dinner with friends

we were so excited to host a simple dinner for our friends matt and johann!

it had been awhile since we had seen them and we were so excited that they could come on over to our abode for a casual dinner. it was quite the lovely day and a perfect day to grill something and eat al fresco.

we hit the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and did a little prep work before they came over. we wanted it to be yummy but simple. we had a really busy spring cleaning kind of weekend and wanted the prep and clean up to be easy!

matt and johann arrived and the fun began! we love hanging out with these crazy twosome. they seriously crack me up all the time. little olive was asleep so she didn’t get to greet them right away but i forewarned them that she’s not the most social and not always in at the best mood when she wakes from a nap!

we had prepared a small appetizer plate to start with and took ourselves outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. after noshing a bit on apps and talking up a storm, hc fired up the grill and started the burgers. i went inside and prepped the rest of the meal so it was ready to serve.

we enjoyed our meal…burgers, kale salad, pasta salad, chips, and fruit. everything was delicious and perfectly light for the warm spring night. the only thing missing for me was the beer. hahaha!

olive was stirring, so i went inside to rouse her a bit more. hc and our guests relocated themselves inside and i brought olive out. she has become so difficult in saying hello! i can’t get her to just say hi…it’s like pulling teeth with this babe! she’s become so utterly shy lately!

anyhoo, i set olive up on the couch and went back into the kitchen to join in on the crazy conversations. we continued to nosh and imbibe tasty beverages {well at least the boys did!}. we had a plethora of beer and hard liquor libations to choose from. johann and i concocted old fashioned’s for him and hc. their signature drinks together!

after a bit, we served desserts and continued our conversations into the night. time seriously flew by. we had sooooo much fun with them! hours passed by and before we knew it, it was quite late for a sunday night! johann and matt gathered their belongings and said their goodbyes. olive did her best by hiding under the couch when i told her to say goodbye to her guests. oy vey!

we gave our hugs and said our goodbyes and waved our dear friends away. it was fabulous to see them and as they say, time flies when you’re having fun!

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[love these two!]

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[grilled burgers, kale salad, fruit, mac salad, and chips]

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[i love him]

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[i couldn’t choose what to serve, so i bought a variety! mmmmm]

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[omg, it was like taking pics of kids…i couldn’t get them to look at the camera or stay still so i am posting this pic ’cause matt looks good. hahaha! cheering with their old fashioned’s]

xoxo

a night out

yay! we had a date night with our lovely couple friends, olivia and aaron!

too much time always passes by before we can see aaron and olivia! we finally made a date and we couldn’t wait to see them! we planned on meeting up at ramen-san in chicago. my sister had suggested it and we were super interested in trying it. who doesn’t love ramen?!

it was a beautiful evening. i am loving this spring weather. it’s so great that it actually feels like spring! the past several years have been great transitions in seasons. we parked the car and walked our way to the restaurant. i love walking and especially when the temps are great and comfortable!

we got there first and were seated right away. aaron and olivia showed up just minutes later and we were so excited to see them! we settled in and right away everyone ordered drinks. i was so oblivious and didn’t even realize that they all had ordered alcoholic beverages but they had also ordered shots! whaaaaa?! our server brought their drinks and then the shots…i was so perplexed! i had no idea they were starting off the evening with shots and i found it so amusing, for some reason. i guess it has been awhile since i have gone out where the party we were with decided to do shots! does that make me old?! ahahaha!

anyhoo, we ordered a multitude delicious apps. after another round of drinks and noshing, we ordered our entrees. i asked for the kimchee ramen. oh my goodness. it was sooooooooooo good! i loved it! olivia ordered the same and she really enjoyed it too. i love spicy and boy, oh boy, it was super spicy! yum!

after eating and drinking even more, we decided to walk over to eataly to have dessert. i am always for gelato! plus, we haven’t been to an eataly since we were in nyc and i was super excited to go, since it reminded me of our trip to nyc on our one year anniversary!

it was crazy packed inside but no matter. we had the evening and we had no restraints. hc and aaron went upstairs to try different beers while olivia and i waited in a very long line to get gelato. we were having a great time catching up while we waited in line. we finally got our order and went upstairs to find the boys. we literally walked in circles and couldn’t find them. we finally found them in a nook of a restaurant and we settled in to eat our gelato, whilst the boys continued to drink.

we sat around for a bit and the question came up on whether we continued the night or called it a night. i felt so guilty because of course i am pregnant and i always, always miss olive. i really do. i was tired and didn’t mind if we headed home. i hated that it all weighed in on me! but no matter, aaron was a good sport about it and olivia didn’t care.

we walked out and walked towards our separate destinations together. once we hit our point of different directions, we said our goodbyes and headed home. it was such a fabulous evening. i had so much fun hanging out with them! they’re a few of my favorite peeps! we love these two cats and i hope not too much time flies by before we see them again!!!

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[mmmmmmm]

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[seriously?! i had no clue they ordered shots, but that’s what happens when your pregnant and not included.]

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[my best friend]

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[kimchi ramen….so stinkin’ gooooood]

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[love these two!]

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[we got gelato after dinner at eataly! so good!]

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[so fresh! i loved perusing around]

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[agreed]

xoxo

hc’s birthday!

happy birthday to the best husband everrrrrrrrrrr!

we had a very low key celebration on his actual birthday but we had a very chill weekend as well. hc requested it so i obliged. we just ordered in and relaxed. of course i decorated and got him the cuuuuutest cake ever!

the night before his birthday, i had snuck home balloons and left them out in the garage. i know he falls asleep so early every single night so i took advantage of that and decorated the kitchen with banners and balloons so he would wake up to a festive, fun kitchen in honor of his day! i wrote him a card and had made him a cutesy crown because he is king on this day!

when hc came home from work…his choice of food was pizza! so, we ordered in and just sat around enjoying each other’s company. olive was very pleased at the idea of pizza! she was so hungry that when the pizza man came and delivered our meal, she ran around screaming, “pizza! mmmmm, pizza!” hahahaha. she’s become such a funny gal! we loooooove her so much.

after dinner, we lit a birthday candle and sang happy birthday to hc. although, olive thought we were singing happy birthday to her! ha! we tried to get her to blow out the candle with hc but she wanted nothing to do with it. of course, after hc blew out the candle and i was about to throw it away, she yelled that she wanted to blow out the candle. so i relit it and she did an excellent job blowing it out on her own! that’s olive for you…she will tell you one thing and then change her mind in two seconds or it’s just a toddler thing. eep!

anyhoo, we had such a wonderful time celebrating hc’s birthday! it was filled with love and laughter, just the way it should be.

happy birthday to the best husband, father, and man in this entire world. you are the kindest, most loving, caring, sweet, and giving man. life is truly complete with you in my world.

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[very true]

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[best babe]

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[cupcake cake indeed]

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[going in for the kiss]

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[she didn’t want to blow out the candle, but as soon as i said that dada could, she was like yeah! and pushed him towards it! ha!]

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xoxo

brunch with my girls

gosh. it’s been awhile since i have posted. i have been so tired. olive digressed in her sleeping patterns last week and i was wiped out. but per typical preggo fashion, i do post less when i am with child. i did the same thing with olive and now history repeats itself! i have been very low key overall and not going out much, but i have no energy or time to write many if any posts of late! eep!

well, i was super excited to have finally made plans with kt and karen. i love these two ladies. they are two peas in a pod and the sweetest ladies around. i have know these two beauties for quite some time now. karen and i have know each other for a ridiculous amount of time and i have know kt for 10+ years now? well, i always say, keep the good peeps around, it definitely makes life fuller!

our get together almost turned into a debacle. we had planned on meeting up for a bit now but then all sorts of things came up. karen and her mom had plans to visit their friend annie and her new baby girl and kt had a last minute doctor’s appointment that she had to schedule and then there was me, who couldn’t go out in the late afternoon because that would interfere with olive’s nap. haha! oh life. you’re so complicated sometimes!

we ended up agreeing and meeting up for brunch! yay! so, in the end, it all worked out. we had such a great time catching up. i love these two gals! it’s amazing where life had taken us and where we are going. what i love most about our relationships is that no matter how much time comes between us, we always feel like no time has passed.

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[aren’t they the prettiest?!]

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[love this babe]

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[working hard]

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xoxo

momfessions

well, well, well. i am pregnant with our second babe and it’s been an interesting journey thus far. there are a lot of questions and thoughts floating around this house and inside my head.

what will this new babe be like? will she rambunctious? calm? wild? will she be like olive…most likely not! what will she look like? according to the ultrasound, her profile already looks so different than olive’s. will olive take to her? how will it be balancing two babes? will i be able to keep up with all the crazy things i already do? will olive get jealous? will i lose my mind?! hahaha!

i get how curious i am…i was totally that way with olive. so many questions and the complete unknown. i totally thought i would stop everything having a new babe but i didn’t. i do go out less because i enjoy spending my time with olive and hc but i do definitely add too much to my plate and don’t know when to say no to myself. i know i will probably have to slow down while this second babe is brand spankin’ new but i am excited.

it’s really hit me hard that my time with olive is coming to an end. i think all first time moms go through this journey and it’s been extra hard for me because i am so darn emotional being pregnant. i mean, like reallllllllly emotional. i cry at the idea that it’s not going to be just olive. i love her. i, of course, only know of her and no other child and, of course, everyone says that you adjust, your love just grows exponentially, and you never look back but i am not there yet. so i am going to wallow in my own sadness that i won’t have just olive time. i won’t get to just snuggle just her and not worry about anything else. i mean…i love her so much and i kind of want that time to slow down and stretch out before this other babe comes along. can that please happen?! pretty please?!

so many moms say you will be in awe over their bond and relationship and i cannot wait to see their love together. i definitely look forward to that! yes, they will fight, yes they will probably drive me crazy, and yes they will test my patience to it’s limits but i look forward to the good, the bad, and the cray!

i really cannot wait to meet our second daughter! life is going to change dramatically and i look to forward to the immense love i will feel all over again. children are absolutely amazing and my world is so full of happiness because of them. it’s definitely a love so full, so overwhelming, and a love you never realized existed. having children is the most amazing gift in this world and we are so blessed!

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xoxo

hoppy easter

it turned out to be a really nice morning and afternoon. we were expecting rain all day, well at least in my mind i was. i didn’t check the weather report what so ever and i only remembered seeing rain in the forecast and thinking, ‘bummer…it’s going to rain on sunday and we can’t do an easter egg hunt outside’. well, i was wrong and i should have checked the weather report again! eep!

my morning was way too chaotic and it shouldn’t have been. it definitely should have been more relaxing but i am a glutton for punishment, aren’t i? i cram in too much stuff and it could have been a lot more low key and chill. thank goodness hc is so understanding of my madness and puts up with my shenanigans, as always.

we finally got ready and over the river and through the woods, off to grandmother’s house we go {literally}! we arrived to a full house and olive was grumper mcgrumps, just waking up from a nap. she looked so stinkin’ adorable in her easter outfit and i was excited for her to show it off! so cute! i held the babes for awhile, until she became comfortable to venture out on her own.well, thank goodness aunt missy lured her in with a gift and distracted her!

aunt missy presented olive with her easter basket and she was smitten. olive was loving all the goodies aunt missy had given her and that really lifted her spirits. olive also really loved staying in papa’s room. she loved all the ‘toys’, the choo choo train, and watching t.v. on his bed!

we mingled and visited with everyone. we had lunch and continued to socialize with the family until it was time to leave. we had to head out to our second engagement of the day, dinner with my famille!

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[my little babe enjoying her easter basket from aunt missy]

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[i can’t get enough of this cutie in her easter outfit]

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[the ubiquitous jello mold]

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[happy easter!]

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[having fun with gramma!]

we headed out to meet up with famille and now, it was raining. yuck. we made decent time and of course, olive did her famous – i will fall asleep 10-15 minutes before we get to our destination and wake up to be super grumpy. as usual, she met her end of the deal and was crazy grumpy. ugh. my poor family always gets the bad end of the stick with this gal. we usually meet my parents or family for dinner and it is always right after a nap. olive is no happy camper when she wakes up and acts like a mad little person for at least an hour. gah!

anyhoo, we really enjoyed our time together. it was nice because the restaurant was quiet and we literally had our own little nook in the corner. it almost felt like we were in a private space. we ate, imbibed tasty beverages, and enjoyed our relaxing dinner together on this cozy easter evening.

it was a perfect way to end the day. it was a bit hectic and exhausting but always so worth it to see both sides of our family! it was a happy easter indeed!

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[thuy and reagan]

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[so typical]

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[mom and dad]

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[thuy and olive]

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[oh these bro’s]

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[olive is too busy texting to say cheese]

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[mr. bennett can sleep anywhere]

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[nobody puts baby in a corner]

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[i love this face]

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[i had to squeeze in a few photos of olive opening up her easter basket from auntie thuy]

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[her face lit up when she saw the tinker bell toy!]

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[she loved, loved, loved her tinker bell toy from auntie thuy!]

xoxo