hb thuy!

Posted on January 27, 2016 by tandem in love

my sister thuy started off her weekend birthday celebration with a family dinner at maggiano’s. it was just my parents, my sister kim, terry, the boys, and us all together to celebrate thuy’s day.

i met them at the restaurant and when i walked up to the table, olive was out cold. she was asleep in hc’s arms and it was way too cute. i mean, i never ever see her passed out unless she’s in a carseat or in her crib. she’s not one to sleep in random places or outside her nap time, so this was an anomaly.

though, i knew right away this was going to be trouble. olive is not the sweetest thing when she wakes up from a nap, especially if she wakes up in an unfamiliar environment. boy oh boy did that ring true! she was irritable, grumpy, angry, and just plain didn’t want to be bothered. it took fooooorever to calm her down. i had to take her to the corner bakery side of the restaurant so she could scream and cry and not really bother anyone. after many minutes of her being upset, me trying to appease her with a drink, crayons, drawing, soothing words…she finally started to calm down a bit. just a bit. i brought her back to the table but she was still irritable and didn’t want anyone to bother her. she insisted in sitting in my lap and not until dinner was almost over did she finally let me just sit right.next.to.her.

well, besides the rough beginning, dinner was great. it was delicious, fun, and a very nice time celebrating thuy’s birthday! we definitely ate too much but how can you limit your pasta intake?! ha! well, lately, i am a garbage disposal and i have absolutely no shame in overindulging, my pregnant body says so!

plus, i will fully admit with olive being so dang fussy the majority of the dinner, i was the worst at picture taking. boo! i literally snapped no pics! anyhoo, at least i nabbed a photo of thuy blowing out her birthday candle and even boomeranged it! woot woot!

[the best pic we could get. one, i kept looking at thuy versus the camera, two – olive was not having it, and three – r was the only one who was a natural ham…hahaha!]

[make a wish!]

watch thuy blow out her candle!

happy birthday to my beautiful sister thuy! best super auntie to my sweet little olive! thanks for being awesome. we love you!

xoxo

hb dear friend

Posted on January 16, 2016 by tandem in love

i love celebrating this beautiful lady’s birthday every year. it’s always a perfect time to get together, after the holiday rush and all.

andrea and i talked on christmas day {i called her to tell her about my pregnancy!} and i asked her about her birthday plans. we exchanged a few thoughts and i told her i would coordinate something for her. it’s her birthday and by no means should she have to worry about plans!

i was besides myself…i literally looked at a dozen restaurants to see if they had any reservations available for a party of ten and one restaurant after another was booked! i a few people told me that boarding house was a great restaurant, so i felt good about it.

it was a super rainy, cold night. hc and i had a great start to the city and had gotten there early, which was great because i needed just a few more items for andrea’s gift! we found an amazing parking spot and traipsed inside to the bar area. hc ordered a drink and i asked for a nonalcoholic beverage and truffle fries. i totally needed something to eat! i was so hungry…story of my life right now.

slowly, everyone trickled in. it was fabulous to see everyone! i might only see these peeps every so often but each time always feels like old times. everyone was nabbing drinks when our entire party finally arrived and they led us to our table upstairs.

[pretty boarding house restaurant]

[the ladies]

[beth and patrik…she’s pregnant too!]

it is such a cool looking restaurant. the interior is mysterious, gorgeous, beautiful, and cozy. we were seated up on the third floor in an almost private dining area. there was another table next to us but no one sat there until way into our dinner reservation, so it was lovely having the room to ourselves for a bit. the space overlooked the second floor of the restaurant, so it was a pretty cool view to be in.

we ordered more drinks, ordered apps, and finally ordered our entrees. i really liked our server; he was polite, attentive, and on point. the timing of the food was good and everything was delicious. i really, really enjoyed my entree of scallops. it was beyond tasty. ever since i have been pregnant, i have been ravenous and it’s not a pretty sight. it’s a bit un-classy and a wee bit of a spectacle how i tend to shove food in my mouth like i haven’t eaten in days. hahaha!

the evening was very relaxing and fun. i was able to catch up a bit with andrea and get in on some of life’s happenings. andrea is such a wonderful lady. a true friend who totally has your back. i am blessed to have her in my life. we were reminiscing over our friendship and how long we have known each other. i told her i could barely remember the time frame of how long it’s been since we first met and it’s something insane, like sixteen years. noooooo way! it absolutely does not feel like it has been that long!!! holy cow!

the evening carried on with more laughter, stories, noshing, and imbibing of tasty drinks. andrea opened her gifts, blew out her birthday candle, and the night slowly faded out.

we had such a grand ol’ time celebrating this beautiful friend. happy birthday to a gorgeous lady inside and out! cheers to an even better year!

[my alcohol free cocktail]

[um, just a little too much flash…everything is bouncing off our skin!]

[happy birthday my beautiful, sweet friend!]

[such a fun group!]

xoxo

family birthday dinner

Posted on December 30, 2015 by tandem in love

the birthday celebration continues!

hc coordinated a dinner with my family the day after my birthday at j. alexander’s in oakbrook. after my wonderful surprise party the night before, it was awesome to celebrate the occasion with my family.

it was quite the chilly evening. i arrived at the restaurant first, which was great, because i could relax and mindlessly be on my phone to catch up on insta and such. hc, grace, and olive arrived, followed by my sister kim and famille. we were waiting for my sister thuy, mom, and dad to get there before they would seat us.

the table arrangement in the restaurant didn’t allow for a large party, so they sat us at two separate tables, which was fine because the kids got to sit all together and be them crazy selves.

we ordered apps and perused the menu…i was totally feeling crab cakes. like big time but i received the most disappointing news of the evening – they were out of crab cakes! whaaaaaaa?! i was devastated. i had no idea what i should order in lieu of it. ya know when you totally have your mind set on an entree and that’s all you want? well, i was stuck, so i ordered their vege burger because i couldn’t figure it out {in a total rush, she was already taking everyone’s order!}. ugh. mistake.

my vege burger was sub par. soooooo not what i wanted. the server felt so bad because it was my birthday and they didn’t have what i wanted, so she comped my meal and drink. that was very nice of them but regardless, my birthday meal was bleh. i was so disappointed that i had order that mundane wannabe burger! ha!

but no matter. what was really important was the fact that i was celebrating with my family and the kiddos were having a great time sitting together and being silly. overall, i really enjoyed our apps, our convos, and our time together.

it was a fabulous birthday dinner with my famille and a perfect way to top of my birthday celebrations! hooray!

[the crew]

[not what i envisioned as my birthday meal]

[yup, this pic pretty much describes them]

xoxo

surprise!

Posted on December 29, 2015 by tandem in love

it was my birthday and it was a very good relaxing day. we spent the afternoon in the city, enjoying the festive surroundings and the slow easy day we had in store for us. after our afternoon jaunts, we headed back home for quiet evening in. the car ride was filled with lots of traffic and we were quite tired from the long commute.

as we were pulling into the driveway, i told hc to grab olive and bring her in and i would grab the bags in the car. as i walked towards our front door, i noticed all the lights still off. odd. i thought why didn’t hc turn on any lights? i then saw a little baby sitting on our mat. wtf. i was a bit freaked out. i stared intently at this babe. it wasn’t olive…i was sure but whaaaaaat? i was so confused. i didn’t recognize the baby and why was there a baby sitting at our front door?!!!!!! i slowly called out, “helloooooooo?” as i walked closer to the door. once i was inside, my bestie carol jumped out from the side and yelled, “surprise!”. omg. i was bewildered. what was going on? i was still so confused! i walked inside and our neighbor caitlin was in our kitchen prepping food. carol’s kids were crawling out from odd places…

my hubby is the best. he planned a small surprise party for me! i was soooo shocked! carol just flew into town the night before, so hc invited some of our close friends over for a catered dinner. he is so sweet and thoughtful. he really did pull one over me! i was over the moon at his efforts. i loved hearing all the fun details after the party on how he was able to pull everything together. when he ordered the food, who he talked to, how he hired caitlin to be our kitchen help for the evening. it was all soooo very sweet!

we had a fabulous time hanging out with everyone. we nibbled on food, caught up on life, and ran after our babes. it was so much fun. i had a very good time & my heart was so full!

thank you so much my darling hubby charming for always being the best partner, for always being so loving, thoughtful, caring, and oh so sweet. i love you!

[liam, jaime, carol, and me]

[my favorite macarons]

[liam, travis, and olive]

[hor d’oeuvres]

[caitlin – the super helper]

[cute little shelby]

[pam and j]

[ready to blow out the candles]

[they are silly]

xoxo

happy two years my sweet olive

Posted on November 27, 2015 by tandem in love

oh my oh my! olive is two years old! happy birthday my dear sweet olive!

where do i start?! it’s been an amazing year since her first birthday. she has grown so much and it fills my heart with joy!

[how darling is this picture? so in love]

she’s so quirky. like seriously a funny, goofy gal. she makes the funniest faces. she says the craziest stuff and does the most daring things. i love watching her. she amuses me with the faces she makes, her expressions kill me. i could watch her all day and be so entertained by this little gal.

she’s so dang bossy. that might be an understatement. she loves to tell me or anyone what.to.do. when she does’t want you around, she will say, “go! walk!”. the only way she can articulate for you to go away. when she wants something, she demands it! her one word commands. “draw!”, “eat!”, “book!”. everything is a demand. oh, it cracks me up.

she loves to dance. boogie down. she will say, “dah, dah, dah, dah!” and tap her feet back and forth and wave her arms. when she hears a beat, she will bounce her head back and forth back and forth. oh, it’s so cute to watch. she loves music and gets a big smile on her face when she hears a fun song.

oh my, she’s an eater. i am surprised this babe is not fatter! where are her baby rolls?! she will eat anything. you cannot bring any food around her without her wanting to eat every bite with you. as parents, it makes you very aware that if you are eating something unhealthy, eep, she will jump on it in two seconds. so, we almost have to sneak certain things behind her back because we don’t want her eating it. hahaha! so bad, i know. she loves fruit, yogurt, peanut butter crackers, chips, cheerios, and begs for cookies.

she’s obsessed with the t.v. oh boy. she loves it soooooo much. it’s so difficult to control. we do our best to not have it on during the day and only at night, right before bedtime but it seems like it’s becoming increasingly more difficult as she is getting older. her current favorite programs are kipper the dog, lego friends, legos, and cat in the hat. she will watch these shows over and over and over and over and over again. no joke. we want to strangle ourselves but baby girl loves it so!

this babe still loves her sleep. she’s such a great sleeper. we are pretty consistent with giving her that one nap a day around 3-4pm, it’s only if we have an event or something outside the norm that is happening that will cause her to skip her afternoon nap but it’s very rare. she is quite the night owl, though. it’s so hard to get this baby girl to go to bed before nine. she will fight it every chance she gets but once she goes down, she will be out for at least 9-10 hours straight. we have progressed into reading right before bedtime. she used to love reading in the morning, but now we read a book or two right before bedtime. i really love it and so does she. it’s a lovely, sweet routine i am glad we have formed.

the one thing i have noticed with her turning two is that this past week, she has really turned into a little girl. she looks taller, leaner, and more like a kid than a toddler. her face has matured. her eyebrows have darkened. her attitude has changed. she’s truly becoming a little person with a big personality. it’s so amazing to watch. i am so attentive with little details like that and i love to savor every second, every moment with her. i am literally watching her grow right before my eyes and it’s so flippin bittersweet. i want to cry and squeeze her with so much love and joy at the same time!

well, that is our baby girl in a nutshell. i could go on and on about her and this post would be ridiculously long but i will just give you the highlights!

happy birthday my lovely little olive. we love you so much. words cannot describe the love we have for you. we hope that each day, each year we are able to show that to you. we want only the best for you and we hope that you always feel loved, cared for, and grow up to be a strong, confident women that will rule the world.

xoxo

hb dan!

Posted on November 18, 2015 by tandem in love

we all got together to celebrate my brother dan’s birthday! my little brother dan is super sweet. like the sweetest guy ever. he’s quiet, calm, loving, thoughtful, polite, and just a wonderful human being. he was always the baby of the family…the last of the kids and the one we always watched after. i love him bunches.

my sisters decided to get together for his birthday and coordinated a little dinner get-together. they chose to go to a place called pizza barra. hc and i were one of the last ones to arrive. the fam had already ordered some apps and started with one order of pizza. we all settled in, ordered drinks and perused the menu to order some more garb to eat. we ended up getting plenty of apps, a pan pizza and a thin crust pizza to go around. yum. their calamari there was deeeeeeelish! nom nom!

[nice smile reagan!]

[why do i look so surprised?!]

as usual, olive was bit grumpy when she first got there. she’s always so cautious and shy when she’s in a new environment, even she knows the peeps! of course, cousin reagan is just the sweetest to her. he always takes care of her, dotes on her, and does his best to make her happy. oh he is just the cutest with her! i love watching them together, it just melts my heart.

our food arrived and away we ate. i love that about life. i love the simple things in it. i really do. i love my family. i love getting together with them and eating. i love the time we can spend together. i really do cherish simple, sweet moments like this together. my dad has always taught me that family is number one. sometimes it might not seem like it in the moment, but in the end…they will always be there for you and that is the truth.

[addicted]

[ma pere, mere, & soeur]

[my brother and brother in law]

[yummy]

[best pic we could get with olive]

well, happy birthday dan! you are the such a sweet, awesome brother! we love you and we hope your birthday and every day is just as amazing as you!

xoxo

hb ma soeur!

Posted on September 3, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a saturday night and we had a great reason to celebrate: it was kim’s birthday! yay! we celebrated ma soeur’s day with a small, intimate dinner at capri, a restaurant in burr ridge.

it was a muggy, warm night {a bit rainy}. we all met up in the front of the restaurant and traipsed our way inside. holy cow. it was J A M M E D packed inside. the waiting area was quite small and there were way too many peeps waiting inside. we were elbow to elbow and i feel bad when there are tables right next to the waiting area…i feel like i am encroaching on their dinner and conversations, standing right next to them! and if it were me, i would be completely unsatisfied with a table like that. who wants to sit rightnext to the bar/waiting area??

anyhoo, they were completely behind. they didn’t seat us until about a half hour past our reservation time {which is annoying when you make reservations}. everything that ensued after that was just comic disbelief! they squeezed us into a corner of the restaurant. we were kind of packed in like sardines {and the floor was slippery…too much olive oil going around?!} and poor terry had to get up every time someone walked our way to use the water closet. like every.time. he was in a corner where it was really tight and the bathroom was behind him. ugh! unpleasant. then my brother, dan, asked us to scoot down to make room. what?! we were already in a tight situation but we found out that the roof was leaking! it was dripping on my poor husband! splat! splat! splat! right onto his menu, flicking water onto him like chinese water torture! bahahaha! really?!

slowly but surely, things started to get better {how could it not after that beginning?!}. we were served complimentary apps and finally got our bottles of wine…wine solves most things, right?!

[with the guest of honor!]

[helen and thuy]

[the ladies]

[the gents]

we were served our food and the conversation flowed. the best part about life…friends, family, food, and wine. i talked quite a bit with helen {kim’s good friend} and had the best time conversing about kids, life, people. she is such a sweet lady! her, her husband, and kids are such good people. very funny, down to earth, and lovely.

our funny of the night? well let me preface this story with the fact that terry and hc are great friends. super close buddies. thank goodness that worked out right? my sister marries a guy, i marry a guy and these guys become besties. we couldn’t have picked better partners for ourselves or them for each other. total bromance blooming from the start. anyhoo, what happens next totally speaks to this. our food was served and we all looked down and busted out laughing! hc had ordered balls and terry had ordered a sausage…perfectly paired together and absolutely fitting. hahahaha!

[rich’s balls and terry’s sausage…the bromance continues]

[mmmm, olives…we love olive]

[linguine carbonara]

[happy birthday!!!]

after eating, drinking, and stuffing ourselves silly…dessert was served! we sang happy birthday to our dear sister with a lit cannoli. no other way but the italian way! we all ordered coffee and other desserts to top off our evening. in the end, it was a great time. you just can’t go wrong when you hang out with good peeps. it’s always a recipe for a great time!

happy birthday kim! we love you to bits!

xoxo

b’s birthday

Posted on August 27, 2015 by tandem in love

the morning we came home from vegas, we went right into hosting a birthday party for my nephew bennett! yes, it was a very last minute decision…my sister wasn’t expecting to throw a party for him {we usually just gather together for a dinner out} but b asked and he received.

i needed to grab a few things for b’s party, so i headed out with olive while hc mowed the lawn. as soon as i arrived home, peeps were already over setting up the place for the party. we started prepping and decorating…it was so impromptu, so there wasn’t a ton to do…easy peasy!

i was dreading putting olive down because her cousins were already over and she always wants to play and not miss out on anything. it was very comical the way miss olive reacted when i told her it was nap time. she first stared me down. she literally paused what she was doing and did the stare down. then she slammed her fist onto the table and said no. then she put her head down onto her arm, onto the table and wept. “wah wah wah, hmph, nooooooooo” is what she kept saying. then, i picked her up to change her diaper and i kept saying bedtime, and she responded with an insistent, “i don’t want toooooo, i don’t want tooooooo”. oh, it was hilarious. i put her into her crib, she turned to her side and fell asleep. what an actress!!!!!

[b wanted a chicago cubs themed birthday party]

[thuy’s hand painted tank! how cool is this?!}

[gathering gifts for the birthday boy]

slowly all the guests trickled in. it was a very small, intimate party. just family. we all hung out, snacked on some goodies, chit chatted, and enjoyed each other’s company.

we grilled, we set up the ‘buffet’, ate a delicious meal inside {it was way hot and so much cooler in the house, so we set up a long table to dine on}, and we slowly trickled back out so the kids could play. we pulled out the little kiddie pool that jane had bought for olive and the kids went crazy over it. it’s always fun to play with water, non?!

of course, what is a party without a piñata?! and let me tell you about this piñata…it was a tough little sucker. the kids {without a blindfold} beat it and beat it and beat it and it would not break! it started to fall apart but it would not split in half or break open completely. we finally had to call it quits and the kids dove in for the candy. it was like the bionic piñata!

after the piñata, we sang happy birthday to b and served the yummy cake. i love cake. i love cake with whipped cream frosting. that is my favorite. buttercream is another. i love it to be sweet, light, and airy. i must say, cakes at mariano’s market are deeeeeeelish.

[our first guests: pete and lan]

[avery and kim, serving delicious apps]

[ready for the piñata]

[swing batter batter batter swing!]

[go reagan!]

[make a wish!]

[represen’ing! go cubs!]

[ready to open presents]

[sponge bob madness!]

at the very end of the day and waaaayyyy after the party ‘ended’. b opened up his gifts and was a super happy camper! he loved his presents and we loved seeing his happy face. it was a fantastic day. although hc and i were spent from our overnight travel, nothing feels better than having your family over and seeing your little nephew happy to have celebrated his birthday. it was a good one b! happy day to you, always.

xoxo

what?! thirteen?!!

Posted on July 23, 2015 by tandem in love

oh em gee. grace marie is thirteen! where did the time go? i remembered this wee one when she had just turned 6…now she’s a teenager. eep! when we met she was a quiet {almost mute}, shy, sheepish little girl. now she’s a tall, smart, beautiful {still shy} teen!

hc and i prepped all week to get things ready for the party. hc manicured the lawn, set up the tent, table, and chairs, i gathered the decor, ordered the cake {horse themed – natch}, prepped the menu, and pre-set anything i could. it was going to be a low key, simple event.

the day of the party, all we had to do was set up the food, decor, and drinks. easy! boy, was it hot. thank goodness it wasn’t as hot and humid as it was the day prior but nevertheless, hot! we were lucky with the weather. a l l week long, it was slated to rain right, smack dab in the middle of the party {of course we were having it outdoors} but the night before, i pulled up the weather app and… ahhhhhhhh! no rain! {insert emoji’s}

[crumbs cupcakes]

[her horse birthday cake!]

[her wood letter where guests wrote their birthday wishes for her]

[party tent!]

[gold number and the horse balloon]

[no she’s not 31! the photo booth]

[kettle corn and veggie app’s]

the first guest to arrive was the guest of honor! grace came with her mom, stepdad, and sister anabelle. right after that was gramma jane and papa. soon, everyone slowly trickled in. it was great! i had set up a photo booth and it was so much fun for everyone to goof around with the props. olive was a riot. the first round of pics…olive wasn’t sure what was going on. she saw all the girls grab a prop and pose for pics and she wanted in! she walked over to grace, leaned in, and posed for the pics! it was so sweet and hilarious. i love her! she’s such a doll!

we all hung out, enjoyed some refreshing libations, and socialized to our hearts content. after an hour or so, hc fired up the grill and we started cooking up the food. we had burgers and dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, corn, and fruit on the menu. simple, easy, and light for this hot summer day.

[one of my favorite photos. olive saw the gals get together for a pick and she wandered over, leaned into grace so she could get in the pic. pure sweetness]

[hc, aunt gloria, and jane]

[uncle ed, daniel, and papa]

[jay, pilar, missy, and wendy]

[anabelle so graciously pushing olive in this heat!]

[olive very interested in mila…she doesn’t hang with many kids her age, she was intrigued]

[holly and nolan]

[two mice and a fox]

[kevin, nolan, and holly]

[my other favorite. olive saw the kids getting ready for a photo, she grabbed a mustache stick and actually placed it correctly on her face! love her!]

after everyone had their fair share of comestibles and satisfied their bellies, i cleaned up and prepped the cake. it was such a cute cake! it had a white picket fence, a brown horse, and flowers. a perfect cake for miss grace! we brought it out, sang happy birthday, and she made her wish! parfait.

we cut the cake and served the delicious morsels with a generous side of vanilla bean ice cream. once everyone finished, it was piñata time! i had purchased a taco piñata…everyone was like, a taco?! hells yes. a nod to grace’s mexican heritage. hahahaha! after the piñata shenanigans, it was time to relax {at least for me!}. during parties, i run around and attempt at being a gracious host…once the ‘activities’ are checked off, i can then chill and enjoy myself. hey man, it’s a lot of work to host a party…no matter how big or small!

[happy birthday grace!]

[make a wish grace!]

[grace got the first swing at the piñata…she knocked it straight down aaaaand she even had a blindfold on!]

[every kid got to beat on the poor taco]

[candy!]

after hours and hours of hanging out, slowly everyone trickled out. grace was having the best time with her kiddie guests! they were wild and it was soooo sweet to watch. they were running around, screaming, and laughing. little miss olive just ran around with the big kids and completely enjoyed herself. the kids could have probably played all night long, but alas the parents broke it all up and everyone went on their merry way.

it was a great, great party. we had such a fabulous time hosting everyone! happy 13th birthday to grace marie…may the years ahead be full of laughter, love, and fun. we love you so much!

xoxo

hb to my dear dad

Posted on May 11, 2015 by tandem in love

it was my dear dad’s birthday! it was a very low key day. we gathered together at my parent’s house for a little birthday feast and of course, it was portillo’s. my mom was feeling under the weather and typically she loves to cook up a big dinner but since that wasn’t the case that day…fast food it was. natch.

we divvied up our food and jumped right into our typical family banter. as i was setting up everyone’s order, olive {of course} saw the food and insisted on getting up on the chair to eat. she nibbled on a few fries and then got bored and wanted to get down. oh kids, they have a two second attention span!

[the boys playing outside]

[olive holding her uncle’s hand…something she never does with anyone!]

[yup, portillo’s]

[um, no, this is not what she ate…but she was sure loving it]

after dinner and cleaning up, it was time for dessert! birthday cake, of course! we brought out his present and dad took a few photos with his favorite grandkids. i lit the birthday candle and brought out his cake, as we all sang happy birthday!

olive was so confused. she didn’t really know what was going on. we tried to get her to blow out the birthday candle but didn’t get it, so mr. reagan did the honors. i loved that i captured him second by second blowing out the candle…it’s too cute!

[thuy’s creative gift wrapping]

[dad with his grandkids]

[happy birthday!]

[yaaaayyyy, happy birthday!]

[i love these pictures of reagan blowing out the candle!]

[cake and ice cream]

[olive going bonkers]

[these kids…]

after cake and ice cream, the kids played around and the adults relaxed and conversed. it was a very chill time and it was great to have celebrated my dear dad’s birthday! he’s seriously the best dad ever! i love him sooooo much and he means the world to me. i am so blessed to have a man that is so loving, kind, and caring as my dad {amongst many other things but words just can’t describe him or how i feel}.

happy birthday to the greatest dad in the world!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: birthday

hb thuy!

hb dear friend

family birthday dinner

surprise!

happy two years my sweet olive

hb dan!

hb ma soeur!

b’s birthday

what?! thirteen?!!

hb to my dear dad