homemade cake

Posted on September 18, 2013 by tandem in love

happy beurffday kim!

it was that milestone! happy birthday to my dear sister, kim! we celebrated at acadia. terry surprised kim with a small, intimate dinner at the lovely restaurant.

i rushed over there after work {thank goodness there wasn’t any traffic! and i found parking in a snap!}. once i was settled in, they starting the whole process, and when i say process, it was. it’s quite fascinating to watch. all the servers that support during the whole dining experience. how attentive and in tune they all are. i just love places like that! the service was impeccable, the food was beyond delish, and the company was fantastic!

[personalized menu]

[kim + lan]

[my bro in law + moi]

[present time!]

[oxfords]

[my non-alcoholic beverage concocted by the bartender]

[my tasty halibut]

we wined {well everyone else} and dined, enjoyed our eclectic conversations, laughed a lot, ate a lot, and drank a lot. after almost 4 hours of noshing and imbibing, we were dunzo.

but of course, it’s not a birthday without a cake! it only completes the celebration! so, there is was…thuy’s homemade cake. it was such a sight. you truly, truly had to be there. from my pov, i saw it coming. it was a glorious, blazing ball of fire heading our way. our server walked from the kitchen, across the whole dining area, all the the way to our table in the corner with the fire hazard. every diner’s head turned, cranked, and gawked at the well lit cake. it was so hilarious. kim didn’t know what was coming her way! oh em gee, we could not stop laughing! it was, seriously, the best part of the evening…it was splendid to see such a fancy restaurant serve this beauty of a cake {made with love from thuy}. despite it’s wilting nature…it was damn good! so yummy!

[the blazing cake!]

[happy birthday kim! // i love how the two dudes in the background are mesmerized!]

[make a wish!]

[birthday partiers]

thank you to terry and thuy for coordinating such a fabulous fete for our lovely sister kim. happy birthday ma seour!

xoxo

kt’s partay

Posted on August 27, 2013 by tandem in love

kt’s big 3-0 was here!!! we celebrated her birthday and her two year anniversary since her surgery!

the party was down the street from where i was at. i had dinner with my sisters and lan first, then skedaddled to the party afterwards.

we dined at nellcote. a beautiful restaurant with delicious entrees. small plates to share, who doesn’t love eating that way? it’s so fun to try different flavors. we ordered spaghetti {tomato, calabrian chilies, toasted breadcrumbs, & mojama}, robuchon potatoes {local yukon gold potatoes, sauce périgueux}, sunny side up organic egg pizza, venison tartare {smoked egg yolk, preserved lemon, quinoa, mustard}! so amazingly good! we ended our meal with the most decadent desserts! pot de creme, lemon semifreddo, and the chocolate parfait! soooo stuffed!

[nellcote]

[salut]

[delicious dishes]

[a trio of heaven]

after dinner, i waddled my way to my sister’s car and she dropped me off down the street to kt’s party. i headed upstairs to the rooftop and found a bunch of screaming ladies! we were all so excited to see each other! i was happy to see kt, karen, colleen, bridget, mary, and annie! it was nice to chat with annie…who is pregnant and four weeks ahead of me! after visiting with everyone, it was time for this pregger lady to go! i was so tired!

[my dirty 30 gift to kt…granny panties!]

[birthday girl]

[my girls!]

[7 and 6 month bumps!]

[you can’t beat this beautiful skyline…love]

it was a long day…a very fun and satisfying day with friends and family!

xoxo

b’s beurffday!

Posted on August 24, 2013 by tandem in love

we celebrated b’s 4th birthday!

it was hosted by my ever loving sister, kim, and bro in law, terry! it was at brunswick bowling and it was a blast. we geared up our tootsies with some snazzy bowling shoes…hello! of course i brought socks!

[ready to get started]

[bowling shoes…check!}

so, the bowling began, and off to a rocky start. wow…you could tell it’s been awhile since most of us bowled {hee}!!! i tried my best to balance my pregger belly with that somewhat heavy bowling ball but my awesome swing/throw was off kilter! gutter balls, fouls, and no pins down later {um, that is a sum up of the group., minus pete & dan…show offs!}, we then started munching on some yummy snacks ordered {classic bowling grub…pizza, cheese sticks, nachos, onion rings…}!

[candy balls]

[kim’s amaze gutter ball throws]

[dan’s professional bowling league]

[soeurs]

[ladies who lunch]

near the end of our bowling run, we finally gave in to b’s relentless requests for cake and presents! we proceeded to sing happy birthday {yes…his decor represented his like for the boston bruins…don’t ask} and he happily proceeded with his gifts! he was so cute! he insisted on opening the cards first and then politely opened each gift. cars, hockey stick, clothes, skate board, and more toys later, b was a happy birthday boy!

[present time!]

[happy birthday!]

[yummy!]

[look at that smile!]

[cute little favor bags by kim]

we finished up our bowling games and went on our merry ways! all in all, it was a wonderful time celebrating b’s birthday! he was a happy little guy!

xoxo

dearest dana

Posted on June 29, 2013 by tandem in love

happy beurffday dearest dana!!!!

[she had to debut the fry in the picture]

on a warm saturday night, dana’s friends all came together to celebrate a big milestone for miss d! we hit up the classic fizz bar {her fave place to celebrate!}, dominated the outside garden area, and giggled our way through convos!

i was so excited to see irina and patrick! they came out for dana’s party and i was so delighted to be able to catch up with them! she was so thrilled to see that i am pregnant! we always talked about getting pregnant together, so it was my turn to tease her about it!

after drinks {yum-o lemonade for moi} and a sizable load of fries delivered to my table, the sky opened up and poured on our parade {uck}! zooomm! everyone ran for the door to get inside the bar!

once inside, i was able to visit a bit with jacob. love him! he surprised dana {he lives in michigan} by showing up unannounced! what a lovely birthday present!

i had such a great time conversing with everyone. i actually made it past my bedtime just for dana! the group was ready to hit another bar, when this old lady decided it was time to go home and hit the bed!

happy day dear friend! love you!

charlie’s 40th partee

Posted on May 25, 2013 by tandem in love

we celebrated charlie’s 40th birthday party this past saturday!

happy beurffday charlie!

leyla had rented out a private room at goose island and hosted charlie’s friends and family at the fete! we had food, drinks, and yummy cupcakes from molly’s!

[terry and the birthday boy]

[molly’s cupcakes]

[yummy filling]

[the sisters + my bump]

[the ladies of the night]

[fini]

xoxo

sparkler lit tiramisu

Posted on April 24, 2013 by tandem in love

happy birthday o!

i was able to celebrate olivia’s birthday the other night! it was bittersweet due to the fact that she is moving away to the sunshine state {insert sad face}. it was one of my last nights with her here in chicago for awhile…until she comes back or until i visit!

it was the freakiest weather when i left my place! snowflakes the size of quarters were falling down and the wind was so strong {hello, it’s almost may}! i was in disbelief! i was walking to the restaurant…darn it! i was going to be drenched in wet snow! as i sashayed my way down the street, i was dreading the very short walk. then, as i crossed a street, barely three blocks into my parade, the snow literally stopped. quite an enigma. i mean, one moment it was heavily snowing and the next second…nothing was in the air!!!! what an anomaly to experience! it was like i stepped into another dimension! phew! i was glad it stopped…saved me from looking like a drowned rat when i arrived at the restaurant!

it was a full house. we were packed in like sardines. we started with apps and a bottle of wine. our server was quite interesting…he brought the bottle of wine over for me to taste, poured the girls each a glass {mind you, it was the messiest pour i had ever seen at a restaurant!}, and then never poured my glass! hello?! i prefer a fuller glass of wine! not just a tasting! hmph.

we ate our food and relished in each other’s company on this typical, crazy chicago weather night. our server did know it was olivia’s birthday but we were taken by surprise when he came out with a sparkler lit tiramisu cake! i was so surprised that i forgot to snap a picture of the lovely o {shucks!}.

[caitlin, o, + moi]

[happy birthday!]

[here’s a photo of the ‘cake’ i never took .. looks pretty similar 😉 ]

anyhoo, it was a fun, cozy night to celebrate the ever youthful liv. i hope your day is full of love, happiness, and fun! happy beurffday girl!

xoxo

birthday galore

Posted on April 21, 2013 by tandem in love

birthdays galore!!! it’s a busy month, this april o’ mine!

carol + famille flew in from florida {on vacay} to chicago, to host mackenzie’s first birthday party! it was, conventionally for them, a whirlwind weekend! after throwing her birthday fete, they then flew back home to seattle! bananas!

carol and i partnered, cross country, and commenced our crafty craziness together! we sent supplies to one another, we collaborated on ideas, we text, we emailed, and telephoned each other until all our creative ideas were complete! we were so excited upon the finish of all our decor! it was going to be so cute!

my day started early, as i debated on which mass to attend this past sunday…if i went to the 8am mass, i would have the rest of the day after the party. if i went to the 7pm mass…i could sleep in…hmmm, decisions, decisions. i actually went to the 8am mass! gasp! it definitely turned out for the better!

i was on a mission to get macarons after mass. i heard that floriole was a great place for delicious macarons! perfect, it was in lincoln park and a few minutes from church. i pulled up and ran inside, i looked at their case and noticed there were no macarons! what?! i asked the employee behind the counter and he said no macarons today {what the?!}. anyhoo, i needed breakfast so i ordered a pelligrino and a blueberry croissant. um, it was so stinkin’ good!!!!!

so, there i went to alliance bakery to pick up some macarons, i know they always have fresh ones! two dozen macarons later, i was on my merry way to lake forest!

carol and i scurried around to decorate and set up. ted cleaned up mackenzie and put her in the cutest birthday outfit! an hour later, we were set, and the first guests started to arrive! yay!

it was so splendid to see everyone and convene for such a happy event {and loud…thirty people and kids couldn’t get any louder!!}! all the kiddos were super happy {pizza and cake! no arguments there!} and all the grown kiddos had plenty of grub and drinks in hand. it was a success!

[purty sign carol made for the front door]

[cute birthday girl // look at that pout!]

[favors + bunting]

[birthday banner]

[me + carol]

[bunting .. kiddy treats .. lanterns]

[birthday smash cake!]

[macarons]

[cupcakes + flags]

[delicious dessert table]

[guest sign in book // inside a cute children’s book // i was quite proud of my rhyme]

[jaime + me]

[jaime, mackenzie .. look at that smile!, + pam]

[kisses]

[me + marina]

[birthday present time!]

[already a fashionista!]

[i’m ready for some sunshine]

[cake time!]

[toooooooo cute!]

[oh my]

[the beautiful family .. minus travis]

such a grand ole time with johnson’s! thank you to ted’s parents for hosting us at their beautiful house! thank you to carol + ted for a wonderful party. we will miss you guys. here’s my usual mantra for you both….MOVE BACK TO CHICAGO!

xoxo

big 4-0!!!!

Posted on April 14, 2013 by tandem in love

happy birthday party to my hubby charming!

tonight was his fabulous night to party like he is 4-0! well, almost! his birthday is on monday but we were ready to get festive! i was so excited to have this day finally come into fruition! after months of planning + creating, it was a complete welcome to have it all come together this very night!

it was a very relaxing day to start. hc dropped me off at st. clement for my meeting {as a team captain for our upcoming service day!}, after a short informative meeting on our upcoming duties, hc met up with me, again, and we walked to a favorite after mass brunch restaurant, frances!

we went home and relaxed {time well spent before we parrrrtayyyyyyed!}. i actually got ready for the night and hubby charming and i went on a little errand run! balloons, cake, decorate, oh my! we picked up a few goodies {hubby charming was not allowed to peep at the cake!} and he dropped me off at the party destination to get ready whilst he went home to get all gussied up himself!

there i was, cake in hand, balloons in hand, and ready to decorate. i’m sure the patrons inside the bar were eyeing me all funny…who’s this girl who came in with this party package in hand?! hehehe.

away i went, commencing all the details to add to the festive mood for the night. i was super excited and on track. then, in came our first guests of the night and away we goooo!

[the beginning of the end]

[menu + favors]

[the delicious meal]

[party favors]

[tassels + 4-0 balloons]

[laughter]

[kt + me]

[buttons celebrating hc]

[matt, johann, + travis]

[ken + pete]

[thuy, lan, + kim]

[sistas]

[kt + kar]

[posse // dan, pete, kim, + terry]

[wild things // o, dana, kt, matt, johann, + kar]

[don’t make faces you don’t want me to post! ha! heart you O}

[thuy, lan, leyla, + charlie]

[beautiful people // chaz, courtney, janice, + johnny]

[this was the riot table // ruth, dave, ken, pete, carrie, jody, + lisa]

[pabst beer cake!!!]

[happy birthday hc!]

[everyone loved the fondant beer can!]

[enjoying our beer]

[hc + kt comparing their height! yes, kt is a tall skinny lady!]

[token]

[getting creative]

[what’s left of the big 4-0]

there you have it! although the pictures definitely don’t encompass all the joy, laughter, silliness, deliciousness, happiness, fun, energy, and love that we experienced tonight!!! it was the best time ever with friends + family, and hubby charming was as happy as a kid in a candy store. he was so ecstatic!

thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate hc’s birthday!!!! we are all so very thankful for each and every single one of you!

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Tag Archives: birthday party

homemade cake

kt’s partay

b’s beurffday!

dearest dana

charlie’s 40th partee

sparkler lit tiramisu

birthday galore

big 4-0!!!!