn’t worry about losing her or having her completely out of your sight since it was almost laid out like a maze.

olive had a blast hanging out with the boys. it was so cute to see them together and at a stage where they could walk, kind of talk, and play with each other. they did a lot of running around…each babe was curious over something or another. parker and olive were a bit like two peas in a pod and liam was mr. independent.

we walked and walked and talked and talked. it was such a lovely time. we had a great time catching up and watching our cute kiddies play and explore. i love these gals. friends since childhood {pam} and high school {jaime} through my bestie carol {who lives in seattle}. i love seeing them and love their babes! it’s pretty awesome to have parallel lives and have that common ground. we all got married around the same time and had babies close to one another. that connection in life makes the bond stronger!

halfway through our exploration, we popped a squat to have lunch. each of us packed our goodies and fed our babes and ourselves…at least we tried to eat. it’s always so hard to feed and take care of yourself, sometimes, with a little one at your hands! ya know?! you stuff a few bites into your mouth and call it a meal. doh!

after lunch, we walked some more. it’s so beautiful there! pam and j were telling me about all the fun things they do, year round, at the arboretum. it’s such a great place for kids and families, we can’t wait to go back and explore it some more!

[loved this area]

[hi liam]

[my little love // scarf by hobsonvilleco. // bow clip by coco.and.lulu]

[hiiiii parker]

[the three stooges // liam, olive, and parker]

[exploring]

[learning]

[watch and learn]

[little independent buggers]

[gorgeous displays everywhere]

we had such a great time hanging out with these lovely ladies and their handsome fellas! oh how i love them! such great people and such beautiful, sweet babes. olive and i loved out playdate time with them and we can’t wait to do it again. this time around, i hope it’s not months from now!!!

xoxo

pumpking pickin’

Posted on October 9, 2015 by tandem in love

we were ready to hit the pumpkin patch. we needed pumpkins for our house to start our festive decorating and i was sooo ready to decorate! fall and october were calling my name!

we picked a pumpkin farm that wasn’t too far away from us. we wanted it to be a fun but quick trip, just spend a couple hours doing some fun activities and then head home to relax for the rest of the day.

it was perfect weather to be outside. not too warm and not too cold. a few layers of clothes and we were set. olive and i decided to twin with matching cowboy boots! when we arrived, she insisted on walking but she wanted to hold my hand. i find it so cute and funny, only because months ago, she would never hold my hand. oh, no. she would grunt and scream if i tried. it made me a little sad only because i wanted to hold her hand and she would always reject the attempt at affection. but now she is much more keen on the idea but the only problem with that is that she is two feet tall. hahaha. so, holding her hand gives me a back ache! ahhhaha! you ask and you shall receive, non?!

[she insisted that i hold her hand but it was so awkward because she is still so little…i had to walk hunched over for a bit. eep]

once we walked inside, she was completely smitten! she loved all the pumpkins and craziness that was going on! well, first things first, we decided to go through a haystack maze…um, not my cup of tea! the tunnel of swirling lights would totally make me sick and dizzy, so i literally closed my eyes and walk forward. haha! it’s a good thing i didn’t fall down walking in the dark with my eyes closed as well!

after the maze, we saw a bumble bee ride and knew olive would love something like that. so grace and olive waited in line to get their turn. she was soooo stinkin’ cute riding around and smiling ear to ear! she looooooved seeing all the live animals, she would get so excited and i would teach her the animal names and i loved that she would repeat everything. watching her learn and grow is just the best feeling and such a great gift! although, seeing all the animals caged in up in little bitty cages made me sad. such a bummer to see them in such small capacities with no real room to run around.

[matching cowboy boots]

[my love]

[picking out pumpkins]

[the dizzy haystack maze]

[she loves rides]

[checking out the bunnies]

after we saw bunnies, turkeys, llamas, and more…grace really wanted to eat corn, so we hopped on over to the food joint and bought a few ears. while hc and grace chowed down on some delicious corn, olive entertained herself with the rocks and dirt and was being the cutest little girl where all the strangers were smitten with her.

after a mini snack break, we sat down in the stands for a pig race. it was crazy. there were three races in total and i felt like it went on forever. the actual races were short but the mc droned on and on! plus, with us sitting in the front row with olive, she was constantly wiggling around. she kept running up to the fence {us knowing she probably shouldn’t be near the fence} and we kept calling her to sit back down. thank goodness she was listening but we must have done that a half dozen times, at least!

the last pig race was hilarious…oh my gawd! they were the biggest, fattest pigs i ever did see!!! they were soooooo slow and charming. yes. they were so cute, big, and adorable. olive was so distracted by the audience noise that she missed the first two pig races. ha! she did not miss the last one! she ran up to the fence {and by then, i gave up trying to call her back} and was totally mesmerized by the pigs!

[ohmy! the huge piggies racing!]

after the pig races, we decided to pick out the pumpkins we wanted! we perused and perused and we all finally picked out the ones we liked! grace and olive had a great time playing around the pumpkin patch. everything is so novel to this little one so watching her awe and excitement is just amazing. while we were picking out pumpkins, hc was waiting in line for some funnel cake! it was in big demand, so the line was a bit long but always oh so worth it! when hc made it back with two plates of goodness, we sat our tushies down on the floor and devoured our funnel cake.

[sisterly love]

[looking over and double checking our selection of pumpkins]

[funnel cake anyone?]

it was a perfect day at the pumpkin farm. we had such a great time…it’s so fall to do fun stuff like this! the sights, the colors, the smells, the food…it just makes you so excited for the season! olive had a blast and so did we! cheers to the start of a great fall season.

xoxo

a quiet afternoon

Posted on October 7, 2015 by tandem in love

i apparently forgot i had this post sitting in my files…oops! better late than never! sooo….

i had plans to go to the renegade craft fair in wicker park. we had lived right in the area for years and it was on division every year, so there was no question i needed to go. i love checking out all the small shops, listening to their stories, and seeing all their love go into the products that they make!

on the agenda was a quick visit to andrea’s place. she had a really tight schedule that day, so i decided to traipse on over to her place before i spent some time at the craft fair. she lives just right off division, a few footsteps away from the fair. i love walking. i do. i love walking e v e r y w h e r e. it’s the best thing. i love walking along the street, admiring all the shops, soaking in the rays, and people watching along the way. living in the city, it was my favorite thing to do. just walk. i didn’t need a purpose or a destination. i just needed to get out and soak in the craziness of the city.

[i love walking]

[loving the beautiful annabelle]

[precious babe]

[haha! annabelle’s expression is like “whaaaaaa?!”]

[i love this goofy pic of us because it looks like annabelle and i have the same surprised un-ready face going on. haha!]

after spending an hour or so at andrea’s and getting cheeky with her little babe annabelle, i headed back down the street to the fair! my number purpose was to find earth cadets and purchase some pillows. it was a bit overwhelming, because there were sooooooooo many vendors {hundreds!} and i was worried i would be looking for hours just to find her shop. lo and behold, it was literally the fifth shop i ran into! sweet! i looked around but i couldn’t find the pillows i wanted to buy. i asked a random women standing there and krissy {the shop owner} was actually ringing up a customer when she said, “did you contact me on instatgram?” why, yes, yes i did! we chitchatted a bit and talked about the product, what she did, where, how, etc. it was great getting to know her for a bit. she didn’t have the pillows on hand but she offered me a great deal and i was sold. i can’t wait to get the pillows onto our new chairs! yayyyyyyyy!

[random snap. i obviously had my camera on and i accidentally snapped this pic of me walking. i kind of like it.]

[earth cadet onesies]

[i could not take a pic of this adorable doggie! sooooo cute!]

[seriously the best craft fair around. the best.]

[i love our city]

[my old stomping ground and our favorite gelato place]

after i purchased the pillows, i walked around and soaked in all the greatness. so many cute shops from all over the country. i loved all the goodness, met so many great people, and found so many wonderful products. i looooooove renegade! it was such a great afternoon.

xoxo

sunday family night

Posted on October 5, 2015 by tandem in love

a quiet, calm get together. it was a cloudy, semi-warm day and we were getting ready to host the fam over for dinner. when football season starts, the hubs loves to pull out the slow cooker and whip together some super delicious meals for sunday afternoon football games.

on the menu: roasted garlic pulled pot roast sandwiches on brioche, buttery mashed potatoes, seasoned roasted brussels sprouts, quinoa salad, and homemade apple pie! yum, right? hc prepped the ingredients and threw what he needed into the slow cooker. we did random errands throughout the day and near game time, we started finishing up the food and we started the pie.

my family came on over and we just hung out, the kids played, we conversed in the kitchen while hc and i were prepping dinner. it was a low key, relaxing affair. of course, the bears were losing {boo!} but we had a win win situation at our abode withe delicious meal and plenty of libations to go around.

olive and her cousins were having a great time. reagan is such a sweetheart with his little cousin. he dotes on her, takes care of her, watches over her, and entertains her. he is such a great ‘big brother’. i love watching them interact. olive is getting bigger where she can really interact with them and play along. it’s so darling to see them in action.

[brown sugar slow cooked pulled pot roast for sandwiches]

[getting game ready]

[best thing everrrrrr…we love roasted garlic]

[we also had buttery mashed potatoes…so good!]

the food was a hit. my mom gave hc the thumbs up! that’s a great thing since my mom is such an amazing cook herself! hc was quite pleased with himself that he received a stamp of approval. it was fantastic having my family over for a low key relaxing sunday night dinner.

xoxo

apple pickin’

Posted on October 1, 2015 by tandem in love

yay! apple picking is our fall ritual. ok, so we have only done it a few years in a row but hey…it’s become one! it was a sunny, warm day. i had already planned our outfits, regardless of the temps, but i was kind of questioning my tenacity when we stepped outside. it was going to be a hot one! flannels and warm temps don’t really go hand in hand! eep!

well. no matter. we were committed and so we moved forward. we packed ourselves into the car for a quick ride on over to kuiper’s orchard. they had two separate areas for apple picking and pumpkins. i am so used to going to an apple orchard that has pumpkins, so i thought it was different that they were separate.

[ready to go apple picking!]

[my sanity in a cup]

[braids, buffalo, and boots]

[riding dirty]

[twinsies]

[“mom, look!”]

we met up with our family and explored just a bit. first thing on the agenda was eating! we were soooo hangry. hahaha! we traipsed inside to the restaurant. olive was a riot! she was such a hit everywhere she walked. especially coming into this eating establishment. she had her sunnies on and was walking around like a boss! hahaha! we ordered hot dogs and burgers and waited patiently our our food to be served. in the meantime, olive gulped down chocolate milk and got sassy with everyone.

[stomping around like she owns the place]

[drinking chocolate milk in style]

[family time]

[simple please. just mustard]

[nom nom nom, hot dog]

[selfie]

[she’s such a doll]

after noshing on our meals, we headed on over to the apple orchard to go picking! ugh, it was hot standing in the sun and the line was sooooooo long! no matter, we did it. it was finally our turn and when the john deere tractor pulled up, we were so relieved and excited. we packed ourselves in and off to the orchard we went! olive looooved the ‘hay’ ride, when we reached our destination she didn’t want to get off the cart. too cute.

we were greeted by a worker and given directions and advice. once that was done, we were off on our own. olive insisted on walking and anyone who has a toddler who insists on walking knows how slooooooooow they can move. oy vey. we were ten minutes behind everyone! we finally arrived at the ripe trees and started picking some golden delicious apples to take home.

olive did such a great job! she was a pro apple picker! daddy helped and she had a great time picking. it was too stinkin’ cute. i remember last year, she was 9.5 months old and all we did was carry her around. so, it was pretty cool to see her in action and picking apples herself!

[sunshine selfie]

[the sweetest pic. this makes my heart melt…the love for these two]

[twist and pull olive!]

[my precious babe]

[she did well! get it girl!]

[typical pic of the kids. baaahahaha!]

[olive and auntie kim]

[my sweet, darling, loving parents]

[really?!!!! she’s sooooooo cute!]

after apple picking, we perused the shop and purchased a few goodies. we never go home without some apple cider donuts!!!! yum! we bought apple bread, donuts, and brought home our tasty apples so we can bake some apple pie!

it was a wonderful successful day of apple picking. we had a great time with the family and can’t wait to do it again next year! woot!

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Monthly Archives: October 2015

morton arboretum

pumpking pickin’

a quiet afternoon

sunday family night

apple pickin’