it was that milestone! happy birthday to my dear sister, kim! we celebrated at acadia. terry surprised kim with a small, intimate dinner at the lovely restaurant.
i rushed over there after work {thank goodness there wasn’t any traffic! and i found parking in a snap!}. once i was settled in, they starting the whole process, and when i say process, it was. it’s quite fascinating to watch. all the servers that support during the whole dining experience. how attentive and in tune they all are. i just love places like that! the service was impeccable, the food was beyond delish, and the company was fantastic!
[personalized menu]
[kim + lan]
[my bro in law + moi]
[present time!]
[oxfords]
[my non-alcoholic beverage concocted by the bartender]
[my tasty halibut]
we wined {well everyone else} and dined, enjoyed our eclectic conversations, laughed a lot, ate a lot, and drank a lot. after almost 4 hours of noshing and imbibing, we were dunzo.
but of course, it’s not a birthday without a cake! it only completes the celebration! so, there is was…thuy’s homemade cake. it was such a sight. you truly, truly had to be there. from my pov, i saw it coming. it was a glorious, blazing ball of fire heading our way. our server walked from the kitchen, across the whole dining area, all the the way to our table in the corner with the fire hazard. every diner’s head turned, cranked, and gawked at the well lit cake. it was so hilarious. kim didn’t know what was coming her way! oh em gee, we could not stop laughing! it was, seriously, the best part of the evening…it was splendid to see such a fancy restaurant serve this beauty of a cake {made with love from thuy}. despite it’s wilting nature…it was damn good! so yummy!
[the blazing cake!]
[happy birthday kim! // i love how the two dudes in the background are mesmerized!]
[make a wish!]
[birthday partiers]
thank you to terry and thuy for coordinating such a fabulous fete for our lovely sister kim. happy birthday ma seour!
i was able to meet up with andrea and leyla for a lovely al fresco dining experience. we met up at folklore…so delish!! hc and i ate there when we first moved into the area {it’s right down the street from us} and hadn’t been back since, so going there again made me realize how good it is! we had forgotten about all the deliciousness there!
ah, it was such a fabulous evening to sit outside. i haven’t seen leyla in awhile and it was so good to catch up! it was great to hear her funny stories and to know that life is good for her! our company was made up of two mommies and a soon to be mommy, so that made it good for some mommy talk! no worries, we had plenty of convos around purses {chanel or celine?}. and shoes. and clothes. and shopping. hehe. our other loves!
we put in our entree order, oh i forget how much food they give you! i ordered so much! oops. my eyes were bigger than my stomach. oh well, it made for good leftovers!
we hung out for awhile to enjoy the perfect evening temperature. that is when i crave a yummy glass of wine! a warm, summer evening and a glass of wine is the perfect combo! boo.
i haven’t seen these girls in awhile…well, it’s been a few months and it was def time to catch up!
we all met at D.O.C. wine bar. i love seeing them! they are such sweet ladies! marina and i go way back to junior high {eekkk!}. pam and i go waaaaayyyyyy back! we have known each other since early elementary school {double eekkk}! we didn’t go to the same one, our mutual connection is our bestie carol. we befriended each other through her and have remained friends since! ditto for rina!
we chit chatted the night away. catching up on life stories. i really enjoy spending time with them. it just ebbs and flows. ya know, when it’s just relaxing and fun; the time just flies by when you’re totally engaged with your friends. well, hours passed by and it was actually getting late {late for me at least!} and i know pam and i had the longer drives back.
we hung out a bit outside the restaurant to finish up our fascinating conversations! we finally had our hugs goodbye and went on our merry way! love these ladies! it was a very good night.
dinners galore! i’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of quality time with my girls!
i met up with kt, & karen at the reel club for some good grub. it’s a nice place. a good go to restaurant. i love the little cheese popovers…they are addicting {watch out, you could ruin your appetite with these little suckers}! it was a shame almost all that yummy stuff on the menu was off limits for me {boo!}.
it was so good to be able to get together. we recently saw each other at kt’s birthday but that was a party and we couldn’t really sit down and chit chat like we usually do!
kar met up wtih me at the mall and we walked our way to the restaurant. kt met up with us there! once we were together, the conversation just flowed. i love catching up with them and hearing all our stories. life’s ups and downs…it’s what we thrive on, right?! what’s new, what’s old, what’s annoying, gossip, new loves, old loves, current status, & all the juicy stuff.
my stomach capacity has been limited…surprisingly to me. i think it’s too early in the game to have little room in the tummy but it’s a happening! so, i ordered soup and salad. it was tasty! i was a bit skeptical of the soup {it was the soup of the day and i can’t remember what it was!}, it had an odd main ingredient that i wasn’t sure about but it ended up super yum! in the end, of course we had to order dessert! we shared and sampled all the delicious decadence.
[kt, kar, + moi]
after several hours of chilling, we were dunzo. with our bellies full and our heads a spinning with all the talk, we parted ways. it was a great evening with my girls!
kt’s big 3-0 was here!!! we celebrated her birthday and her two year anniversary since her surgery!
the party was down the street from where i was at. i had dinner with my sisters and lan first, then skedaddled to the party afterwards.
we dined at nellcote. a beautiful restaurant with delicious entrees. small plates to share, who doesn’t love eating that way? it’s so fun to try different flavors. we ordered spaghetti {tomato, calabrian chilies, toasted breadcrumbs, & mojama}, robuchon potatoes {local yukon gold potatoes, sauce périgueux}, sunny side up organic egg pizza, venison tartare {smoked egg yolk, preserved lemon, quinoa, mustard}! so amazingly good! we ended our meal with the most decadent desserts! pot de creme, lemon semifreddo, and the chocolate parfait! soooo stuffed!
[nellcote]
[salut]
[delicious dishes]
[a trio of heaven]
after dinner, i waddled my way to my sister’s car and she dropped me off down the street to kt’s party. i headed upstairs to the rooftop and found a bunch of screaming ladies! we were all so excited to see each other! i was happy to see kt, karen, colleen, bridget, mary, and annie! it was nice to chat with annie…who is pregnant and four weeks ahead of me! after visiting with everyone, it was time for this pregger lady to go! i was so tired!
[my dirty 30 gift to kt…granny panties!]
[birthday girl]
[my girls!]
[7 and 6 month bumps!]
[you can’t beat this beautiful skyline…love]
it was a long day…a very fun and satisfying day with friends and family!
it was hosted by my ever loving sister, kim, and bro in law, terry! it was at brunswick bowling and it was a blast. we geared up our tootsies with some snazzy bowling shoes…hello! of course i brought socks!
[ready to get started]
[bowling shoes…check!}
so, the bowling began, and off to a rocky start. wow…you could tell it’s been awhile since most of us bowled {hee}!!! i tried my best to balance my pregger belly with that somewhat heavy bowling ball but my awesome swing/throw was off kilter! gutter balls, fouls, and no pins down later {um, that is a sum up of the group., minus pete & dan…show offs!}, we then started munching on some yummy snacks ordered {classic bowling grub…pizza, cheese sticks, nachos, onion rings…}!
[candy balls]
[kim’s amaze gutter ball throws]
[dan’s professional bowling league]
[soeurs]
[ladies who lunch]
near the end of our bowling run, we finally gave in to b’s relentless requests for cake and presents! we proceeded to sing happy birthday {yes…his decor represented his like for the boston bruins…don’t ask} and he happily proceeded with his gifts! he was so cute! he insisted on opening the cards first and then politely opened each gift. cars, hockey stick, clothes, skate board, and more toys later, b was a happy birthday boy!
[present time!]
[happy birthday!]
[yummy!]
[look at that smile!]
[cute little favor bags by kim]
we finished up our bowling games and went on our merry ways! all in all, it was a wonderful time celebrating b’s birthday! he was a happy little guy!
i was way excited to meet up with jod! it’s still makes me sad that we don’t work together anymore. tres triste.
we had such a great time, all these years, working together. and she had to go off and get her own store. humph!
so, we try our best to squeeze in time to meet up and catch up and laugh it up. our lunch date was at the little goat {holy busy place}. i snagged a parking spot and cruised inside to a 30 minute wait {oy}. jod was on her way, so i settled myself into a little corner nook outside the restaurant waiting for her {gotta take advantage of the beautiful weather!}.
she finally arrived and we were deep in our conversation when my phone alerted me that our table was ready. yes! i was hungry! we were seated and perused the menu. i had such a hard time deciding {so confused}! kimchi pancakes, biscuits and gravy, or grilled cheese?? yeah, no correlation what so ever but hey, a girl is preggers!
[my current obsession]
[kimchi pancakes]
a virgin bloody mary and kimchi pancakes on order, we dove back into our non-stop chatter. we talked about babies, work, life, and love, just a few of our favorite things!
[just bump it // my then 24 week state]
afterwards, we talked and walked to my car {how romantic!} but not until after we snapped a photo of me. jod insisted on a pic to show peeps my pregger state {such as her wonderful mom ann & former co-wokers i don’t get to see anymore}! we lingered a bit longer, sometimes we can just go on and on! finally we said our goodbyes and parted ways. it was so great to see her! until next time!
we recently went to vegas for our babymoon! normally we do not go to vegas in the middle of summer but that is what matt wanted! we prefer may or september, i mean it is still hot but not as hot as it is in july!
[waiting for our flight out of ord]
we headed to the airport, early, to fly out so we could have a full day of vegas when we arrived. we were met by my brother and his girlfriend, tashina, at the vegas airport. we traipsed our way to aloha, an eatery that was super yummy! a restaurant that definitely served way, way too much food! i ordered the kalua pig and cabbage, it was so good but i could barely consume the amount that was served! i pretty much ate a lot of rice and cabbage with a sprinkling of pork! that was all the ever shrinking tummy of mine could manage {these days, the tummy is feeling a bit more pressure}.
[my delicious meal at aloha!]
[my $6 lemonade at the eiffel tower restaurant]
afterwards, huy + tashina dropped us off at our hotel, vdara {love}. huy + tashina stayed at a cute hotel boutique called rumor, just down the road from our hotel! we checked in, settled in, and made our way to the pool {first things first!}. huy + tashina met us at the pool and then eventually matt + johann! they flew in later that afternoon and met us around 4:30ish. we all hung out for a bit at the pool and then headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
our first night of excess was at the paris hotel. we ate at the eiffel tower. we had such a funny experience there. the ambiance, the dress code, & the service was interesting to say the least. the best thing about our meal was our jealousy over tashina + huy’s seafood tower of deliciousness!
[me and tashina before dinner!]
[huy + tashina’s awesome seafood tower]
[our ‘professional’ picture at the restaurant]
once we were done with dinner, we headed over to the cosmopolitan’s chandelier bar for a night cap. we pit stopped at the sugar factory, a 24hour candy store, on our way to the bar. apparently huy + tashina pit stopped at a few gambling spots on their way!
[some of the amaze chandeliers inside the bar]
[matt + johann]
[chillin’]
the next day, we rented out a cabana at the pool to spend our day relaxing and soaking up the sun. it’s always such a good time when we rent a cabana, the service is amaze, food at your fingertips, drinks constantly flowing, and the private pool! a lovely pool just for the cabana folks! who wouldn’t love it?!
[my 22 week baby bump!]
[relaxing at our private pool // nice look huy!]
[love the guy in the background!]
after a whole day of sunning and relaxing, we got ready and headed out to dinner with matt’s sister, liz, her husband, josh, and their daughter, stella. josh picked us up & we met liz & stella out by where they live, henderson-ville. we ate at a tapas restaurant out by them and after dinner, we headed back to their house for another night cap. well, the boys had scotch {glenlevit 18 years old} and cigars {out on the patio}, while i hung out on the couch with matt & his sister! it was a really, really nice evening. we totally enjoyed our time with them. they are such a fun bunch and so welcoming!
[scotch, cigars, + great friends]
[hanging out at liz + josh’s]
the next day, we duplicated our all day outing at the pool but we went out for lunch instead {we typically order lunch at the cabana}. we met liz at the todd english pub for a quick bite before we headed back to our cabana. it was wonderful to meet up with liz one last time before our vacation ended!
our evening meal was at the bacchanal buffet at caesars hotel. the interior was very cool and the food was delicious {although buffets aren’t the best deal for a preggo lady}! i especially loved the asian buffet & dessert buffet {so yummy}! we then met matt + johann’s friend, allen {in for a conference}, at the chandelier bar back at cosmo for our final night cap of the trip.
[bacchanal buffet]
[the beginning of the end]
the next day, we went to breakfast at the peppermill {the best and cheesiest joint in town!}. last year we started our trip at the peppermill and this year, we ended our trip at the restaurant! they have fake neon lights, a lounge area with a fire pit in the middle of it, and there’s photographer that walks around to take your picture as a souvenir! ha! love it. after breakfast, we walked the whole strip! we started at the encore and made our way all the way back to our hotel, in time to leave for the airport. we did all sorts of shopping along the way. it was a perfect way to end our vacation. we were able to experience all the cheesiness of the strip on our last day there. that’s a part of vegas you gotta soak in!
[the way to start your day, breakfast and a drink!]
[the fire pit in the lounge]
[the fake trees & ‘neon’ light interior]
[our cheesy souvenir // we love it!]
[my delicious virgin bloody mary // it was so good!!!!]
[the eclipsing of my feet]
[macarons from jean philippe // they were a bit crushed during the transport]
there you go, our babymoon! it was a fun, relaxing time with my hubby charming, the baby bump, and friends!
i was very excited for our first TOT session at st. clement! we had such a great time last year and i knew it was going to be even better this year! our first speaker of the series was timothy o’malley from notre dame. he was hilarious! his topic of the evening was ‘when life doesn’t go as planned: the hidden gift of disappointment’.
my disappointment of the evening was that hubby charming wasn’t able to participate with me this year! boo. i was sad but it is what it is!
i had such a good time reconnecting with friends and creating new ones! this was our biggest theology on tap ever!!! 329 attendees! wow!! the events prior never really exceeded 200! last year’s session drew in 275 folks and that was a record for us; it was awesome to see the crowd grow!
my duties this year was food and drinks. it was actually a lot of fun! we can’t believe we actually fed everyone! how crazy. we are so grateful for the local restaurants that donated all the food! we worked throughout the evening, bringing out the food, & cleaning up. we totally rocked it! our team was so fabulous!
the temperature was so ridiculous! it was over 100 degrees in front of the church!!! with over 300 peeps hanging out in close proximity, the temperature was bound to rise!
we had our gender reveal party on sunday, and it was such a fun time! behold, there will be a lot of pictures! i had such fun concocting all the details {thanks kim for being our photographer for the day!}! a huge thanks to my sister kim for diy-ing all the vases and arranging all the beautiful flowers!!! a big thanks to my parents for letting me host it at their house!
the morning started out with a trip to corner bakery, we had the food catered by them, so we swung by to pick the goodies. we arrived at my parent’s house and the decorating began! grace was such great help {hc charming was a mission created by me and my p’s to get additional supplies}, she wiped down the chairs, helped me decorate, and set everything up with me!
at noon, the lovely guests started to arrive! one by one, we greeted in glee and the party began! we sipped our drinks and socialized for our start of the party. we finally prepped the food, and enjoyed our meal outside. thank goodness it wasn’t soooo hot. it was hot but not as hot as it has been for the past few weeks. i was so thankful for the temperature being at the tail end of the heat wave!
after the food, the kids got to hit a baby carriage piñata! who doesn’t like a piñata at a party?!
after noshing on our meals, kim and i prepared the desserts. it looked quite adorable! after, we set up the table and i announced to everyone if they wanted to know the gender of the baby?! of course they said yes! i told them that they could find the answer in the cupcakes {from magnolia bakery}! they were so excited! everyone got up to grab their cupcakes! once each person had their little treasure, everyone broke open their cupcakes at the same time!
there it was! pink frosting signifying a baby girl!!!!!! it was so much fun!
[handmade jars filled with candy by me + hc]
[the start of the table setting]
[sprinkled with confetti dots]
[cousins]
[voting!]
[gender pins]
[beautiful arrangements by kim!]
[flowers, confetti, and candy jars]
[decor]
[party tassels]
[famille – grace and i color co-ordinated our outfits to represent both genders!]
[themed party utensils]
[pink and blue plates]
[drinks]
[dana darling with her pink bow pin for her girl vote]
[lan, avery, and thuy]
[the boys + thuy]
[mes seours]
[jane + aunt wendy wearing themed party shoes]
[b + terry]
[jane + grace]
[drinking straws]
[noshing on our pink and blue plates]
[super yummy lemonade]
[b]
[famille]
[magnolia bakery cupcakes]
[yum!]
[sisters]
[tower of goodies // he she bars and pink and blue rock candy!]
[favors]
[piñata time]
[swinging at the baby carriage]
[busted!]
[classic pose]
[swaying towards the boy vote!]
[cupcake time!]
[it’s pink!!! it’s a girl!]
[pink filling]
[beautiful dana]
[pink! it’s a girl!]
[a wonderful gift from aunt wendy!]
[avery helping me open gifts // from her parents]
[lol…all the kids helping me open gifts! so cute!]
[adorbs chevron blanket from lori, jay, aj, + jake]
[what a wonderful party! thank you to everyone for celebrating with us!!!]
we truly had such a great time! what a wonderful way to spend time with our families and such a fun way to let everyone know what gender baby heintz is!!!
