olivia, dana, and i met up in bucktown to have brunch. we decided to meet up at jane’s, a comfort food type restaurant. it was a lovely day and we optioned to lunch alfresco.
after eating, we walked around in bucktown to check out all the shops. we lingered around some stores, tried on some merchandise, and perused a lot of stuff. as we were strolling the streets of the city, we passed by a dairy queen {boo, it’s no longer there}. anytime we ever see a dairy queen, we have to go! so, we stopped in to order some ice cream!
we had a ton of fun inside. we took a whole bunch of silly pictures…i’m sure the staff in there were rolling their eyes at us but we were having too much fun! we snapped a bunch of photos and walked out with some yummy treats. there’s nothing better than that {okayyy, there are but i had to say it}. silly photos + ice cream = an awesome time.
us gals have such a great time when we are together! always building such good memories whenever we meet up. cheers to great friends and friendships!
july…oh the fourth and then some more july. it was a month filled with warm weather {yesssss}, lots o visitors, and much needed progress on the house.
we had a great time celebrating our country’s birthday, olive, our house, each other, our friends, family, and many fun events this past month of july. it was the peak of our summer and it was filled with many delightful things…now just fond memories for us. *sigh*
oh, summer…slow yer roll. i’ve been loving you too much to see go in the next few months. we would like to see you stay for quite awhile…maybe rub shoulders with fall for a long time. that would be nice. yes, please.
anyhoo, here are some fun moments from this past month! many of olive {duh!} but she’s most important!
[smoking]
[summer festival]
[pouty face]
[hmmmm]
[attack of the killer cherry]
[hanging out by the river]
[she definitely didn’t love this swing]
[happy baby]
[the chunker playing with her sister]
[super smiley]
[my uncle khai’s book]
[reagan feeding a hungry olive]
[horsey ride]
[picnic!]
[groovy hair]
[fancy cardboard hat]
[she manages to smile while eating a bottle]
[olive and daddy snacking together]
there ya go! a rewind of july, our wonderful, beautiful, sunny july. we miss you already.
hey, august…i have a feeling you’re going to be just as awesome!
i have mentioned this before. i love mini boden! the clothes are so cute, whimsical, and sweet. i love this little bee outfit. they are all well made garments and seriously come in the cutest prints evah. olive’s easter outfit was mini boden {so stinkin’ cute}, and her current swim suit is as well {and it’s on sale}! the line of clothing is amaze and fun. definitely worth having a few pieces in the closet for the babes.
i just purchased a whole bunch of these hair pins from this etsy seller. like baby shoes, baby hair pins can get lost in a nano second. or i tend to lose them in a black hole at my parent’s house! but let’s be real here, i can never have too many hair pins, hair bows, or headbands for miss olive. the more the merrier and the more to match her outfits! woot. woot.
olive’s current love? the apple tv remote. yessss. she actually ruined our apple remote by getting her drool all over the remote and it totally malfunctioned. hc tried to fix it but that was a no go. so, we actually bought a new one and gave the old one to miss olive to play with. she loves her ‘new’ toy. she grabs for it like she shouldn’t have it {little does she know!}. hehehe.
the alphabet abacus was a gift from my friend dawn. when olive received this, she loved it! she would spin the blocks round and round and giggle. soooo, {warning will robinson} this toy is technically 18 months and up…it does tip over, so i definitely recommend being right next to your babes if she/he is playing with it! anyhoozle, regardless, olive does have a fantastic time spinning the blocks, looking at the colors, and nibbling on the wood.
okaaaayyyy, baby genius nursery rhymes is da bomb. o loooooves it. she is mesmerized by the colors, scenery, cartoons, and kids in this show! she loves watching it and absolutely loves the music. hc and i can turn on the program and olive is sucked in. it’s perfect for us when we need to keep her preoccupied! ha! but really, we love singing along to the songs to entertain her and it keeps little miss olive smiling non-stop!
i was on the look out for baby jewelry. i was first introduced to it when my dear friend rebecca sent us the cutest gift box of goodies from a little bundle. inside the box, it had a silicone bracelet for moms to wear and their babes can gnaw on it safely. i love wearing accessories but now little o loves to chew on it all and i’d rather not have her stick random metals inside her mouth! so i found this etsy seller who had some very cool necklaces. i did research quite a few but i kept coming back to this one for it’s shape, color, and style. i loved all three combos and was sold. now, when i wear this necklace, it’s fun and colorful and super safe for my baby to chew on!
i have noticed that when i wear any necklaces, miss olive will always go after it. she will want to play with it, chew on it, and drool on it. i had heard about jewelry out in the market, made for momma and the baby, that blended in fashion and function. which any mom could use or need, right?!
i researched a few brands out there and kept coming back to this. it’s an etsy seller called beadee baby. i know it’s a little on the pricey side, i did find a few sellers that were less expensive but i loved the aesthetics of this necklace. the make, the shape of the beads, the color totally drew me in. i would and could find other necklaces but i kept coming back to this one.
so, i was quite excited when the package arrived in the mail {woo hoo!}. i tore it open and was delighted with the product inside! i immediately put it on just to test run it. hc was intrigued by it, the shape, the colors, and the idea too!
olive loves playing with it! she always reaches for it and gnaws on the fun, colorful beads.
i now love throwing this necklace on with any outfit. it’s the perfect length, i love that the colors go with any outfit, and i love that olive can play with it without me worrying about anything! it was definitely a great find and worth it.
i love finding fun things like this for little miss olive!
olivia and aaron stopped by to 1. aaron hasn’t seen our house yet 2. to check out the updates we have made 3. and to see each other…it’s been awhile!
we were excited to have them over. they arrived in the early evening. when they got here, we took them on the tour {although olivia has been through it already}. they also brought their dog, bruce…he’s such a cutie! we started outside, of course, hc had to show off the garages to aaron first! we wrapped up the tour inside and we were ready to eat! i was so hungry!
[lol…olive is so skeptical]
[me and bruce]
[bruce doing his business]
[olive was loving olivia]
[getting the tour]
[best friends]
hc and i decided to keep it low key, since we had a lot going on, so we ordered in for dinner. chinese anyone?! yum. soooo healthy 😉
we hung out, caught up, olivia became olive’s best friend, and bruce was the curious dog. i loved that olive was loving olivia. they played together all night. she’s getting a little better and better with others…hopefully i’m not typing this out too early 😉
we are super happy olivia and aaron are back in chicago. they moved to florida for a year {last year} but missed us all too much 😉 and had to come back.
[dinner]
[my girl!]
[bruce relaxing]
[playing together]
[having fun]
[holding the kids]
[bromance]
i love these two. it was great having them over. we had a lovely evening hanging out with them and bruce! thanks for stopping by, we will be by your new place in chicago soon!
here we are at ra sushi in yorktown. kim is pregnant with bennett! we all met together to go out to dinner because huy was in town from l.a. as usual, we ordered waaayyy too much food while we were here. i guess you can’t avoid it when there are so many people in the fam. everyone has a taste for something different, each, but we do love trying different flavors when eating out.
gosh, it makes me think about how hc and i haven’t eaten sushi since we have moved to the burbs!! i love sushi. one of my favorite foods to eat {i missed it soooooo much during the pregnancy!}. we had a favorite, favorite restaurant in the city called coast. oooohhhhh, it is the best! it is in bucktown, it was a few minutes away from where we use to live, so it was easy to go there whenever! i do miss it very much. we don’t know of any great sushi restaurants out here, so suggestions are welcomed!
i love this family pic of us, although it’s not including everyone {my parents and terry are actually there and i don’t know why they aren’t in the pic}, it is still a fun photo. i’m such a picture nut…i love to photo everything, anytime, anywhere. there is never a ‘right’ time…just snap away and capture the moment!
anyhoo, it’s pretty rare to have huy come into town, so it’s always a reason to to go out and celebrate. cheers to family!
the past couple days off i have had, i was prepared with the idea of me and olive spending it together. but we have been blessed and surprised with hc’s presence the last few times! that really makes us happy!
this morning, hc came back to bed and announced he was spending the day at home, he wanted to spend it with his family 🙂 i love having days off together. it’s so rare since our schedules are so opposite! olive woke up and we played with the little one in our bed for awhile. i then got ready, hc made coffee, and we relaxed. we did our usual morning routine. olive wakes, olive feeds, olive plays, and then olive naps for an hour or two. once olive awoke, we headed out to enjoy our beautiful day.
we chose to go to 2toots restaurant, in downtown glen ellyn. it’s a fun kid’s restaurant that serves your food on a train! so cool. we parked and walked our way to the place. it’s a kitschy little place with lots of adults and lots of kids. actually more kids than adults. we got a highchair for miss o {yeahhhh, i wiped that thing down good} and perused the menu.
[2toots train whistle grill]
[don’t mind her teenage mutant ninja turtle tattoo on her arm…courtesy of cousin reagan]
i ordered the grilled cheese and hc ordered a burger. we played with olive, enjoyed our surroundings, and talked about our lives together. we are a good happy bunch. i love my hubby charming and i love my baby girl. life is really good.
[here comes the food!]
[yummy grilled cheese and fries]
[cheeseburga]
[sophie and pie hanging out]
[vintage posters]
after our lunch date, i wanted to check out a store we drove by, on our way there. we didn’t have much time because, although hc took the day off, he still had to jump on some conference calls that day. of course, what caught my eye as we were driving through was a paper store! i love all things paper!
we walked from the restaurant to the paper store, papier girl. it was sunny out so we put olive’s sunglasses on. oh my goodness. she looked soooo stinkin’ cute! oh, i couldn’t get enough of her in these sunglasses. and the little diva was working it!
[such a funny lady, she’s working it!]
[such a ham]
once we got to the paper store, i browsed around for a bit and hc decided to sit outside on the bench with olive to watch for ‘chicks’. lol. i snapped the cutest pic of them through the store window!!!! i finally decided on some purchases {hc signed for me to hurry up!} and we went on our way home.
[daddy and olive waiting outside for mommy]
oh what a glorious day! we were sooo happy to have spent the morning and afternoon with hc. i love summer! and i love summer days off even more with my two favorite peeps!
she came to chicago to run a race and we planned on a date to meet up. we texted back and forth on a place to eat, where to hang, and what time we were going to get together. we finally settled on a day!
neidre decided for all of us to meet at cumin, an indian restaurant in wicker park. perfect! first off, it’s our old hood {sigh} and we actually had never eaten here, living there for years. so we were excited to try it out.
we got there in a snap, found an amazing parking spot, and strolled our way to the restaurant. there was quite a wait, so we sat at the bar and ordered drinks. i got this mango concoction that was delish!! it was a perfect blend of sweetness and not too overpowering with the alcohol taste. the type of libation that can get you in trouble!
[i miss the city!]
[cheers!]
we sipped our cocktails and waited for neidre and friends to arrive. after ten minutes or so, neidre and liwani showed up! we were so happy to see them. neidre lives in florida and we were fortunate to be able to see her this past holiday in march! so, the fact that she was in chicago, there was no way we were going to miss her!
neidre also invited her friend jim, he arrive shortly after them and the party really began! we engrossed ourselves in some amazing conversations, tasty bites, and cocktails.
[me and my lady neidre]
[neidre and jim]
i ordered some apps for us {i love hanging out with a group of peeps who have no limitations on tastes, spice, or flavors!!!} and then we all decided on our entrees and placed our order. the service there was fantastic…the entire staff was so accommodating, friendly, and attentive. i love mom and pop type of places, it encompasses all good things when it comes to service, food, and ambiance.
[appetizers: chicken momo and chicken chilli]
[liwani and neidre]
[vegetable tandoori]
[garlic naan]
we ate, drank, and truly, truly enjoyed the company around us. we shut the place down! we were the last to leave and leave we did not want! we headed outside {the temperature and weather were perfect} and proceeded to walk the streets of wicker park.
hc and i arrived at our car and we said our goodbyes. we had to get home to relieve the babysitter {our fabulous neighbor, sarah}.
[we love you neidre!]
on our way back home, we sidetracked to our old apartment and said hello to our old neighbors there! it was fantastic to see matt, maggie, jeremy, his wife, and our former second floor neighbor, stacey! they invited us upstairs to check out our old apartment. that was pretty cool to see. after a half hour or so, we went on our merry way. this time to really get home to let the babysitter go!
it was a whole combination of delightful things this evening. seeing our great friend neidre, meeting new friends, connecting with our old city neighbors, and sarah having a great first time babysitting little miss olive!
my uncle khai came to visit this past week!! i was so excited to see him. it was a surprise to me, i knew they were traveling around the area but i didn’t know they were stopping by. i love my uncle khai, i have very fond memories as a kid with him.
my most favorite? when we were living in lisle {in our townhouse} and uncle khai was visiting and we were in the dining room, playing funky town on a 45. yesssss, on a 45. for those of you who are ‘older’, ya know what a 45 is! we were boogying to some great tunes and having fun together.
we wanted to order pizza but i wouldn’t let uncle drive…i told him he wasn’t old enough or able to {um, i literally was a child & yes, he was old enough to!}. it’s funny how we think as kids {not making sense at times!} and i clearly remember thinking what i was saying was right! i was steadfast in my stance. the pizza place {little caesar’s} was up the street, only a few minutes away. so, i made uncle khai walk with me. we walked up the street {maple ave}, waited in the front the of the pizza place, got our order, and walked home to enjoy our dinner with my sisters!
[it’s great seeing a picture of us together…our facial structures are so similar!]
this time around, uncle khai came with his husband, don {partners for 26 years!!!}, and their friend chow {from bejing!}. they were driving cross country, visiting major landmarks around the states. they popped by chicago {don had several conventions downtown for the week} and stayed up at my parent’s house for the week. we were able to visit with them several times during their stay {hello…my parent’s are a minute away!} and catch up. i love them! they are such a great couple and i love talking with them.
these are moments i wish i would have spent more time learning sign language. it would be a lot easier to communicate with khai and don. you can only talk very loudly to a certain extent and have them read lips so much! communication does get lost but fortunately they have acclimated to us better than we have to them, being deaf.
[uncle khai and olive pouting together, don’t mind her double hair flowers. courtesy of auntie kim]
did i mention i love my uncle khai? it was absolutely fantastic seeing them and we hope we will see them soon! we have to get ourselves out to cali very soon! to visit my uncles and visit my brother huy!
my sisters and i attended a breast cancer charity event downtown; to raise awareness, raise money, and get a chance to get a fresh mini manicure! we all met at the event, i got there a little bit after them, but nonetheless, i arrived just in time for all the fun!
they were offering mini manicures, complimentary pink signature drinks, and raffles for some great prizes. we sipped our cocktails, socialized, people watched, and had a really goofy time. we were also there with my sister’s friend christine, an awesome lady who’s a ball of fun. she’s such a great gal, super cool and cute. a blast to hang out with!
as we were hanging out, they had hired a dj for the event. as he was talking over the speakers, my sisters and i were like, he sounds soooo familiar! we wondered if it was julian, we obviously recognized his voice but none of us knew what he looked like! we walked over to him and asked if he was julian on the radio from b96?? yessss, he was! he was a riot, we took a whole bunch of photos with him and joked around non stop with the man, having a fabulous time. it was crazy. that was definitely the highlight of the evening…we had a blast hanging out with him!
after the event, my sisters and i grabbed some grub at the restaurant next door {not memorable…as you can see, i can’t even remember what it was called}. it was a great evening with family and a friend 😉 it’s always enjoyable to support a great cause with great entertainment! cancer is no one’s friend and i will do anything to help our fight against it! here’s to finding a cure for cancer!!!
