girl and the goat

my friend andrea invited us to a private dining experience at girl and the goat in chicago. i was super excited to participate because 1 – date night! 2 – great food 3 – a night out in chicago while it’s warm! all great reasons to overeat, over drink, and laugh really hard.

traffic was light and we arrived 15 minutes early! hc and i were escorted downstairs to the underground goat but we weren’t the first ones though! lisa, nick, and kyle were already there. we were warmly welcomed and greeted with smiles. we all immediately kicked off great conversations while our server quickly served us delicious drinks.

slowly, everyone trickled in. many familiar faces and some new ones. i was fortunate to hang out with grace, stephanie, and lisa {andrea and ginger too!} a few weeks back {during our craft night out at papersource} and got the chance to know them a little bit better.

andrea claims she’s anti-social but i’d like to argue that. she’s such a great connector and gets along so well with others! i have met so many wonderful people through her and feel very blessed to call her my friend. she’s genuine, kind, thoughtful, smart, and will bend over backwards for you when you need it. she’s definitely a person you want in your life!

we mingled for quite awhile. i was having so much fun chatting with everyone…that itself was already an amazing start to a more amazing evening. after an hour or so, we finally settled into our assigned seats {thanks to andrea’s crafting abilities}. i sat next to hc and a new friend, jessica. her and i bonded over what we were doing differently to help the environment, how we were raising our kids, and social media! LOL yes…but that was not all we talked about!

as the dishes rolled out, everyone ate, talked, drank, on repeat. the food was delicious and i was wildly hungry! i ate almost everything but as the meat courses started to appear {the last dishes to arrive}, i was at my limit. it was all so savory and divine but i was dunzo.

near the end of our meal, stephanie izard stopped by to say hello! she chatted with andrea and jamie for a bit…she kindly joined in on multiple pics with the guests, thanked us, and wished us a great evening. it was so awesome to see her! a perfect ending to our evening!

hc and i enjoyed our time immensely. we thought our experience would be a bit different. i thought the servers would explain the courses a bit more, letting us know the make up of each dish and for some reason, we had the impression we would have suggested wine pairings with the food. no matter, it was a wonderful experience all around. i throughly enjoyed it all!

thank you andrea for concocting this whole event! it was a fantastic night out with an even better crowd.

{i did not bring my camera. *gasp* i wanted to not lug it around and just enjoy my evening with the hubs and friends! so. all of these pics are andrea’s!}

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[andrea and rebecca]

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[stephanie, andrea, and lisa]

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[grace and kyle]

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[nikki and andrea]

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[andrea and ginger]

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[andrea and jason]

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[andrea and jessica]

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[andrea and stephanie izard]

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[cute little favors we got to take home!]

xoxo

friends

my girlfriend from seattle came into town for the holidays with her family. we don’t get to see them often since they moved away, so it’s a wonderful event when they come here and we get to visit with them! we hosted them and two other close friends at our abode.

the evening was casual…it was the day before new year’s eve {we were hosting a party for our friends and family the next night}, so we wanted to keep it simple and fun. costco catered and we relaxed…ha!

everyone trickled in around 4pm and all we did was talk and the kids had fun. although, jaime’s babe, liam, was odd man out, being {almost} the only boy there!!! pam didn’t bring her two boys and travis is much older, so poor liam was on his own! plus, with us having two girls…we only had ‘girly’ toys and he was not interested!

ted and rich continued their bromance while us gals caught up on life. we served apps and threw dinner in the oven. hc was the responsible one for picking up the entrees at costco and we ended up having pasta, pasta, and more pasta!!! hahaha! no matter…they were all delicious choices and i am always game for some major carbs!

slowly throughout the evening, the ladies trickled out and carol and ted stuck around. before we knew it…i think it was almost 11pm!!!!!! oh, the past two weeks have been such laaaaaate nights for the girls. they have been going to bed sooooo late!

it’s always so good to see them, everyone! carol and i have been friends for 34 years!!!! cray, non?! this holiday season has been so special and moments like this make is just a little bit more extra.

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[pam, carol, and leighton]

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[pampers, carol, me, jaime, and leighton]

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[ohmergawd…i’m dyyyying. this is so cute!]

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[the peeps]

xoxo

hb bennett!

my sister kim and her husband, terry, coordinated a birthday dinner for bennett’s ninth birthday. bennett really wanted to do hibachi, so benihana’s it was!

we all met at the restaurant {we were running behind due to our – mine and kim’s – haircut appointment in the city…i barely made it home to get ready, finished decorating bennett’s present, and ran out the door, with the family, to the restaurant}, we were a little late. they wouldn’t seat everyone until we got there! phew…we were 15 minutes behind…so not too bad but not good.

once we were seated…the usual routine ensued. i ordered a lychee cocktail and decided on the seafood entrée. when the chefs came and started their entertainment…olive was mesmerized!!! she giggled and squealed and looooooooved every second of it! she was sooo darn cute! i couldn’t take my eyes off of her! it was so cute to watch!

we then sang happy birthday to bennett, the kids were running around, and we all just relaxed and mingled. it was super nice we had side by side tables in the corner of the restaurant. it’s secluded and perfect when you have a large crowd and rowdy kids!

dinner was delicious and we were having such a great time! once everything wrapped up, we all decided to head on over to everyday’s a sundae for some ice cream. it was a perfect night for that. the temp was perfect and everyone really enjoyed themselves. we hung out, the kids played, and we ate yummy ice cream!

it was such a perfect evening together. we had a wonderful time celebrating bennett’s birthday and created beautiful summer memories together!

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[waiting to get my hair done…it was a mess that day!]

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[waiting nook]

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[got my hair did and checking out]

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[dad and mom]

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[the birthday boy with his brother]

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[adoringly looking at bennett]

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[cheers! lychee cocktail]

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[where’ ellie?]

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[kim, ellie, and terry]

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[barbara and lynne]

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[birthday boy, make a wish]

via tandeminlove.comvia tandeminlove.com[be prepared for a series of this]

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[peeking at mama]

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[she’s so sweet]

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[goofballs]

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[yum yum! ellie loved the ice cream]

xoxo

grace’s birthday

we celebrated grace’s birthday with a dinner night out with family.

as i wrote in the previous post…we had a really long day out and ended up going from my sister’s family work party and visiting my brother’s place to dinner afterwards. we were hoping to head home, give ellie a nap, and change our clothes for this birthday celebration for grace, but none of that happened!

c’est la vie! we left dan and agata’s place to head to the restaurant and arrived a little bit early but everyone was already there! we ran into grace and family in the parking lot and saw dick, jane, and wendy at the bar.

we were seated right away and socialized with one another as the server did her job taking drink orders, apps, etc. i ordered a delicious but very strong rosé drink. olive and anabel got along so well. ellie just clung to me or hc and we chitchatted amongst each other until the food came. i ordered the scallops and risotto and it was very good! i was pleasantly surprised. i have never eaten at this chain restaurant, season’s 52, {i’m not a fan of chain restaurants} but it was surprisingly good!

we celebrated grace, sang happy birthday to her, showered her with gifts and love, and we all had a wonderful evening together. it was such a great time with everyone, we never really get to go out, sit down, and really spend time with one another. i mean, we all see different parts of this group separately but it was nice to have us all together…not just shuffling kids back and forth or going from point a to point b!

happy birthday beautiful grace! you are growing into a strong, sweet, smart women! we love you!

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[rich and grace]

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[papa, gramma, and aunt wendy]

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[grace and edwin]

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[anabel and olive]

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[pilar and jay]

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[rosé lemonade]

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[grace and moi]

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[make a wish!]

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xoxo

a last minute soiree

hc, last minute, put together a petit party for his former colleagues.

he invited his friends jeri, max, and dave {and their spouses and kids} to our house for a saturday night dinner. i was throughly impressed by hc’s efforts. he killed it. he went grocery shopping, prepped all the food, set up extra tables, decorated the kitchen, got creative with the place settings, dressed olive, took care of the kids, and pretty much remembered all the details. very much like i would do! kudos hunny! that was pretty awesome!!!!

i came home and just made a guac dip. a very important job. hahaha!

jeri was first to arrive, then dave, then max {much later}. we served apps, drinks, and ran after our kids. oh, to be a parent. you can hardly finish your sentences or barely remember your train of thought. i was talking to jeri about how hard it is to balance it all. women are programmed different then men. we multitask the shiznit out of everything. we remember so much. we plan, we accomplish, we follow up, and we get it dooooooone {well, most women}. sometimes i’m exhausted by the thought of what i do check of my mental list!

what was so good was that most of the kids were older, so they played together. took care of themselves, and were independent. yes! ellie was still napping, so i had my hands free for a second and jeri had baby g, so it was a bit relaxed and less chaotic. jeri and i could visit with each other without too many distractions.

soon, hc fired up the grill and cooked up a storm. all of the food was delicious! burgers, brussels sprouts, tater tots, corn, and so much more. seriously, the hubs did such a good job hosting and coordinating this all!

the kids played, the adults hung out, and we called it an early evening because, yep…you guessed it, we all have kids and they need to go to bed! it was a great time, even though it was only several hours, it was good to catch up with everyone and share our stories. the kids were adorable and played so well together. thank you maggie for being such a good big ‘sis’! she was sooooo good with the girls and especially great with little miss ellie.

after dessert, everyone gathered up their belongings and went on their merry way. we were left with crumbs on the floor, toys everywhere, and great memories. it was so wonderful to have everyone over. we don’t get to do this very often with this group so it was very appreciated. plus, miss jeri and john are moving soon, so this was very needed!

thank you to hc for putting this together, instigated by jeri! it was a beautiful evening spent and hopefully, we can do this again soon.

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[dave, maggie, and dana]

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[hc set up a ‘bar’ area, or more like a glassware area for drinks]

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[john, jerry, and giuliana]

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via tandeminlove.com[ellie loves babies…although i feel like she’s still a baby! i can’t remember if guiliana is 9 or ten months old but ellie weighs one pound more than her!]

via tandeminlove.com[ellie kept putting her hand on her cheek]

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[he’s so sweet with his sister{s}]

via tandeminlove.com[i loooooove this sweet picture of them together]

via tandeminlove.com[gina, moi, and jeri]

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xoxo

reunite

we were looking forward to our visit from carol, ted, and family! it’s been awhile since we have seen them and we are in dire need to plan a trip out to them! whether it’s to seattle, whistler, or their new abode in breckinridge…we need to travel out to the pnw!

carol and i have been friends for ages. we used to live down the street from each other, 4 houses apart to be exact. we’ve been through thick and thin, our ups and downs, and continue to survive life’s craziness and remain friends. we were inseparable for years…years! we saw each other almost every day. her parent’s practically adopted me as the other daughter. i went to her house every day after school. ate dinner there almost every night. helped her dad with his campaigns. did bad things together. did good things together. we drove around like punks in her sh*tmobile. got drunk together. went shopping together. i was there for her when her uncle aaron passed. when her dogs passed. and one of the saddest moments in my life, i was there with her when her dad passed. literally. we sat in the hospital together, by mr. kagann’s side, when her dear dad took his last breath. he was like a second father to me.

with over 30 years of friendship, i could go on and on and on about the many crazy things we have done, been through, and stuff we should probably never talk about. hahaha! well, we grew up, got married, and had kids. we both have fabulous husbands and beautiful children. carol is blessed with three and me, with two wonderful girls.

her hubby ted is a gem. he is hilarious, {sickly} humorous, and kind. these two crack me up! i love hanging out with them. so, the stars aligned to where we could get a day with them while they were in town. let me tell you…when carol and ted come into town, they are booked every day.

the kids played together…well kenzie and olive played together while shelby moseyed off on her own and travis was deep into some sort of game on his iPad. us adults, drank, laughed, and ate ourselves silly until it was time for them to go home.

we were sad to see them go but we were so happy to have spent a wonderful evening with the whole gang! thanks for stopping carol and fam! we hope to see y’all soon!

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[bff’s for over 30 years]

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[the cutie couple]

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[sweet shelby]

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[playing together]

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[travis in his little world]

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[yummy dessert]

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[the sweet kiddos]

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{expand the screen for optimal viewing}

video by: hc

strobe lights by: kenzie

singing by: olive

xoxo

fun times

my mind, lately, has been extra mush. i blame kids, myself, life, doing too much, and old age {just to name a few things}. haha!

i was texting my friend matt the other week about something…of course i can’t remember what but at the end of our thread, i said, “oh, we should get together soon!” and he says, “we are…this coming weekend.” durrrrrhhhhhh. the one good thing i still remember to do is to, at least, put things like that into my phone calendar. because if i didn’t, pure chaos would ensue!!

well, matt and johann arrived and the fun began! i looooove these two. they are real, honest, and hilarious! we let the libations flow, the raw conversations come out, and the love between all of us is almost palpable.

olive completely warmed up to guncle matt and johann. they were her new besties! she loved to constantly showed them her toys, showed off, and wanted their attention. it was so sweet. hopefully not in an overbearing way because i don’t like it when a child constantly interrupts the conversation{s}…i believe sporadic or moderate breaks in dialog is the key to cuteness before it oversteps the boundary of annoying. and yes, i did say annoying. not by any fault of the child but we have to control the balance between adult conversions that we yearn to enjoy versus a kid taking over the show. ya know what i mean??

but really, she’s just too darn cute! that sweet little girl voice and that still slightly chubby cheek face just melts my heart. i mean, i could definitely talk, listen, and hear her all day but when we have our friends over, my babes need to understand it’s wine time. hahaha! but who am i kidding?! my mom job is 24/7, even with friends over.

anyhoo, we had a grand ol’ time with them. we laughed, we argued, we drank, we ate {an amazing meal cooked by hc – i’m so lucky he loves to experiment with different recipes!}, and we drank some more. i think between the boys {a little by me}, they polished off a couple bottles of wine and almost a whole bottle of whiskey. uh, yes…matt and hc were going toe to toe! although hc had the edge that he was at home with no where to go!

after many hours of hanging out, at last, johann and matt decided to head home. we had such an amazing time with them…as usual! we love them so much and always look forward to our nights {or brunch} with them!

thanks boys, for making it out to our ‘hood!

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[my sweet girl who’s growing up so fast…]

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[hc, matt, and johann]

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[my boys]

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[demolished apple pie]

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xoxo

CNO

let me start by saying it took us months for us to plan a get together for the ‘three’ of us. one weekend after another, we were busy, busy, busy! fiiiiiiinally, we were able to tie down a date and voila! we met up on the rainiest of rainy night there was!

we all met at dana and scott’s pad in ravenswood {we arrived exactly when irina and patrick arrived! we totally ran into them at the front of the building! talk about timing!}. we decided to start off with drinks there and then scoot on over to a restaurant in their ‘hood. scott and patrick drove over to the eatery {don’t ask} and hc, dana, irina, and i walked. we were so lucky to get a pocket of no rain during our trek because the rain that day was no joke!

we finally made it to our destination and grabbed a booth. it was a wee bit cozy with the six of us but no matter…i hate not hearing others around me in a conversation and we didn’t have to scream at each other. i’m definitely not a fan of environments like that.

we laughed, we talked, we ordered drinks, and ate lots of yummy food. i love these peeps. such a good, good group of human beings. everyone is so funny, witty, engaging, sweet, and thoughtful. there’s no place for a dull conversation around these folks!

during dinner, the rain ensued. the downpour from the sky was no joke. we watched in amazement as the water right next to the restaurant slowly raised up on the street and by the gutter. we wickedly laughed as people walked through it, completely taken off guard at how hight the ‘puddle’ was! it was so dark, rainy, and most pedestrians couldn’t see how deep and high the water was! one person after another would run/step through it, shocked that it was almost up to their knees! eep!

after dinner, irina and patrick said their goodbyes {they had parked right by the restaurant} and scott, dana, hc, and i walked back towards their place {and thankfully during a dry spell from the sky!}. we were being sooo silly! of course scott and rich stayed back and talked while dana and i walked ahead and gabbed. since dana and i were wearing rain boots, we were being super silly and decided to run through puddles! ha! we saw a big puddle ahead on the street we were crossing, we giddily held hands and ran across the street, laughing hysterically as we splashed through multiple puddles! oh em gee. we were having a blast!

we finally reached our car and said our goodbyes. it was a fun, fun evening spent with two fantastic couples! evenings like this always have a place in my heart!

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[me and my lady friends]

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xoxo

dinner date

ahhhhhh, the kid life. life has changed so much for me. before kids, i loved going out, loved being out in the scene, had alllllll the time in the world to do nothing, and slept allllllllll the time. brunch at 11 was too early for me on some days. hahaha! my how life is so different.

it’s now filled with drool stained clothes, ponytails because your kids will rip your hair out if it’s dangling within reach, tired zombie like state, no sleep, appointments, runny noses, snacks, no sleep, puke, late night feedings, cartoons, toys, no sleep, stepping on and cleaning up toys, crying, pee breaks, no sleep, lots of nursing, make believe interactive play time, and the list goes on and on. sounds so inviting and luxurious doesn’t it?! bahahahaha! my single friends are currently running away and calling me birth control. ha!

anyhoo, usually when my girlfriends ask me to go out, i love doing brunch. brunch works. it’s daytime, it’s early, and it’s easier to get the kids wrangled up and out the door. when they can’t make a brunch date…dinner gets tricky. it gets late, you don’t know how tired your kids will be, how well behaved they will be at a restaurant, and you also debate on whether or not you want to go out without them. i usually like to be with them…yes, i am that mommy. every second i can spend with my girls, i will take it. i feel like life is too short, time is too fast, and i don’t want to lose any moments with my babes. they will get bigger and not want to spend every waking moment with me and i will take advantage of it now! they are only babies for so long and i know i will miss those moments.

sooooooo, i invited my girlfriends over for dinner. bam! kill two birds with one stone…dinner at home {kids are around} but us gals can have a great time together and relax in a comfortable environment!

karen and kt came over and the fun began! i was nursing ellie when kt arrived. i then heard the sweetest thing come out of olive’s mouth…she said to kt, “want to see my room?” she wanted to show kt her bedroom and i just melted. i have never heard olive say that before! it was so sweet she wanted to share her space with kt! they played and had the best time in her room! it was the cutest thing to watch. i joined them minutes later and we had such a great time together.

we imbibed a few libations, karen made the most delicious appetizers! go chef karen! it was sooooooo yummy! we talked non stop and had a blast together! i had a great time hanging out with my girls and olive was sooooooo in love with them. i have to tell ya, karen and kt are so freakin’ good with olive. they love kids and they love interacting with her! hc changed her into pj’s and she told him she wanted to show her friends her funny faces. i love that she called them her friends! so cute!

after several hours of hanging out, it was time for the girls to go. we were a bit sad to say goodbye but that only leaves us looking forward to the next time we can hang out! thanks karen and kt for coming over! it was so much fun and i can’t wait to get some more girl time soon!

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[hi baby on the floor]

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[she was being so adorable…the first thing she wanted to show kt was her room!]

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[i swear olive was having a blast. hahaha!]

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[delicious apps by chef karen]

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xoxo

simple saturday night

we were excited to have olivia and aaron over for a simple saturday night dinner. we try to take turns to come into the city and they try to come out to the ‘burbs…since we are now suburbanites. {insert monkey emoji covering his eyes} so they wanted to come out to us this time!

we kept it very low key. we didn’t have olive this weekend because hc’s parents wanted her for a sleep over. so, we decided to throw some items onto the grill and buy some deli items to compliment it. voila! a simple, easy meal.

as usual, olivia and i secluded ourselves and just chitchatted the night away while aaron and hc hung out. as i have said in the past, olivia and i can talk, talk, talk the hours away. we always have endless amounts of topics to talk about. it’s seriously never ending! i love the comfort of our friendship and love that about us.

it was also the first time i really wanted to have a glass of wine. yup. hc poured us each a glass and i happily sipped on it. it was delicious! although, i only had maybe eight sips in total, it was perfect and yummy! for dinner, we decided to sit outside. it was a fantastic evening. not too cold or warm and very tranquil. we talked, ate, and then realized as we sat there, that the mosquitos were in full force! ugh! we gathered our dishes and headed inside.

we all hung out a bit longer and then olivia and aaron realized it was almost 10. omg. it’s like we are so old! we get tired so easily. what?!! yes, it’s true. so, they headed on out, back to the city and we retired onto the couch for the rest of the night! hahaha! such party animals!

it was a fantastic evening and we are so happy they were able to come out to visit with us! we always have such a great time with these two beautiful people!

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[my look now a days. very simple and plain. eek!]

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[you just can’t go wrong]

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[these two…]

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[my favorite…olivia knows me well]

xoxo