may your day be filled with love, laughter, and meaningful hugs. i love christmas because, 1. it’s jesus’ birthday 2. being able to spend time with family. it’s such joy to be with your family, enjoying life, eating delicious foods and cookies, and watching your little ones open up their presents. it seems like the world pauses for a day and we are able slow down and revel in the joy all around us.
hooray! jesus was born on this day! i remembered, as a kid, how magical it was to attend church, listen to the story of jesus’ birth, and celebrate it afterwards with friends and family at our church. such great memories. i love the moments created around the holidays. the feelings evoked, the love, the reasons behind why we celebrate christmas, and the joy you feel with everyone around you being so happy and loving. i hope olive looks back on her holidays, and it brings a smile onto her face like it did and still does for me.
merry christmas my lovies. i hope your day is filled with many fabulous moments, lots of love, cookies, hugs, kisses, and euphoria. happy day!
we made our annual trip downtown to field’s on state. yes, i still call it that. call me old school. it’s still comiskey park, sears tower, these landmarks will forever live with me in their original names. it’s not like i don’t like to lead change, think differently, or i am not open minded. it just irks me that some family or some company pays more money so they can have their name etched into these chicago landmarks. yes, sears was named after sears robuck and co {the largest retailer at the time} but there is history behind it all. not just the fact that someone dumped money towards the building and says, “ok, we are now naming it blah, blah, blah”. ok, ok. enough venting.
we started our day with lunch at the french market. i love going there. there are so many fun little shops and yummy eats. we walked around trying to figure out what we all wanted to eat. we purchased the kid’s meals first and let them eat while all the adults mulled around, trying to figure out our palette of the moment.
[working the runway]
[sooooooo many delish goodies]
[my favvvvvvvvvv]
[i snapped this pic because of the above lights but now i find it funny because the three girls in the picture look like me and my sisters in a less sophisticated way. thuy is to the left, kim in the middle, and that would be me…yes, with the colored hair]
[love these little rug rats]
i decided to go with a vietnamese favorite, banh mi. unfortunately, it was an ok meal. there just wasn’t the right kick to it. my favorite banh mi is from ba le up in argyle or really, my aunt vuong’s banh mi. my aunt’s sandwich is the most delicious, hands down.
we walked around, i bought the kids candy and purchased some hot, freshly made sugared donuts for everyone to eat. i love going there on the weekends too because it’s so quiet. the market’s busy time is monday through friday {since it’s down by the train station}. so, on saturday, it’s chill and crowd free and you can casually walk around without waiting in line at any booth.
[banh mi]
[mowing down a hot dog]
[being all cute while we wait for our freshly made donuts]
after our little lunch fun at the french market, we headed down to fields on state for some holiday fun. we typically head to the eighth floor to see the tree in the walnut room. we snap some pics, relax on the sofas, and just chill for a bit before we head downstairs to their ornament room. we love going there to nab a few ornaments for our tree.
before we actually did all that fun stuff, the kids wrote their letters to santa. it was so cute. reagan was so serious about it and olive intently wrote hers with beautiful doodle marks. after their letters were dropped off in the mailbox to the north pole, we headed on up for some christmas tree fun.
[she was loving the felix in a box]
[writing letters to santa]
[in deep thoughts]
[hanging out on the ‘clean’ carpet]
we perused the different trees and we were trying to figure out what ornaments we wanted to buy. hc found his ornament right away! it was a glass red fire engine truck. of course! it was a perfect ornament. i thought – hmph…he scored a cool ornament right away. i looked and looked but i was having a hard time finding an ornament that i really liked. i finally walked into a room that they had in the far back and found a whole bunch of ornaments that i loved! give me a dessert ornament any day and call me a sucker! i chose an ice cream cone ornament as my decor of choice!
after we hit the ornament room, we cruised downstairs to grab a drink and a bite to eat. oh my…there was a line for everything! everything! i went to starbucks and it was quick to order but it took over 15 minutes to get my drink! bananas! anyhoo, after our stint downstairs where the restaurants were, we all decided to call it a night. we all gathered our treasures for the day and headed home.
it was a lovely day {the temp was amazing…60 degrees!}. we had a great time spending the day in the city with our family. it was fun, yummy, and festive. i love going downtown and seeing all the pretty christmas decor and experiencing the hustle and bustle of the chicago. it’s all part of the cray holiday season!
we usually decorate around thanksgiving or right after but this year we were in slow motion, at least i was. i am usually the one that ignites everything and gets things going but this year, i was lethargic and slow. so, decorating our house got off to a late start and it took us three days to finally finish! holy moly!
as we do every year, we blasted christmas music, imbibed some beverages, and had a jolly good time decorating. since it was taking us forever to decorate, each day was filled with silly little obstacles! hc broke a bunch of stuff off the mantle one night, we didn’t have the right screws to hang the garland on the outside frame of the front door, and we struggled to find some of our decor from last year. ha! so bananas!
well slowly but surely, we got it done! it always feels great to see your abode deck out in holiday gear! the only part that makes me very sad is when we take it down. ok, ok, i won’t mention that again! anyhoozle, i love christmas and i love decorating and i love everything that goes with it! baking cookies, seeing the city all decked out, holiday parties, seeing santa, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, oh the list goes on and on!
olive had a great time decorating. it was so cute to watch her, she was amazed by the ornaments. it was hilarious to watch because she would put ornaments on the tree but then she would take them off and put them back into the box. haha! she did very well though. she is always such a great helper and loves to participate in everything. she’ll say, “i help! i help!”. i love it!
once we finished all the trimmings around the house, the tree was our final stop, we decorated it with all our fun ornaments, and olive helped put the star on top of the tree with her dada. it was sooooo cute! she knew what she had to do and she tried and tried to reach for the branch but she was just a few inches too short so hc helped her out and got that star situated and pretty! ta da! our christmas decorating was dunzo! woot woot!
[my favorite animal head vase]
[putting ornaments on the tree]
[topping off the tree]
[daddy helped]
[it’s a marshmallow world in the winter]
[i will say it until it’s done…please disregard our kitchen under remodel]
[handmade snow globes]
[our bay window]
it was definitely a team effort and now our house feels christmassy and pretty! i love the smell of fresh pine, scented candles, and the pretty glow of lights all around! olive was such a fantastic helper, i love how this will be her third christmas but the first one where she is so interactive and is able to really enjoy the whole process. it’s pretty awesome.
well, merry merry everyone! we hope your house is warm, cozy, festive, and fun like ours! happy day!
last year’s visit with santa was successful yet unsuccessful. it was fun and interactive but olive’s time with santa was terrifying for her. alas, this year was no different! eep!
we arrived a few minutes late to our scheduled appointment time but santa’s house was running behind anyways. it was quite chilly out, so it was nice that we could wait inside until it was our turn to go on our adventure to visit santa.
olive was not having it. since she’s turned two, she has been so anti-crowds, anti-strangers. there were two other families waiting inside with us and olive did not want to be in there with them. she screamed, she shrieked, she wanted to go outside and be away from everyone. she kept saying, “outside! outside!” and pointed at the door. hc insisted that we stay put. i was upset because olive was upset and we couldn’t console her. she was screaming at the top of her lungs and these poor strangers had to listen to it!
within a minute or so, it was our turn to go on the adventure with santa. well, olive’s mood inside the waiting room set the tone for the rest of the event. ugh. she was so frustrated and upset throughout most of the tour. it was stressful and i all i wanted was for olive to enjoy the fun trip to the north pole! she did enjoy the interactive screens and part of the sleigh ride to the north pole {although there were some parts with the dragon that scared her!}. when she saw the dragon on the screen, she started crying and buried her face in my side. awww, poor thing!
we finally arrived at the north pole and we were waiting our turn to see santa! the whole week and time leading up to her visit, i tried my best to prep olive on the idea of santa claus. she recognized him and would point him out, so i was hoping that when she saw him in person, it would be a familiar face that she would be looking at!
hahaha. nope. what was i thinking?! that was a far fetched hope of mine! we walked into the room and immediately, she freaked out. she started whimpering and frantically clung onto me. santa stood up and said we could sit in the chair to take a family photo together. oh em gee. the look on olive’s face is hilarious. she was like, “i still know there’s a strange man behind me in a red suit.”
santa was a trooper. after a few family pics together, he was ready to take on olive. the photos captured are hilarious. i didn’t post them all but these are the best ones! there were a few more screaming poses, where olive looks like she’s fighting for her life but i felt like the two down below were the most descriptive of her visit with santa!
after our visit to the north pole to see santa, we were magically transported back to oakbrook center! haha! after our adventure, we decided to check out the christkindl mart to see what it’s all about. we perused the cute little shops and purchased some potato pancakes to munch on. they were deeeeeelish! yum! olive was most piggish over them, she became upset when hc or i tried taking a bite. what a little piggy! she insisted on having the last bite and after she did, she said, “all done!”. yeah, no kidding olive, all done alright miss piggy! ha!
[she was very unsure of what was going on and shrek scared her!]
[ready for a sleigh ride to the north pole!]
[we loved all the interactive screens for the kiddos]
[immediately, she was like, “who is this man in the red suit?! i don’t like.”]
[classic]
[santa was sooo good with her! actually, he was quite funny.]
[christkindlmarket at oakbrook]
[sooooooo yummy!]
after we walked around the christkindl mart for a bit, we decided to head home and get cozy for the rest of the evening! it was fun {well, maybe olive didn’t think it was as fun} and we really enjoyed our little festive evening together visiting santa. ho ho ho!
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”
christmas morning was quiet and calm. it was me, hc, and olive doing our usual routine. we really wanted starbucks but the one closest to us was closed {sad face}, so dunkin’ donuts it was; hc got us yummy donuts and {okay} coffee. the coffee was alright. i’m such a starbucks fan and i was totally missing my americano this past christmas morning.
after breakfast {olive was napping}, hc and i just chilled on the couch. ahhhhh, some relaxation was in order. it was quite nice to have some quiet time and do nothing. we just waited and waited for miss olive to wake up and be on our merry way to aunt vicki and uncle steve’s house.
before going to their house, first we stopped off at missy’s house to exchange presents. it’s our christmas day routine. of course, it was mostly about miss olive. she had the most presents! natch.
[miss olive loving the cat]
[here kitty kitty]
[my cutie]
when we arrived at missy’s house, olive was totally smitten by the kitty cats! she was so delighted! she smiled and petted the cats, she was loving it. it was too cute to see. i love seeing her amazed by simple things and how sweet she can be when she’s so curious, intrigued, and happy.
[olive loving her new vacuum]
[my gift from dick and jane]
[quilted olive pillow!]
[she loves her the winnie the pooh wooden puzzle]
[papa opening his gift: a whole year of salami!]
[cousin daniel]
[aunt missy and olive]
after missy’s place, we finally arrived at aunt vicki and uncle steve’s house. the party was in full swing. we rushed in and greeted everyone. a lot of hugs and ‘merry christmas’ exchanged amongst everyone. we made our rounds of hello’s and settled in. we were only there for a little bit before dinner was ready. every year, vicki makes her famous stuffed shells…they are so rich and yummy. it’s like a heart attack on a plate but oh so good.
once dinner was served, we all hung out and socialized. it was great to see olive in action. she is always so scared, attentive, intense, and observant when she is in a place that is unfamiliar. she has to assess her situation and get comfortable before she decides if it’s a safe place. once she is sold that it’s not a scary place, she will start to explore. that is when she becomes herself and starts to enjoy her surroundings and people.
[chocolate martini]
[kaitin and lisa]
[chunker cheeks!]
[heart attack on a plate]
[lori, kait, lisa, and missy]
[jay and morgan]
[rich’s godson, jake]
[lori and moi]
[parents]
[kids]
[grandkids]
after a few hours of hanging out with the fam, olive was a bit spent and it was time to go. she was getting super tired and when that happens, she gets into these crying fits. that is when we know she is dunzo! so, we said our goodbyes and off we went.
ahhhh, it was christmas eve! i love christmas eve. it’s the most wonderful time of the year! every year, it’s at my parent’s house. we gather there for food, fun, and gifts!
hc and i got ready {while olive was napping away}. i was hemming and hawing over what i should wear. i wanted to be festive and fun but i couldn’t figure out what my ensemble should be. well, i got a little dorky and totally went all cheesy chritmasy with my outfit du nuit. red and green it was. it was a bit loud, bright, and crazy but i totally rocked it like nobody’s business {no comments please}.
olive’s outfit was a bit classier. she wore ralph lauren plaid. yup, the cutest little red dress with a plaid ribbon, sparkle tights, and a red flower pin. hello, she had to match her cousin’s outfits!
once we got there, we said our hello’s to everyone and i went downstairs to see if my sisters needed help with dinner {they were chugging along quite nicely}. in-between helping with dinner, we were visiting with everyone and clinking our drinking glasses on this very merry evening.
we did a lot of goofing around, taking photos at every chance, and just relaxed. a perfect evening to sit back, unwind, and slow down from this hectic, hectic holiday season. it was pretty cool to just chill with our family. i was so tired that i actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch. what?! i never do that, like never. just ask hc. but never say never ’cause i just did!
[red and green!]
[the boys]
[cheers!]
[i found this picture quite funny. mmmmmm, wine…]
[why, yes there is a tent in the middle of the room. and santa and rudolph were visiting olive]
[super auntie thuy and olive]
[tashina actually holding olive! or i mean, olive letting tashina hold her]
[sweet baby girl]
[silly faces]
after much waiting, dinner was finally ready! yum! kim always creates the most wonderful entrees. everything is always so flavorful and delicious. we had a wonderful seasoned beef tenderloin, buttery mashed potatoes, savory mushrooms, corn, brussel sprouts, and a crisp, fresh kale salad. it was all so tasty and good!
[christmas tablescape]
[dinner place cards]
[matching ralph lauren plaid outfits]
after dinner, our little elves changed into their pj’s. oh so cute. could this be any more adorbs?! we, of course, went photo crazy. after much admiration of them, we finally trekked upstairs to open up christmas gifts. it was so crazy and fun. of course, the kiddos went first. that’s the best part! olive, reagan, and bennett opened up all their gifts and ooh’d and ahh’d over all their goodies. the cutest part? olive learning to ooh and ahh herself! she would squeal every time we opened up a present…it was beyond precious to watch and hear her! i just about melted every time she did it.
[santa’s elves]
[this picture cracks me up! i laugh every time i look at it!]
[elf feet]
[gifts!]
[presents, presents, presents]
[my gift from hubby charming]
[prints from rifle paper co.]
[bose sound system]
[christmas booty]
[how many christmas presents can i wear?]
[pout]
[what a cool dude]
after the kids opened up their presents, all the adults opened up their secret santa gifts and had to guess who their secret santa was! score…i got mine right, it was tashina! ha! i’m so good. 😉 so, as usual, everyone tinkered with their christmas gifts and/or reveled in the kids excitement of new things.
thuy and i then brought up desserts and coffee for everyone to nibble on while we continued to play around with our new toys. oh what a night…it was a pretty awesome eve together. spending time with family is precious and it was definitely a christmas eve to remember! merry, merry indeed!
“who can add to christmas? the perfect motive is that God so loved the world.
the perfect gift is that He gave His only Son.
the only requirement is to believe in Him.
the reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”
[corrie ten boom]
happy birthday jesus, for this day you were born and we were given the best gift of all!
amidst all the gifts, lights, expectations, stress, materialistic items, money, and toys, we tend to forget that this day is about the birth of Christ, our savior! i do love the warmth of love the holiday brings, i love decking the halls, all the edible deliciousness that is gifted to us, the exchange of gifts to one another, the kindness that comes forth from everyone, and the overall holiday cheer that emanates from all around but i humble myself to remember that this day is about our Lord.
*sigh* my favorite time of the year has now come and is almost gone. i hope everyone has had the most wonderful time this holiday season. i definitely did. i am blessed with a beautiful family, friends, and i am loved. i couldn’t ask for anything greater.
it’s been a hell of a year! what a wild ride it has been. this holiday season has been a fantastic one so far and there are so many things i am thankful for. all the milestones, memories, and good times had gets me all excited for the year 2015!
may your christmas be merry and bright. may your days be filled with love, laughter, and joy. may the coming year be full of good health, peace, sparkles and shine, happiness, and great success!
“God bless us, every one!” said tiny tim {a christmas carol}
a few years ago, i created these little snow globes for our place and as gifts. i just love them! they are so easy to make and so cute to have around during the holidays. this year, from our move {chicago to the burbs}, a few of my snow globes were jarred from the bumpy move and needed some tlc. so i decided, why not share on how they are made? it’s so simple and fun!
what you will need:
ball jars {wide mouth or regular…whatever preference or size and height} i like a bit of a variety in sizes.
snow. you can buy it at any craft store. i bought frosty snow and iridescent snow to give it some bling.
i added in confetti gold stars to add some shine.
little pine trees. a package at the craft store comes in a variety of sizes.
a glue gun.
[i also used iridescent snow…it was camera shy]
first, undo the ball jar so you have the round, flat lid bottom side up. i put a generous amount of glue onto the bottom of the tree and firmly place it onto the lid. hold onto it for a few seconds to let it set.
i then take the snow {both types} and confetti, and mix it into the ball jar. you only need a little bit. maybe a inch or half an inch {depending on the size of your tree}. a little goes a long way.
some people add water to the jar, but i prefer not too. i then place the lid {with the tree} back onto the cap and screw it back onto the ball jar. flip it over and ta da! you have yourself a snow globe! easy peasy!
i love making these. i hope you have some fun making them too! like i said, they make great gifts or add just the right amount of festive, holiday decor fun to your house.
