apple pickin’

Posted on October 1, 2015 by tandem in love

yay! apple picking is our fall ritual. ok, so we have only done it a few years in a row but hey…it’s become one! it was a sunny, warm day. i had already planned our outfits, regardless of the temps, but i was kind of questioning my tenacity when we stepped outside. it was going to be a hot one! flannels and warm temps don’t really go hand in hand! eep!

well. no matter. we were committed and so we moved forward. we packed ourselves into the car for a quick ride on over to kuiper’s orchard. they had two separate areas for apple picking and pumpkins. i am so used to going to an apple orchard that has pumpkins, so i thought it was different that they were separate.

[ready to go apple picking!]

[my sanity in a cup]

[braids, buffalo, and boots]

[riding dirty]

[twinsies]

[“mom, look!”]

we met up with our family and explored just a bit. first thing on the agenda was eating! we were soooo hangry. hahaha! we traipsed inside to the restaurant. olive was a riot! she was such a hit everywhere she walked. especially coming into this eating establishment. she had her sunnies on and was walking around like a boss! hahaha! we ordered hot dogs and burgers and waited patiently our our food to be served. in the meantime, olive gulped down chocolate milk and got sassy with everyone.

[stomping around like she owns the place]

[drinking chocolate milk in style]

[family time]

[simple please. just mustard]

[nom nom nom, hot dog]

[selfie]

[she’s such a doll]

after noshing on our meals, we headed on over to the apple orchard to go picking! ugh, it was hot standing in the sun and the line was sooooooo long! no matter, we did it. it was finally our turn and when the john deere tractor pulled up, we were so relieved and excited. we packed ourselves in and off to the orchard we went! olive looooved the ‘hay’ ride, when we reached our destination she didn’t want to get off the cart. too cute.

we were greeted by a worker and given directions and advice. once that was done, we were off on our own. olive insisted on walking and anyone who has a toddler who insists on walking knows how slooooooooow they can move. oy vey. we were ten minutes behind everyone! we finally arrived at the ripe trees and started picking some golden delicious apples to take home.

olive did such a great job! she was a pro apple picker! daddy helped and she had a great time picking. it was too stinkin’ cute. i remember last year, she was 9.5 months old and all we did was carry her around. so, it was pretty cool to see her in action and picking apples herself!

[sunshine selfie]

[the sweetest pic. this makes my heart melt…the love for these two]

[twist and pull olive!]

[my precious babe]

[she did well! get it girl!]

[typical pic of the kids. baaahahaha!]

[olive and auntie kim]

[my sweet, darling, loving parents]

[really?!!!! she’s sooooooo cute!]

after apple picking, we perused the shop and purchased a few goodies. we never go home without some apple cider donuts!!!! yum! we bought apple bread, donuts, and brought home our tasty apples so we can bake some apple pie!

it was a wonderful successful day of apple picking. we had a great time with the family and can’t wait to do it again next year! woot!

xoxo

hb ma soeur!

Posted on September 3, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a saturday night and we had a great reason to celebrate: it was kim’s birthday! yay! we celebrated ma soeur’s day with a small, intimate dinner at capri, a restaurant in burr ridge.

it was a muggy, warm night {a bit rainy}. we all met up in the front of the restaurant and traipsed our way inside. holy cow. it was J A M M E D packed inside. the waiting area was quite small and there were way too many peeps waiting inside. we were elbow to elbow and i feel bad when there are tables right next to the waiting area…i feel like i am encroaching on their dinner and conversations, standing right next to them! and if it were me, i would be completely unsatisfied with a table like that. who wants to sit rightnext to the bar/waiting area??

anyhoo, they were completely behind. they didn’t seat us until about a half hour past our reservation time {which is annoying when you make reservations}. everything that ensued after that was just comic disbelief! they squeezed us into a corner of the restaurant. we were kind of packed in like sardines {and the floor was slippery…too much olive oil going around?!} and poor terry had to get up every time someone walked our way to use the water closet. like every.time. he was in a corner where it was really tight and the bathroom was behind him. ugh! unpleasant. then my brother, dan, asked us to scoot down to make room. what?! we were already in a tight situation but we found out that the roof was leaking! it was dripping on my poor husband! splat! splat! splat! right onto his menu, flicking water onto him like chinese water torture! bahahaha! really?!

slowly but surely, things started to get better {how could it not after that beginning?!}. we were served complimentary apps and finally got our bottles of wine…wine solves most things, right?!

[with the guest of honor!]

[helen and thuy]

[the ladies]

[the gents]

we were served our food and the conversation flowed. the best part about life…friends, family, food, and wine. i talked quite a bit with helen {kim’s good friend} and had the best time conversing about kids, life, people. she is such a sweet lady! her, her husband, and kids are such good people. very funny, down to earth, and lovely.

our funny of the night? well let me preface this story with the fact that terry and hc are great friends. super close buddies. thank goodness that worked out right? my sister marries a guy, i marry a guy and these guys become besties. we couldn’t have picked better partners for ourselves or them for each other. total bromance blooming from the start. anyhoo, what happens next totally speaks to this. our food was served and we all looked down and busted out laughing! hc had ordered balls and terry had ordered a sausage…perfectly paired together and absolutely fitting. hahahaha!

[rich’s balls and terry’s sausage…the bromance continues]

[mmmm, olives…we love olive]

[linguine carbonara]

[happy birthday!!!]

after eating, drinking, and stuffing ourselves silly…dessert was served! we sang happy birthday to our dear sister with a lit cannoli. no other way but the italian way! we all ordered coffee and other desserts to top off our evening. in the end, it was a great time. you just can’t go wrong when you hang out with good peeps. it’s always a recipe for a great time!

happy birthday kim! we love you to bits!

xoxo

b’s birthday

Posted on August 27, 2015 by tandem in love

the morning we came home from vegas, we went right into hosting a birthday party for my nephew bennett! yes, it was a very last minute decision…my sister wasn’t expecting to throw a party for him {we usually just gather together for a dinner out} but b asked and he received.

i needed to grab a few things for b’s party, so i headed out with olive while hc mowed the lawn. as soon as i arrived home, peeps were already over setting up the place for the party. we started prepping and decorating…it was so impromptu, so there wasn’t a ton to do…easy peasy!

i was dreading putting olive down because her cousins were already over and she always wants to play and not miss out on anything. it was very comical the way miss olive reacted when i told her it was nap time. she first stared me down. she literally paused what she was doing and did the stare down. then she slammed her fist onto the table and said no. then she put her head down onto her arm, onto the table and wept. “wah wah wah, hmph, nooooooooo” is what she kept saying. then, i picked her up to change her diaper and i kept saying bedtime, and she responded with an insistent, “i don’t want toooooo, i don’t want tooooooo”. oh, it was hilarious. i put her into her crib, she turned to her side and fell asleep. what an actress!!!!!

[b wanted a chicago cubs themed birthday party]

[thuy’s hand painted tank! how cool is this?!}

[gathering gifts for the birthday boy]

slowly all the guests trickled in. it was a very small, intimate party. just family. we all hung out, snacked on some goodies, chit chatted, and enjoyed each other’s company.

we grilled, we set up the ‘buffet’, ate a delicious meal inside {it was way hot and so much cooler in the house, so we set up a long table to dine on}, and we slowly trickled back out so the kids could play. we pulled out the little kiddie pool that jane had bought for olive and the kids went crazy over it. it’s always fun to play with water, non?!

of course, what is a party without a piñata?! and let me tell you about this piñata…it was a tough little sucker. the kids {without a blindfold} beat it and beat it and beat it and it would not break! it started to fall apart but it would not split in half or break open completely. we finally had to call it quits and the kids dove in for the candy. it was like the bionic piñata!

after the piñata, we sang happy birthday to b and served the yummy cake. i love cake. i love cake with whipped cream frosting. that is my favorite. buttercream is another. i love it to be sweet, light, and airy. i must say, cakes at mariano’s market are deeeeeeelish.

[our first guests: pete and lan]

[avery and kim, serving delicious apps]

[ready for the piñata]

[swing batter batter batter swing!]

[go reagan!]

[make a wish!]

[represen’ing! go cubs!]

[ready to open presents]

[sponge bob madness!]

at the very end of the day and waaaayyyy after the party ‘ended’. b opened up his gifts and was a super happy camper! he loved his presents and we loved seeing his happy face. it was a fantastic day. although hc and i were spent from our overnight travel, nothing feels better than having your family over and seeing your little nephew happy to have celebrated his birthday. it was a good one b! happy day to you, always.

xoxo

cousin ryan

Posted on July 18, 2015 by tandem in love

it’s been awhile since i have seen ryan. i was super happy when i found out that hc had finally made plans with him to come over…he hasn’t seen our new place!

while we were getting ready, hc walked out to the garage and didn’t come back. i assumed he was walking out to get something and would return within minutes but fifteen plus minutes rolled by. i was confused on what he was doing out there! the front door finally opened and in came hc and ryan! yay! big hugs for cousin ryan!

[can you tell they are cousins?]

it was so good to see him. he is such a great, sweet guy. we wanted a no fuss night, so we ordered pizza for dinner. of course, hc took him on a tour of the whole house, natch. after the tour, it had just stopped raining {oh my, the rain around here has been non-stop}, so hc and ryan took a drive in the jeep to pick up beer and the pizza.

[flirting with ryan. look at her face. curious, interested, and shy]

they came back and we got down to business. ryan was soooooo sweet with olive. like crazy attentive, doting, sweet to her. he was smitten with her from the start. olive, on the other hand, was not. she ran from him, she turned her face away, and would not look him the eye. i say it every time…it takes olive a good 45 minutes to warm up to anyone. once she does, she’s so fun and sweet to anyone but it definitely takes awhile!

ryan played with her. he talked to her. he tried playing peek a boo with her. it took her just a wee bit to finally crack a smile. ryan and olive sat at the dinner table first while we were getting things ready. olive completely turned her head away from him and stared at the wall. ryan was persistent. he joked around with her until she started giggling and from there on…she was smitten. ryan was her best friend!

[olive watching a movie and us folks hanging out]

after some good grub and great conversations, we decided to move the party on over to the living room. i cleaned up the kitchen, gave olive a bath, and we all chilled while olive watched her movie.

it was great hanging out with ryan. he’s is such a wonderful person and besides that, we are family! he actually stayed for quite a bit. the only reason why he decided to leave was because hc fell asleep on the couch. yes. it was past his bedtime. there is my hubby snoring on the couch while his cousin is visiting!

so, we said our goodbyes and ryan drove away. it was quite the lovely evening.

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: family

apple pickin’

hb ma soeur!

b’s birthday

cousin ryan