somber day

it started out as just an olive and me day. we got up together, as usual, well actually i get up before olive does so i am ready to go. she ate, we played, she napped, and i cleaned, blogged, and organized our home. after her nap, i got her dressed and we were about to head out when hc had called me. i missed his phone call and called him back to some startling news.

hc used to work for a company called arrowstream for five years and still has friends who work for the company. the ceo of the company was shot by an employee that morning and the employee then committed suicide. such a crazy, sad incident. hc knew the shooter and of course, the ceo. i have met them both and we are both shocked at what has happened.

hc was on his way home. for a bit, we chilled and talked about what had happened. it’s disturbing, you never ever think something so close to home could happen like this. there is a lot of disbelief and confusion. my heart goes out to both their families.

after we spent some time absorbing what had happened, we decided to head out to enjoy the day. enjoy our life, because a grave moment like this really grounds you and you slow down to really appreciate what is around you.

we stopped in downtown downers grove for a late lunch. we spent a lovely time eating alfresco and all the servers and patrons doted on olive. she is such a cutie! after lunch, we strolled around the streets and hit some shops to pick up some things we needed.

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[olive staring at some people coming in]

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[summer skin]

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[cheers!]

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[cheers!]

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[this vegetable boxty kicked my ass]

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[me and my babes]

we did some more errands and then headed back home to relax. hc did some remodeling duties and olive and i played together. the night rolled by, we did a lot of reflecting, we talked a lot about stuff {our life, our relationship, our commitments}, and we cherished the time we get to spend together as a family.

xoxo

cruise night + dq = perfect summer night

it was a wonderful summer evening. the rain held off; it was the perfect temperature, warm, and sunny. hc and i decided to hit another cruise night, this time in downtown downers grove.

we headed out in the early evening and found a parking spot right at the start of the show. hc drooled over the first car we saw. leave it to me, to not even know what kind of car it is! hee.

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[hc’s car of choice]

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[it was soooo bright i couldn’t even look up!]

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[cruising]

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[we got one!]

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we started to stroll down the street, looking at car after car. it was very relaxing and chill. we were both hungry and it was great because a lot of the vendors set up shop out on the sidewalks! we were able to use our nose to find our food! pizza was on my mind, i saw a man walk by with a slice and that was what i wanted! we walked a bit more and found the pizzeria serving their slices outside. yum.

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[pizza on the go]

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[yum]

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[daddy daughter]

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grace wasn’t feeling the pizza so we walked a bit more and, of course, she wanted a hot dog! hc had dinner with me and then he had dinner with grace. we also pit stopped into a pet store and they had kitties for adoption! i begged hc for one but that was a no go! boo.

while we were sitting down and eating dinner, we decided that we would stop at the dairy queen on our way home! yay!

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[hotdogs]

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[admiring]

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***

dairy queen, here we come!

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[decisions, decisions, decisions]

i got a cone. simple. tasty. perfect. i actually could have gotten a smaller one, i didn’t realize a medium cone was so much ice cream! but nonetheless, it was delicious. we sat outside in the great weather to enjoy our delectable treats.

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[soft serve me some good ice cream]

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[guess what they are eyeing??]

as we were relaxing with our desserts, a family walked up with a boxer. grace and hc were intrigued. he was a cutie. they bought him a cone and he chowed it down. it was so adorbs. he ate it down to the bottom and gulped down the last bit of his cone. it was so fun to watch!

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[a boxer ready to eat his cone!]

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[yum, yum]

it was a very lovely evening together. we had a great time observing all the cool vehicles, getting a chance to eat greasy food, and finishing it off with some sugary treats. all in all, it was a successful evening full of not so good foods for you! hehehe.

here’s to checking off some more good stuff on our summer list!

xoxo

sunny funday

our sunday funday consisted of great weather, warm temperature, church, brunch, furniture shopping, and long walks {a summer to do!}.

after mass, hc, olive, and i took a lovely stroll to our brunch restaurant of choice, frances. we love eating there and for some reason, after the 9:30am mass, there is always outdoor seating {any other time, there’s a wait}! we love brunching alfresco on sunny sunday mornings!

olive happily sat in her stroller while hc and i enjoyed a delicious brunch. i ordered the lox sandwich and hc ordered a spicy egg thingy breakfast. as usual, i wolfed down every delectable bit of it.

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[going for a walk]

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[olive in her beloved bugagoo]

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[trekking along on this beautiful day]

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[eating alfresco]

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[me and my babes]

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[lox and bagel]

after a very relaxing time outdoors, we strolled our way back to the car. we were in debate of hitting a spot in the city to walk around a little bit more {and shop, of course!} or heading back to oakbrook to do some outdoor shopping there. we decided on the latter because we wanted to furniture shop and it was more convenient because all the furniture shops there were consolidated, therefore it was easier!

we hit a bump in traffic {perfect timing for baby o to take a nap!} and finally made our way to the mall. it was so darn lovely out! we nabbed some starbucks {of course} and hit all the furnishing stores. we were mainly shopping for side chairs. we need a few {some for the kitchen area and maybe some for the living room} and exchanged ideas on color, style, and size. oooohhhhhh, the options! it’s a lot fun until you have to really decide on what you are going to buy!

we found a piece or two at crate and barrel and restoration hardware but i am also a fan of online shopping. it’s a bit more difficult that way because you can’t see it live…the way it feels, sits, and the dimensions, but i love gaining ideas that way to help with the decision process and clarifying the aesthetics.

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[bar globe at restoration hardware]

anyhoo, the day was perfect. i loved seeing familiar faces at mass, being outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and spending time with my lovely family.

it was a happy sunday funday!

xoxo

happy low key july fourth

our fourth of july was very low key. a lot of relaxing and hanging out together. hc had yummy dinner plans and he even baked a pound cake for dessert! how awesome was that?!

when i arrived home, hc started whipping up some good eats {such an awesome hubby}. i was hungry {as usual…this nursing state makes me voracious}! we sat down for dinner and stated what we are grateful for {we do this every time we eat}, then filled our bellies up with some good grub. thank you hc for always making a delicious meal.

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[olive had navy and white star shorts on buuutttttt she had an accident in them 🙁 therefore she didn’t have them on]

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[a delicious dinner by hc // winner winner chicken dinner]

after dinner, i cleaned up and hc, olive, and grace went for a walk. once they were back, we started making our desserts. grace sliced up the strawberries, i pulled out all the toppings and plates, and we gathered around to assemble our treats!

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[anthroplogie bowls]

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[grace slicing strawberries for our desserts]

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[my red, white, and blue peacock festive dessert!]

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[i love to pout]

after dessert, hc and grace went out to the backyard to look for fireworks. hc actually caught a firefly! one of our summer to do’s! there weren’t many out there but we got one! we still have all summer to catch more!

i tried to keep baby olive up for some fireworks but she was tired. pooped. so, no fireworks for this little one. she went to bed!

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[trying to stay of for fireworks]

after some quality time together, some festive desserts, and slightly catching a glimpse of the fireworks behind our trees, we were dunzo. that pretty much summed up our happy fourth of july!

happy birthday america. god bless our country!

xoxo

cruise night

hc and i were able to check off one of our summer activities: looking at classic cars on a cruise night. it was a wonderful, warm, summer day. earlier in the morning, we had a great brunch with friends and later that evening, we wanted to do something summer fun!

we looked up several options available and decided to check out the lombard cruise night {we definitely want to check out other town’s cruise nights, we have all summer!}. right when we got there, it started to rain…hard. we sat in the car {watching 007} until the rain stopped.

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we got out and started walking towards all the classic cars. we cruised up and down the street and ogled all the fun vehicles. lombard’s cruise night was much smaller than we thought! we’ve done cruise nights at other towns before, so this one was tiny to us.

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there were a few cars that hc really liked. unfortunately, i don’t remember the names of any of them {haha} 😉 i only took pictures of them 🙂 so, go ahead and figure them out!

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[i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream]

after we checked out all the cars, i insisted on ice cream! you can’t go to a cruise night {or any outdoor summer activity} and not get ice cream to eat outside! there was a band playing by the ice cream shop, so we bought our ice cream cones, sat on a ledge, conversed with each other, and listened to the live music.

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bonus part? olive was suppose to go with us but my parent’s insisted on watching her so we kinda had an impromptu date night {even though it was just a few short hours!}.

we really enjoyed ourselves and can’t wait to check more fun stuff off our summer list! oh, warm weather…please stay awhile!

xoxo

little things

with life being so hectic, sometimes you forget to slow down {well, at least i don’t slow down very well} and revel in the moment.

hc and i were running around doing a lot of stuff during the day, as usual. life has been very chaotic for us since before our move. well, hectic ever since olive was born. we are constantly on the go, or working on a project, or trading time with olive so one or the other can get stuff done. if we are together, olive is usually in my arms or hc’s arms. we are always paying attention to the babes or trying, for a short moment, to relax when we get the few minutes to be able to.

it was one of those days where we were constantly on the go. life was just flying by. as we were driving home from being out and about all day, hc and i sat in silence. we were a bit exhausted but happy. it was a great day with family {although we felt like we were driving to all ends of the earth} and we were excited to be on our way home. nothing feels better than being home sweet home, right?

well, hc reached over, in the car, and grabbed my hand and held tightly onto it. it made me realize…wow, it’s been awhile since we have held hands! omg. what? yes, awhile! every time we are out, we are pushing a stroller or one of us is holding olive. we use to hold hands all the time before she was born. nowadays, our hands are holding onto something of olive’s.

this little act made me very happy. it made me realize to not forget the little things in our marriage. to always foster our relationship and take time out to care and love each other because that is the foundation of this family.

i need to remember to slow down and revel in small, special occasions like this. i should pause and give a hug because life is too short. i must stop and tell him how much i love and appreciate him. this little gesture from him made me fall in love with him again. how simple and small an act can be to remind you how fortunate we are and how special this person is in my life.

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i love you to bits hubby charming. thank you so much for being the best husband ever and for always making me a better person with all your kind acts.

xoxo

happy dad’s day

by golly, it was father’s day! a day to celebrate my hubby is who an amazing dad! not only is he an amazing father, he is a wonderful partner, a doting hubby and dad, a sweet, kind, caring, loving person.

olive and i are lucky gals to have this man in our lives. we started out the morning in bed, hc wanted to open up his gift right away! we gave him a tent from rei! he was so excited that he set it up right away in the kitchen! lol.

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[hc wanted his gift right away! right when we woke up!]

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[papyrus motorcycle card…tres cool]

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[little olive ‘camping’ with her daddy in the kitchen]

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since it was daddy day, olive and i ventured out to starbucks and got us coffee. it’s dangerous that the starbucks is so close {literally a couple minutes away}. we relaxed and ate a small breakfast before we headed out to brunch with our family.

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[staple]

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[relaxing before we head out]

we cruised to the city, parked, and walked to the restaurant. it was such a beautiful day; sunny, warm, and bright. so perfect! kim, terry, and the boys were already there. we said our hello’s and ordered tasty beverages to imbibe.

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[family time // the boys going over the drink list]

we started out with apps…scones and jam, fried pickles, and poutine. an interesting combo but nevertheless delicious. this place is so good. i ordered a latte, um, i could have downed four of those! so smooth, nutty, and sweet.

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[scones and lattes…so good]

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[reagan showing off his shirt]

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i ordered the smoked salmon…it was so tasty. the cream cheese was peppered with chives, the capers were perfectly salty, and the accoutrements were like a fresh salad. i was able to wolf some it down {thanks to kim for taking the babes}, my little olive was tired and fussy. kim came back and i took olive for a walk down michigan ave.

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[delicious smoked salmon]

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[enjoying his fruity drink]

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[lovingly eyeing each other]

we absolutely enjoyed brunch. i really like the gage. the staff was so friendly and quite kid friendly. the ambience is fantastic, the food is delicious, and it was fun. i wished we could have enjoyed more of this beautiful day with them in the city but the other family duties called! so, off we went to spend some quality time with hc’s parents!

***

we drove our way to crystal lake…oy vey, it was almost a two hour drive. yowza. once we got there, we hung out outside with dick and jane. gramma brought out the swing and olive had a fantastic fun time on it! she made the funniest faces, she smiled relentlessly, and actually was waving at her daddy while they were swinging together! we chilled out in the yard and enjoyed the wonderful weather. it did rain just a tad. we brought olive inside for a second and then out we went again to continue the fun.

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[papa and olive]

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[olive loving the swing and waving at daddy!! look closely, her little hand flapping in the wind]

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[loving her carrot rattle from land of nod]

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[look closely at olive’s face…she has the funniest expressions]

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we spent many hours lazily relaxing. jane whipped up some dinner, we filled our bellies, and then downed too many sugar cookies she had baked. after olive’s feeding, we hit the road back to our maison.

it was such a delightful, beautiful day with our families. we are so blessed and couldn’t ask for anything more. we are so lucky to have such amazing father figures in our lives. happy dad’s day…but we like to celebrate them everyday!

xoxo

happy father’s day

happy dad day to the world’s greatest father!

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[olive, eight hours old, and daddy]

i’m so excited to celebrate this special day together with our presh daughter, olive! i know hc is a fantastic father to grace but it’s awesome to celebrate him being an amazing dad to our olive.

thank you for being a strong partner in raising her. you love her, play with her, dress her in cute outfits, and completely dote on her in so many ways. there are many, many moments you guys share that are too cute for words, i love watching you both interact! it makes my heart melt!

***

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[photo by kate headley]

happy father’s day to my dad. the most amazing, loving father anyone could ever ask for. he has given so much to us as a family, i am forever grateful for all his sacrifices and all the love he has given. i am so fortunate to be surrounded by such terrific, kind, loving men!

happy father’s day to all the wonderful dads out there!

xoxo

father’s day gift ideas

father’s day is coming up!

i’ve compiled a list of gifts {with the help of hc’s hints}, that are a possibility of giving for this upcoming dad’s day!

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how cool is this driftwood dock? it’s woodsy {anything wood is a fan favorite of the hubs}, simple, and would look very nice out and about in your home. a wonderful way to charge your techy toys without it looking cumbersome or junky!

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my hubs is a beer loving kind of guy. so, i think this lovely beer holder is a great gift to give because one: it’s really cool looking…loving the grey wood finish. two: it’s perfect to be able to tote several beers out to the back yard to your guests. three: it has the bottle opener right there! how convenient 😉

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hc is a fabulous chef. he makes the greatest meals, i am a lucky gal! i found this awesome tandem bike cutting board that can be personalized. it would be a fun gift to give and a special reminder that he is an awesome dad every time we are in the kitchen together cooking {or i’m in the kitchen and he’s doing the cooking!}.

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i die over these bbq sugar cookies from oh sugar events! i love the novelty and i think it’s a great add on, delicious, sweet treat to any father’s day gift you do end up giving. on a personal note, i think i’d be the one who ends up eating all these tasty cookies anyways!

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what dad doesn’t want a really cool shaving set? years ago, i bought hc a set like this. he loves it. it looks awesome and is pretty cool looking sitting out on the sink. it’s classic, old fashioned, and practical.

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a hc request. he hinted about this lovely tent to me a couple weeks ago. since he enjoys camping with grace and now we have a huge, spacious backyard…it’s the perfect gift to give to him! he needs to replace the old tent he has and whether they go to a camping ground or set up shop in our backyard, this is a great compact tent to tote around!

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these watches are marvelous. hc was eyeing a watch like this at a men’s boutique we were shopping at on southport last summer. so, i am suggesting this as a gift to any dad out there who loves wood, watches, and a fun conversation piece!

well, there you go! a few ideas to help out or inspire you to get your dad or your husband a fantastic gift for this special day. hurry up, lovies…father’s day is coming up quick. get that hard working dad something wonderful to show him that you care and let him know he’s the greatest dad in the world!

xoxo

our best day ever on refinery29

i am so excited to have our wedding featured on refinery29!

almost three years later and it’s pretty awesome to have our wedding still talked about. it was, seriously, the best day ever. without that wonderful, euphoric, romantic, amazing, whimsical, lively, dynamic, exciting day…there wouldn’t have been the next best day ever…giving birth to miss olive!

our wedding was like a dream come true. so cliche right?! but it was. everything was perfect. celebrating our union with our friends and family was a recipe for unparalleled goodness. hc and i had the best time reveling in the love and joy of our guests…how could it not be fabulous when everyone is celebrating, eating, and drinking? best combos ever.

from our rehearsal, to our rehearsal dinner, to the wedding day, the sunday brunch, and then onto an alfresco dinner at my parent’s with our family’s out of town guest, it was a whirlwind of delight. the next morning we sped off on our honeymoon floating on cloud nine, full of happiness.

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i am always so thankful to everyone who helped make our day so magical, from our amazing, prompt, creative vendors to our friends and family who helped make this moment so special. i am forever grateful because i will always claim this day to be the best day ever!

xoxo