our last day in cali started out quick. our flight out was in the early afternoon, so that left us with only a few hours to do a few things before we had to head out to the airport.
first things first: eating. we wanted to go to a place called tart, but in typical fashion, huy and tashina got there before us and said it was a two hour wait…whaaaaa?! no thank you! i really wanted to try tart but we did not have the time to wait around nor would we have if we even had the time!
so, huy and tashina had us meet them at king’s road cafe. it is a cozy little restaurant, not very big…what you see down below in the photos is what you get. our tables were right next to the kitchen counter, so not a lot of space! the coffee was strong and delicious. the food was good, typical breakfast fare. tashina and huy ordered and ate first because tashina needed to get to a dress fitting within the next hour. did i mention that she is a dress designer & stylist?! so ah-maze and talented! check out her website here. oh, and i’ve said it before…my brother is an accomplished and incredible photographer, so together they are quite the powerful, artsy, brilliant couple!
anyhoo, after brunch, tashina left and we met our brother at the LACMA. waaaayyy cool. thuy and lan actually went there the night before…when kim and i were pooped out and wanted to shower and go to bed {yeessssss, we were tired}. they took some pretty cool pictures that night…obvs, a light installation is much cooler in the dark!
[sneakers, flats, and taps oh my!]
i really wanted to see the rock. huy and tashina told us a story about the rock the night before at dinner. i was totally intrigued. how it took so much money {$10 million in total} to transport this rock to it’s home, they literally took apart signals, utility lines, and cables to allow this rock to be transported to the museum because it was so big {it took up three highway lanes}. bananas.
of course we took a gazillion pictures of the rock and then we walked around towards the light installation. as i said before, pictures at night would have been cooler but taking some in the daylight sufficed!
i am so glad we stopped by the LACMA…it was the perfect ‘last day’ destination. i had such a good time exploring some unique artwork. i love art! there is always something so dark, inquisitive, mysterious, thought provoking, enigmatic about the artwork you see. it makes you curious about the madness behind it. it makes you excited to see people’s creativity, vision, and the final product that they conceive.
[the 340 ton boulder | michael heizer’s levitated mass]
[ahhhhhh, green grass & the warm sun]
[light installation at LACMA]
[thuy hitting up the light installation the night before]
and that’s a wrap! we had the most wonderful time celebrating thuy’s birthday in L.A. it was a pretty awesome weekend! i am very thankful we also were able to spend it with my brother and tashina. they totally made our weekend fabulous {thanks to them for taking us around!}.
on our second day {the temperature was puurrrrrfect}, the sun was shining and i couldn’t wait to let it hit my skin {spf anyone?}! we got ready and headed out to our first destination of the day – bottega louie.
oh em gee. i was in heaven. i love, love this place. it encompassed everything i love: white, light, delicious food, coffee, ambience, interior design, pastries, gifts, candies, cakes, and macarons. beautiful, colorful, tasty, perfectly made macarons.
my sister kim had found this place and put it on our list of things to do. we arrived early and there wasn’t a wait. i couldn’t get past the first few feet, running directly into the macaron cases! they were being seated and i was still straggling around in the front.
[beverly hilton hotel]
[ready to parrrtayyy!]
[we found olive’s street!]
[diiiiirty sidewalk. ew.]
[almost there! eeekkkk!]
[so excited…the pastry cases alone had me in heaven!]
[auhhhhhhhhh! nom nom]
[beignet appetizer with a raspberry compote]
we sat down and ordered the beignets as an appetizer. i die. i ordered, as usual, an orange/grapefruit juice mix and a decaf americano. for my breakfast, i selected the belgium waffles and a side of bacon. natch. it was all soooo good. i loved the scene, the food, and the company.
after we ate, i went up to the cases of pastries to purchase a selection of macarons. i bought the birthday girl a box of pistachios and then myself, a mix of flavors to take home. i wanted to buy so much but i always have to calm myself down and get real. one person can’t eat two dozen macarons in a few days {well, to keep this figure, one can’t do that!}.
[belgium waffles, seasonal berries, chantilly cream {vanilla bean: i die}, and vermont maple syrup]
[i wanted one of everything]
[decisions, decisions, decisions]
[strawberry, raspberry, lemon, espresso, and vanilla bean]
after brunch, we met up with huy and tashina and they walked us around downtown L.A. i had the best time. there was so much to do and look at. the first place we hit was the bench from the movie, 500 days of summer. it was fenced off {no trespassing!} but that doesn’t stop us. at least not me. i’m such a rule breaker {or very antiauthority…it does get me in trouble sometimes}, so naturally, i jumped the fence. what?! the worst anyone could do…tell me not to be in there? well, i was willing to face that. it was fantastic. we snapped some great photos! i loved every moment of it!
[whaaaa? you can never have too many designer purses on at once!]
after we visited the bench, we walked around the area. we stopped by a pretty water court, made a pit stop at MOCA {bought some great gifts for olive and the boys}, and spun by the disney concert hall. we snapped fun pics all along the way!
[water court downtown L.A.]
[frank gehry]
[i love simple|cute|fun packaging]
i had to stop by the car {for a mommy pit stop} while the group hit up the bradbury building {a cool, antique space}. after visiting the building, they went into the grand central market. i met everyone there, it was sooo busy and crazy inside. we walked around for a bit, exploring before we narrowed it down to what we wanted to get. lan, thuy and i decided to get ice-cream {from mcconnell’s} while kim got tacos.
decadent. the ice cream was so smooth and creamy. it was filling and sweet! we sat around outside while we ate our food, enjoying the beautiful weather. ahhhhh, i can’t wait for summer in chi town!
[grand central market]
[wexler’s deli]
[mcconnell’s icecream]
after our escapade downtown, huy took us to the area where he usually bikes {up a mountain}. it was a crazy route there. we were on our way to the griffith park observatory but before we got there, we made a stop at a coffee shop. huy stated that we would totally love the quaint little coffee shop and he was right. yes…this is where we were shoulder to shoulder with beyoncé, solange, and little blue ivy. can you believe it?! as tashina put it, it was like finding a unicorn! yes it was!
they were with two other friends and their kids. i was standing right next to solange. i kept thinking to myself…wow, do i know her? why does this girl look so familiar?? duh! by the time i realized it was them, they were already walking down the path to the street! boo! i can’t believe i missed the photo op! after we got our coffee and hung out a bit at the coffee shop, we walked back to the car. this is where i realized they were still hanging out around the area! i was able to snap a few photos from afar but hey, it’s better than nothing!
[the trails…the infamous spotting of beyonce and solange!]
we drove another two miles to our next destination…it was cuckoo. the road was so tight and it was cray crowded but we finally made it to the griffith park observatory! the views were ah-mazing! now, i am scared of heights and being so high up freaked the sh*t out of me but it was so worth it. we nabbed some awesome photos, created some great memories, and checked another awesome view off our list!
we then headed back down and hit up another shopping center! glendale galleria and americana way. it was like a mini vegas. seriously. it felt like i was in vegas with the way they had built the buildings, all the lights shining all around us, and how crowded it was.
[griffith park observatory]
[our view of downtown L.A. from the griffith park observatory]
[deluca’s italian deli at americana way]
we stopped for a snack before we headed out to dinner. yes, we did eat before we ate. hehe. anyhoo, we explored the malls for a bit and finally headed out to our final destination: the boiling crab. huy and tashina got there first and text us that the wait was two hours and forty-five minutes?!!!!! wtf. no thank you! they then suggested a place across the street called banh mi cali. yes, please. we were sooo in the mood to eat pho and bun bo. it totally hit the spot. no wait, delicious phood 😉 , and it was $5 and change a bowl. woot woot.
[pho at banh mi che cali]
that was our last stop of the day. phew!!! what a whirlwind day. we squeezed in so much and it was perfect. i had the most wonderful day with my sisters, brother, and friends. we visited so many awesome places and i was a happy camper {well, i don’t camp and if i was camping, i probs wouldn’t be happy…so, maybe i should really say happy as a clam but are clams really happy??…okay, okay…i’ll stop analyzing now.}.
the time had come to head out to l.a. we had booked this trip months ago and it came upon us in a blink of an eye.
i wasn’t ready. i hadn’t done much of anything to get ready. it was going to be a short trip {to celebrate my sister’s birthday!} over the weekend but i typically prepare, think about packing, and get random stuff {purchased} to go on vacation with but this time around i didn’t. i was having a little anxiety about leaving little miss olive. i knew i was going to miss her incredibly! nonetheless, i got myself ready {pedi and mani all set!}, packed my clothes, and went to bed. i was definitely ready for some warm weather, relaxation, and yummy eating to ensue!
we arrived in cali {golly, it felt like the longest flight evah?!}, rented our car, and skedaddled on our way to the beverly hilton hotel {thanks so much to thuy…she was the driver the whole time!}. we relaxed a bit before we headed out to the grove. we freshened up and went on our way. it was sooooo lovely out. the weather was fantastic. sunny and warm. ahhhhh. i was loving it!
we got to the grove and went straight to the farmer’s market! we were so hungry! we walked around to weigh our options and decided on some delicious gyros. i love the farmer’s market. it’s so quaint and fun. there are so many shops and tasty places to eat at. i also couldn’t get over the beautiful weather. i was in heaven sitting outside, all toasty, eating my food. after we noshed, we walked around a bit to get something sweet. i bought toffee for my dad {although we snuck in a few bites}, thuy and lan grabbed some doughnuts, and kim purchased a coffee. perfect.
[the ubiquitous cali shot]
[i always fancy pastries]
[the original farmer’s market // we are so into it…well, at least me!]
[yum]
[these toffee’s were divine!]
[of course i had to take a pic of bennett’s ice cream shop!]
after eating, we walked the grove. we stopped into a few shops…i needed to get a few errands done. it’s funny how i live at a mall at home but yet i never stay long enough to pick up anything that i need! i’d rather get home to my family than stay and shop. so, i took advantage of this moment to get some things i needed to get and get done.
[the grove: coffee and pastries will always do]
we shopped until huy and tashina arrived at the mall. we all met at morel’s for dinner. our usual stomping ground when in cali. it was soooo great to see them! i was excited to spend some time with them while we were here. we ordered up a storm, toasted to thuy, and drank our night away.
[face timing the boys at morel’s]
[cheers to being in l.a. for thuy’s birthday!]
[charcuterie plate]
[i wear my sunglasses at night…especially when i eat a burger]
[the gang]
[left only! directing traffic…]
our evening was short lived. although we were out until eleven o’clock {hey…that’s one o’clock chicago time!}. we were spent. traveling always takes a toll on you! we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.
it was a pretty good first day! we had a great time exploring the farmer’s market, getting around town, and eating a tasty dinner with our brother and tashina at morel’s! until tomorrow {next post 😉 }.
as always, i get super excited to meet up with my darling dana. we both had prior commitments {conference call, possible venue searching, and a doctor’s appointment} but we don’t let that stop us from getting together! the good news is that everything else fell through and it was just going to be a me, dana, and olive day! i love how that happens. i told dana that i love how we are so busy but we will always squeeze in time for each other and the cards will all fall into place. natch.
so we met up at our usual place and ordered our usual breakfast’s, and did our usual thing. chit chat chit chat chit chat. we all sat together on the same booth, with olive in-between us. it was perfect. she was trapped, i could pay attention to them both, it was easy to feed her, keep her comfortable, and enjoy myself {because she’s content}.
[plethora of beverages]
[hey, i’m just chilling]
[always soooo serious]
[the southern aka the usual]
we hung for a bit at the restaurant. it was nice to just take our time, relax, and be on our own schedule. we did our typical walk over to anthropologie after brunch, we perused the racks, checked out the sale, and then moseyed along to our cars to head to our next destination. we decided we would spend the rest of our date at target. woooo!
[juice drinking maniac]
[shopping our favorite store // olive loved riding shotgun just like this…so safe!]
after i changed her diaper and fed her, she was a running fool! she did.not.want.to.be.in.the.cart. she just ran everywhere. she’s a fast little devil. i was trying to shop but i was basically just chasing after her! she was too cute. she would slightly touch everything but not mess anything up. she would run up and down aisles and she ooh’d and ahh’d over everything at her eye level. i was amused just watching her.
[so chic, oh baby olive fashion]
[keeping up with her]
[mean mugging at starbucks]
after an hour or so in target, olive was spent. she had the tiniest, tiniest morning nap and she was not happy by the end of our shopping trip. she was dunzo. it was time to strap her into the cart seat and have her go down for another nap. and so it was. i have to add in that it was not very easy to get there. {my next ten minutes goes like this} she was screaming, wouldn’t let dana watch her so i could use the restroom, i kept losing track of my stuff due to her fussiness distracting me {where is my phone? where is my wallet? stuff you shouldn’t lose track of!}, dana and i then spilt my venti coffee all over our cart and into my shopping bag {ugh!}, and when we finally got to my car, her car seat seat belt was all twisted {and i couldn’t get it untangled!} and my baby girl was screaming in her seat! oy…what a debacle. it was not the kind of end to our date that i wanted! i shooed dana away with a big hug and proceeded to tackle the seat belt with success. score: seat belt 0 – moi 1.
we finally drove off {phew!} and little olive was out within five minutes. she was a tired little peanut. all in all, it was quite a wonderful morning/afternoon with our lovely miss dana. muwah!
in lieu of our trip to l.a., i thought it was fitting to reminisce about our first trip together to the golden state. here, waaayyyyyy back in 2008 {don’t we look the same? or am i just being hopeful?!}, we are in california on our way to santa barbara. look at reagan, just look at the little dude. how cute is he?! omg…so stinkin’ adorbs. i love, love this picture of him…those cheeks, so chubby!
anyhoo, it was a total family trip. mom, dad, everyone. it was sure a cray trip all around. we were on our way up to the mission in santa barbara with my uncle khai and his husband don. my aunt and my brother huy were also with us {they live in cali and well as my uncle}, so it was quite the posse traveling together. you can only imagine the shenanigans that ensued with so many strong personalities together!
it was a great trip overall, we had a chance to check out a lot of fun areas in california. i loved so many places we visited. at the time, my brother huy lived right next to the grove and i loved their farmer’s market area. there were so many yummy food stands and it my first time trying the ‘hip’ pinkberry. according to my {hipster} brother, it was already passé. so, apparently i was behind on the popular trends {hello, i should have come out to california earlier!}. c’est la vie! regardless, i was in love. it was so yummy, sweet, and fresh! i chuckle when i think about that story. passé or not, i’m love what i love! 🙂
alright lovies, i wish warm weather upon everyone {soon!}! yes, truly with all this coldness all around us, we will be california dreaming! happy friday y’all!
december was a pretty awesome month. i love december. i love christmas, i love nye, i love the holiday hustle and bustle. there is always so much to do!
we really did have a wonderful month. we were able to fit in many fun activities, such as going downtown to experience the holiday magic in our wonderful city of chicago. did some yummy baking. decorated. had a lot of guests over. my brother huy and tashina visited. ate a ton of sweets. exchanged fun gifts. celebrated my birthday {woot woot}. plus lots and lots more! you can check out december in my sidebar of ‘ride thru memory lane’ if you would like to peep into the past!
olive had her ‘first’ christmas. well, she really had her first christmas last year but she was barely four weeks old! she’s grown up so much alreadyy {this past month} and she was so cute when we opened up her christmas gifts. she was saying “ooohhhhhhh!!!” with each present. oh, how i love her.
it’s the strangest feeling…when i’m with her or when i think about her. i am filed with soooo many emotions, it’s weird! i’m so beyond happy, filled with love and joy but yet i’m sad and feel bittersweet at the same time. i dunnoooo, maybe the mommies out there will understand or get what i’m trying to say {but not being very articulate!}.
with each passing moment that i have with olive…i’m sad it’s gone but so happy to have another moment with her. i love her to infinity and beyond that i don’t want to lose a single second, but when that moment passes…i want it back! yet, the present is the best time to cherish and revel in. or maybe it’s about the fact that this past year has flown by and i can’t believe how fast she has grown and changed; i just want her to slow her roll!
thinking about her becoming an adult scares me a little bit. i wish she could just stay little, cute, adorable, and sweet. i love her hugs and kisses. i love that she follows me anywhere. i love that she just wants to be loved, cuddled, and in my arms. i don’t want that to change and time is working against me {darn you father time, darn you!}.
anyhoo….this post has now become more of a momfession than it is about our wonderful past month of december. so, back to our december snapshots: below is filled with many fun photos of this past month. check out the candid moments and olive craziness we captured!
[digging for gold]
[o christmas tree]
[look ma…i’m feeding myself!]
[birthday!]
[gulp, gulp, gulp…ah, no we didn’t let her drink a bottle of pop]
[over indulging during the holidays]
[her play corner]
[reagan and olive ~ so cute!]
[having fun at papa’s]
[pitching a fit]
[cookies with gramma // i hide under things like a cat]
[that sweet pout]
[wild]
[yummy pudding]
[i’ll just smash the cupcake into my face]
[work holiday party]
[birthday gifts from andrea, jamie, and ollie]
[catching up on world news]
well, my lovies i hope you enjoyed our december snapshots! everyone, please have a wonderful wednesday.
“shoot for the moon. even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”
andrea’s birthday was last week and we finally got together to celebrate her! she’s a traveling fool, i don’t know anyone else who is always on the go like she is. when i talk to her about getting together, the first thing i always say to her is, “when are you in town next?”.
well, she was finally in town. we made plans for dinner at a restaurant called mexique on chicago ave. can you believe that this restaurant has been there for the past six years and for the three years that we lived down the street from it, we never noticed or tried out the place?!
it is sooooo good. the food was amaze. i mean, seriously delectable. it’s a fusion of mexican and french palates. everything was perfectly cooked, the flavors paired together were unique and complementary, and everything was incredibly savory {my tastebuds were in heaven}. the ambience was cozy and warm and the service was great.
[ginger and beth]
i arrived at the restaurant in no time {even with the cray weather} and was seated immediately. oy, it was soooo cold outside! i feel like i’m peeling off another layer of clothes when i take my coat, hat, gloves, and scarf off {hmmm, well i guess i am!}. a few minutes after i had been seated, ginger and beth joined me, and then the birthday girl showed up a few minutes after that!
we settled in and decided on a bottle of wine {natch}. we started our gab fest immediately. i love hanging out with these ladies. ginger always, always cracks me up with her sarcastic comments! she’s so witty and funny.
[me and the birthday girl – 25 weeks preggo! plus…we apparently don’t know which direction to look at…}
[opening her birthday gift!]
[ceviche]
[mar y tierra]
after much conversing, we finally looked at the menu and ordered our apps and entrees. we started with the mussels {oh em gee good} and ceviche {mmmm}. i decided to get the mar y tierra: michoacan style braised pork belly, mexique mole, fennel apple puree, scallops, roasted corn and brussels sprouts salad with burned tomatillo salsa. i highly, highly recommend this! it was fantastic. after our entrees, we ordered the enchiladas: crepes filled with chocolate ganache, toasted walnuts, ancho chile-chocolate fondue, crème anglaise vanilla bean ice cream. i also topped that off with a decaf cappuccino that was so perfect. milky, frothy, and sweet.
[yum]
[happy birthday andrea!!]
[make a wish!]
throughout dinner, we gabbed non-stop. it was wonderful to catch up with everyone! i was really enjoying myself {the company, the restaurant, the food}. i don’t get out much without olive {although as i have stated before…i do get a bit anxious when i’m without her!} and i’m always great the first few hours but then i start to miss her {momfessions}.
after almost three hours of dining {good eats and great conversations}, it was time go! we paid our bill and towards the door we went. i said my goodbyes to everyone with lots of hugs and traipsed my way out the door and down the sidewalk {so chilly!} to my car. i made it home just in time to put my little babes to sleep. *sigh*
wow…this picture definitely makes me wish for summer. look how tan i am?! it’s probably remnants of a vegas trip we took prior to this photo op anndddd, lookey at little grace! she’s so tiny and cute.
we were at a wedding {hc’s best friend michael & ruth} and it was a very warm day out! i had been on a crazy hunt to find the dress grace is wearing in the picture {don’t we look so cute matchy matching?}. it was definitely an unpleasant buying experience at a major department store that shall remain unnamed. my only friend who probably can recall this event {the almost throw down i had with a sales associate} is matt. if i am correctly recalling the incident, i do remember meeting matt for drinks and dinner after the purchasing debacle and duly venting to him about my crazy experience and terrible, terrible service i had received.
anyhoo, i finally received the fun dress in the mail for little grace and we all got bedazzled for the wedding. we had a grand ol’ time eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. i do remember grace getting down on the dance floor with gramma! it was very cute to watch.
ahhhh, such fond memories. well, enough randomness and ramblings from me. i hope you have a wonderful friday and weekend! stay warm chicago friends…i hope our chiberia ends soon! brrrrrrrrrr.
anything a baby does is adorable, right? anything your baby does is out.of.this.world!!! so, watching olive dance almost caused me to explode with joy. olive’s first time dancing was too cute for words {seriously}. she boogied down like a free little spirit. she was with her cousins and aunties, playing in the basement with her new christmas toys {courtesy of the aforementioned}. music was playing and everyone was dancing around; olive watched, took cues and started stepping with the rest of them!
it was so stinkin’ delightful! her chubby little cheeks, her skinny little legs {albeit her thighs}, and her fluffy hair bouncing around was cuteness overload! i die. i couldn’t stop watching it…{well, honestly i can’t ever stop watching any of her videos or her}.
oh, how i love her. she amazes us everyday and brings us so much joy. babies are the best. the first year was so full of big milestones but this past month was just as jam packed! more teeth, more cuddling, more words, more quirky personality traits coming though. it blows my mind how she listens and understands. i’ll tell her to shut the door and she does. i’ll tell her to kiss her daddy goodnight and she will walk right over to him and give him a peck on the lips. i tell her to stop or no and she immediately regresses. i tell her to grab her bunny and she will walk into the next room and come back with her favorite blankie bunny {so cute!}. i tell her to knock on the door and she obliges. now if she would only listen when i tell her to stop crying! ha! 😉
anyhoo, here’s my bebe in full swing. she’s got some moves! please sit back, relax, and enjoy her dancing tootsies!
oh my, the first real snow of the season! it has snowed here or there {it’s actually snowed a lot of days the past few months but a very light dusting every time} but it has never really stuck around. it started early morning and kept on going throughout the day {tapering off early afternoon}.
i was so excited! i wanted olive to be outside to experience it! last year she was just a newborn {and the polar vortex was awful}, so i kept her far, far away from it all. it was just so darn cold.
well, it was pretty cold outside on this snowy day but i had to get her out! it was so beautiful out. we dressed her in layers and gleefully went outside to watch her first experience in the snow. hc put her down and she started walking around and around, staring down at the snow with the cutest smile on her face. it was so presh. so, around and around she went, occasionally looking up at us with a smirk and continuing to walk all around the driveway. we were just waiting for that moment she would lose her balance! she did quite well! she currently walks like she’s always drunk {she stumbles a lot and always falls walking on the most even of floors} and she was a champion trudging through the snow and the bumpy ground.
i didn’t put her gloves on because i wanted to see if she would touch the snow and her reaction {i know, i know…it was cold but she was literally out there for less than 5 minutes}. well, she did eventually kerplunk into the snow and she was so bewildered at the coldness! she immediately scrunched her face and was not happy. we swept her up, ran inside our toasty warm house to brush her off and she transformed back into her happy self.
[ready to experience the fluffy white snow]
[fresh snow]
[catching snowflakes on the tongue]
[annnnd we’re down]
it was pretty awesome to have her experience her first snowfall {literally}. yay to olive’s firsts. happy snow day.
