flea market

Posted on May 7, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a beautiful day and we definitely wanted to do something fun and be outside! hc is always so great at finding us something to do, i love his efforts and his will at being creative.

he suggested for us to go to the kane county flea market. i was game! we have been interested in going to this flea market for quite some time but they are only open the first weekend of the month and we usually forget or we are too tied up during that weekend where we can’t go. this time around, it was perfect timing, so packed ourselves up and headed on out.

i was surprised on how close the flea market was. i mean, it wasn’t as far as i thought it would be. we got there in no time and i was excited to walk around and peruse the area. the parking wasn’t that bad…just a few minute walk and we were inside the grounds. we immediately found a really cool seller of vintage looking signs. hc and i were excited over the merchandise, they had so many cool items but the big question was, “where would we put it??!”. we were in love with a lot of items but finding a home for some of this stuff is what caused us to stall in purchasing. we were mainly looking at stuff for the yard/outside or hc’s garage space.

[we loved this little nook and all the cool signs they offered]

[selfie at the flea market]

[we thought grace would love this antique horse]

a little bit into us being at the flea market, the weather started to change. it got a little cooler and hc checked his weather app and the area was going to be hit with a little rain. it was a bit of a bummer because it was going to halt our shopping excursion. we were trapped inside for about an hour and a half but we didn’t want to leave because we really wanted to look around. we probably wouldn’t have another chance to go a month from now if we left, let alone if we even had a free first weekend coming up.

[when she is not into something or approving, she will furrow her eyebrows…it always cracks me up]

[i tried tapping her cheeks and she gets snippy with me…haha!}

[waiting for ice cream with homemade waffle cones]

[annnnddddd, more bad eating, funnel cakes! yum!]

[she seriously cracks, me up. she’s so not into strangers and when they try to say hello to her, she kind of freaks out. this expression is classic. she will turn her head down and stare awkwardly. hahaha!]

[she definitely didn’t like that women talking to her. oh, olive!]

the rain finally let up and we started exploring again. we zig zagged all around, we purchased some funnel cake {yum!}, and scoured the entire area. we had such a great time at this flea market. there were so many cool things to look at! olive was a trooper and such a cutie {soooo many people fawned all over her cuteness}. we definitely want to go back soon and possibly walk out with something fun for the house. until next time!

xoxo

daddy day

Posted on May 5, 2015 by tandem in love

i’m loving our days when we can visit hc at work. we love meeting him up for lunch. especially on these warm, fabulous days!

i don’t know why but getting out of the house takes f o r e v e r for me. i’m always running around, remembering little things to do, packing a bag for olive, picking out her clothes, chasing her down to change her, figuring my ootd, running to the car to throw things in there, looking for her bunny blankie {we can’t be without that one!}, all the while, miss olive will throw me for a loop by taking out all her toys before we go or throwing water everywhere or maybe having a mini meltdown before we head out the door! jeezzzzz that was a run on sentence! haha!

anyhoo, of course i have to stop at starbucks for a coffee {a must!} before i really hit the road. i got my fix and off we went to daddy’s office! we made it there in no time and hc came out to the parking lot to meet us.

he took us to a restaurant not too far away {it is minooka, miwhatta??! i’d say!} and i, honestly, can’t remember what it was called but it is out in no man’s land…there aren’t many great choices of food establishments out there!

well, the food wasn’t that bad and we had a grand ol’ time eating lunch alfresco {hello sunshine}. it was great because olive could run around the area and not bother anyone and we didn’t have to worry if she would wander off far since the outdoor space wasn’t that big and enclosed.

[she was totally staring down a women sitting four seats down from her]

[we pulled up a adirondack chair for her to pop a squat next to daddy]

[what a sour face! hahaha]

[she’s such a character]

[these onion rings were massive and hearty]

after we spent a wonderful, solid hour of time together, it was time to head back to the office. we had such a great time hanging out with daddy on this sunny afternoon for lunch. we love visiting him at work and adding a little bit of fun to his everyday routine.

xoxo

visiting daddy at work!

Posted on April 22, 2015 by tandem in love

we were super excited to have planned a day where we got a chance to visit hc at work. he was recently promoted and is now a big boss at this building {his company works with ikea!}! how awesome. so, we were stoked to go and visit our bestest.

it was such an amazing day. i love sunshiny days like this, it was the perfect temp and the sun was shining so bright {ahhhh warmth}! we hopped on into the car {albeit olive’s prior tantrum and my total delay of getting ready and getting out the door!} and headed on our way to the destination. it was a quick and easy ride; we got there in no time.

hc was outside waiting for us. yay! we snapped a lovely pic of him and his daughter…looking so proud! i love that miss o has a little smirk on her face in the pic down below. he walked us inside and olive was so curious. she walked around like a little movie star, staring people down through her shades. what a funny gal!

hc showed us all the rooms and last but not least, where his office is. olive got to sit in the big chair with her daddy. it was too stinkin’ cute. he then walked us around some more and introduced us to more of his crew, of course olive was a hit. everyone ohhh’d and ahhh’d over the cute babes.

[yay! in daddy’s arms, in front of his workplace!]

[owning the place like a boss]

[in daddy’s office]

[of course his office would be filled with bicycles]

after introductions, we headed out to lunch. hc really wanted to take us to the shrimp barn. yes, this is fancy eating in minooka, illinois. ha! it’s a place that he frequents often so he wanted us to try it too. it was quite yummy. they start you off with an interesting combo of buttery garlic bread and powdered sugar popovers {separate of course}.

i ordered the popcorn shrimp and miss o got fish sticks and carrots. it was all very good! we were happy munching away at our little feast. the best part of it all? their homemade sauces for dipping. it was soooo good. they were spicy and delicious. i loved the wasabi sauce the best! it was a perfect topper for my popcorn shrimp bits.

[at the shrimp shack…yup]

[intently staring at the waitress, eating her popover]

[taking a selfie at the shrimp barn]

[cheers! she loves to cheers everyone]

[the delicious homemade sauces]

[sipping her drink, giving me the ‘old’ lady look]

[my popcorn shrimp plate]

after lunch, we stopped by the office again {for a little bit}. we hung out while olive got comfortable with the folks around her {pretty much beth and dan at that point}. we chitchatted with a few workers and then decided that we were bugging them enough and that we needed to head home {and be outside on this gorgeous day!}.

[getting friendly with hc’s associate, beth]

[helping daddy out…or just being cute?]

[sitting in daddy’s office]

it was a wonderful, wonderful afternoon visiting daddy at work! we had a blast meeting everyone and a great time at lunch. we love you hc! thanks for stopping by lovies!

xoxo

hb hc!

Posted on April 20, 2015 by tandem in love

we recently celebrated hc’s birthday! it happens to be on tax day and it’s the day we closed on our house! so happy anniversary to our ‘new’ home as well!

his birthday was on a week night and i thought it would be a great idea to invite over only our immediate family. it’s always a good reason to invite our family over for a celebratory occasion.

i decided to do a little decorating and just ordered food. me cook? no way. i’m way more of a baker than a cook but on this day, my baking skills went down the drain. it was awful. i decided i would bake hc a cake. something i’ve done dozens of times. well, this time, it was a disaster. the cake tasted just fine but even after greasing the pans, my cake stuck to it! welp. so, needless to say…it was a crumbly mess. wah, wah!

i did my best with it. aunt wendy, dick, and jane were already over and they were so supportive and nice by telling me to keep the cake and not throw it out. so keep the wonky cake i did. aunt wendy kept on saying it would be memorable and it’s only family, so there was no need to go out and buy a cake. i took her advice and barreled on with decorating it.

so, there ya go. my loppy cake down below. anyhoozle, i decided to keep the color light and springy, so i went with an aqua color theme. i bought balloons, hung streamers, poms, and did a small spread of drinks and desserts. i picked up the food and we all noshed on delish fried chicken & biscuits.

[i love this table we had purchased a couple months back…it will look even better in the kitchen once we remodel it]

[aqualicious]

[my favorite candles]

[happy birthday hc!]

[olive loved playing with her uncle dan]

[pretty poms on our tore up ceiling!]

[smitten with dan]

[one of these pictures is not like the other…name 8 things that are different]

[fresh flowers from kim…always a plus!]

after dinner and drinks. i lit the candles on hc’s birthday cake. we sang happy birthday and i cut the cake. it held up ok. it didn’t completely fall apart like i thought it would! i love these birthday candles. i would use them on every birthday cake if i could! it’s so pretty, fun, and whimsical. they do melt quickly, so i did have to pick off some wax on the cake but nevertheless, they are perfect!

after cake, we hung out for a bit but it being a weeknight, our family trickled out early. no problem ’cause i had to clean up and then put little o down for the night!

[yay…so pretty!]

[make a wish!]

i’m so glad everyone was able to come on over to celebrate hc’s birthday. it meant so much to him. i’m glad i was able to pull something small together for him. happy birthday honey! we love you to bits!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on April 10, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to april 2011!

hc’s birthday is coming up this week! yikes! i can’t believe it. oh, snap…i need to get it together and plan a little something fun.

a couple of things on this upcoming birthday of his. one – it’s always on tax day. two – it’s the anniversary of when we bought our first home together. so, it’s a very, very special day all together! obvs, last year was a very, very low key birthday…we were closing on our home and pretty much spent the day signing our life away, at the bank, at the store, and at our new home {cleaning away!}!

this picture down below was at his parent’s house. we celebrated his birthday with just dick, jane, and grace. it was simple and sweet. we had dinner, cake, and then he opened gifts.

hc always get annoyed if i eat off his plate. it doesn’t matter what it is or how much i take, if i try to nab a bite, he’ll always try to stab me with his fork. hehehe. so, needless to say, i always try to take food off his plate. well, as you can tell…in this case, i am trying to steal a bite of his cake. hahaha. so, there he is, trying to stab me with his fork. i’m not threatened. i have, will, and still try to eat his food and like a good ol’ couple {we will probably doing this when we’re 80 years old}, he will continue to ‘try’ to stab me with whatever blunt or sharp object nearby. and so the cycle continues…

well, my lovies. it is friyay! hap hap happy FRIYAY!! woo hooooo! i’ve got a few very, very busy days ahead of me. we have a lot jam packed into the next couple of days and i’m soooo looking forward to it! yippee! have a lovely weekend y’all!

xoxo

hoppy easter!

Posted on April 7, 2015 by tandem in love

what an easter! it was the most perfect weather and a wonderful day!

our morning was a bit of a whirlwind. our brunch reservations weren’t until right after noon but it was one thing after another {like every morning!}, such as feeding olive, chasing her down, playing with her, feeding her again, me getting ready, hc getting ready, getting olive ready, finishing up the easter baskets, getting coffee, packing her bag for the afternoon, etc. just a few things to do. natch. haha!

my brother dan and sis thuy came on over so we could all hitch a ride together. of course, i was running around grabbing last minute things, taking photos, and running behind {as usual}. we packed ourselves into the car and arrived at the restaurant in no time.

unfortunately, our brunch time was in the middle of olive’s nap time. i was hoping that our baby girl would fall asleep in the car but that was not happening. she was too distracted with us being in the back seat! so, of course, she fell asleep right before we got to the restaurant. we let her sleep for just a wee bit {like 10 more minutes} before she awoke, on her own. bummer…i just knew she was going to get delirious…

[getting easter bunny ready!]

[i love these baskets]

[my little movie star]

we waited inside the restaurant for a few minutes, awaiting everyone’s arrival. once our party was all there, they led us downstairs to a private dining spot. so cool. like seriously so cool. it was in a vaulted area…like we were going down into the deep freezer but it was an awesome private dining room. perfect for the kiddos {to run around and play} and us adults {to relax and enjoy our afternoon}.

i loved the privacy, the one on one service, and the amazing wine cellar! the room had such a great aesthetic appeal. my favorite decor in the room was the chalkboard, the whale tail that you see was legit…a work of chalk art!

we had easter brunch with the becka’s {helen, mike, gabrielle, and sam}. they are a sweet, sweet family that my sister kim had befriended awhile back {sam and reagan go to school together!}. helen, seriously, cracks me up! she is so darn funny and witty. she just entertains me with her humor! her husband mike is one cool guy and her children are so cute and sweet. they are such a great family and we were so excited to spend our easter with them!

we ordered drinks and selected our entrees and the rest was history. they slowly served the food and the drinks and we nibbled, ate, and sipped at our pace. it was fabulous…and of course, we snapped a bazillion photos, as you can probably tell. i did edit a few out! 😉

[our private dining space at gt fish and oyster]

[it looks like i have a 50’s do and olive is sad about it…haha! olive’s ootd: peek ivory and hot pink lace dress, mini melissa shoes, and fancy free finery felt flower crown]

[the becka’s, doan’s, walsh’s, and heintz’s]

[besties helen and kim]

[dapper dudes checking out the wine cellar]

[soeurs]

[the cutie corner]

[hard liquor, apple juice, and mimosa…a range of drinks…hey, at least we all have our serving of fruit!]

[me and the best, hc]

[you can’t be at gt fish and oyster without an order or two of oysters!]

[these two couldn’t keep still]

[a plethora of food]

after brunch {ummmm, three hours later!!}, we parted ways with the becka’s and went on our merry way home. everyone came on over to our house to exchange easter baskets but unfortunately {fortunately?} little miss olive fell asleep, so only the boys got their baskets. she needed it, she was dunzo & delirious at the restaurant! regardless, it was fun and cute to see them so excited over their treats. btw, how cute are their outfits??!! they are so adorbs and i love how my sister dresses them! such dapper dudes.

[easter basket exchange]

[it was a happy easter! *wink*]

well, that’s all folks! it was an ah-maze easter. we had a wonderful time with our friends and family, celebrating the resurrection of Christ! thank you for stopping by! muwah!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on March 27, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to…2013.

oh, what fun we had! seriously. i had never snowboarded before and i was soooo anxious about it. so many folks were scaring me with their stories. how hard it was to learn, it was difficult to catch on, getting off the lifts was not easy, etc. oy. i was neeeeervous!

no one, i mean no one saw me as a snowboarder or even scoffed at the idea that i would even try. and so the story goes…

we flew out to seattle to stay with my bestie carol and her family. we spent the night and then headed out to whistler the next morning. we road tripped it on up, it was pretty amaze to drive up there, once we were closer to whistler. the scenery became more vivid and gorgeous.

we had rented a house up there, it was beautiful and perfect. it had heated floors, lovely bathrooms, and it was super, duper cozy. i was so stoked to be up there. it’s a whole ‘nother world. the shops were cute, there were so many nooks and crannies to visit, explore, and soak it. the area was visually stunning and i loved the laid back attitude of everyone.

now, onto the snowboard thing. it was pretty awesome. obvs, i took beginner’s lessons, but it was soooooo easy. i loved it. i was surprised by how much i loved it. i was shocked by how easy it came to me. yes, we hit up the kiddie slopes {natch} but going down the mountain was so sweet and fun. i got off lifts with ease, if i bailed – it was easy for me to get right back up. i seriously had the best time learning and snowboarding.

i absolutely love this pic of me and the hubs. he took time out to snowboard down with me a few times {he was hitting the bigger slopes with our gang}…it was fabulous to be able to share this with him!

this vacation was definitely on the books as one of my favorites! oh, how i wish/want/need to go back! two years in a row…we have been halted by us having babies!! last year it was me and this year it was carol! ha!

anyhoo, my lovies, i hope y’all have a great, great weekend. i’ll be dreaming of my past fun holidays!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on February 20, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to 2010.

here we are celebrating my brother in law’s birthday at revolution brewery. i’ve been there a few times and have always had a wonderful time each visit.

one night, hc and i were scrolling through movies to watch and he happened to fall upon this movie called drinking buddies. it was based around revolution brewery! pretty awesome. it was a low key, low budget movie that we really enjoyed! plus, we were loving that a few chicago favorites, like the empty bottle, were mentioned in the movie and we happen to be living right down the street from it! very cool.

well, here we were at the restaurant eating organic egg topped farm burgers & bacon fat popcorn. life is great. soooo good. what is better than celebrating your loved one’s birthday and eating amaze food?! not much. oh, it makes me want to go back there soon! yum.

well, my lovies…i hope you enjoy a wonderful, cool, fun restaurant this weekend..possibly celebrating someone special or something special {whatever it may be!}.

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

love day part 1

Posted on February 16, 2015 by tandem in love

yeah, valentine’s day was probably a three part event. well, kinda. it was quite the beeesy weekend for us. we had people over or did something three days in a row, so yes…it was beeesy. it’s so normal for me to not sit still and boy, i wasn’t sitting still at all this entire weekend.

friday, i spent the morning with my dear olive, then i dropped her off at my parent’s and skedaddled on my way to pick up miss grace {which is such a trip!}. that evening, we had terry and the boys over for wings and drinks {root beer for the kiddos and beer beer for the big boys}. the kids had a crazy time playing together…it was non-stop until they left! phew!

on saturday morning {happy valentine’s day!}, we woke up bright and early, thanks to miss olive, and got ourselves ready for our vday brunch in the city! hc had made all the plans…he made reservations for an early morning brunch at the carriage house, in our old stomping ground. oh, don’t get me started on the city! *sniff* how i miss thee on a daily basis.

anyhoo, we arrived at the restaurant and there was just a wee bit of a wait for our table. it was bustling. i do recall this place being built…hmmm, was it a year or year and half ago? we never ate there even though we lived down the street from it! but now it was our time.

[grace and her dad]

[carriage house]

[i love, love her face in the pic]

[aannndd this photo…olive’s face is priceless]

i loved the interior…very earthy and rustic. i was excited to try the menu and hc was excited to try the drinks 😉 we were seated in a comfy spot and ready to peruse the menu. we started out with drinks…an old fashioned for the hubs and juice {always orange and grapefruit mix for moi} for the gals. olive nibbled on some crackers and we had ordered her some cheesy grits. she was all about the grits {which were sooo delish} at first but then she turned her nose up at it. whaaaaa? it was so good but oh well, more for us!

hc ordered the chicken and biscuits, i ordered the mushroom, truffle, and egg {with a side of bacon} and grace ordered the beignets. mmmmmm. it.was.so.tasty. i was a happy camper. the sun was shining. i was brunching with my loves. we were in the city. the restaurant was cool. the food was delicious. it was valentine’s day. life was good.

[cheers to love]

[mushroom, truffle, and egg with a side of bacon]

we even dressed the part! hc had on a red sweater, as well as grace. i wore my red hunters as my nod to the day and olive wore hearts all over herself! happy valentine’s day it was! we had the most wonderful time having brunch together. hc did a great job coordinating it all!

i hope everyone had a fantastic love day with their loved one. we sure did! as i stated it the beginning of this post…i still have more love day goodness to come. stay tuned my lovies!

xoxo

super sunday

Posted on February 4, 2015 by tandem in love

well, it was quite the crazy sunday. the snowmaggedon ’15 was bananas. the snow came down hard and fast. they were ginormous cotton balls falling down fast like it was rain. it was exciting to watch {as long as you were inside, safe and sound!}. can you believe this past snowstorm was ranked the 5th highest snowfall in chicago history?! wowza.

hc, olive, and i just holed ourselves up in our cozy little house. we played, relaxed, and hc cooked up something tasty for dinner. i was so not ready for a mini super bowl party at our house {honestly, i’m so not a football fan gal}. but i’m always game {natch} for a party regardless! i could have gotten creative and made some fun super bowl snacks and drinks {hello pinterest!} but this one definitely got away from me. hey, there’s always next year for football cupcakes, football mason jar drinks, and football fun foods!

so, we kept it pretty simple. some apps and some chili. done. and it was all so delicious. i whipped up the guac and hc made the chili. for the guac, i sliced up the avocado and mashed it with a fork. i then diced up tomatoes and finely chopped a white onion. after i had mashed up the avocado, i sprinkled in salt and pepper, first, to taste and then i added in the tomatoes and onions. i know purist say that you should only put salt and pepper in guac but i beg to differ. i’m sure you are also wondering where the cilantro comes into play with this…um, that would be a no. this girly does.not.like.cilantro.

we then watched the game…well, hc really watched the game! i played with miss olive, we ate, and we played some more! it snowed and snowed and snowed outside but we were cozy and comfy inside. the game was exciting…so close!

[hc not happy with a play…olive was like ‘hmph, i’m just enjoying my snacks’]

[nothing fancy…just guac || avocados, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, a dash of salt & pepper]

[daddy daughter time]

[kisses]

[hc’s chili…yes, i smothered it with sour cream, ginormous oyster crackers, and lots o cheese!]

[ha! while hc sleeps, i’m snapping selfies]

it was definitely a low key super bowl sunday. we had a wonderful time together {i think hc shoveled/snow blowed outside 4x!!!…whoa!}. i hope y’all did something fun and ate too many bad foods for you this past super bowl sunday!

NFL Super Bowl XLIX
Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

New England
Patriots(15-4)
28
Seattle
Seahawks(14-5)
24

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: hubby charming

flea market

daddy day

visiting daddy at work!

hb hc!

flashback friday

hoppy easter!

flashback friday

flashback friday

love day part 1

super sunday

NFL Super Bowl XLIX
Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

New England
Patriots(15-4)
28
Seattle
Seahawks(14-5)
24

NFL Super Bowl XLIX Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

New England Patriots(15-4) 28 Seattle Seahawks(14-5) 24

NFL Super Bowl XLIX
Final – Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

New England
Patriots(15-4)
28
Seattle
Seahawks(14-5)
24