hc’s birthday!

Posted on April 22, 2016 by tandem in love

happy birthday to the best husband everrrrrrrrrrr!

we had a very low key celebration on his actual birthday but we had a very chill weekend as well. hc requested it so i obliged. we just ordered in and relaxed. of course i decorated and got him the cuuuuutest cake ever!

the night before his birthday, i had snuck home balloons and left them out in the garage. i know he falls asleep so early every single night so i took advantage of that and decorated the kitchen with banners and balloons so he would wake up to a festive, fun kitchen in honor of his day! i wrote him a card and had made him a cutesy crown because he is king on this day!

when hc came home from work…his choice of food was pizza! so, we ordered in and just sat around enjoying each other’s company. olive was very pleased at the idea of pizza! she was so hungry that when the pizza man came and delivered our meal, she ran around screaming, “pizza! mmmmm, pizza!” hahahaha. she’s become such a funny gal! we loooooove her so much.

after dinner, we lit a birthday candle and sang happy birthday to hc. although, olive thought we were singing happy birthday to her! ha! we tried to get her to blow out the candle with hc but she wanted nothing to do with it. of course, after hc blew out the candle and i was about to throw it away, she yelled that she wanted to blow out the candle. so i relit it and she did an excellent job blowing it out on her own! that’s olive for you…she will tell you one thing and then change her mind in two seconds or it’s just a toddler thing. eep!

anyhoo, we had such a wonderful time celebrating hc’s birthday! it was filled with love and laughter, just the way it should be.

happy birthday to the best husband, father, and man in this entire world. you are the kindest, most loving, caring, sweet, and giving man. life is truly complete with you in my world.

[very true]

[best babe]

[cupcake cake indeed]

[going in for the kiss]

[she didn’t want to blow out the candle, but as soon as i said that dada could, she was like yeah! and pushed him towards it! ha!]

xoxo

a lovely day together

Posted on February 9, 2016 by tandem in love

i had a couple appointments in the city and hc took a half day so he could come with us! i love it when he’s able to do that!

i was excited to spend the day together and not have to do everything by myself or really, myself and olive. it’s always so nice to have hc around to help and be by our side. besides the fact that we just love him and love having him around!

we strolled into the office and olive absolutely loves the fish tank inside there. she is totally glued to it every time we come by for a visit. she loves to say, “look, fish!” over and over again, it’s just the cutest thing. this time, hc and olive waited out in the waiting room while i went in for a quick check up with my doctor. of course i did the dreaded weigh in {blah}, which is a bit stressful every time! we listened to the baby’s heart beat – yay! strong and healthy! we talked a bit about any issues and ta da! i was dunzo. quick and easy.

[heading to the doctors!]

[she loves the fish tank at the office]

after my check up, we made a pit stop at our favorite place to eat, southport grocery. oh how i love eating there! i sent my dear friend dana a pic text to tell her that we miss her. before dana switched to a nine to five job, we used to hang out there allllll the time. so it was fitting to send her an i miss you text.

[hanging with my babe]

[olive deciding what she wanted to eat]

[she’s so silly]

[taking selfies and yes, she’s swinging a knife]

[love her so much]

of course we had a yummy experience at the restaurant. i always enjoy my food and service there. it was a quick lunch because we had to mosey on our way over to olive’s appointment. she had her two year wellness check up down the street.

we got there early and waited out in the waiting room for a bit. olive was completely amused by their mini table and chairs. she had to sit and try out every single chair that was there like goldy locks. too cute!

we were called in and the nurse, as always, asked me to strip olive down to her diapy. i was completely amazed at olive’s calmness and willingness to cooperate. she let me take everything off, then the cutest thing happened…she asked me to put her headband back on! oh, she is usually ripping those things off, so i was in love with the fact that she wanted to wear it!

the nurse asked us to bring olive out into the hallway to get measured, weighed, etc. i was amused, now that olive is two, she gets weighed in and measured like a big girl! i said, “oh! no more baby stuff for you! it’s all big girl stuff now!”. olive was so delightful. she cooperated and was kind of entertained by it all! she happily stepped onto the scale to get weighed, she stood there like a champ to get measured, and didn’t mind one bit when the nurse stuck the metal rod under her arm to check her temperature. i was so proud of her! she even stood very still when the nurse measured her head.

the reason why i am so happy she was so cooperative was the fact that all the visits, all the way up to her eighteen month appointment, olive has been a nut! she would scream, cry, everything, when the nurse or doctor tried to do anything with her. this time around, she was just humming along and i was so excited to see the changes in her attitude and mood. she’s becoming such a big girl!

we got the ok from the doc, olive received one shot, and overall, i would say it was an awesome visit! although olive would disagree with the shot part. eep!

[at her wellness check up]

[poutastic]

[cutest little bunny ever]

it was such a lovely afternoon with my favorites. a wonderful time in the city, great news from all ends, and eating at one of our favorite places. i would definitely call that a successful afternoon date!

xoxo

january snapshots

Posted on February 5, 2016 by tandem in love

helloooooo february! oh my. january was a tough month for me. well, december was a very tough month for me. january was a bit better, concerning fatigue, time, and sleep but overall, it was a long two months of a lot of things. obvs, i didn’t do a december snapshot {or a november}, i couldn’t keep up with my blog posts, i was just too plain sick and tired to maintain everything, although i did my best, attempted, and tried. i think to an outsider, one might think i still did a lot but personally, i slacked on a lot of things.

i am so glad the first twelve weeks of pregnancy is behind me and i have had positive feedback on the growth of our baby {grow baby grow!}. man o man, did the first trimester of pregnancy during the holidays kick my ass! january was still a little rough because the sickness didn’t dissipate right away {which sucked} but i felt so much better and much more energetic.

january was very low key and very relaxing. we didn’t do much, i didn’t do much, and i was aaaaaaaa ok about it! i wanted to slow down a bit, not post as much, blog as much, and go out as much. i craved sleep {and still didn’t get much of it} and most of the time, i wanted to go home and put my pj’s on. how exciting, right?! anyhoo, here is a gathering of january photos. enjoy!

[happy new year! yay 2016]

[the moment she was done taking pictures]

[her new thing, watching her cartoons on my computer in our bed]

[celebrating this wonderful lady]

[my favorite time of the day…morning snuggles]

[stuffed animal heaven]

[having lunch with uncle huy]

[love these two]

[her favvvvvvorite thing to do at target]

[chillin at the grandparent’s house]

[with my better half]

[celebrating this lady’s baby girl]

[interesting way to eat a hot dog in a bun]

[love my silly girl]

[being super silly, she loves selfies]

[cutest pic everrrrrr]

[watching dada take down christmas lights outside]

[happy birthday thuy!]

[cheer to finding out the gender of the baby!]

there ya go lovies. what a wonderful past month. such great memories, such great times. cheers to a fabulous february!

xoxo

kira and eric’s wedding

Posted on October 26, 2015 by tandem in love

i was super excited to attend kira and eric’s wedding! it had been a long time waiting and we were ready to party!

we arrived just in time for the ceremony. it was a bit blustery and a cold day. as hc and i were walking in, i couldn’t wait to get inside because i was cold, the wind was killing my hair, and the setting sun was shining directly in my eyes! as we walked inside, we crept around only to find out the ceremony was outside!!!! eep. so there goes my hair, my warmth, and the sun continued to shine in my eyes! hahaha!

i was shaking in my coat, i couldn’t imagine how the bridesmaids and flower girls felt in their strapless/tank dresses! the whole area outside was beautiful. the white chairs, lined with tulle and flowers were pretty. the aisle had a white runner with flower petals strewn all down the runway. the pergola was lovely with flowers hung from it. the greenery in the background was so pretty and a perfect backdrop to their nuptials.

[the welcome table]

[here comes the bride]

[the giving of the bride]

[wedding party]

[kiss the bride]

[yay! married!]

after the ceremony, we hurried inside to warm up. we made our way into the reception area and checked out all the fun details of the wedding. my favorite part. people always think that the details of a wedding aren’t important because people don’t care or pay attention…not moi! it’s my most favorite part! i love how the couple incorporates their likes, their lives, their loved ones into the reception. i love weddings for the fact that it can be so unique, personal, and special to the bride, groom, and family!

[welcome table and seating cards]

[card table]

[me and mutts]

[wedding table centerpieces]

[me and the hubs]

[wedding cake]

[my girls]

[maid of honor and best man]

[i know, this pic is terrible! but hey, i got something!]

[cutting the cake!]

[wedding selfie, gotta have one every time]

[red velvet]

after dinner, dancing ensued. we got down and boogied! i had so much fun with my girls and we had so much fun on the dance floor! as soon as the music started, we partied it up out there. we didn’t care if we were the only ones dancing, we loved that we would start it up for the other guests, and we loved jamming out to some good songs out there.

[sweet first dance]

[with the beautiful bride and groom]

[there goes the bouquet!]

[oh no he didn’t! eric totally stripper danced for kira! hahaha!]

i love weddings. they are so much fun! we had such a great time at their wedding. it was great to know {almost} everyone’s significant others and have such a grand ol’ time together! we totally had a blast eating, drinking, and dancing it up!

kira and eric, we wish you both nothing but the best in life. we hope that your marriage is filled with joy, laughter, love, goofiness {per kira}, and endless respect of your differences to guide you down the road of a long, lasting happy marriage.

xoxo

railroad date

Posted on September 21, 2015 by tandem in love

hc took the morning off and we decided to go on a date at the train station. the all aboard diner that is! we were a bit turned around on where it was, only because gps took us somewhere it wasn’t! we were a mile away from the actual restaurant and it ended up being closer to home than what we thought! damn you gps.

anyhoozle, the restaurant looked eerily quiet. we pulled up and realized it wasn’t open until 11, so we decided to traipse around the toy store next door. eleven finally neared it’s head and we proceeded to walk our way to the restaurant. it was already bustling!

immediately olive knew where she was. she beelined for this little horsey ride and jumped on! boy oh boy was it a challenged once we got inside. olive’s head grew little horns and she instantly became fussy and difficult. she wanted to play, she didn’t want to eat when our food came, and she was huffing and puffing all over her chair. now here’s me…uh huh. nope. not gonna fly little missy. so i asked her to eat. she said no. i said if she doesn’t eat, we were leaving. she said no. i grabbed the little babes and promptly walked her outside. she cried and cried. we sat outside where there were tables and chairs and she screamed for dada. “where’s dada? where’s dada?”. she knocked on the glass window and cried for her dada.

i continued to negotiate. she continued to disagree. i finally got her to somewhat shake her head and we walked back inside. instantly she started screaming and pointed to the railroad tracks. she wanted to get down and play. nope. back up in my arms and outside we went again. she was crying and i told her if she ate her food, she could play all she wants but she needed to eat. finally, finally she agreed. hc came outside to ‘rescue’ her and she verbally said yes that she would eat her food.

she happily scarfed down her lunch {no fussing no complaints}, i was super happy with her, and i always keep my word. as soon as she finished her food, i told her she was good and gave her a smooch. she happily climbed down from her chair and ran towards the train set and was a happy camper!

[here we go!]

[hanging out at the toy store before we head to the restaurant]

[selfie time]

[we loved watching the train go round and round]

[olive chewing on some cheese curds]

[she’s finally eating her lunch]

[olive mesmerized by the train set]

now, it’s such a novel idea for kids, this restaurant but would i come here again anytime soon? maybe not. probably when she is just a wee bit older and understand a little bit better what this whole place is about. i know through her cute big brown eyes it’s just a big play house but eating her food is in order! or maybe olive will eat a meal before we bring her and we can enjoy our lunch while she happily plays…we’ll see. i am sure i will be blogging about it the next time we go {if ever!}. hahaha!

xoxo

anniversary fare

Posted on September 17, 2015 by tandem in love

it was our fourth anniversary and we wanted to do something fun and special. hc had made reservations for us at the girl and the goat. we were so excited! i have eaten there before but it was a long time ago and could not wait to go again.

as we drove in closer to the where the restaurant is located, halsted was bustling. it was packed and patrons were spilling out of all the establishments down the street. i love that about the city. it’s always so busy and interesting. hc valet’d the car and we traipsed inside the restaurant, ready to eat!

it was jam packed inside, people in the waiting area, people at the bar, and every seat taken inside the restaurant. we checked in and the hostess told us we had the best seat in the house. ooooohhhhh! how intriguing. they led us towards the kitchen and there was a lone table right on the kitchen counter! it was so cute. it was off to the side, we were not sitting next to anyone, and it was soooo cool to watch the cooks in the kitchen churn out delicious dish after delicious dish.

[our amazing table! we were secluded, right by the kitchen, and had the best view!]

[the very cool bar]

our server was gary. he was laid back, helpful, and fantastic at what he does. we were ready to indulge. we started off with tasty libations {cab for me and some sort of hard liquor for hc} and small bites. the bread and oysters were delicious. a perfect beginning to our meal. everything was soooo savory.

we ordered the cauliflower, beet salad, hamachi, scallops, and the crisp braised pork shank…all small bites that packed a flavorful punch. all the plates were so yummy! we were served one plate after another and our bellies started to get so full! a few glasses of wine later, we were giddy, happy, and having a blast.

i really enjoyed my evening out with my hubby charming. it was so fun to talk, spend this time together, and just catch up. every day life can be so monotonous and you tend to find yourselves talking about the same things over and over again. it’s always so refreshing to just talk, one on one, about fun stuff, ask questions we never ask, and discover something new about your partner.

[cheers to four years!]

[i really love the goat character everywhere]

[our table at the kitchen…the only table like that in the restaurant!]

[rye // zucchini tzatziki. pickled corn relish]

[food spam]

[soooooo good // bacon sprinkled oysters]

[not without a selfie]

[hamachi crudo // crisp pork belly. chili aioli. caperberries]

[these were sooooo good]

the night was too short but after three hours of eating and drinking {eep!}, we were ready to go! we sadly left the restaurant but we were very excited to come home to our wide awake daughter. we absolutely loved our time out but nothing is sweeter than coming home to your precious, smiling babe.

xoxo

happy 4th anniversary

Posted on September 10, 2015 by tandem in love

best day everrrrrrr!

so here we are…celebrating our fourth anniversary! wow, i can’t believe it’s been four years since we were married. here it goes, my broken record recollection to this day. i will say it over and over again, it was the.best.day.ever!!! i loooooooved our wedding day, our wedding weekend. it was so amazing.

hc and i had the best time celebrating with our friends and family. our rehearsal dinner, our wedding day, our day after brunch was so perfect. you dream of your wedding day and imagine what it will be but to live it and it was really a dream come true is phenomenal.

our day started out beautiful {despite the night before with a forecast of rain all day!}…the weather app is a bride to be’s best friend. i was a bit nervous because if it really was going to rain on our wedding day, that nixed soooooo many things. our pictures outside, our venue’s outdoor space, etc. rain can literally put a damper on anything! alas, it was a beautiful sunny day and the weatherman said sunshine and even temps all day long! woo hoo!

the whole day started out amazing. it led to one fabulous moment after another. all the work, all the planning, all the diy i did for the wedding fell into place and i couldn’t have been happier.

our marriage has been a lot of give and take. especially since olive has been born. being strong, understanding, respectful, loving, humorous, selfless, vulnerable are some of the elements of a successful marriage. do we succeed? sometimes. but that is where the commitment comes into play. i am committed to being there for him, to doing my damnedest to be a good partner, because sometimes i fail {but try try again}. i am committed to always putting us and our family first. i am committed to our marriage. you have to want to be married to be able to make it work. he’s my best friend and there is nothing better than that.

[laying eyes on my groom]

{all photos and 8mm film by kate headley}

happy four years of marriage to my amazing, wonderful, kind, loving, patient husband! i love you soooooo very much. i am blessed & grateful to have you as my partner. cheers to many, many, many more years of happiness!

xoxo

swim lessons

Posted on August 5, 2015 by tandem in love

olive had her first swim lessons with her dada! i, unfortunately, could not attend. boooooo. hc did his best to take some photos of their first experience but…they are so so and they will do. haha, i asked him to ask someone to snap a few photos of them but he didn’t. c’est la vie!

hc and olive got inside the pool and all was well. olive wasn’t too worried or fussy. she was entertaining the fact that she was in a pool with her dad but she wasn’t hip on the idea of other people around her in the pool. as usual, she was not a happy camper. stranger danger! she gets super clingy around people she doesn’t know and this little group of swimmers was making her a bit uncomfortable. she’s a trip!

they went through a series of activities and olive was upset. she didn’t want to be in anyone else’s arms. she didn’t want anyone to touch her and she definitely didn’t want to give the instructor any high fives! oh dear. thank goodness, being in daddy’s arms was pretty much the case until this happened…

there is a part of the class where the instructor takes your babe and pulls her across the pool – all hell broke loose. she shrieked bloody murder and flipped out! eeekkkkkk. oh olive.

overall, it was still a success despite her mini meltdowns. she was in the water. she did have fun and the next few lessons will be easier and better! i am hoping to catch one of her lessons soon and see my little babe in action! soon she will be a trained mermaid! i can’t wait for her to be a little swimmer!

[getting ready to get into the water]

[bear paddle swim school]

[goofy dada]

[done…still not happy]

xoxo

friday night lights

Posted on May 18, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a lovely, warm day…the weather called for some outdoor activities!

hc conjured up our evening’s activities, he always thinks of fun stuff to do! i love that about him. anyhoo, our town’s downtown area always hosts certain cars shows on specific days of the week/month. so, we packed up the jeep and headed out on a short car ride to check it out. our first one for the ‘summer!’ to do list!

this was olive’s first jeep car ride. i was a little nervous because it’s obvs an open space and it was a first for me with the babes! i didn’t want her tossing her toys or anything she liked in the air or else it would be gone and then what?!

[cruising around in the jeep]

within minutes, we were downtown and we easily parked the jeep and set out for our walk around. it must have been a gto themed night because there were a ton of cars from different years there. hc was in car heaven. if i recall correctly, ’65 is his favorite year and that car style was there that evening. ya had to wipe the drool from his chin.

we saw all sorts of fun cars and heard a lot of roaring engines. olive was most entertained by the loud engines. they were her favorite type of cars. she would excitedly point to them and her eyes were just glued onto the vehicle until it was out of sight!

after we circled the entire event, it was time to fill our bellies. there was a plethora of food establishments to choose from and hc really had his eye on the irish pub that we have been to before. i was game and to the restaurant we went. there was a little bit of a wait for both indoor and outdoor seating. we were up for either but just our luck, the first seating available was outside! it was soooo nice out and when it’s a warm evening like that, i love sitting outside {as long as the bugs are on the DL}.

[the little red wagon]

[rich was digging all the gto’s]

[hc was dying over this one]

[doesn’t she look like hc here?]

olive had definitely been miss independent of late. she likes to do things her way, on her terms, and don’t you get in her way! so, this evening, she was all about not sitting in her highchair. she wanted to wander around our table and peek at all the patrons. well, the table next to us had a dog with them, so that was olive’s number one priority. so, it was a bit understandable on why she didn’t want to be in her chair…she couldn’t see or play with the dog!

[selfie – don’t mind her chin…that was bad accident that i’d rather not get into]

[cheers! olive loves to cheers!]

[she only wanted to be outside her highchair…womp, womp]

[shepard’s pie]

we enjoyed our irish fare, drinks, and sitting alfresco for the evening. olive is part irish…that is why so loves to eat only potatoes. hehehe!!!!

after dinner, we headed on out and decided to take a little spin around the downtown area in the jeep. hc got some shot outs from strangers on his cool jeep and we got a hello and wave from our neighbor who lives down the street from us!

it was a perfect, quiet, low-key evening. we really enjoyed our little friday night lights outing!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on May 15, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to…2010.

here we are at a dear friend’s wedding {pam & ryan!}. it was a lovely, warm day in may…a perfect day to get married! we are just outside the church, after their ceremony, and we already cheered the bride and groom when they came out for a sneak peek.

i love weddings. is it a bad or good thing that we really don’t go to weddings anymore?? or does that mean we are just getting older {we are an old married couple with old married friends? or does that mean that we don’t really have any single friends? or whatever. i love ’em. although, we do have a couple of weddings coming up this year…yippee! we can’t wait to celebrate our friend’s upcoming nuptials.

i love this pic of me and the hubs. he is seriously the best husband ever. he is sweet, loving, caring, patient, kind, funny, helpful, thoughtful, did i say loving? he is so many wonderful things, there are not enough words to describe him! he balances me out, he calms me down, he brings me back to reality, he reminds me that we are in this to win it! i knew life before him but i now cannot imagine life without him.

marriage is wonderful, a lot of work, compromise, full of love, arguments, patience, laughter, repetition, balance, respect…it has it’s up’s and down’s and always turns around for the better as long as you have two people who are committed and positive, having similar dispositions helps too. we definitely have our moments, but what couple out there doesn’t?? in the end, we absolutely love each other and only want the best for us and our family. true happiness comes from the simple things in life!

ok…enough babbling. it is wedding season! i’m sure someone out there is heading to a wedding this weekend! enjoy and happy friday y’all!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: hubby charming

hc’s birthday!

a lovely day together

january snapshots

kira and eric’s wedding

railroad date

anniversary fare

happy 4th anniversary

swim lessons

friday night lights

flashback friday