ellie’s 4th birthday ice cream party

Posted on July 11, 2020 by tandem in love

months of scheming with it finally leading up to her fourth birthday party!

i am always stressed before a birthday party because i just take on too much! LOL it’s all me! i had gathered so much decor during our shelter in place and it got out of control! hahaha!

every day i did some sort of project or errand, leading up to her party on saturday. but can you believe i literally spent all day saturday s t i l l putting her party decor together??! cray. down to the very last minute. gah!

i loved her ice cream theme and had so much fun with it! i created the balloon garlands, chalk board sign, bought chalk ice cream cones, and a ton of supplies to decorate the tables with. of course, my talented sister did the florals for me. she does for every party i throw and i am utterly grateful that she is always willing! i always say, it’s not complete without flowers!!! as you will see in all the pictures below, i tried my best to capture all the details!

we had a family party first. for two hours, we had our immediate family inside, celebrating ellie. we did apps and served delicious food from cedar grill {a local restaurant}. while everyone was still eating, the good humor dave ice cream truck came by!

we weren’t sure if it was going to rain later in the day, so hc set up a tent – just in case. he also filled our baby bath tub with ice and drinks for our other guests coming by. we had invited olive and ellie’s school friends and our neighbors to swing by and grab an ice cream bar!

so that turned out a little crazy! our family partied inside and our friends partied outside and we were running back and forth to make sure everything was ok. LOL we wanted to keep our family separate and inside, while our friends socialized outside to keep contact to a minimum. it was hard to manage it all but truly, it was ok. although i felt that i was running around like crazy, it all turned out to be super fun. especially for the kids! they had a blast running around and playing!

once our friends left, we sang happy birthday to miss ellie and served the delicious fun cake! ellie was smitten and so cute in her reaction when we sang to her! so adorable!

thanks to everyone {family, friends, neighbors} who came by to say happy birthday to miss ellie. it turned out to be a beautiful day! ellie was super happy over everything and having all the people she loves here to celebrate her, made it all that much more special.

[the birthday girl]

[she’s so sweet]

[bar area]

[the sweetest sisters]

[dessert table]

[gorgeous ice cream cake by strictly sugar]

[sugar cookies by claire’s cookies]

[favor bags]

[ice cream tablescape]

[i can’t get enough pictures of this cake]

[gorgeous blooms by my sister kim]

[party hats]

[ice cream and macaron chalks]

[party decor]

[floral arrangements by my sister kim]

[hand painted party favor bags]

[i can never have too many angles of this]

[the always silly dan and agata]

[the girls with auntie missy]

[chalk mouse]

[love them]

[kisses]

[gorgeous balloons by paris312]

[such a beautiful garland]

[with gramma]

[avery and lan]

[my silly girls]

[barbara and lynne]

[drink tub]

[ice cream truck party]

[ellie and alex – he gave her a bouquet of flowers! how sweet!]

[little finn and her sweet ice cream dress]

[elly and dekker]

[waiting patiently for the piñata to get hung]

[first strike]

[spencer did the first break!]

[the sweetest friends]

[ready for cake!]

[she’s so sweet]

[happy birthday to you!]

[she gets the melting ice cream cone!]

[DIY cookie kits for the girls! they had so much fun decorating the cookies on their own!]

xoxo

every day’s a sundae

Posted on June 18, 2020 by tandem in love

our casual ice cream outing turned into a mad mess. LOL

i thought, oh – we should head out to every day’s a sundae! it’s so warm out and an ice cream treat would be perfect! hahahaha!

because of the limited number of people allowed inside the shop, we waited outside for a bit. so there we were, waiting in line…tick tock tick tock. it really did seem like a long time! then we read that only three people were allowed inside at a time. there was four of us, so i relented. i wasn’t feeling it for some reason…and i was the one who wanted to get ice cream! LOL really, it’s for the girls…it’s always for the girls.

anyhoo, it made sense for hc to go inside with the girls and let them pick something fun and yummy. after a few minutes, out they came with their cool treats! we decided to walk across the tracks to the fountain so the girls could enjoy that while eating their ice cream.

right as we got to the train crosswalk, a freight train came roaring by! it was so fun to watch and feel the energy and power of it whizzing by. the girls thought it was so cool!

we finally made it to the other side and that’s when all the ice cream craziness broke out. hc’s ice cream was spilling over the edge of his cup like it was running water. it dripped everywhere! out. of. control. i kept yelling ‘unprofessional’! i said to him, the first thing you do with a full ice cream cup is to scrape the lip of the cup and get all the ice cream that could melt over. he kept telling me he did. shyeah.

then ellie started dripping her ice cream everywhere! oh em gee. so i took over and was feeding her the ice cream. while i was scooping ice cream up for ellie. olive was like, ‘uh oh’. i turned around and she has tried to place her cup full of blue ice cream on the ledge but ended up putting half of it on the edge and it flipped over onto her dress and all down her leg and shoe. gahhhhhhh!

what. a. disaster. hc and i had to laugh. a scenic thought of getting ice cream on a warm summer day turned into a war with melting ice cream. haha! well, regardless, they finished their ice cream, we wiped our hands down, and proceeded to walk around downtown and soak in the gorgeous weather.

indeed it was a beautiful evening.

[she’s so silly!]

[enjoying some ice cream with dada]

xoxo

ice cream man

Posted on August 7, 2017 by tandem in love

a favorite childhood memory of mine was the ice cream truck man. i remember living in a neighborhood of town homes, growing up, and there were so many kids that lived within the neighborhood. the ice cream truck frequented our ‘hood and it was always something i looked forward to. the sound of the jingle playing so loud, echoing throughout the streets got me running! all the kids would gather around the truck and pick out their favorite flavors and those moments were some of the most perfect summer nights as a kid!

one day while i was pulling olive and ellie in the wagon, i heard the familiar music! i got so excited! i laugh at this because i was definitely so much more excited than olive, she actually had no clue what was going on. she was probably thinking, “mom, don’t talk to strangers. let alone, you’re buying something edible from a man you don’t know”. hahaha!

she was so scared of the man, that she wouldn’t get out of the wagon to pick out an ice cream cone! so, this mama pointed at pictures and she went in for the kill {the first familiar character she saw}…sponge bob. ok, sponge bob it is! she was still a bit groggy from her nap, so i will blame her lethargic behaviors on that! ha!

anyhoo, we sat outside on the front porch while olive cautiously licked her sponge bob ice cream as it feverishly melted in the heat. olive was super pleased with her choice of dessert and i was super happy that the stars were aligned with us being able to catch the ice cream man on our block on this lovely afternoon.

oh, summer…you give us great memories.

[isn’t this ice cream truck just the cutest?!]

[bye bye ice cream truck!]

[she was so excited!]

[yummmmm]

[i love this girl!]

xoxo

sun, brunch, and ice cream

Posted on June 9, 2015 by tandem in love

i was hoping to see my friend andrea again, while she is on her maternity leave, and we were able to make it happen. i’m so glad we did because this lady {who is a traveling fool} was jetting out {again} and wasn’t going to be home for the rest of her leave!

olive and i started the day with her wellness check up. it’s so cute, just so cute. everything about her. i love her. she is the most precious thing on earth. my heart just melts looking at her. she gets so scared by strangers and clings to me…and i just melt over her cuteness. i love being her momma and i love protecting her.

she did just fine this time…every visit gets better and better as she becomes more aware, wiser, and knowledgeable. she got the thumbs up from her wonderful doctor and we went on our merry way to andrea’s house.

[my sweet baby girl]

[my heart melts for her]

it was such a beautiful, perfect day. i was super excited to hang out with andrea and annabelle. after we arrived at andrea’s, we set out to walk the neighborhood and find a place to eat. i love wicker park…it’s such an eclectic, artsy area.

we decided to eat at milk and honey on division. we nabbed a seat outside and enjoyed our delicious meal. the avocado and smoked gouda sandwich was ah-maze. after we finished eating, olive wanted to be out of her highchair, so i let her roam around the table. she is always so good about staying close, it amazes me that she does that {so far…}.

after brunch, we did some more walking. we headed towards the actual wicker park to hang out. as we cruised there on this beautiful sunny day, i soaked in all the city goodness. i love the craziness, the people, the scenery, the energy of it.

[olive checking out miss annabelle]

[the beautiful baby girl]

[mmmmm….juice]

[such a sassy lady, ootd: shirt by shop childish, shoes by target]

[no selfie shtick]

[this avocado and smoke gouda sandwich was deeeeeeelicious]

[her interest in annabelle peaked and waned]

when we arrived at the park, we found a spot where i could nurse olive. i figured she would be so distracted that she wouldn’t nurse that long and i was right. she ate for a bit but then she wanted to explore her unfamiliar surroundings.

as we walked towards the playground, olive was tagging behind us {and the park was not crowded}. she was, maybe, 15-20 feet away from me {with my eyes on her the entire time, constantly calling for her} when this women on a bench yelled out “she’s too far away from you!”. ummmmm, ‘scuse me?!!! i proceeded to yell back at the women. she said it again and i said, “too far away?! too far away for you. i’m her mom and you have no right to tell me what to do or how to watch my child! how ’bout you MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS?!!!!”. well, i was seeing red and i’m sure what i said came out something like that! as i retorted to this nosey women, another passerby chuckled at our exchange of words. by that time, olive was standing by my side and we moseyed along to the park without a flinch. hahahaha.

[she looooooves the swing]

[and the slide]

[and the tunnel]

[and the stairs]

as we were leaving the park, andrea suggested that we stop for ice cream. yay! hooray for ice cream! duh…i can never say no to ice cream! they had just opened up a jeni’s on milwaukee, so it was the perfect pit stop. olive was too stinkin’ cute drinking her root beer float. i ordered myself some sorbets and we were happy campers noshing on our afternoon treats.

[at jeni’s splendid ice creams]

[intense root beer float drinking]

after delicious brunch, a play in the park, and a sweet stop for ice cream, i’d say it was the most perfect, sunny afternoon! i had such a great time with andrea and annabelle. it was so gorgeous out {great weather is the best!} and we had the most wonderful time walking around. we love you andrea and annabelle! muwah!

xoxo

jenis

Posted on October 27, 2013 by tandem in love

it was that time of year to get our eyes checked. i’ve been going to custom eyes since it has opened…10 years ago! located in the heart of wrigleyville, on southport avenue. i use to live down the street from them for five years, after getting my eyes checked by them year after year, i couldn’t find another place! they are so accommodating, honest, professional, nice, and sincere. they house an amazing showcase of eyewear and sunglasses that are unique, fashionable, and chic.

so, we trekked our way to the old ‘hood. it was a beautiful day out. after our appointments, we chit chatted a bit with the receptionists and order our contacts. one of the girls at the desk mentioned the new ice cream store down the street. i had walked by it a few weeks ago but didn’t get a chance to stop in. she told us that there was a really long line at the shop! i thought “really?!”…of course now i was intrigued.

we walked out and decided to shop around. we hit a few stores nearby and i had decided that i needed to try the ice cream shop as well!!! so, we walked down the street…there was a line but not as obnoxious as before. we waited patiently, as we were given the glorious time to debate on the flavors, accruements, and accents of choice!

[jenis]

[selfie]

[ice cream sammies]

i settled on the pistachio and honey with the buckeye, accented with the house made whipped cream and salty graham! it was so good! a perfect combo of sweet and salty! definitely worth the wait! we gleefully got our ice cream and sat outside, on this gorgeous day, and devoured our little treats!

so worth the wait and we will for sure be back! it was so decadent and divine! a must eat!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: ice cream

ellie’s 4th birthday ice cream party

every day’s a sundae

ice cream man

sun, brunch, and ice cream

jenis