chillin’

Posted on August 19, 2015 by tandem in love

we had a special occasion to celebrate! olivia and aaron bought the condo they were living in, hooray!

we scooted into the city for an early dinner at their ‘new’ place. i brought along a little house warming gift: wine, a candle {’cause you can never have too many!}, and a gc to crate and barrel {natch}. olivia walked me through what they were going to change in their new abode and we dove deep into absorbing discussions. it’s so funny how we gravitate towards he/she convos. aaron and rich/me and olivia. it just happens and that is ok by me. i love my girl time with this lady.

we talked and talked and talked. before we knew it, two hours went by and we didn’t even start dinner! eep! we finally started preparing the main dish {olivia was already putting together the pasta salad} and got things ready to cook.

[ask me about bruce and the lobster]

[cheers to their new home!]

[their first purchase for their new home!]

[bruce the dog]

[top chef aaron]

[he’s dangerous on the dance floor]

everything was super yummy! i loved, loved the kale salad olivia put together. it was absolutely delicious. i am such a huge kale fan. the kabobs were savory and perfect. we ate our meal in delight, enjoyed our silly conversations together, and didn’t realize how late it was!!! boo. we were having such a fabulous time. if we didn’t have to get back to our daughter {haha!} we probably would have stayed for a few more hours!

alas, we had to go. according to my parents, olive didn’t sound too happy mommy was gone. awwww, my poor baby. she has become so attached of late and i love it. she is seriously turning into the cutest thing everrrrrrrr. she’s so animated, communicative, sweet, and loving. i am so in love with her!

[manger! manger! mmmmmmm]

[best pasta salad everrrrrrr. i love kale]

[um, there’s a beak in the way! dinner party shenanigans. we were feeling gooooood]

we said our goodbyes and moseyed on our way home. we love hanging out with these two. such good people and it’s always a great time! congrats on your new maison my dear friends! we are so excited for your new adventure!

xoxo

a sweet affair

Posted on August 17, 2015 by tandem in love

hc and i were looking forward to attending a friend’s wedding. it had been awhile since we have been to one and the prospect of dressing up, getting our drink on, and celebrating love got us excited!

it was near hc’s old ‘hood {his childhood stomping ground}. the wedding and reception was in long grove. it’s a cute, quaint little town. the wedding was at a cute little white chapel. how i envisioned my ‘church’ to look like in the very early stage of wedding planning, that is until i fell in love with st. clement church!

we arrived quite early and lolllygagged in the car until it was a few minutes to the ceremony. we walked inside to a cozy setting. it probably took another 10 minutes or so until the bride took center stage, as the music played {canon d}…no one stood up?! i waited a moment and still no one stood up. then i saw the bride around the corner and i thought, that’s it…i am standing up if no one else wants to! it’s the proper thing to do…the processional song starts to play and you stand up for the bride! so, i stood up by myself and it took a few seconds for everyone else to follow suit.

in walked the bride looking gorgeous. getting married is such a beautiful thing. it was tearful, lovely, sweet, and romantic. the bride cried and i did as well. i love weddings. i do. it’s so grand that it tugs at my heartstrings.

after the ceremony, we all stuck around to ring bells and welcome the bride and groom as husband and wife! the reception was just around the corner and super easy to get to. hc and i pulled up and traipsed our way to the bar! he grabbed us drinks and we started mingling. there were some folks from hc’s company so we walked right up and said our hello’s.

[here comes the bride!]

[horrible, horrible picture…i couldn’t get the camera to focus in time! obvs.]

[husband and wife!]

[we rang bells upon their arrival]

[got it! perfect]

we met a lovely couple by the name of kenny and marina. they were super fun to talk to. i eventually met a few more folks and we all got along great. it was so much fun to chitchat with these gals. marina is a great little lady, i had such a great time getting to know her that evening. we totally bonded over our love of fashion, louis, and christian! although, she is a multi-faceted lady…not only does this doll love clothes and such, she is also a drag racer?! how cool is that? she is building her own drag race car as i type!

[me and my love]

[pretty table flowers]

[wedding selfie!]

[mr. and mrs.]

[the bride and groom! congrats!]

[the cute sign in table]

[kenny and marina]

[first dance]

[attempting a goofy selfie in the dark]

after we ate {filling our bellies with a lot of food} and imbibed more libations {hey, it’s a wedding for pete’s sake!} our tushsies hit the dance floor! woot woot! hc entertained that notion for a moment {he does not like dancing aaaaannnd especially in front of people} but eventually snuck outside to hang with the boys. natch.

we ate cake. we danced some more. we drank some more and by the time we were done, the wedding was over. wahhhhhh.

[chumming it up with marina]

we had such a great time! we really did. boy, do we love weddings! they are such happy events, a day where everyone revels in love and joy…you just can’t beat that. hc and i had a wonderful time getting to know everyone and walked away with another fabulous wedding to remember.

congrats amanda and scott! may God bless your marriage with love, health, and happiness always.

xoxo

sunday funday

Posted on August 10, 2015 by tandem in love

we had plans to meet olivia for brunch, so we decided to make it a fun filled day!

we started it off with a trip to the best church ever: st. clement. i love, love this church. for it’s beautiful architect, for it’s amazing parish, for our pastor fr. ken, and how it always recharges me in my faith. we have been attending mass here since 2010 and before that, i have never found a home like this one. i am sad we are not able to make it here on a weekly basis like we did before {since we’ve moved} but whenever hc and i get a chance, we will go.

[working my magic to get olive to take a picture]

[catching up on st. clement’s events]

after mass, we cruised on over to farmhouse chicago to meet olivia for brunch. she had made reservations, so we were seated right away. the start of our brunch did not go so well. per usual, i asked for decaf coffee and they didn’t have any. i was annoyed. no one caters to decaf drinkers. i get it. i get it. i am a minority but i matter too! i love coffee for its taste and flavor but ever since i was pregnant and nursing, i have not consumed caffeine. since i don’t need it, why bother introducing it into my body again?! coffee is like a routine, a habit, a mental start to my day and gosh darn it, i want my decaf!

the server seriously cowered from me. i know i can be demanding, direct, and very assertive in how i approach someone and i think i scared the shit out of him. eep. i didn’t mean to but when i am passionate about something, i come on strong. anyhoo, i asked the server if my husband was to run to starbucks to grab me my usual, could i drink it in the restaurant? after the catty session {meow} with him, he was like no problem {i think he didn’t want any more confrontations with me}. thank goodness.

[darling olivia]

[fried cheese curds]

[she’s just a little stringy]

we ordered our meals and drinks, and continued our fabulous conversations. olive was being so silly. she was rummaging through the diaper bag and found my sunglass case. she gravitated towards the lens cloth and found it so amusing! she would put it on her shirt and admire it. she would try to show it off the ladies who sat next to us at brunch. she was very interested in them! she kept smiling at them and was being so cute. she’s adorable.

[my meal was quite delicious]

[love these two]

[enjoying her juice]

[she randomly wanted to be in the highchair]

our meals were quite delicious. i do love eating there, the food is fantastic! after a bit of hanging out and snapping some fun pics, we headed out on our way. both parties wanted to shop {hubby wanted some new garb for vegas} but hc was in no mood to shop michigan ave on this hot, hot, hot day. so, olivia proceeded towards the ave and we went to a mall where hc to could shop comfortably.

we said our goodbyes and parted ways. we left each other with scheduled plans under our belts, so i was looking forward to seeing her again soon!

xoxo

e-party

Posted on August 8, 2015 by tandem in love

well, as y’all know, miss dana is engaged. i was super delighted to have received the invite to her engagement party!

it was held at her aunt’s house in the cozy neighborhood of highland park. we cruised up north and as we turned down the road where they live, we noticed groups of people walking down the street. we assumed that they were a part of the party and we were right! as we walked closer to the crowd, i asked if they were heading to dana and scott’s engagement party and they said yes! that is when i met scott’s sweet mom and dad.

we walked inside the spacious home and we were immediately greeted by dana! oh, how i love this girl. she was dressed all cute, natch. we were meant to be friends through our fashion sense. seriously. we somehow always manage to dress alike, in coordinating style, or similar color combos. like always. this time dana missed the pop of green but we definitely got the b + w down and our gold accent ankle strapped shoes.

hc and i grabbed drinks and started mingling with the other guests. when it comes to something like this…hc is not in his element! i am the social butterfly and the hubs is socially awkward. he doesn’t like breaking off on his own to start independent conversations like me. so, we usually move around together and i will be the talker and he will be the ‘add on a comment or two’ kind of guy. haha.

[whenever we get together, we somehow always coordinate or match]

[fist city chicago beer]

[everyone gathering around for the food]

[cocktail napkins]

[with the engaged couple!]

after a bit of mingling and several libations, dinner was served. everyone grabbed a bite to eat and continued to socialize. just a bit after the food was served, irina and patrick showed up! i was so excited to see them! irina and i get to see each other every so often and when we do, it’s fantastic to catch up!

the four of us sat down together and did a lot of talking. the conversation just flowed and we were having a great time hitting all kinds of topics. right after dinner, dana’s aunt and uncle welcomed and thanked everyone who came and made a toast to the beautiful guests of honor, the two lovebirds who were going to tie the knot! mazel tov!

dessert was served and i was on it. i went into the kitchen and piled my plate high. i couldn’t stop eating the reese’s peanut butter cups in a cookie crust. best ever. it was like heaven in my mouth.

[toasting to the engaged couple]

[irina and patrick]

[i couldn’t stop eating the desserts]

we had such a great time celebrating dana and scott’s engagement. it was fun and fantastic to meet and greet most of their family members and friends. weddings are so much fun…love, happiness, elation…the best celebratory emotions all rolled into one beautiful day. we can’t wait until the big day comes!

xoxo

a really good night

Posted on July 30, 2015 by tandem in love

we were excited to have matt and johann over for dinner!

lately, it’s just been me, olive, and matt {brunching}. no husbands included. so, we finally agreed on a time where we all could get together and have some fun.

matt and johann traveled through the thick of traffic one evening and our little party began once they arrived. johann came in with two large jugs of beer and matt was double fisting wine bottles. hahaha! we were practicing for vegas {in a few weeks}. woot woot!

we had prepped apps and the meal for the evening, so we popped open the beer and toasted to our evening. we nibbled on snacks and yapped non-stop. we are quite the talkers when we are together, yes, even hc! mr. shy guy!

[holy jug o beer]

[hawaiian flower print was the print du jour for dinner]

[remnants of appetizers]

[love these two]

we love matt and johann. they are just the best. such great friends and travel buddies. we love hanging out with these two. they are perfect for each other…just like me and hc. seriously. matt is crazy, temperamental, loud {just like me} and johann is calm, sensible, and patient {like hc}, so together, we totally balance each other out! when we hang out, it’s a riot and we love it.

after we imbibed a few libations, hc fired up the grill to start cooking the food and we went outside to hang out for a bit {the evening had cooled off…it was quite warm outside!}. olive, obvs, wanted to swing on the play set and johann joined in on the activities and hit up the slide! hilarious!

once the food was ready, we headed back indoors to eat. it was yummy, fun, and comical. seriously love these two {did i mention that?}. we laughed, gasped, chuckled, discussed, argued, and had the best time. we ate, drank, and reveled in the wonderful evening together. ya know that feeling. when hanging out is just comfy and cool, as it should be.

[olive swinging and johann sliding]

[i love her…and her funny faces]

[chicken kabobs and seasoned rice]

once dinner was consumed and dishes were cleaned up, i served coconut cake and more wine! several hours {and laugh wrinkles} later, it was time to say goodnight {the husbands were tired}. we said our goodbyes and wished them both safe travels home. we were a bit excited with our goodbyes because we knew the next time we would see them would be in vegas! woo hoooooo!

xoxo

lazy day with matt

Posted on July 13, 2015 by tandem in love

we set up a lovely brunch date with our dear friend matt. he’s been on a roll lately with suggestions on where we go. typically it’s me coming up with different places to go to but we’ve been exploring the area close to where he lives lately. which is totally fine with me!

this time around, we went to a place called over easy. a simple, small brunch place near lincoln square. it was a beautiful day out and we were actually ‘on time’. which means a leeway of 10 minutes. haha! we met matt outside and we were seated right away {they told matt a few minutes but by the time i walked up, the table was ready}.

matt was catching me up on some major life changes for him! life’s twists and turns sometimes throw you sharp curves and loops along the way but no matter what, we persevere and march on. i do love that about my friends. no matter what challenges they face, they charge on with positivity and solutions. even when it does seem like it’s not the most positive moment, we can see the bigger picture.

olive was being quite shy when we first got there…the usual. after a half hour or so, she started to warm up. she’s been a bit rebellious about the highchair of late. she’s not a fan of sitting in one, she prefers to sit in a big girl chair like her mom; only when i can peel her off my lap to sit in her own chair!

[just terrible lighting, terrible…or just let me think that please]

[eggs over easy! hahaha!]

[stuffing her face, as usual]

[warming up to matt]

after brunch, we headed on over to our favorite stomping ground: starbucks! there, we ordered drinks and just chilled. i loved this part. olive roamed around and matt and i continued to chit chat. it’s nice when olive can entertain herself or feel good that she won’t wander away from me. ’cause all you mamas know that being out and trying to focus on something else besides your kids can be a great task!

[starbucks always]

after several hours of hanging out together, we needed to go. i know olive needed a nap and it was just about the right time for her to knock out. it was a fabulous time with matt, as usual. we greatly enjoyed our brunch date and can’t wait until we meet up again…hopefully next time with our husbands!

xoxo

renegade craft fair

Posted on July 2, 2015 by tandem in love

i love the renegade craft fair! it’s full of handmade goodness. when we lived in wicker park, they would set up shop right down the street from us on division so it was an easy walk to get there.

this time around, i was super excited to go and visit the shop kid + kind. we discovered their shop on insta, so i definitely wanted to check out her cute kids clothes in person.

it was gorgeous weather and i was looking forward to meeting up with olivia. we found the most perfect parking spot {right next to the fair} and cruised on in. kid + kind was literally the second shop we ran into! how sweet! i started perusing the racks when the woman behind the table said, “i know you from instagram!”. hahaha! i introduced myself and she said her name is jackie, the fabulous woman behind the shop. we started chatting and we totally hit it off. she is such a sweet, wonderful woman! we shared multiple stories about life and i had a really good time talking it up with her.

she shared a space with the shop june park {ummmmm, amazing little girl clothes!} and i met katie, the owner as well. i told them that i wanted to check out the other vendors in the fair but i would be back to pick up a few items!

as we were 2/3 of the way through, olivia made it out. it was so good to see her! we shopped, talked, and did more shopping. we found a vendor that sold the cutest, daintiest jewelry. we each purchased a ring from her. i also found these darling little ceramic bowls from a shop that sold the prettiest vases. i purchased a tripod cream colored bowl with gold dots…so fetch. there were so many goodies, but i couldn’t buy them all, hc would not let me. meh.

[renegade craft fair]

[hc and baby olive]

[our new rings! i love how dainty and delicate they are! we purchased them from katie dean jewelry]

[enjoying her horchata with daddy]

[my darling olivia]

after we perused the fair inside and out, i wanted to head back over to kid + kind and june park to pick up some pretty little things for miss olive. btw, who was having a meltdown near the end of it. she was dunzo and needed, deparately needed a nap. hc so kindly took the little misses and olivia and i shopped in peace for a few minutes {olive was being a bit demonic with her screams}.

i chatted a little bit more with jackie, purchased a few things from both shops and had olivia snap a cute pic of us! i honestly could have bought out each of their racks. i would have loved one of each item but held back. in due time, my dear. in due time. hahaha!

[shop june park]

[katie and jackie from kid + kind]

i loved it. i love buying from little independent shops like these! it’s pretty awesome to meet the ladies behind the brand as well. it was quite the lovely day indeed! i can’t wait to go to the second round in september!

xoxo

family day

Posted on June 22, 2015 by tandem in love

we had planned a day where carol and ted were to come over for dinner. it started out early for us, carol wanted to beat traffic and head out to our house in the early afternoon. well, of course olive was completely off schedule that day! she didn’t nap the day before and she went to bed late that night. well, she woke up super early the next morning {6am} and was exhausted by the time 8:30am rolled around. she crawled up onto our bed, insisted on nursing, and fell asleep for another four hours! baby girl didn’t get up until almost 1pm! holy cow!

so you can probably imagine, that threw my whole morning off! i did a whole bunch of stuff around the house {which was great! cleaning, organizing, ya know…all the good stuff i love}. what i really needed to do was go to the grocery store and pick up food for dinner that evening and i can’t do that with a sleeping baby!

olive finally woke up and i needed to feed her, get her dressed, get myself ready and head on out to the store {plus, i hadn’t had my coffee du jour and i was dying}. carol was already on her way but thank goodness she said she could stop by a store while i did some shopping. but ugh, i felt so rushed. i hate feeling rushed. i really do. i buzzed through the grocery store {with the feeling like i was forgetting something} and rushed home in hopes that carol wasn’t at our house for too long.

we were actually minutes apart. she had just arrived at our home as i was pulling up. purrrrfect. i still can’t believe carol has three kids! shelby, the newest addition, is sooooo stinkin’ cute. love that little baby.

we just did our thing. we talked and talked and talked about life. and in-between that, we catered to our kids. man, it was interesting to see olive with other kids in her territory. she’s at an age where she doesn’t understand how to share. if you coax her and ask her, she will eventually relent but it’s hard when other kids don’t have that patience and thought process. overall, she was pretty good about giving and taking. mackenzie is only a few years older and she did her best to share but travis, being six, was so good to her. he really was so sweet with miss olive, he was constantly sharing and giving her things. so nice!

[reading to olive // olive’s shirt by tinytribeapparel]

[i snuck in a little shelby time here and there]

[olive smile, olive smile! olive smile…oh forget it]

after a few hours of hanging out, hc and ted finally arrived together, hc picked ted up at the train station with his jeep. hc walked ted around the property and the house, i never realized that ted has never been to our place! after the tour, i prepped a nut mix and cheese cubes as an app and hc started dinner on the grill.

[daddy and shelby]

[cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, and veggies]

[parents – happy, kids – not so happy]

[the kids loved using the shed door’s as a slide]

we had dinner and dessert and we hung out all night {many libations later!}. i bathed olive, all the kids got into their pj’s and ‘destroyed’ the living room. the couch turned into a trampoline. haha! it was pretty awesome. love them, love their family, and we are so happy we were able to hang out with them while they are in town.

carol and ted are a pretty awesome couple with a few cutie kids. we are thankful to know them and have them in our lives.

xoxo

shelby’s baptism

Posted on June 19, 2015 by tandem in love

yay! carol and famille are in town!

our first outing with the fam was at shelby’s baptism. it was up in lake forest at a church ted’s family worships at. as usual, we were running behind, mainly because olive was still sleeping {late} and we didn’t want to wake her. we finally got ready and were on our way to the church {of course, not without a starbucks stop!}.

the church was packed and there wasn’t any parking! ugh. we were so late! we finally created our own spot and scurried on in. we weren’t sure on how to get inside the church, we spied some doors and heard the ceremony going on inside. we almost busted through the aforementioned doors, thank goodness this gentleman stopped us and redirected us to the end of the hallway! when we were finally seated inside, i saw that the doors that we were going to bounce through were actually right next to the altar and we would have been walking in through the front, smack dab in the middle of the baptism! that would have been embarrassing!

anyhoo, we totally caught shelby’s rite of baptism and sat peacefully through the rest of the service. olive was entertained by her surroundings and i was at ease. when it all ended, we headed towards carol and famille to say our hello’s. it was so great to see them and little shelby is soooo darling! what a sweetie. we snapped some family photos and went on our merry way to ted parent’s house for brunch.

[there they are!…carol is in the long green dress]

[watching the baptism // hair bow by lilrouxbarbsgarden dress gapkids]

[star of the show]

[my little moment with the baby…we hid this from jelly olive]

[mackenzie entertaining shelby with sophie]

when we arrived at john and nancy’s beautiful home, we snapped some more pictures out in their gorgeous backyard. so green and pretty! after this photo sesh we escaped inside to the cool house {in ted’s words: “i feel like i’m in a turkish bath house right now”}. yes, it was quite humid outside. hahaha!

[the beautiful family]

[kagann/johnson’s]

[such a sweet shot of mackenzie in her lily pulitzer dress]

[looooove this pic of them]

[olive obsessed with travis’ birthday balloon]

[look at that pouty face!]

inside, we were greeted with bellini’s and brunch. carol made an amazing baked french toast concoction with challah bread {deeeeeelish}, there was fruit, croissants, quiche, and a few other decadent dishes being served. i couldn’t stop noshing on carol’s delightful entree. it was so yummy…did i mention it was good?! hehe.

[shelby in her lily pulitzer]

[my precious cutie]

[longtime friends]

[fruit, french toast, and quiche]

[i die over this! she was staring out the window and i realized that she matches the curtains! hahaha!]

[god bless shelby indeed]

after brunch, cake was served. we relaxed, mingled, and chit chatted with the group. it was so great to see everyone! ted’s parents are always so welcoming and sweet. it was great to see perry, krista, their kids, leslie, and colin too! definitely a fun bunch of peeps.

after several hours of hanging out, we called it a day. olive needed a nap and only a car ride would suffice in fulfilling that void! overall, it was a beautiful day…we were happy to have witness shelby’s baptism on this gorgeous day, to have hung out with some wonderful people, and to finally see carol, ted and their lovely family! cheers!

xoxo

late brunch

Posted on June 17, 2015 by tandem in love

i was waiting for the day to come when jodi and kt were stopping by for brunch! it had been awhile since i have seen them both, so i was looking forward to this! it was a cloudy, rainy day. i was hoping it was going to be sunny so we could sit outside and eat but alas, the weather decided against that.

jodi arrived right on time, as usual. she is always so prompt! oh, jett…he’s is just the cutest! what a handsome little dude and he is oh so sweet! olive doesn’t get many kids her age in the house {jett is about nine months older than olive}, most of them are much older, so it was interesting to see how she would interacted with jett.

kt, of course, was running behind! she totally lost track of time and had no idea that she was suppose to be at our house at the time she finally hit the road! ohhhhh, kt!

well, while jett and olive played {chaperoned by jodi} i started our brunch. on the menu were scrambled eggs, with cooked onions, cream, salt & pepper. crispy bacon & hash browns. fruit. toasted bagels with butter, jam, and cream cheese. juice. coffee and a donut tower centerpiece!

as i was finishing up, kt finally arrived! yaayyy! we prepared the kid’s plates and sat down for a scrumptious brunch. we talked, and talked, and talked. olive and jett were not interested in eating at all. they totally took a few bites and scurried away to go play {again}.

[my doughnut centerpiece…definitely not too sweet to eat!]

[cooking up some eggs]

[jodi entertaining the kids while i cook]

[on the menu: savory bacon, seasoned scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, bagels with butter, cream cheese, or jam, and fruit. not without mimosas, watermelon juice, and coffee]

[the kids entertaining themselves]

after noshing, we cleaned up a bit, and plopped into the living room to chill. the kids were so crazy! we tried to put a movie on but that captured their attention for two seconds, they were more interested in the toys…which was perfectly fine! jett loved the minnie mouse vacuum that gramma and papa had given to olive for christmas. they played with the blocks, puzzles, games, etc. until everything was scattered everywhere! olive was a bit tepid about sharing but overall she was pretty good. they both really wanted the ‘phone’ {again something gramma and papa gifted} but olive would eventually share it. thank goodness! it’s so hard to teach them how to share at this age!

then they discovered jumping on the couch. the end. haha. ok, no, but it was crazy. they had such a fun time plopping around, falling backwards, and landing on their butts all over this couch. a bad habit to learn but they sure did have a great time!

[okaaaayyyyy, a year and a half later, i still have crazy, crazy baby hair from the pregnancy!]

[this cutie]

[so then they learned this…jumping on the couch!]

[what’s up with my hair?! i look like i have a pageboy ‘do! haha!]

[olive jumped onto her rocking horse and jett loved the rocking chair]

[this cutie patutie!]

[oh!]

[my pretty ladies]

[love this girl!]

after much eating, talking, and caring of these wild kids – it was time for them to go. jodi was timing out jett’s nap as well, knowing that he would sleep on the car ride home.

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: friends

chillin’

a sweet affair

sunday funday

e-party

a really good night

lazy day with matt

renegade craft fair

family day

shelby’s baptism

late brunch