lunch with matt

Posted on June 9, 2014 by tandem in love

on my day off, i had made plans with matt to meet me for lunch. it so happened to be olive’s six month check up on this day as well.

so i packed the kids up and off we went to the city. it was a gorgeous day and traffic was light. a perfect combination. we found a close parking spot and walked our way to the restaurant. our place of choice was wishbone. hc and i love this restaurant, it’s yummy southern breakfasts are the best. matt had never eaten at this place! crazy to know because i have been eating here since the late 90’s!

[outfit of the day // zara baby shirt, cherokee pants]

we had just arrived at the restaurant when matt walked through the door. we were seated and perused the menu to decide on what to nosh on. grace went with the chocolate chip pancakes…of course {everything chocolate for her}! i chose the combo of two eggs and pancakes. yum! i devoured everything!

[wishbone]

[hanging out]

[sister love]

[eggs over easy, corn muffin, cheese grits, and pancakes]

matt and i caught up on the latest happenings in life. i’m so excited matt and johann are getting married in a few weeks. we talked about what they were planning and doing for the wedding. we seriously can’t wait! we love them and look forward to celebrating their marriage together.

after catching up and eating our delicious meals, matt walked with us to olive’s doctor’s appointment. leave it to me, again, to not even snap a picture of me and matt together! darn it! sometimes being with matt is like swirling around with the tasmanian devil! i get swept up in the whirlwind and forget my purpose!

[smirky selfie]

anyhoo, we trekked inside for olive’s check up. she was weighed and measured and then we waited. and waited for dr. perlman. she finally came and examined my little girl. all was good! i love dr. perlman…she is the sweetest and smartest lady! she is so wonderful with olive.

after her time with the doctor, we waited a little bit longer and then the nurse came in to give little olive her shots. yikes. baby girl had no idea. she was playing and smiling like a champ until the nurse came in and stabbed her twice! she shrieked and then got over it. awww, my cutie.

[at the doctor’s…not her favorite place but was definitely preoccupied and happy for a moment!]

we left the office and walked our way back to the car. i must admit, much to hc’s dismay, i am terrible with paying the meter. sometimes i do, sometimes i don’t, and most of the time i don’t repay, so there is the chance of me getting a ticket for an expired meter sticker!! eekkk. i do it all the time. so, as were walking back, i had no idea when the meter sticker expired! ha! that didn’t stop me from making a pit stop at starbucks with the kiddies!

[i think i have a starbucks problem]

we made a restroom stop, ordered drinks, and made our way to the car. not without forgetting the louis vuitton diaper bag at the starbucks! omg. we were at the car {no ticket btw…and it was expired by 45 minutes…hehehe} and i was ready to put olive into the car when i looked around and screamed, “omg, we left the diaper bag at starbucks!”. thank goodness is was only across the street! grace ran back in and grabbed it. phew!

besides forgetting to snap a picture of me and matt together and forgetting the diaper bag at the starbucks, our afternoon together was absolutely wonderful!

xoxo

six month photos

Posted on June 7, 2014 by tandem in love

we had olive’s six month photos taken right before her birthday!

oh boy, she was a bit better than her newborn photos but still a fussy little one! she wanted to be in her mama’s arms and that can’t happen when one is being solely photographed!

well, the hubs and me did a lot of dancing, noise making, funny faces, playing hide and seek, jiggling her toys…just to distract her and make her laugh! after all our efforts, we made it work and her session turned out so cute! i also loved that tricia had the cutest accessories and she works so well with the little one.

here are a few favorites from her photo shoot:

yes, she is in her birthday suit. it makes for the most adorable pictures. you definitely can’t get away with naked cuteness like this when you get older 😉

i was super duper excited when tricia emailed me to let me know that she had one of her vendors custom make a beautiful, delicate little outfit and matching headband for olive. how awesome is that?! i was so delighted that she was going to be photographed in such an adorbs, exquisite romper. so cool.

[custom made outfit for miss olive by petunia and ivy]

[look at that face!!!]

[burberry dress…a wonderful, generous gift from a former employee, serena // red flower headband from nordstrom]

the pictures turned out so perfect…i love how tricia captured olive’s cute chunky profile, those cheeks are to die for. i can’t get enough of that mug! every morning, i look forward to seeing her precious face!

thank you to patricia anderson photography for always capturing such special moments in our lives so magnificently.

happy six months to our dear olive. we love you so much and can’t wait to see your many future milestones.

xoxox

flashback friday

Posted on June 6, 2014 by tandem in love

today takes us back to…

july 2011, i had just received my reception dress and i was so excited!!! i really wanted a fun, flirty, romantic dress to wear later on in the night, during the reception. i wanted to feel just as lovely in my reception dress as i would feel throughout the day in my wedding gown.

it was from sarah seven. a designer i found through my hours of endless scouring of wedding blogs. i totally fell in love with her designs. i knew this was the dress that was going to make me feel beautiful and free. having her custom make my dress was based on a lot of trust. i basically sent in my measurements and she transformed it into this cotton candy confection of a dress. i was super, super happy with the final result. the only alteration i did to the dress was the lace trim on the bodice. it was way too low cut and i needed more coverage.

it turned out perfect and i absolutely loved wearing it during the reception. i didn’t have to fuss with wearing my heavy gown and the added bonus was i didn’t have to run around with my beautiful wedding dress on and have it get ruined while dancing, or anything that could further spoil your dress as the night wore on! with this reception dress, i was could float around, dance like a maniac, prance around like a princess, and end the night by riding off on tandem bike 😉

xoxo

tashina and famille

Posted on June 5, 2014 by tandem in love

tashina flew in to visit her family and we were blessed to be able to meet her mom and dad! tashina’s parents actually live in st. louis, they drove up to o’hare to pick tashina up from the airport and explore a little bit around chicago.

tashina also flew in with olive’s baptism dress! we were so lucky to have her do so…she also did a ‘final’ fitting for miss olive. tashina wanted to make sure olive’s dress fit perfectly, and it did!

we hung out a bit at our house. hc walked them through our new home and our remodeling goals. after gleefully conversing amongst each other, we headed over to my parent’s house so they could meet my dad. unfortunately my mom and my sister, thuy, were at work and missed out on meeting everyone! boo.

as we were leaving, it started to rain – hard! the sky opened up and started pouring all over the earth. we all made it into our cars but not without getting soaked! then as we were pulling out of the driveway, gum ball size hail started to fall! oh my gosh! it was crazy! the hail pounded the cars and the pavement. bang, ping, bang. it was so loud. we were so afraid that the hail would dent all our cars!

we made it to my parent’s and ran inside the opened garage. we watched in awe over the hail plummeting to the ground. wow…what a change in weather. one moment is was warm and sunny and the next, it was dark and stormy! thank goodness all was well after that crazy hail storm and no damage was done.

we briefly hung out at my parent’s house, only because they had to hit the road for that long ride back to st. louis. not before we nabbed a few photos, and off they went! it was so wonderful meeting her parents. they are so sweet and kind. such great, lovely people!

[tashina and her sweet mom]

[visiting dad]

we were fortunate to get tashina back for a day, after her time in st. louis. she came back on wednesday night and we were able to briefly, again, say hi to tashina’s parents. they drove her back up here and had to do a quick turnaround to get back on the road home before dusk.

that evening, hc cooked dinner for us, we drank wine, and hung out for the rest of the night.

[olive is excited to be taking a picture]

the next day, tashina and i hung out with little miss olive. jane did take her for a walk in the morning for about an hour, during that time, tashina and i trekked our way to starbucks for some yummy coffee. we came back, and gabbed our morning away. while spending some time with olive, tashina snapped this cute little photo of her while she was playing on her mat. how adorbs.

we were so happy we were able to meet and meet up with everyone. it was definitely a fab time! thank you tashina for visiting and for giving olive such a beautiful gift! we love you and your family!

xoxo

olive’s 6 month loves

Posted on June 4, 2014 by tandem in love

month six.

the hungry caterpillar plush toy // zebi baby organic burp cloths // sophie the giraffe rubber toy // the hungry caterpillar sensory book // maileg organic cotton fox toy // nordstrom flutter sleeve baby romper

olive loves her hungry caterpillar toy. it’s easy to pick up and she loves to slobber all over it. that’s her thing lately, drool and slobber on everything! she likes the colors and it’s quite easy to pick up. it’s always the first thing she reaches for when her toys are lying around her.

i love these burp cloths. they are soft, made from organic cotton, and i absolutely love the prints. the fox print is my favorite. so chic. plus, they serve their purpose! they absorb her drool, spit, and tears quickly and it’s super soft on her delicate skin. they are from my favorite store, sprout, in wicker park.

ok, so sophie had to make another debut on her favorite things because olive absolutely loves her. loves, loves, loves her! sophie is her number one toy. she always reaches for her and she loves holding onto her. she will chew, spit, and gnaw on her for hours. seriously, this french giraffe is the best invention and import for babies! it totally grabs her attention and keeps her preoccupied for a long time!

olive loves anything crinkly. since she loves the feel and learn book so much, i got her the hungry caterpillar book as well. i love this sensory book because it’s beautiful. the colors and pages are so creative, artistic, interactive, and pretty. i love children’s products that are functional, modern, beautiful, and aesthetically appealing. surprisingly this book fulfills a lot of those requirements. plus, she loves the little strawberry that hangs on it…a great chew toy for her!

the fox plush toy represents the bear plush toy olive received from our dear friend bex. it was inside the best boxed gift ever from a little bundle, a cute little box b ordered for miss olive before she was born. inside was a cute, little toy bear. olive loves to play with it. it’s soft and chewable. it’s thin and light and she can pick it up, gnaw on it, and throw it around. i love the fox one too…she does need a fox toy 🙂

i love this little flutter romper. i love neutral colors and it’s actually shorts! so cute for summer. it’s a bit masculine and feminine at the same time. i love all these cute little clothes for her! ugh…she does grow through them so fast though! i feel like i buy and buy and she never has enough items?! hee.

xoxo

rainy day together

Posted on June 3, 2014 by tandem in love

i had a day off this past week and was excited to spend it all day with my little olive.

i had a doctor’s appointment downtown that morning, so i packed up olive’s things, got ourselves in the car and headed into awful traffic! i thought that making my appointment midmorning would be fine in avoiding traffic but since it was raining…it made for terrible traffic!

[ready for her outing // carters’s headband, little tots long sleeve onesie, gapkids pants, trumpette socks]

we finally got downtown and we scored a close parking spot! i put together the stroller and ran towards the office. i was already so late! i used to come to this place every month, multiple times a month, while pregnant with olive. so it was different coming back with a five month old…the babes that was in my belly for so long was now chillin’ by my side. so cool.

[hanging out downtown]

[on our way to wicker park]

after our appointment, olive and i went to wicker park to hang out. our old hood…*sigh*. it was a beautiful day out and perfect for a stroll around the neighborhood. we picked up some starbucks and we stopped into a few stores during our walk. on my agenda was to stop by sprout {a favorite store!} and pick up some organic cotton fox pajamas for little miss olive {they are so stinkin’ cute!}. our most favorite footie pj for olive had a fox on it {it was from carter’s} and hc loves to sing ‘what does the fox say?!’ to olive in her fox pj’s! alas, she outgrew them and needed a new one so we could continue our little song and dance with her that she loves!

[oooohhh, banh mi is open!]

[the pretty elementary school on division]

after our stroll around wicker park, we headed home but not without stopping a zillion places along the way!!! we had to go to target to exchange an item, we had to get stamps and drop off mail at the post office, we had to drop off donations, head to babies r us to do an exchange, and pick up some items at buybuybaby! oy! it was a long way before we got home but when we finally did, olive got to chill while i ran around putting things away we had purchased and cleaning things up!

i was finally able to relax a bit with the wee one and we had some quality time together. she’s so cute!

[i love, love this baby]

[capturing sweet moments]

[one photo at a time…she is so serious sometimes]

[since she was born…i love giving/getting baby kisses]

[muwah!]

i then prepped olive’s food {avocados!} and fed her. that is when hc came home! yay! all in all, it was a very busy, hectic day. olive was a trooper and was totally along for the ride the whole way. she was so chill the entire time i had her out {and that was a long time for my little babes}.

we had such a wonderful mommy/daughter day together!

xoxo

olive’s baptism

Posted on June 1, 2014 by tandem in love

what a wonderful, beautiful day it was! it was so exciting to have olive’s baptism finally here. i was filled with so much anticipation!

i was a bit nervous if olive would get fussy. she does get temperamental sometimes {duh…like her momma!} and can get cranky. we had a lot going on that morning too. getting olive up, feeding her, getting her dressed, getting grace ready, me and the hubs finalizing our outfits, packing up our stuff, getting out the door on time, and picking up some last minute items along the way!

[olive’s beautiful, handmade baptism dress by tashina // it’s made out of french chantilly lace, silk charmeuse, and silk chiffon]

well, hc sped his way to the city, he was nervous we were going to be late, {something he never really does} and we got there on time {phew!}. our party was already there waiting outside of the church, we quickly greeted them and scurried inside so we could get olive changed into her beautiful baptism gown.

[our beautiful moms]

[could they be any cuter??]

[peonies]

[grandpa and the boys]

we changed olive into her baptism gown in the brides room {how fitting!}, left our belongings there, and traipsed our way into the church. we met up with all our guests in the front two reserved pews. everyone oohh’d and ahh’d over how adorbs olive was!

[dressing her in the baptism gown in the bridal room]

[olive in her gorgeous dress]

[generations adoring each other]

[our pretty little girl]

[prim and proper]

mass began and we started out in the procession. up went the alter boys, the liturgical ministers, us, the godparents, and then father ken. we bowed before the alter and walked up to stand beside the font. father ken came up and asked us what name do we give her and what we were asking for of God’s church today. after that, we were dismissed and walked back to our pew to be seated.

[here we go! rite of passage]

then right after the homily, we were asked to come up again to go through the rites of baptism for olive. father ken anointed her with oil, referenced the white garment, lit the baptism candle, and recited the prayer over ears and mouth.

then came the dunking moment…i chose to have olive fully immersed into the holy water. to closely replicate and reference what john the batiste did, according to the bible. during the homily, we stripped olive down and draped her in a white towel. once fr. ken finished asking the questions to the parish and us {ya know…the do we reject satan, etc.}, he reached for olive and pulled her out from the towel and fully dunked her into the font three times…in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit.

[getting ready for the holy water]

[full immersion!]

olive was in good spirits! she came back safely into my arms and the cozy towel. fr. ken finished the rites, olive was announced as the newest member of the church, the parish applauded, and we were seated. it was awesome! it was such a wonderful, special moment…i was so happy to share it with our church, so excited fr. ken performed the rite, and so proud to have kim and terry as olive’s godparents.

[my dress – vintage phillip lim]

[olive’s awesome godparents, kim + terry]

[olive and her grandparents]

[auntie thuy]

[fr. ken]

after church, we walked our way to the restaurant. it was only two blocks away! it was such a beautiful day, i couldn’t have asked for better weather. the temperature was perfect and the sun was shining so brightly!

we rented out a private room at d.o.c wine bar. it was spectacular. it was such a large space, there were couches and chairs, and a fireplace. a perfect space for the kids to run around and hang out. they had set up long tables for everyone to sit and eat. the bartender was so accommodating and the food was absolutely delicious. the whole wait staff there was fantastic.

i had purchased a cake and had it redecorated to an all white buttercream frosting. i made fun toppers for olive’s cake and fashioned pretty, blooming peonies onto the top of the fluffy, yummy cake. i loved how it turned out…so whimsy and cute!

[baptism cake]

[love these kiddies]

[love these two!]

[noshing]

[family first // missy, aunt wendy, john, jane, and dick]

[my fair ladies]

[the ladies!]

after everyone downed their tasty libations, noshed on yummy eats, and filled their bellies with sweet treats…we slowly parted ways. it was such a great morning and afternoon. we had a truly wonderful time celebrating olive’s baptism with our friends and family.

we trekked our way home to get into comfy clothes and relax. after a bit, we headed on over to my parent’s for dinner and olive’s aunties showered her with more gifts! her first tiffany gifts…so spoiled! i am so thankful to everyone for all the generous gifts she received…olive is so blessed to be so loved!

[olive’s goodies]

[olive’s first tiffany gifts]

[cousin love // tiffany galore]

we seriously had the most delightful day. it was so perfect – olive’s custom made gown, the beautiful ceremony, the wonderful weather, the delicious brunch, and the best part? we were able to celebrate it with our loving friends and family. i am so thankful for both our families…we are truly, truly blessed.

xoxo

april snapshots

Posted on May 31, 2014 by tandem in love

april in sweet review.

it was quite a crazy, busy month for us. with it being holy week, easter, hc’s birthday, tax month, moving, baby showers, oh my! that is just a brief summary of the many, many events that happened in april!

olive had many milestones, my terrific husband was such a strong support system through all these major events, and we had such huge positive, life changes happening to us. it was such a great, overwhelming, amazing time.

life has been fascinating. i am intrigued by my own changes, whether it is through body, mind, or environment. i love watching olive grow. i love being married to my husband. i am in awe over how calm and laid back he can be at the hardest moments. i am so happy that the weather has been getting warmer and i can really enjoy taking olive out and about.

my love for my family has grown exponentially! everyday i appreciate and cherish them more and more. it’s been a lot dealing with a new house, a little baby, and all the updates we are making to our new abode. there are a lot of times i freak out but i come to realize, every time, that it’s all going to work out in the end. as usual patience is not my virtue…unfortunately. that’s why i am lucky to have my other half calm me down!

[baby olive’s crazy hairdo before her bath // hc winning the award for daddy of the year]

[pam’s baby shower]

[many faces of olive]

[ombre cake at jaime’s baby shower]

[cousin cool // sleepy time]

[olive’s easter basket]

[olive // dunkin’ donuts easter peeps]

[dunkin’ donuts cubbie donuts to support the cub’s charity]

[laughing in the early morning // learning how to sit]

[a sunny day shopping // vanilla buttercream cupcake]

there ya go…an april rewind in photos. some of my favorite moments and it always includes desserts! pretty, lovely, sweet desserts!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on May 30, 2014 by tandem in love

today takes us back to 2010.

hc and i took a trip to nashville! we had such a great time visiting the city. now, nashville is a place, in my opinion, that is only a weekend getaway. it’s such a small town…i was surprised that it being the country music capital, how low key it was. there were never really any crowds, never people walking around constantly, like chicago. only on friday or saturday did it ever get somewhat crowded and it looked like people were being bussed in!

another downside? i’m soooo not a country music girl. so live music like that is so unappealing. i had no interest! if you want live music, cowboy boots, and lots of bbq…nashville is your place to be!

my favorite part about visiting? i loved checking out vanderbilt university! it was such a cute college town! we explored the campus and it also has the cutest shops running along 21st street in hillsboro village. great places to eat and, of course, spending your moolah in all the cute boutiques. we spent a long afternoon there just exploring. fun fact: we actually found our curtain backdrop here, at furniture shop, for our wedding photo booth!

we did enjoy walking up and down broadway, checking out all the shops and restaurants. it’s definitely dolly parton central! my favorite place in nashville?? mike’s ice cream! yum! we went there every night to get dessert! it’s a cute, quaint little ice cream shop where they hand make their delicious, creamy goodness. so delish, check it out if you ever visit!

[enjoying a warm night out in nashville and topping it off with some delicious mike’s ice cream]

i really enjoyed my time in nashville, it was a cute little town with a lot of nooks and crannies. many great memories created with my then soon to be husband!

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

happy six months!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by tandem in love

happy six months olive!

[photos taken on 5.27]

height: 26 1/4″

weight: 15 lbs 12 oz

wow…olive is six months old! ahh!

omg, time flies! i can’t believe she is six months old! she has become such a strong little lady! sitting up is her new thing. olive started to sit up at the end of her four month mark but was wobbly and needed to be watched at all times. as her fifth month progressed, the super strong little lady was good on her own. she loves sitting by herself and playing. she’ll sit there on her tummy time mat and play with her toys. i sure do take advantage of that. i run around the house doing as much as i can…until she realizes she is by herself, then she starts to cry! she is really great by my side. we can sit side by side {like when i’m blogging or pinning} and she’s quite content.

big milestone for little miss olive? eating solids for the first time! yes, it’s been a big step for her. i started her two weeks out from her six month birthdate and it’s been wonderful. she started with bananas…yum. she loved noshing on the sweet banana and milk concoction. the avocado took a few days to get use to, she didn’t take to it the first few days but the last two days she was quite keen on eating it. she loved eating sweet potatoes + papaya! hc fed her on the first day of introduction {sweet potatoes} and she gobbled it all down! no allergies for the wee one yet, just goodness, enjoyment, and messiness!

she loves to play with her daddy…he always makes her giggle. in olive’s first few months, only being in her momma’s arms comforted her but now she loves, loves her daddy time. she loves to snuggle with him, she loves to be in his arms, and she can so easily fall asleep on his shoulder. it’s seriously the cutest moments ever.

you are such a great sleeper! i dreaded the ‘growth’ stages i read about…ya know, the ones where they say the babes will wake up multiple times a night to eat because they are going through a growth spurt? well, not this babes so far…she is a solid sleeper through the night! she goes down around 9-10pm and wakes up around 6-7am! i only wish i could sleep through the night like her {darn that middle of the night pumping!}!

something that is really sweet? she loves to get her cheeks brushed. so cute. when i sweep my finger from the top of your cheek to your chin, it totally calms you down! you have the most serene, calm look on your adorable face.

another fun thing to watch? when she is grabbing her tootsies. you love to stretch your legs all the up and shove your toes into you mouth. when i change your diaper, you grab both your feet and toes and hold onto them for dear life! i love it.

you are an amazing little girl. we love watching you grow. little miss olive, we love you so.

xoxo