fun, rainy day

Posted on June 3, 2015 by tandem in love

my day started off kind of crappy. yes, yes it did. olive had regressed a bit in her sleeping patterns. i totally blame the molars. i greatly dislike you molars, with a passion. she’s been getting up at night (usually just once) and having terrible, terrible cries. or she’s waking up much earlier than she typically would.

so, this past morning, it was an early wake up call of 5:45am. now this is quite early compared to her usual 8am wake up. we did our usual lay around in bed after she nursed and slowly got ourselves ready for the day.

on the agenda? eating breakfast somewhere yummy. it was a gloomy day but we were going to make it a great day! we packed up and went to egg harbor cafe in downtown downers. we had a nice corner table and ordered up some good stuff to eat.

olive was completely entertained with the crayons and her coloring sheet. she’s such a funny, neat gal {like her mama!}, after she was done using the crayons, she actually put them all back into the jar from where she grabbed them. haha! i wonder who she learned that from?!

after we ate and snapped a few fun photos, we decided to head home and chillax on this rainy day of ours. it was definitely low key and needed. sometimes our days can be such a whirlwind and it’s nice to just do nothing. well, {hehehe} grace and rich do nothing, i’m usually running around doing something! ha!

[a very cold and rainy day]

[she loved that the crayons were inside this mini mason jar]

[ready to get her draw-on]

[she loves juice…i actually limit her juice intake, i’d rather her have fresh fruit!]

[hc and grace]

[she was sooooo neat. after she used the crayons, she would place them back into the jar]

[i ordered the lobster omelet…it could have used less cheese.]

[lil’ buddha belly // shirt by lemonteeshop, leggings by littlemisshaven, headband by littlekutiesboutique]

anyhoo, and that is what i call a fun rainy day! albeit it was cold and wet but we, for sure, had a swell time hanging out together as a family!

xoxo

memorial day fun

Posted on June 1, 2015 by tandem in love

i am, obvs, a bit behind on my blog posts and a bit out of order…oh well! life can get so busy, hectic, and time is so darn precious! but nevertheless, it’s always better late than never!

so, we were double booked on this beautiful, glorious day. we could’t have asked for better weather…it was sunshiny, warm, and the most perfect temperature. hc was chomping at the bit to drive the jeep. how could i say no? everything was in alignment to do so.
we were headed to marina and corey’s house for their going away party. yes, sad but true, they’re moving to boston. i’m so excited for their new adventure but super bummed they won’t be around town anymore.

we were the first guests to arrive. we wanted to get there as soon as we could because we had plans with hc’s parents as well! as soon as we pulled up, the boys were in awe over hc’s jeep! i told them that they could jump inside and they were all so excited!

we walked up and said our hello’s to marina, corey, and her parents – muma and poopie. i love them. i’ve known marina since 7/8th grade and pretty much have known her parents since then too. they are such good, sweet people. i could hang out with them all day!

[i love how i caught hc in the reflection of my sunglasses!]

[ready to party!]

[the kids were soooo excited to see hc’s jeep pulled up…they all jumped inside!]

[such a cute picture with tilly, that is dana in the background…she was so sweet with olive]

[me with the mrs. that is moving away…wahhhhh]

[i love these two…they are the sweetest]

slowly but surely, more guests started to arrive. we mingled, nibbled on random apps, and imbibed refreshing beverages. i couldn’t wait to meet miss amelie! i had not had the chance to meet the little beauty. oh, she’s sooooo sweet. such a little princess, just beautiful! of course i only had her in my arms for just a few minutes…miss olive found me and started to throw a little fit. she does not like babies in my arms! boo…i only had a few minutes with the babe but it definitely was wonderful for the few short moments!

[me and the beautiful amelie…she’s soooo precious]

[rich loving ben]

[the two cutest peeps]

after a few hours of hanging out, we had to go. we were super bummed…let me tell ya, we could have hung out there for the whole day. it was so great seeing everyone {love them all!} but alas, we had to get to our next engagement!

***

we cruised back home, switched out our cars, and jetted on up north to hc’s parent’s house {right off the river} to continue our memorial weekend fun. when we arrived, his parent’s were out on the boat so we put olive in the swing and she was a happy camper. that girl just loves the swing!

as soon as they came back, aunt wendy started grilling. we all hung out on the patio while the food was being cooked. olive was definitely having a fabulous time {she was super giddy to see her sister grace!}, she was at gramma and papa’s house, they love to spoil her by letting her do whatever she wants and feeding her lots of sugar!

[olive loving the swing]

[red white and blue]

[the fox river]

[pretzel sticks and yoohoo…so healthy!]

[missy, aunt wendy, and hc]

after we ate and had our desserts, we all just kind of chilled. olive was a hot mess. she was sweaty, sticky, and dirty…yuck! we gave her a quick bath there before we went home. baby girl was not going home like that!

it was such a fantastic day with everyone. we had the best time hanging out with our friends earlier and had so much fun hanging out with the fam later on in the evening. it was a perfect day…weather, people, and fun all rolled into one lovely time.

xoxo

well needed brunch time

Posted on May 30, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a cloudy morning with scattered showers. but the forecast was promising after 10am until mid afternoon {before the rain was suppose to hit again}. we were looking forward to hosting a brunch for our friends aaron and olivia.

i was hoping that we would go into the city to meet up with them but after a rigorous week of traveling every day with miss olive, i just didn’t have the energy to haul her around in the car anymore. we were on the road every.single.day that week and i didn’t want to put her in the car, what would have been the 8th day in a row. i was super thankful aaron and olivia didn’t mind coming on out to us! for sure, the next outing together will be on their turf!

as they arrived, we were ready with brunch! hc whipped up waffles with fresh fruit, maple syrup, crispy bacon, and seasoned potatoes. deeeeelish! we sat down for our feast and had a jolly ol’ time catching up. i love these two…i loved seeing their relationship grow over the years and it continues to grow. where they are now and where they were years ago is so different. we love hanging out with them…aaron and hc get along so well {total bromance} and obvs olivia is my girl!

[brunch and old fashioned’s]

[intense bacon eating]

[smorgasbord of food // fruit, potatoes, bacon, and waffles]

after brunch, we just hung out. it was great. the boys did their thing, we did our thing, and then sometimes we hung out together. i love that it’s so casual and relaxing when we are together. olive went down for a early afternoon nap so olivia and i were able to have some one on one time.

[olivia and moi]

[that’s aaron’s rad jeep in the background]

[warming up to olivia…again.]

hours just flew by! olive woke up from her nap and it took playing some videos for her to warm back up to olivia! next thing we knew, it was almost mid afternoon and olivia and aaron had to jet {they were hosting some peeps at their place that evening!}.

it was a total blast having them over {always}. we love them and can’t wait until our next couples date in the city!

xoxo

bang bang

Posted on May 29, 2015 by tandem in love

it had been awhile since karen and i had met up for brunch. i love this girl. she’s someone who has been in and out of my life for quite some time and when it’s been on the out, it’s always on the in when we see each other. ya know what i mean?!

it was a very chilly morning that turned into a beautiful morning within two hours! it’s amazing that it can go from super cold to warm and sunshiny within minutes…that’s chicago for you.

i asked kar if there was place she was interested in eating at. i typically lead in this department but i am always, always open for suggestions. kar actually suggested bang bang pie. i was sold. well, first off, with a name like bang bang pie – that was a winner in it’s self but i have never been to this restaurant and i absolutely love trying new places! fer shizzle.

so, here we were. kar and i pretty much arrived at the same time and walked in together. it’s an order then sit kind of place, so we ordered. then we sat. well, let me tell ya about the ordering process first.

the women behind the counter was unpleasant. she wasn’t mean, she wasn’t nice, she seemed to not care. she didn’t care if you cared or not. she didn’t care if you liked her menu or not. she didn’t care if she came off boorish. she didn’t care to be a customer servicey kind of gal. on that note, i asked if they had fruit. she said no. i said, “you have no fruit?” {obvs i wanted fruit for olive}. she said no. okaaaayyyyy. um, you make fruit pies and you don’t have fruit. yeah, sure. then i asked what kind of juice they had…she proceeded to point to the little fridge on top of their counter and said whatever she had in there. i said, “i’ll have an orange juice.” she then said, “you can grab it yourself”. wow…would it really break your arm if you reached three inches over and grabbed it for me since it was three feet away from me. thanks beotch. then i asked if they had decaf coffee {hello…i’m still nursing olive but honestly, after this long of a period of not having regular coffee…i just don’t need it}, she looked at me like i was the devil trying to steal her soul. i’m sorry miss hipster bitch, did i just say something blasphemous?!! the audacity of me to ask if they had decaf! ok, i’m done with my rant. end of that story.

[love the little wooden sign in the front]

[the delicious menu]

anyhoozle, kar and i walked outside where they had glorious amounts of seating and found a cozy nook for the three of us. it was so dang gorgeous out. the sun was shining and the temperature was absolutely perfect. we sat outside and soaked in the sun. it was awesome catching up with karen. she soooo loves olive. it was such a relaxing morning/afternoon just chilling outside, sharing fun stories, and watching miss olive run around being a happy little girl. she loved playing around in the dirt, she loved the little adirondack chair they had there, she loved running around and being free to roam the area while karen and i sat on the bench and talked.

[my savory sausage and biscuit with a side of hash]

[olive getting cozy in her high chair]

[olive loving the mini adirondack chair]

[selfies in the sun]

[these two are tooooo cute!]

[perfect duo]

[checking out the scenery]

[such a cute little place]

after a few hours of hanging out {yes…thank goodness it wasn’t so busy and we had the luxury to just lounge around casually at the restaurant}, we decided to part ways. of course i didn’t leave without bringing home some pie! banana cream for moi and chocolate pecan for the hubs.

i truly had a great time hanging out with karen and i know she had a fabulous time seeing miss olive!

xoxo

newly engaged

Posted on May 28, 2015 by tandem in love

dana and i had planned on getting together on this day but the fact that she just got engaged was an even better reason for us to meet up! i was soooo excited when she gave me call on a saturday afternoon and dropped the best news i’ve heard in awhile!

the other great part about this day was that hc was off of work and was able to go with us gals to meet dana for brunch. we met up at our usual spot, southport grocery and as soon as i walked in, i hugged the gal and ogled the ring. it’s beautiful!

we immediately got down to business. it was mainly wedding talk, peppered in with some random subjects but everything eventually led back to more wedding talk. dana had been engaged for, oh, maybe 5 days and she already had her guest list down, looked at two venues, had a wedding dress appointment, and asked her friends to be her bridesmaids! whoa! i must attribute that most of what was already accomplished was courtesy of her mom. ha! my head was spinning from all that she had already done…you go girl!

well, we gave her the engagement gift i had whipped up. she was super excited over everything…i must say, it’s was a fun little basket! as she perused over the items inside the basket, i was probably just as giddy!

we ordered our food, olive became a bit more comfortable with her surroundings, and finally let go of me to explore. she is always so cautious and clingy in new places or unfamiliar faces. it takes her a solid thirty minutes or so to relax and loosen up when she is in a new environment. she finally wanted to color, sit by her daddy, and walk around on her own. phew.

[with the newly engaged lady]

[showing off the basket and the bling]

[i looooove this pic of us]

[opening up her awesome gift…if i do say so myself]

[coloring time]

[my favorite: the southern]

[bling, bling she got the ring and a pretty manicure!]

after brunch, we headed on home. it was pretty awesome to have met up with miss dana and to have heard all the details of the engagement. we are soooo excited for her and scott and can’t wait for all the fun festivities to begin!

xoxo

engagement gift

Posted on May 27, 2015 by tandem in love

i am soooooooooooo excited for my dear friend dana’s recent engagement! like so psyched for them. goosebumps, tears, joy, elation is what i felt when she told me…i was like damn, way to go scott! heehee!

of course, this calls for a celebration {indeed!}. i whipped together an engagement gift basket for the lovely dana. we already had plans to see one another, so it was fitting to present her with a fun arrangement of goodies!

i purchased a pretty, little wooden basket {about 15″x8″ in size} from a craft store {it fits everything down below perfectly}, filled the bottom of the basket with some dunnage to perfectly arrange the gifts inside and keep them a bit elevated so the items don’t drown behind the basket’s walls. ta da! a gorgeous little engagement gift for your friend!

1. first things first…wedding magazines! a must for a newly engaged fille and duh, of course one of them has to be martha stewart!

2. what’s a joyous occasion without some bubbly?! veuve clicquot is my favorite champagne. cheers!

3. a crystal ring holder is a must for any engaged gal!

4. a lady has to keep her tips in top shape at all times with a bling, bling ring adornment! i love essie nail polish.

5. i love this wedding planner. it’s compact, simple, and a perfect go to for all the info you need to plan a fabulous wedding!

6. yes, that was pretty much my reaction when dana called me and told me that she just got engaged! a fitting card, i must say.

7. mexican wedding cookies…honestly, they are my favorite kind of cookies but i know dana would like them too. i just couldn’t find jewish wedding cookies…hahahaha!

8. anthropology initial mugs. need i say more?! dana and scott…two love birds who will forever think of me as they drink their morning coffee together. buwahahaha!

well, there you go lovies! a fun little basket to give your newly engaged friend. i hope this has inspired you with some fun ideas to create your own personalized gift for your bestie! i can’t wait to gift this to my girl {bling, bling she got the ring!}!

xoxo

br is for brooklyn

Posted on May 26, 2015 by tandem in love

well, it’s really the first two letters that spell out the name brooklyn. seriously, we can’t wait to meet the little babe! well, we have some time before that happens so in the meantime, we love visiting kim and brady!

we finally arrived at their house and we walked in to mr. brady bear sleeping! he was so tired. poor little dude. but that was alright, we got right down to business and just hung out while the cutie slept on the couch.

i was so excited to see kim! she was 29 weeks preggo with her baby girl. how sweet and fun! we caught up with what was new and different in our lives, i totally miss this girl. we always have the best time hanging out and we always have so much to say and catch up on.

a little bit into us hanging out, mr. brady awoke! yay! olive and brady were so cautious of each other at first. it was too cute to see. they were curious and intrigued but yet, didn’t trust one another quite yet. olive definitely wanted to share all of brady’s toys with him. it was sooo cute to see olive hand over brady’s stuff to him, as if it was so novel and new. brady gladly accepted but he was still warming up to olive.

there were some cute moments of them together and there were so rough moments of them together. kids will definitely be kids. i was glad that they were able to spend a little bit of time playing together.

[brady bear fast asleep]

[olive and kim]

[olive giving brady his toy remote]

[i die over this pic…toooooo sweet!]

[me and my babes]

after an hour or so, we ordered in lunch and kim opened up her little gift i brought for miss brooklyn. i figured that miss b would be 3-6 months old and it would be winter…i needed to buy her something she could wear. everything right now is super light and summery…natch, but i needed something heavier for her to use later on. i found the cutest sweatshirt made by peek! it had the cutest saying on the front, “summer please” with a rainbow colored heart on the sleeve. on the back, it says “take me to the beach”, i thought this would be just right in the dead of winter. i added in a set of fruit socks by tucker and tate, a handmade unicorn bracelet, and sunglasses. little brooklyn will be all set!

[i must admit…i love the gift i gave kim’s little girl! peek sweatshirt, tucker + tate socks, sunglasses, and a little unicorn beaded bracelet from shoplovejune]

[hi bruster…]

[mmmmm lunch]

[i loooove this pic. as i snapped it, both babes looked up at us!]

after lunch, we hung out a bit longer but then it came time for us to leave. i was a bit bummed. i had to get back because i had an appointment with my mom, if i didn’t have that, i know we would have stayed a few more hours! we love just hanging out with them and soon there will be a new addition too! yay!

xoxo

hey matt

Posted on May 25, 2015 by tandem in love

matt and i run into each other once in awhile but it had been a month or two since we had gotten together for a brunch. so, we finally hashed out our schedules and decided to meet up at cafe salmerie in lincoln square…i’ve never been there before and it was super yummy!

we were cruising along the street in the cute little neighborhood of lincoln square. it’s a quaint, unique area tucked way up north of chicago. as we strolled down the street, i was delighted by all the cute shops around. of all the years i have lived in chicago, i never frequented this area. i think i have been up there once or twice ever. so, it was refreshing to visit this area again…or it felt like for the first time since it had beens so long since my last visit!

we walked right into a pastry counter so i knew this place was going to be great! i met up with matt at a corner table and we got down and dirty with our conversations. we laughed, we gasped, we were in awe over our life’s happenings.

we had ordered our food {which took a very long time to get}, i had selected their bacon and boursin sandwich, which was sooooo good! olive had buttered pasta and fruit and plenty of libations to fill her cute little belly.

[my kind of place…first thing you walk into is a pastry case!]

[we had just gotten to the restaurant and she was soooo clingy! p.s. don’t mind the crazy hair…since the pregnancy, i can’t tell my bangs from the baby hair that has been growing in!]

[glug, glug, glug]

[this bacon and boursin sandwich was sooo delish!]

[dearest matt]

[her thing of late…sitting on the floor of the restaurant]

after spending quite a bit of time inside the restaurant, we finally paid our bill {of course i picked up some pastries on the way out} and walked the street to do a little shopping. we stopped at starbucks {natch…that’s a no brainer with me and matt!} and got ourselves some coffee. i am loving the fact that starbucks came out with a mini version of the frappuccino cup. sooooo stinkin’ cute for miss olive! she had her first starbucks drink that day! a mini vanilla bean frappe!

[shopping around in lincoln square]

[olive’s first starbucks drink! i love their mini frap cup!!! so cute!]

[merz’s apothecary]

after perusing a few mores stores around the street {it’s such a perfect area for holiday shopping, so many gift ideas!}, we parted ways. miss olive needed her nap!

it was fantastic seeing matt. i love him! he’s such a great guy and a wonderful friend. until next time!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on May 22, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to…september of 2012.

this pic isn’t that old but i do love it. i was scouring my photo album and fell upon this one and i love this pic of us! i can’t for the life of me remember what we were doing during the day…but i know that i was with my sisters {were we shopping all day?? dunnooooo} at old town social. i think hc and terry met us there, jeez…i need to take some ginkgo!

anyhoozle, we definitely had a great time there. it’s a really yummy place, they have great drinks and even better eats! i know that terry and hc love hanging out there. besides the few times i have been with my family, i have been here once before for a bachelorette party for my friend jodi. it was one of the four bars we went to that night!

i seriously look back at pictures of myself and feel older and older! ugh. i think to myself, now this was only a few years ago…why do i feel like i look soooooo old now {or maybe i am}?! wahhhhh. aging sucks! i should probably get over it and accept the fact of the matter but i feel like putting up a fight for as long as i can! i can honestly say that i do feel like i am 25…albeit a wise 25 year old! hahaha! slow it down mother nature, slow it down please!

[hc’s eyes look awesome in this pic and my teeth are abnormally white for some reason!]

hey now, i might head on out to the store to buy some creams to slather my face with and hope that some product out there can work some miracles on my skin! well, not really since i am still nursing and i’m trying to do my best to not put all sorts of crazy chemicals in my body. eating hot doritos doesn’t count right?! haha just kidding, not really.

well, my lovies, i hope y’all have a fun friday and weekend! muwah!

xoxo

sunny day

Posted on May 20, 2015 by tandem in love

oh boy oh boy oh boy! warmer weather is upon us! every day gets better and better {and i am so thankful}. so, with that, it now involves a lot of outdoor time with miss olive. she loves to play in the yard, hang out in the garage with daddy, or sneak on a swing set nearby.

her current favorite activity? hitching a wagon ride with mommy! we cover the bottom with a towel {to keep it comfy} and i usually pack snacks and a drink for her ride. of course, she’s gotta wear her shades and bring her favorite bunny.

i will pull her around and around the block in her wagon. she enjoys the scenery and munches on her snacks {tough job being a kid, ain’t it??}. i love getting the exercise and i just adore watching miss olive having fun. she’s so sweet. we typically wave hello to the neighbors and enjoy our serene, calm time together.

[ready to rock and roll]

[cruisin’ along]

[we packed the wagon full of snacks, starbucks, and blankets]

[shoveling cheddar bunnies by the handful]

[the long and winding road]

we really love our neighborhood and we really lucked out. everyone who lives on our block are so sweet and kind. from the moment we moved in, they all have been so welcoming. we have gotten to know quite a few neighbors, through quick chats, walks in the ‘hood, or just hanging out {backyard parties!}.

it’s the kind of area where everyone waves hello to you as they pass by. it’s very suburbia…so different from the city {where no one cares or even looks at you!}. couples and families, dogs and cats, and everyone has 2.5. kids. like an episode out of leave it to beaver style {but not really}.

anyhoo, we love it and we love our walks and we love the warmer weather. cheers to more walks around the neighborhood!

xoxo