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!
as i have said in previous posts, when matt, ande, and i get together – it’s a complete gab fest! yappity yap. we love getting together to catch up, especially on beautiful sunny days, like this one!
we finally, finally coordinated a date to get together for lunch. we decided to meet up at ande’s work place because it was the easiest and most convenient for all. matt and johann live up north, so it wasn’t too much of a haul for him and i’m always game for something in the city.
it was a gorgeous day. the sun was shining and the temperature was puuurrrrrfect. as usual, i was running so behind…olive napped a little bit longer and later than expected, so we were rushing around, trying to get out of the house and hoping we weren’t going to be too late!
we got there in a jiffy and strolled our way to the store {i will probably geek out about the weather several times throughout this post, so hold onto your britches}. matt was already there inside with ande. since ande was working, she decided that we go somewhere close and blue door it was!
[blue door farm stand]
[waiting to order our food]
we had just missed the crazy lunch hour, which was good because it can get a bit crazy inside, especially when it’s first come, first serve seating. it’s no bueno when you have a stroller and a {sometimes} fussy babe.
we ordered our food and found a cozy nook to chill in. once we sat down, the gabfest started. of course, matt had the most to say! i mean, we all talk but matt definitely does take the cake on that one! we caught up on life’s latest happenings and olive entertained them both. ande is so stinkin’ cute with miss olive. she is too adorable…she dotes on her, she admires her, and she was so cute wanting to push olive in the stroller to and from the restaurant. i loved it.
[hanging out]
[sipping her juice & those cheeks!]
[those pouty lips]
[the beautiful ande]
[after the lunch rush…phew. cuz it ain’t pretty in here when it’s busy]
[twinning it up]
[grilled cheese with kale chips]
after the restaurant, we knew ande had to get back to work, so we joined her! it was so gorgeous out, we had to hang out a little bit longer. we love visiting her there and catching up with her associates as well. ande insisted on holding olive, we both were hoping it would happen since miss olive is not good with strangers! lo and behold, baby olive let her {i mean, ande had only been doting on her for over an hour now…you would think she had warmed up to the nice lady!}! it definitely was a kodak moment. i snapped a pic as quickly as i could!
i asked matt to join in on the pic and that is when olive got uncomfortable! oops. snap.snap.snap. i went with a few pics. hehe.
[she let ande hold her!]
[then she freaked out when matt got too close]
[loving the motorcycle]
[i love these three]
after harassing her and her employees for quite sometime, matt and i decided to part ways. he had to get home to his hubs and i had to get home to my hubs. it was such a fantastic day – great, great weather and even more fabulous friends. of course, we can’t wait to do this again. until next time lovies! muwah!
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!
romans 5:8 – but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
it never gets old, hearing the story of how Christ died. the story of judas and his thirty pieces of silver…the kiss of death, the garden of gethsemane, peter denies Jesus three times…and so the story goes. it still and always will give me goosebumps and chills to recount how Jesus cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and {mark 15:37} with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. i always shed tears when i listen to this. it’s just so powerful.
holy thursday, good friday, and the easter vigil are three very thought provoking days. it’s the end of our lenten season and easter day brings renewal and hope! easter always feels so bright, fun, and new. i love to dress up in fun florals or bright pieces to signal life and joy. i love to get together with our families for brunch, stories, and laughter.
here we are from 2010, at an easter brunch in the city. we gathered at bin 36 for a delicious brunch buffet. a little over one year before we were married! it’s so cray that there was no olive. my, how life has changed and how full our hearts are with her in our lives now! i loved our days before olive but she brings us such joy and love that we never knew! now, it’s just better overall.
[check us out…somebody give me a blotter paper!]
anyhoo, i can’t believe easter is right around thhse corner?! gosh, lent really did fly by! well, i hope y’all have an amazing easter with your friends and/or family. eat well, have a mimosa or two, and dig into some delicious easter candy treats! i definitely will!
a typical day for me & olive starts with her getting me up. yup, i will sleep until i hear her shriek out loud. and yes, she does love to cry and yell in the morning. she will never just wake up and coo. or talk to herself {sometimes but rare} or lay around. nope. she will get up and scream and cry. so, i will get my sleepy self out of bed and sleep walk towards her room {sometimes i don’t think my eyes are open}. i will bust through her door and yell “good morning!!!” every time and usually i am greeted with a smile and her arm outstretched towards me. i beeline towards her nightlight and turn it off, then i walk on over to her and pick my little munchkin up and out of her crib and i will bring her into our room {she loves to tap our railing post in the hallway when i pass it every.time.}.
i nurse her and she typically rolls off my lap {and says “boom!”} and sits in bed with me or {lately} she will slide off the bed and go running for something to play with. now depending on how tired i am, i might lay in bed for a bit with her or while she plays around me or i will get up and get ready for the day. usually it’s the first part {oy…i am so tired of late} rather than the latter.
while i get ready for the day, she loves to sit on the toilet {cover} and watch me get ready. she likes to brush her teeth, or hair, and sit by my side and intently watch my every move. once i’m done, we will play together, read a book, take some photos, or she will play around the house while i get some things done {mostly cleaning, laundry, or organizing the place}.
about an hour or so after she nurses, that is when i will make her breakfast. sometimes it’s simple and easy – i will give her a yogurt pack {usually earth’s best} and wait for her to finish it. i will then slice up fruit {she’s on a roll with grapes lately} and crackers and let her eat it at her little play table. or i will make her a ham and cheese omelet. or she will eat cereal. it depends on what’s in the fridge or what we’re feeling in the moment.
after breakfast, our morning involves more playing and more cleaning. an hour or so after her ‘second’ breakfast, it’s time for another feeding and then her first nap. now, as of late, she has been very erratic with her sleeping schedule {i’m going to blame the molars} but she does go down pretty easy with her first nap. her second one is the more questionable one. she tends to sleep for an hour or two for her first nap. while she sleeps, i will blog, edit pictures, or do more chores around the house.
once she wakes up, i usually get her changed {ootd} and we will head out for the day. whether it’s to meet a friend for lunch, head to the mall, or head out to get some errands done, we try our best to get out. now that the weather is getting so much nicer, we might just go outside for a bit and play, or go for a walk.
lunch is usually around this time. if we meet friends for lunch, i will usually feed her then but if we are running out for errands, i will pack food on the go. sometimes it will be fruit, crackers, yogurt packs, or whatever is portable and easy. if we are at home, i will make her an organic hotdog, cheese slices, fruit, or a pasta with vegetables. i’ll just rummage through our fridge or cabinets to make something easy and healthy for her.
after our errands, lunch date, or playing together, i will then attempt for another nap. i’m pretty successful, even if she only sleeps for an hour or so. by this time, daddy is on his way home! yay!
so, this is a typical day for us in a nutshell! there are certain variables that will change but it is pretty much the same routine every time. i try my best to keep olive on a tight schedule; it’s important to me to maintain a consistent agenda to keep her on par with her sleep patterns. it really helps to keep her healthy and happy!
thanks for joining us for a day in the life of miss olive! not always exciting but always filled with love and laughter.
i love having a ‘new’ home. a place to call ours. i have the best time decorating it, especially with the seasons and/or holidays. now, granted, we are still in the process of remodeling our house. with that said, our kitchen is oooold {not our counters or appliances but pretty much everything else}. as you probably have seen in previous pictures, we have wood paneling on our walls. yes, you read that right. frickin’ wood paneling. i can’t wait until we hit up this room and update it.
anyhoo, decorating our place is fun but sometimes difficult, because the aesthetics of certain rooms negate what i am trying to do. so, i try my best to incorporate my likes onto my dislikes. for example, i love the fireplace that we have but i totally dislike the mantle. to me, i can put something super nice and pretty up on the mantle but all i see is that fugly mantle! i hope y’all get what i am saying!
well, i fancied up our home with some spring/easter fun decor. i love spring…the segue into summer! i always start with our chalkboard. i love drawing something fun and festive onto it, whether it’s a pretty picture or saying. that always sets the tone for the decor!
[i love chalkboard writing…ever since i was kid]
i am obsessed with these paper flower garlands from target. obsessed. they are so pretty and delicate. i fell in love as soon as i laid my eyes on them while shopping a few weeks back. i love decorating our front bay window with every holiday that comes around or i like to put something seasonal in there to jazz it up. i thought these garlands were going to be perfect up on our window and they are…natch.
[how gorgeous are these paper flowers from target?!]
[another view]
[ok, last one…so purrrty!]
i then pulled out some ‘old’ decor i had from our basement. when hc and i moved into this house {almost} last year, i had purchased some easter decor that had gone on sale at some stores {after season} and then packed it away for next year! well, next year is now here and i pulled out the decor i had collected. i was excited to see all the goodies i had picked out last year come to life in our house, finally!
[let’s go on an easter egg hunt!]
[i love green glass anything]
i love spring and i love that it feels light and springy in our house with our festive touches. now, we just need the weather to catch up and mother nature needs to stop with all that snow! well, it might be cold outside but it’s warm and fun inside our abode!
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!
ever since olivia has moved back home from florida {almost a year ago}…our schedules are so off that we never really get to see each other. i totally miss our hang time. we used to get together for lunches/dinners/whatevs all the time. practically living side by side in chicago, it was soooo easy to meet up. we love our gab sessions. we are two gals who can talk and talk and talk. sometimes we get kicked out of restaurants, well not really but we do shut some places down sometimes. hmmmm, that seems to be the case with a lot of my friends {matt? ande?}. we can sit there and gab and gab; we can then slowly feel the stares of the restaurant workers on our backs…usually a hint to us that it is time to leave and gab somewhere else.
anyhoozle, i was sitting around {or not} and thinking about how i have missed my girl time with this lovely lady. as she was moving back into chicago, my family was moving just outside of it. so, that convenience was eliminated. her job became a monday through friday thing, so our schedules never coordinated. i then realized that her job wasn’t too far from where we live and i was sure she had a decent lunch break time everyday, so i texted her to figure it out. voila! we can get back to our regularly scheduled program. yeeeaahhhh boy!
i picked liv up at her work spot and we decided to go to a place called roti. now please understand that where she works is smack dab in the middle of suburbia land and the restaurants all around are just chain restaurants. what you say? what is wrong with chain restaurants? well, one…i’m not a fan. yes call me a snob. go ahead. i’ll call myself one. i’d rather drive into the city and eat out there then eat out in the ‘burbs. it’s just not my thing. um, that is one reason why i pitched a fit at the idea of moving out to the ‘burbs. don’t get me wrong…there are plenty of independent, fabulous restaurants in the ‘burbs that i will go to. fer shizzle. but that doesn’t hold a candle to the city {duh}. soooooo, {sorry for the tangent}, long story – that is why and that is probably going to be the case, on why we will probably always eat at some typical chain restaurant when we meet up for lunch go forward.
so, here we are: enjoying a good meal at this mediterranean spot. i actually left little miss olive behind because it’s been awhile since olivia and i have had some one on one girl time without the babes. it was pretty awesome to be able to complete my sentences and finish my stories without distractions! although she was greatly missed, olivia is soooo good with olive and of course she adores her!
[dearest olivia]
[the delicious eats]
[my girl]
after an hour of gabbing {which was waaaayyy too short}, i dropped miss olivia back at her office {we also did our typical – sit in the car for another 10 mins /sometimes it’s been an hour/ and gab thingy}. it was fantastic to have met up and catch up. i love this girl. i can’t wait for more lunch dates with her and olive!
february was quite the busy month for us. although, it did finally start to slow down near the end of the month! phew! buuuttttt, i didn’t do any better getting my snapshots post up any earlier! haha.
i honestly try my best to separate my instagram photos from my blog photos {just to keep it freshy fresh} but it doesn’t always happen {sometimes the same ones sneak it, only because it was most likely a very cute photo of olive or something of that sort}. obvs, it’s very heavy on the side of olive but i do try to capture my surroundings or something else outside of olive {i said i trrryyyyy} to round out our monthly life in pictures.
as i was downloading photos for our past month, i did chuckle out loud because it’s all about miss olive. natch. i guess, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it but i will do my best to sprinkle in more moments of our environment to tell our story better!
february was a whirlwind. i promised myself, for the month of march, and go forward to slow down a bit. i’m always thinking of something different to do or bake or decorate and i find myself rolling and rolling and rolling into the next thing {a bit exhausted and overwhelmed…which are all totally self inflicted} but i do love the challenge and i do love to stay busy. it’s so my personality and style. i don’t like getting bored {do you notice the internal battle in my head??} but sometimes i have to remind myself to s l o o o o w it down a bit. just ask hc. hehe.
well, we had a great month. olive’s second valentine’s day was a success. we crafted, we baked, we decorated, and had a ton of fun together. i love that little girl to bits and doing everything together is pretty awesome {except when she’s having a conniption // example photo down below}. we also celebrated dick’s birthday, did a lot of reading together, playing together, and photo shoots galore. overall, it was a pretty damn good month…check it out in our pictures below!
spring is here! spring is here! we are so excited, ’cause that means that it will only get warmer and summer is on it’s way! yipeeeee!
i love spring for it’s warmer temps {which we have been blessed with lately…hey, i’ll take a few 70’s but high’s of 50’s will do, at least it’s not zero degrees!}, flowers a bloomin’, things turning greener, and lots o sunshine! ya know what i love most? the snow has melted. hallelujah. don’t get me wrong; and i’m not trying to jinx us…it does typically snow after the first day of spring but at least there is {almost} no snow on the ground!
my hubs has been ecstatic over the change in weather. he’s been outside non-stop. whether it’s him tinkering with his cars, riding his bike, taking walks with miss olive, or playing in the parks, he is loving it.
i love that i will soon retire my puffer coat. i love that i will no longer feel like i am peeling off a whole ‘nother layer of clothes when i get inside. i love that i can wear flats. i love seeing the ground. i love driving around with my windows down. so saaaaweet!
here is a little pic of our mantle. i love mantles. i love this but i can’t wait until we remodel this area! anyhoo, i whipped up a fun design for our chalkboard to celebrate the spring season. the banner is a nod towards st. patty’s day but i feel like it’s just a cute sign to have around because i do feel lucky {st. patty’s day or not!}.
well, lovies. happy spring indeed! i am counting down the days until summer but look forward to every warmer day we get with our spring season!
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!
