woodland baby shower

Posted on November 14, 2013 by tandem in love

it was an absolutely perfect baby shower!

i was beyond excited for this shower at doc wine bar! it was our last one and i was going to see a lot of peeps that are special to me.

it was definitely a group effort to pull this one off. the main masters were carol, dana, and andrea. carol absolutely outdid herself! she coordinated all the decor and concocted the entire theme all the way from seattle! she, unfortunately, could not make the shower due to an amazing trip to london, she had long planned, during the same time frame!

i loved where it was held. i only had dinner there once {with pam and marina] and never once looked at the private event space. i only went off of what pam said that night we were at dinner, that it was a lovely space and they were very accommodating and reasonable.

i walked up to the restaurant and walked straight inside to the private room {so easy to find! it’s right by the front entrance}. i was greeted by friendly faces {the delightful dana was right there to say hello!} and by the cutest welcome table! so freakin’ adorbs.

how cute is this?! the bunting was handmade by carol. she also purchased the mad about madeline collection book by ludwig bemelmans, added additional pages in the back for guests to write a lovely note to the baby! how thoughtful! when little heintz grows up, she can see who attended her baby shower and read all their little notes!

the welcome table had a cute little saying, by carol herself. i love the creature figurine and the adorable alphabet print {i come to find out carol stole it from my pinterest board, sneaky!}!

table centerpieces by crafty carol! a deer terrarium, twine wrapped mason jars, and perty flowers handpicked by dana and andrea! so perfect!

[love ann // jodi’s mom // she is the sweetest lady! and jodi – she’s not so bad herself!]

my lovely peeps // left to right clockwise // leslie, dawn, karen, ann, jodi, kristen, and colleen! chit chatting and enjoying their cocktails…i wish i could swig a mimosa!

i loved this…animal cookie cutters as favors! there were snails, moose, porcupines, squirrels, deers, etc.! and not one favor left behind after the party!

family! from left to right clockwise // lan, kim, thuy, mom, jane, grace, lynne, and barbara // we are just missing linh in this photo! but she was there, just dodging all the photos!

hostesses with the mostess – dana and andrea!!!!! somehow we all coordinated our outfits! but it was a given that dana and i would…we always end up in color coordinated clothes. we have a long history of showing up and looking like we planned our outfits together!

my favorite little figurine!

[famille]

from left to right clockwise // jaime, carol z, elva, laurie, marina, pam, and hc // he came later on, just in time for gifts!

[the goodies for baby h]

this was some of the yummy, yummy food! a variety of flatbreads to devour, fresh sweet fruit, amazing applewood bacon potato cakes, a savory wrightwood salad, hearty roasted chicken paninis, and delicious desserts!!

the delicious cake! topper made by carol…a perfect match to the decorative bunting within the room!

how adorable are these? thank you to marina and pam for concocting these fabulous mushroom cupcakes for the shower!

the desserts were served and we were ready to open gifts! notice the cute bunting in the background and the lovely fireplace! it was so cozy!

as you can see, i’m having a great time opening all these lovely gifts. we received our boons bathtub from lan, bookends from dawn, a beautiful hand crocheted blanket from kristin, and the lamb rocker from tanya!

colleen, as part of her gift, made us a cubs build a bear! as you can see, hc loved it so! we received, from jane, the baby’s first christmas ornament and an adorable purple knit cap with chicest feather fascinator! everyone loved it!

grace made baby h a blankie, jane made baby h a pretty quilt {i know, bad photo…the only one i had!}, andrea gave us a fashionable onsie, and dana, as part of her gift, gave us a starbucks sippy cup! she envisioned me holding the baby with the sippy cup and a real starbucks in my other hand. how accurate and true. 🙂

dana knows me so well! she also gave us le petit prince book! i soooo wanted this book for baby h! it’s a beautiful pop up book to further enhance the beautiful story. i loved, loved the cute little outfits kim and thuy gave us…the cat themed outfits are so fun! last but not least…love the jacket ann and jodi gave us {amongst other thoughtful, useful, and cute gifts inside their packed gift basket!}.

i wish i could show all the gifts everyone gave! everyone was so thoughtful, generous, and kind with every item they gave to baby h!

apologies for the blurry photo but i had to get a one of jaime in! i’m so glad she was able to make it.

[love these gals! jaime, marina, and pam]

[the moms]

[waiting for our new addition]

thank you so much to carol for executing such a perfect shower! i am so grateful for everything that you did to help pull this shower together for baby h and how perfectly ‘me’ it was! i loved the theme…so cute! a big thank you to dana and andrea for pulling all the strings from seattle to chicago to make this shower happen! it was a beautiful celebration for our baby and we are so appreciative for the amazing friends and family that we have!

xoxo

halloween party

Posted on November 11, 2013 by tandem in love

marina and corey so graciously hosted another halloween party at their maison this year!

[pumpkins by the doan’s]

as you can tell, my preggo behind is literally behind in posting! ever since i’ve been pregnant, my posts are soooooo delayed! but better late than never. 🙂

anyhoo, i was excited to see everyone, it’s times like these that you get to run into folks you don’t get to see very often and it’s always a good thing!

there were plenty of yummy eats, drinks, and tasty sugary treats for all! marina is definitely the hostess with the mostess with all her delicious eats.

when we got there, i ran into jenny! it had been awhile since i saw her, probably the last time i saw her was at marina’s purse party {and that was last year before the holidays!}. when i saw her, i said “well, the tables have turned!”, she was pregnant the last time i saw her but now it was me! it was so good to catch up with her and see her beautiful little girl! i didn’t get to capture it in the photo but her daughter was wearing the cutest little headband representing wasabi and ginger {she was a piece of sushi!}. jenny claims she’s not crafty but she did make her baby’s halloween costume! how adorbs!

[jenny and her little bundle of sushi!]

[a spooky, blurry portrait of us…the construction worker and his witch // black is so slimming for a pregnant lady, isn’t it?!]

[can you guess who they are?]

[a little bit of bromance?]

[spooky treats]

[yummy cupcakes]

[Dracula and the witch]

it was great to see muma and poopie! love them!

[witches of dg]

it was actually a kid’s party as well, although you don’t see any of the cute kids in my pics! they were running around, getting all hyped up on sugar anyways!

we hung out, socialized, ate too much, and had a good ol’ spooky time! thank you marina and corey for having us. it was fun and fabulous.

xoxo

ladies night

Posted on November 9, 2013 by tandem in love

ladies night.

it was long overdue for a night out with my fellow friends. it can be especially hard trying to coordinate mine and pam’s schedule to find a time to hang out! well, miraculously it worked out so easy this time! yay!

we were able to quickly set up a date and time to get together for dinner. uncle julio’s it was on a thursday night. i had a doctor’s appointment earlier in the day, which was draining, so i was a bit lackadaisical in getting out the door. i was the last to arrive {marina said she would be late but she beat me!} and found them sitting in the corner of the restaurant.

i settled in and apologized for my tardiness! we went straight into chit chatting. pam and jaime bombed me with some seriously awesome news {sorry folks, i don’t mean to tease but it’s not my biznazz to share}!!!! i almost flipped out and cried {blame my hormones, i’ve been so teary eyed these past 9 months}. that really set the tone for the evening and the conversations were beyond fantastic the rest of the night!

the downside about uncle julio’s?? the endless amounts of chips and salsa {so stinkin’ delish!}. i definitely ate too much! we ordered so much food! we had them bring more chips and dip. we ordered blended drinks. we ordered a large plate of guacamole. we ordered a big plate of chile con queso. by the time our meals came, i could hardly down anything. i had to do the lean back pregnant pose. well, i got it wrapped up and it was my lunch the next day, score!

[heeyyy, it’s the ladies // marinam pam, and jaime //…don’t mind my bloated look, i’m just pregnant 😉 hehe]

we talked and talked and talked. so much to discuss! it was an absolute delight to be able to catch up with them. much love to these dear friends! they are such good ladies!

xoxo

good, sweet friends

Posted on November 7, 2013 by tandem in love

it was date night with the pals!

i met up with ande, matt, and johann on a cool, weekday evening. it started out so easy until my goose chase for a restaurant ensued! i drove my way to lincoln park and easily found a parking spot by our restaurant of choice, sai cafe. as i walked towards the restaurant, i noticed that the windows were all papered up like it was closed {in the end, it wasn’t closed, their sign is oddly located above a space that is closed, if you walk a little more down the block, you can see the restaurant and the entrance!}! i thought, omg…ande had recommended this place, did she not realized it had closed down? so, i text everyone to let them know that we needed to find another place to eat at. we then decided to stick with the sushi theme, they suggested kamehachi in old town.

so, i drove my way there. found another fab parking spot and started walking my way towards the restaurant. as i approached the space, oh em gee! it was closed down…wtf? i text them that the other restaurant of choice had closed down. oy, and i was tired! this pregger, hungry lady was tired of getting back fired upon! i just wanted to sit down and eat! well, i looked more closely at the window and saw that they had a sign up that the restaurant had relocated! phew!!! so, there i go again, i backtracked the way i came.

[waiting]

i was seated by the hostess and waited patiently for my party to arrive! i ordered a mocktail of a tasty lychee beverage, yum! it was so delicious! i love lychee!

[johann]

first, ande arrived, then matt and johann and the fun began! i love hanging out with them, it’s always so entertaining, lively, and hilarious! they are such good people and such good, sweet friends. the world is a better place because of people like them.

[ande and matt]

[some delicious desserts]

we demolished some yummy food {udon noodles for moi}, got caught up in our daily lives, and did a lot of baby talk. they are so excited for baby h! as usual, we practically closed down the place. we can talk and talk and talk; we always lose track of time when we are all together.

it was time to say our goodbyes and we all scurried on our merry ways. it was so great to be able to catch up with them and spend some quality time together! it was a happy date night with some good buddies!

xoxo

vs shower

Posted on November 1, 2013 by tandem in love

my lovely girls at vs so kindly threw me a shower! it was so sweet and thoughtful of them. it was hosted by my pretty girls, yesenia and tiffani. they did such an amazing job! i was very grateful!

hubby charming and i got there early, so we were instructed to wait upstairs until everything was ready! we finally finagled our way down to a pretty decorated room! pink streamers, fabulous centerpieces, and delicious smelling food! they had worked so hard! several of the girls pitched in and made some decadent desserts!

[the lovely diaper cake made by yesenia]

[streamer decor]

[centerpieces]

we started with the mingling and socializing, then we were given the go ahead from yesenia to dig into the tasty food {from her dad’s restaurant mario’s pizza and pasta}. everything was so yummy! after noshing on all things tasty, we attacked the dessert table! em, from the wrap, made brownies…marlena made the cream cheese stuffed strawberries…it went on and on!

as we were wrapping up the dinner, yesenia started the fun games! oh, it was hilarious to see everyone participate! the first game was for everyone to guess how big my bump was. wow, there were some folks out there {they shall remain unnamed!} that thought my belly was really big!! they tore off their measurement from a roll of paper streamers and once everyone pulled off their fair share, i was asked to stand up and have everyone wrap their streamers around me. whoever guessed the closest, of course, wins! mutters nailed it! she guessed the width of my belly exactly!

[baby bump guessing]

the next game, i had to pick three contestants – the victims were dulce, tracy, and jaime! they had to drink all the pop from the baby bottles. ugh! i wouldn’t want to do that! it was so funny to see. jaime was so upset she had to do this! ha! and the winner was…dulce!!!! the quietest ones always surprise you!

[a race to the end! go dulce!]

[dulce takes the prize]

[it’s a girl confetti]

the last game was, for the picked teams, to guess what the ‘poopey’ diaper was! gross! they had to lick the diaper to guess what kind of chocolate bar it was! yucky looking! anthony and cailynn won!

[‘poopey’ diapers]

next up were presents! all the girls were so kind! i received so many wonderful gifts from everyone! even gals who couldn’t make the shower left their gifts for baby h!

[present time!]

[rich was proud of the rubber ducky he picked out on the registry!]

[i love this photo of me holding marlena’s diaper cake…she was cracking me up about it, she didn’t know how to put one together! it was literally falling apart in my hands!]

[old school ladies! from left to right – hostess with the mostess, yesenia + tiffani, wendy, and jaime]

it was such a fun event! thank you, thank you to my ladies who were so generous, kind, and thoughtful! baby h is so absolutely grateful for all that you have given her! a huge thank you to yesenia and tiffani for hosting such a wonderful shower for us!!! we are so thankful, words cannot describe how awesome it was for you both to do this for us!

xoxo

marathon

Posted on October 29, 2013 by tandem in love

what a day!!! it was going to be a busy, fun filled day! we woke up early and got ready to get our silly selves to the marathon. we took a few buses there and made a pit stop, first, at wishbone {love that place!}. we gotta feed the pregnant belly!

i couldn’t make up my mind on what to order! so, i asked for the biscuits and gravy and the oatmeal with fruit. annnddd, yessss, i ate them both!!! they were both so delicious! it totally hit the spot. after we ate and did some texting with friends…we were ready to meet up with a few peeps. what a debacle it had turned into!

[yum]

[my half eaten oatmeal – brown sugar, bananas, nuts, + milk – and my biscuits and gravy]

first, we were going to meet up with marina. she was there with her two little boys. marina had just gotten to the marathon when we sat down to eat but by the time we were done eating, she was ready to go home! i was like “wahhhhh?!”. so, strike one. we missed meeting up with marina.

so, we walked up to the 13.5 mile mark {down the street from the restaurant}. we cheered the runners on from the sideline. i texted pam to see where she was at…she was at the 18 mile mark! ugh, there was no way we were able to meet up with her and ryan! we couldn’t taxi there {too many roadblocks} and i definitely could not walk that distance to get there! boo, strike two.

[the super friendly frenchie – so stinkin’ adorbs]

[his buddy that was chillin’ behind him – i want a black frenchie and a white frenchie!]

we then decided to walk to the finish line. we were hoping to catch a glimpse of johnny {rich’s friend} possibly at the finish line. we had signed up for updates on johnny as he progressed through the marathon but we were not getting any! as we were walking towards the finish line, we started to receive texts about johnny’s progress…finally!! but then we realized, after reading the updates, we missed him at the 13.5 mile mark! if we had gotten the texts earlier, we could have seen johnny run past then!!!! yuck, strike three.

[the groupie!]

well, johnny’s wife janice, had finally made it to the marathon! yay!!! she was close, by the finish line, so we were finally able to meet up with her! she had her two beautiful girls with her and her mom! love her mom. we were able to hang out for a bit. it was so good to see them and catch up! the marathon trip ended on a very successful note! we were able to finally meet up with at least one of the groups we had intended to see!

it was a very exhausting day overall but i’m so glad we were able to witness one of the great events in our city of chicago! we are so proud of everyone who participated in this amazing event! it is so moving to see all these people doing something not everyone can do! congratulations to all the runners!

xoxo

m & m’s wedding

Posted on October 13, 2013 by tandem in love

the day had finally come for matt and michelle to tie the knot!

we were so excited to see them and see them get married! we grabbed a cab and we were on our way to the church, they were married at old st. pats! the ceremony was at 5 pm…we were just a wee bit late {by 3 minutes!}, she was already walking down the aisle as we stood by the door waiting to go inside. they finally let us in and we snuck up to the front! the ceremony was beautiful and sweet.

[husband and wife!]

i love weddings! it’s just so exciting seeing another couple in love, saying their vows, and experiencing the joys of getting married! or maybe it’s because i loved, loved, loved getting married and hope that every couple that does, goes through the same beautiful high of emotions like we did. i always say, if i could bottle the euphoria you feel on that special day, the wonders it could do for the world to experience such happiness and love!

[the beautiful bride]

[the bride is wearing lazaro]

[the handsome groom]

after the lovely ceremony, we ran into some friends, from rich’s old job, outside the church. we snagged a ride with them to the reception, although matt and michelle had transportation for everyone.

their reception was held at the allerton, at the tip top tap ballroom. we gathered together for cocktail hour…i was hungry! i sampled every hor d’oeuvres they offered. they were all so yummy! after the boys had a few drinks, the chimes were rung and it was time to enter into the dining area.

[the yummy food]

[table decor]

[mr + mrs clark]

[our name is correct 😉 ]

[awwww, so cute!]

it was cozy inside. pretty table decor, cool lighting, and lovely flowers! the speeches were sweet and hilarious. it was so great to see matt and michelle so happy! the food was delicious and the cake was scrumptious!!! i loved the pear and red wine cake, it was heaven! so stinkin’ good! after dinner, the dancing ensued. we took turns in the photo booth, boogied a bit, and had a lot of fun!

[photo booth fun – rich in a golf hat and myself with a black veil fascinator]

it was after 10pm and this pregger lady was dunzo. I had worked so early and was on the go, go, go…i had to say adios. we said our congrats and goodbye to matt and michelle and headed home sweet home!

we love you, matt and michelle!! congrats on the beautiful wedding, the wonderful journey you are now on, and we felt blessed to have been able to celebrate with you guys!

xoxo

heintz baby shower

Posted on October 4, 2013 by tandem in love

i felt very blessed to be attending my baby shower hosted by jane and missy! it was so kind of them to want to throw me a shower! it was mainly the biondo side of the family and as usual, quite entertaining!

me, grace, and rich started out our day by getting ready for church. we had to drop off some goodies {sea salt caramel pretzel brownies} i baked for fall fest {a fun event where the programs at church advertise what community work they do & sign up volunteers}.

after mass, grace really wanted to collect some goodies on all the tables, so we patiently waited around while she practically trick ‘o treated all the tables with some homemade goods! we finally had to reel her in and head on our merry way to grandma’s house!

we arrived just right after 12pm and the party was in full swing…i think we were almost the last to get there [oops!]! we mingled and gleefully talked a lot of baby talk {hello, it is a baby shower!}. the food was served and we sat ourselves down to munch on some lunch.

[hostess with the mostess, jane and missy]

[pretty pink roses]

[me and lori]

[decor]

[rich, colin, and nancy]

[kathy, rich, moi, and ruth]

[sitting down to eat]

[punch]

[lunch goodies]

[sweet treats]

[dessert time!]

[yummy cookies]

[kim’s pov]

[cake and ice cream]

soon, we proceeded onto the opening of presents! it was so much fun to open up all the cute gifts for little baby heintz! so many adorable items for her! we felt so blessed to be showered with so many clothes, gear, and toys for the little girl!

[ready to open gifts for baby]

[how adorbs!]

[super excited over carrie, nancy, and pat’s gift!!!]

[missy’s cute gifts]

[absolutely LOVED grace’s gift!]

[sisters]

[kathy and carrie]

[morgan and darci]

[aunt vicki]

[favors]

thank you to everyone for attending and being so kind and generous! a huge thank you to missy and jane for throwing such a wonderful shower for our little baby girl!

each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 corinthians 9:7

xoxo

lunch date with a cute boy

Posted on October 1, 2013 by tandem in love

i had a lunch date with a cute boy! his name is brady and he was so adorable!

i was excited to have plans with kim! she went out earlier than expected {pregnancy can be so unpredictable!}, so i was totally missing her! we talked practically everyday and so it’s been different not having her around all the time! although, on the flip side, she is totally enjoying being a mommy! i’m so happy for her & mikey…little brady is so cute! he does look so much like his dad!

we met up in schaumvegas for lunch. it was so much fun! it was great catching up and seeing cute little brady sleep. i still can’t believe she’s a mommy! being able to be by her side throughout her pregnancy, it’s amazing to see lil’ brady as a little person. oh, there was so much to talk about! time was just flying by! before we knew it, we had to part ways {bummer}!

[kim + my 7 month bump!]

[sweet brady]

our time together was fabulous! until next time!

xoxo

cha quyen’s 40th

Posted on September 23, 2013 by tandem in love

well that time had come, it was father quyen’s 40th year as an ordained priest! we celebrated at the altar villa banquet hall out in addison. it was quite a fete! i could be exaggerating but i think it was close to 600 folks at the event.

[mingling]

[coaster favors]

[me + hc]

[honoring cha quyen]

[with tricia!]

[vietnamese entertainment]

[with chu thong!]

[with the man of the hour]

[dad, mom, old friend, + dan]

i, as usual, cruised there straight from work. i waited in the parking lot for my hubby charming to meet up with me, he was driving in from the city. once we were together, we walked in and ran straight into my mom and dad. yay! we were immediately pinned with a rose flower {identifying us as family of cha quyen’s} and shuffled to our table. although, we were amongst only a few who had tables reserved for us, i still have to fight off a bunch of vietnamese peeps from stealing the table! they don’t care it says reserved, they will steal it from under this pregger lady! so there i sat, waiting for the rest of my family to arrive.

[old friends]

in the mean time, i was so excited to see my grandma [in from l.a.} and my parent’s old friends, di thu and chu thong {in from texas!}! it was a total reunion that night! we saw so many people we haven’t seen in awhile, it was so good to catch up! it was a great evening except for the singing {oy…it was so loud, it was uncomfortable!}, it’s not a vietnamese event without some loud music and loud singing. my brother dan said all vietnamese music/songs sound like a james bond theme song {funny statement of the night!}.

[love!]

[family]

[grandma! as huy calls her, ‘lil shorty]

anyhoo, after much socializing, eating, and picture taking, it was time to go home! we said our goodbyes and jetted out! it truly was a good night!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: friends

woodland baby shower

halloween party

ladies night

good, sweet friends

vs shower

marathon

m & m’s wedding

heintz baby shower

each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 corinthians 9:7

lunch date with a cute boy

cha quyen’s 40th