NYE ‘19

Posted on January 26, 2020 by tandem in love

well, gosh…at the rate i posted this nye post, it might as well be 2021! i legit forgot that i had this waiting in queue. LOL!!!!!!

per usual, we always do too much. between christmas eve and new year’s day, we hosted 4 events. yes, f o u r. as gwen said, ‘b a n a n a s’.

this new year’s eve was a bit more quiet as the 5 usual suspects that typically celebrate with us, did not celebrate with us this time around but we had two new comers!!! huy and tashina stayed in town and they were able to ring in the new year with us!! such a gift to have and we were so excited to celebrate with them!

we decided to do heavy apps and drinks…i am 100% ok with that, as i love grazing. my parents came over and they were legit like, “what?…there’s no real food?” LOL so we ordered chinese food for them to eat, in which everyone else ended up eating it too! hahaha!

kim made a burrata and buffalo chicken dip, we had flaky apps, onion dip, shrimp cocktail, charcuterie board, and a few other dishes i can’t remember! we ate to our belly’s content, imbibed delicious beverages, and fire placed our way to midnight. or more so, 11 o’clock as we always ring in the new year on new york city time! but this year, we celebrated at 11 pm and everyone ended up staying until midnight {helloooo, we have kids!} and we truly rung in the new year in accurate fashion!

there were streamers and confetti everywhere…as a good new year’s party should have! now, everyone did trickle out and hc and i started to clean up. yes, we are too type a…we love to wake up to a clean house and just chillllllllll.

the next day, hc let me sleep in as i was beat down from the holiday season {i ended up having walking pneumonia, bronchitis, and a sinus infection that was formulating the whole week after christmas and did a smack down on me on new year’s day…ugh!} he did an amazing job prepping everything for us…honestly, he doesn’t get enough credit. this man works so hard to make us happy and it fills my heart with joy. he did a little extra cleaning, he started a fire in the fireplace, he got both girls ready, fed, and set for the morning and letting me sleep in was the best gift of all!

he then prepped breakfast and we enjoyed the entire day in front of the fireplace while the girls occupied themselves with toys and make believe.

it was a perfect evening and day to start 2020 with. i am so blessed and i could not have asked for a better way or people to ring in the new year. may God bless us all!

[table centerpiece]

[a little sugar sprinkles for the champagne]

[disco balls, fresh garland, and noise makers]

[ellie and uncle huy]

[favors for the kids, popper, crackers, candy, glow sticks, and streamer!]

[tashina and me]

[photo booth]

[new years day breakfast]

xoxo

ballet recital

Posted on June 6, 2018 by tandem in love

olive had a winter ballet recital that was very informal. her spring recital was much more formal. full costume, make up, and a full line up on stage!

i don’t know why i was filled with anxiety. call it the typical mama nature. i was nervous about olive’s will to perform {we practiced together but you know…she’s only four!}, i was nervous about getting there on time. i was nervous that i would forget something on her costume. i was nervous we wouldn’t get front row seats. i was anxious about having people over {which we do on the regular}. it was just one of those days. don’t you have those too? eveything i stated above, i always encounter or do all the time but that day, i was filled with tension.

well, i survived and got over it and everything went super, duper smooth! we got ready early, had enough time for pictures, arrived early enough to grab seats [although our invited guests arrived earlier than us!! yahoo! what a relief to not have to fight for seats and nab front rows! we needed at least 18 seats for all our attendees.}, olive met and greeted with her guests, got checked in, her costume was in tack {i remembered her ballet shoes!}, and we were able to relax before the show began.

the lights went down and the first act performed. olive’s group was the second act and i was so excited! the curtains closed and a few minutes passed by. then the curtains swooshed open and the crowd gasped in awe {a lot of ohhh’s and awwww’s}, little ballerinas on stage looking so cute!

olive did so well! she was poised and did a great job executing her routine. i loved watching her and was so proud. everyone was giggling at how cute the little ballerinas were. at the end of their performance, when they all jumped forward into their final positions, was so stinkin’ cute! just watch it on the video…pardon the small screen capture. i was taking pictures and my sister recorded the performance.

after the recital {17 acts all together!!!}, i went to pick up olive to meet her guests. everyone showered her with flowers! it was too cute! we all headed back home to our house to welcome our guests for the after party. we had pre-ordered food {although we had a situation with picking it up} and set the house up {a little decor + dessert table} before we left to be ready when everyone arrived.

it was fun, relaxing, and perfect. everyone enjoyed their food, their drinks {ahem…missy and aunt wendy}, and the desserts {diy’d the cake!}. the weather was perfect for an evening outside. what a beautiful day! olive’s recital was awesome and our evening together as a family was even better.

great job on your ballet recital baby girl! you were absolutely fabulous!

[my darling babe before her recital]

[she’s so cute]

[first act, imagine dance team, then olive’s group!]

[ellie enthralled]

[ready to begin!]

[true colors pre-k jazz/hip hop]

[how far i’ll go/ballet]

[na na na pre-k ballet]

[sing! tap]

[na na na pre-k ballet II]

[the end]

[olive and ba]

[olive and super auntie thuy]

[dan and agata]

[barbara and lynne]

[grandmas]

[gifts from grandma barbara and aunt lynne]

[she loves her whale unicorn from aunt lynne – narwhals]

[she’s so sweet]

[diy cake]

[fresh peonies from our yard]

[french macarons]

[flowers from her recital and gifts]

[dessert table]

[flowers from reagan]

[sweet girls – olive looks like my sister’s daughter]

[grainy {my flash died} photo of ellie eating macaron]

[hide and seek]

xoxo

auld lang syne

Posted on January 9, 2018 by tandem in love

happy new year!

we hosted a small get together for our friends and family on new year’s eve!

our family debated on whether or not we wanted to go out to dinner {something we’ve done many, many times on new year’s], so we decided to have a party at our place instead! just the sisters and the bro and a few friends. people who we typically celebrate with every year.

we were in debate on what we were going to cook {not me! ha!], we just had beef tenderloin for christmas eve, we had a spiral ham and prime rib for christmas, so we went with a pork tenderloin for new year’s eve! every one pitched in with the menu and when that happens, it makes the night so much more fun and easy!

i ran around decorating like a crazy person. rummaging through my decor box and creating something fun for new year’s! i had no clue what i wanted to do for the tables, the photo booth, the dessert table…but thank goodness everything turned out sparkly and festive!

we ate, and cooked, and ate, and cooked, and ate some more and then ate more food. then ate dessert and then ate more leftover food. bahahahaha! we were s t u f f e d. the food was all sooooo delicious and perfectly made.

once dinner was over {we ate late on purpose}, we cleaned up a bit, and chilled; waiting for the new york countdown, since we have kids and we are ‘old’ and we didn’t want to be up all night…ohmergawd. we’re duds. haaaaaaahaha!

anyhoo, once we counted down, everyone pretty much ran out to go home! no problem…we were tired! i really think it’s because it’s the last of the holidaze and by then, we are just spent!

overall it was a wonderful, relaxing evening! i hope this year brings everyone love, joy, health, prosperity, and many great adventures!

[nye photo booth]

[she wouldn’t put on a more festive outfit, insisted on wearing this crown, and lately, this has been her cheese face…]

[the boys]

[she looooooved sitting on the chair!]

[i was stumped…i wasn’t sure what i wanted to do for the centerpieces!]

[me and hc]

[chalkboard calligraphy]

[kids table]

[party favors]

[cheese plate]

[everything is good with macarons]

[kim and terry]

[sip sip hooray!]

[party cake]

[the girls]

[party table]

[i love our fireplace…so cozy!]

[dance party!]

[rich and agata]

[pete and dan]

[triplets]

[interpretive dance]

[plaid in the usa]

[hey olive, smile! hahaha]

[lan, avery, and pete]

[agata, olive, and dan]

[isn’t she so sweet??]

[oh these kids…it’s so hard to wrangle them in for a good pic!]

[ready to ring in the new york new year!]

[counting down!]

xoxo

grace and daniel’s grad party

Posted on July 6, 2016 by tandem in love

i can’t believe grace is headed to high school this fall. what?! what happened? i remember when she was barely six years old. i met her 4 months into being six, so i could almost say since she was five years old just to be more dramatic!

well, it was a hot day and the party was held at gramma and papa’s house. hc and olive went up the night before to help them set up and such. i drove up with my sister and parents the next day. i got so car sick from the ride {i really think it’s because i am pregnant, because normally i don’t get that way}, that when we arrived, i had to go downstairs and lay down for awhile to get myself together before i could go to meet and greet all the guests! the car sickness dissipated, i put some food in my belly, and after 15 mins or so of laying down, i was ready to go!

olive was in great spirits and she was the most social i have ever seen her! she was giddy and open to others, which is something i rarely see when she is around people she doesn’t know. she was playful and super smiley…i was loving it!

i made my rounds and said my hello’s to everyone. it was so great to catch up with friends and family! grace had her group of friends and daniel had his group of friends and it was so interesting how they never intermingled! grace and daniel aren’t just cousins, but more like brother and sister. they are both almost the same age and in the same grade but different schools so, it was fascinating to see how, now socially, they weren’t meshing…???

olive was a tired, sweaty mess and by the time everyone left…this poor girl was dunzo. she didn’t have a nap and was having a complete meltdown. this babe was zonked out in the car ride home and pretty much slept for 13 hours from that evening until the next morning. a much needed sleep!

anyhoo, i had a great time hanging out with everyone and it was nice to see my family there too! i can’t believe grace is heading into high school! wow! my how time flies! she has grown into such a beautiful young lady. hc and i are so proud of her! she has done remarkably well in school, is such a sweet girl when she’s with us, and is the best big sister to miss olive. she is so good with her and it’s the sweetest thing to watch. we love you grace and can’t wait to see you flourish in high school!

[the graduate! such a pretty girl]

[some fun decor]

[dick and jane]

[ready to eat cake]

[ice cream scoops]

[yummy cake]

[mom and dad]

[love this babe]

[daniel and friends]

[love this babe so much!]

[having fun with anabelle]

[hc and me]

xoxo

e-party

Posted on August 8, 2015 by tandem in love

well, as y’all know, miss dana is engaged. i was super delighted to have received the invite to her engagement party!

it was held at her aunt’s house in the cozy neighborhood of highland park. we cruised up north and as we turned down the road where they live, we noticed groups of people walking down the street. we assumed that they were a part of the party and we were right! as we walked closer to the crowd, i asked if they were heading to dana and scott’s engagement party and they said yes! that is when i met scott’s sweet mom and dad.

we walked inside the spacious home and we were immediately greeted by dana! oh, how i love this girl. she was dressed all cute, natch. we were meant to be friends through our fashion sense. seriously. we somehow always manage to dress alike, in coordinating style, or similar color combos. like always. this time dana missed the pop of green but we definitely got the b + w down and our gold accent ankle strapped shoes.

hc and i grabbed drinks and started mingling with the other guests. when it comes to something like this…hc is not in his element! i am the social butterfly and the hubs is socially awkward. he doesn’t like breaking off on his own to start independent conversations like me. so, we usually move around together and i will be the talker and he will be the ‘add on a comment or two’ kind of guy. haha.

[whenever we get together, we somehow always coordinate or match]

[fist city chicago beer]

[everyone gathering around for the food]

[cocktail napkins]

[with the engaged couple!]

after a bit of mingling and several libations, dinner was served. everyone grabbed a bite to eat and continued to socialize. just a bit after the food was served, irina and patrick showed up! i was so excited to see them! irina and i get to see each other every so often and when we do, it’s fantastic to catch up!

the four of us sat down together and did a lot of talking. the conversation just flowed and we were having a great time hitting all kinds of topics. right after dinner, dana’s aunt and uncle welcomed and thanked everyone who came and made a toast to the beautiful guests of honor, the two lovebirds who were going to tie the knot! mazel tov!

dessert was served and i was on it. i went into the kitchen and piled my plate high. i couldn’t stop eating the reese’s peanut butter cups in a cookie crust. best ever. it was like heaven in my mouth.

[toasting to the engaged couple]

[irina and patrick]

[i couldn’t stop eating the desserts]

we had such a great time celebrating dana and scott’s engagement. it was fun and fantastic to meet and greet most of their family members and friends. weddings are so much fun…love, happiness, elation…the best celebratory emotions all rolled into one beautiful day. we can’t wait until the big day comes!

xoxo

nye

Posted on January 3, 2015 by tandem in love

every year, it’s been our thing to go to the city to celebrate nye {or the fact that we were living in the city}. for the past {over} six years we have been together and seven new year’s eves together, we have always had dinner in the city. for almost two decades, my sister and her hubs have done the same. celebrating nye in the city was a no brainer for us, always.

but this year was different. this year olive joined the party {being the older and wiser gal}, this year we bought a house {in the burbs!}, and this year we were slightly not feeling it. it was a whirlwind holiday season and before we knew it, new years was creeping up on us very fast. we weren’t sure where we wanted to celebrate it…what restaurant? what time? oh, all the decision making was overwhelming or rather, not interesting.

so, we thought, why not have it at our house? it’s close to everyone, we love having people over, we love hosting, and it would be a lot more fun and relaxing! we all wanted to dress up and cook a delicious dinner! how perfect!

anndd at our house it was, hc and i got up super early {or rather, olive got us up} and we started preparing for the party. we cleaned, set up all the tables, decorated, and bought any last minute supplies {ice, flowers, etc.}. our place was starting to come together!

right after 5 pm, people started to trickle in. we set up appetizers, served up drinks, and slowly started to cook up our lovely dinner. it was great to just chill, relax, and move at our pace.

the kids were having a blast hanging out {down in the basement or screaming upstairs}. us adults mingled and nibbled on apps. our friend, lan {owner of the krispie bakery}, brought over the most awesome kettle corn that she had made. it was soooo stinkin’ yummy, i couldn’t stop eating it.

[dapper dudes]

[beverage area]

[the addicting kettle corn lan made]

[yummy cheese plate by kim]

in between the apps and cooking, we went a little nutso with our ‘photo booth’. warning: there are A LOT of pictures coming your way! hold onto to your screen!

[me, thuy, lan, and kim]

[b, r, avery, and grace]

[the cuties]

[magritte]

[this is my favorite photo of the night]

on the menu for our nye dinner was a caprese salad, arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette, sautéed green beans with sliced almonds, mushroom ravioli sautéed in a brown butter sauce, and a savory seasoned pork tenderloin. mmmm mmmm.

we all sat down for dinner and i toasted to our fabulous evening! it was such a wonderful event to have everyone gather around for. everyone looked so pretty in their festive attire and the kids were able to scream and play together with ease. a perfect combo for a perfect evening.

[new year’s eve tablescape]

after we ate dinner, i cleaned up and i placed out cookies and coffee for dessert. i purchased the tasty little morsels from whole foods! i love their cookie/dessert section at the store. once desserts were out for the adults, i got crackin’ on the kids sweet tooth’s. i first made them little sundaes and then they got super excited at the idea of a root beer float! so i made mini root beer floats for them too! yum!

[cream and sugar set from anthropologie]

[mini root beer floats]

the kids were sooooo impatient. they wanted to count down every hour and we kept telling them, no…not yet! they were itchin’ to use the poppers, the noise makers, and the clappers. so, we decided that we would do the count down with new york city!

[getting ready for the countdown!]

[midnight kiss!]

[the sweet babes leaning in for another kiss]

[we celebrated nyc’s nye but miss olive stayed up to bring in the new year chicago style!]

overall, it was such a wonderful, wonderful night. we had the best time socializing, drinking, nibbling on apps, and making dinner together. it was a total team effort…we all had a great time together and it was perfect way to bring in the new year!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: party

NYE ‘19

ballet recital

auld lang syne

grace and daniel’s grad party

e-party

nye