the first BIG snow happened at the end of january.
we had a really quiet and warm winter. and with that, you knew something big was going to happen! then it snowed and the first accumulation was about 9-12 inches. then it kept on snowing and snowing and snowing. it pretty much snowed every day for almost three weeks and the snow banks kept getting higher and higher.
i was super amazed at how much it snowed. it really did feel like it was never going to stop. so many people were annoyed at the snow but i found the beauty in it. and honestly, it doesn’t snow forever, so why not appreciate it while it’s here? also, it’s not winter forever and the changing of the seasons is what makes each chapter so delightful.
so with that, the girls were sooooo excited to play outside! unfortunately the first big snowfall was not snowman worthy but a week later, it was the perfect recipe to build one {see picture below!}!
first things first, we played outside, we pulled sleds, and we threw snowballs! i knew the big snow was coming so a week or two before, i ran out to target and bought sleds. i learned my lesson last year when we were trapped at home and the girls asked me if they could go sledding and here i was empty handed with no sleds. not this year!
we were having a blast but being outside in the snow and cold does reach it’s limits, so we called it quits and came inside. only one person was not having it. ellie. she was super duper upset and gave us all the cutest pout face you ever did see. {see the last picture}
sorry baby ellie! all in all, the first big snow day was a success! the ground was covered in fluffy white snow, it was a winter wonderland, everyone had fun, and now hot cocoa for the girls was next in line!
snowball fight! snow much snow! snow angel trying to throw snowballs at everyone getting bombed by dada!the best smiles and giggles sweet girl after playing outsideshe was sooooo mad at us for making her come in and wanted to stay outside!
well, here it is again. it always snows in april, everrrrryyyyy year. i only know this for a fact because for the last ten years, i’ve celebrated hc’s birthday in this month and it always snows around his birthday.
well, i knew it was going to snow {hearsay from hc} but i had no idea it was going to snow almost 5 inches {canceling our birthday plans for hc with his family}! whaaaaaaa? we woke up to a snowy white landscape and it felt like christmas. LOL. hc told me it was going to snow allllll day, well ok! we had a cozy day in, we chilled, hc cooked breakfast, we played, and took pictures. hc went outside to check what type of snow it was and said it was prime snowman building fluff. sooooooo, when i put ellie down for a nap, hc and olive went outside to build a snowman.
they rolled it, stacked it, and built it as i mostly watched them from our bay window. they had gathered all the trimmings…coal, a wannabe carrot nose, hat, scarf, and stick arms. i periodically ran outside to capture some good moments while they were in process.
olive was humming/singing christmas songs as she built the snowman…it was the cutest thing to hear. ohhhhh, she’s the sweetest! she did such a great job building it with hc. she was all about finding the right items for the snowman and helping hc with all the accessories.
they put the finishing touches on the snowman and he looked marvelous! hc and olive were so proud! i must say, he was a good-looking one! we snapped some good pics and walked inside happy and satisfied with our lovey snowman. the only bad news for him is that it’s only getting warmer! by the evening, he was the leaning tower of pisa. i told hc he will topple over by morning! c’est la view monsieur!
even though it snowed and almost everyone in chicagoland almost crapped in their pants with anger, we really enjoyed it and loved every moment of it! it was f u n!
i am not one to watch the weather reports. i typically glance at the daily temperature so i have guidance on how to dress the girls. so, it was totally by word of mouth when i heard that we were getting a huge snowstorm! whaaaaaa?!
the days leading up to the actual event, i felt like i heard so many tall tales! such things as, we were going to get 6-12″, we were going to get 15″+, it was going to be crazy, things were going to shut down, water bottles were selling out, there was a mad dash to the grocery stores, the snowfall prediction grew by inches as the days rolled towards the actual day of the storm.
my attitude was: humph…it’s chicago. we’ve had worse. and so it began. the snow started to fall, and fall, and fall, and fall. i absolutely love fresh snow! it’s so clean, calm, and beautiful. it kept falling and falling, on and off for almost three days. we ended up with 15″+ and it was a total winter wonderland!
hc wanted to take miss olive out in the snow. one – to put on the gear he had bought for her and two – how could you not?? there was sooooo much snow, you had to have some fun it!
olive was apprehensive at first. she was uncertain about the mounds of powdery white snow. slowly but surely, though, she started to become keen about it. and soon enough, she was giggling and wanted to play in it!
well, we survived the massive snowstorm of 2018! the roads were cleared over night {after the heaviest snowfall} and all was well. it was back to business the next day, although it continued to snow but like i said – it’s chicago. it’s not our first rodeo! yahooooo!
we were so excited for the first snow of the season! it’s always exciting…until 3 months from now, then i’ll say that i am soooooo over it! bahhhahahaha!
it was actually the day of her birthday party. i had been so consumed by her party prep, i didn’t even realize it was going to snow! and snow it did. it had started the night before and continued on through the morning and afternoon! oh my! it was expected to hit 6-15″ of snow, depending on the area.
the first snow of the season is always so fun and exciting. we couldn’t wait to get outside and play. it would be olive’s ‘first’ time in the snow. she’s at an age where she would understand it better, be amused, and have fun playing in it.
we still need to get her a snowsuit {tis the season} but we just bundled her up in some gear and she was ready to go. besides, we weren’t out of that long! as soon as we walked outside, she was curious. she definitely didn’t want to step in it right away. she wasn’t quite sure if it was safe yet. she saw her big sis, grace, step in it and that was a signal it was ok to her. so in she went! a huge smile spread across her face. you could tell she was amused by it. it was fluffy, it was white, and it was definitely fun!
while hc and grace worked on our catman, olive walked around and around and around in the snow. she was having a blast walking in it! after we finished the catman, hc and grace started throwing snowballs at each other…it was seriously great packing snow! olive thought it was soooooo funny! she started picking up chunks of snow herself and threw it. too cute.
[loving the pretty snowfall!]
[it’s so pretty]
[she loved to step in it!]
after that, hc wanted to shovel the driveway, i was dunzo and needed to get inside to finish decorating, and olive and grace continued to play outside in the backyard. it was quite the successful first play in the snow, i might say so myself. the girls were having a blast and it was so sweet to see and hear their giggles. it was a great first snow day indeed.
oh my, the first real snow of the season! it has snowed here or there {it’s actually snowed a lot of days the past few months but a very light dusting every time} but it has never really stuck around. it started early morning and kept on going throughout the day {tapering off early afternoon}.
i was so excited! i wanted olive to be outside to experience it! last year she was just a newborn {and the polar vortex was awful}, so i kept her far, far away from it all. it was just so darn cold.
well, it was pretty cold outside on this snowy day but i had to get her out! it was so beautiful out. we dressed her in layers and gleefully went outside to watch her first experience in the snow. hc put her down and she started walking around and around, staring down at the snow with the cutest smile on her face. it was so presh. so, around and around she went, occasionally looking up at us with a smirk and continuing to walk all around the driveway. we were just waiting for that moment she would lose her balance! she did quite well! she currently walks like she’s always drunk {she stumbles a lot and always falls walking on the most even of floors} and she was a champion trudging through the snow and the bumpy ground.
i didn’t put her gloves on because i wanted to see if she would touch the snow and her reaction {i know, i know…it was cold but she was literally out there for less than 5 minutes}. well, she did eventually kerplunk into the snow and she was so bewildered at the coldness! she immediately scrunched her face and was not happy. we swept her up, ran inside our toasty warm house to brush her off and she transformed back into her happy self.
[ready to experience the fluffy white snow]
[fresh snow]
[catching snowflakes on the tongue]
[annnnd we’re down]
it was pretty awesome to have her experience her first snowfall {literally}. yay to olive’s firsts. happy snow day.
here’s to an amazing year past. 2013 was full of joy, laughter, love, family, friends, and many blessings! the most joyous event of the year? our baby girl olive! finding out i was pregnant since february and being on this journey almost this entire past year has been eye opening, life changing, and miraculous.
i love seeing the glass half full all the time, so any bumps in the road this past year has truly been for the better…learning from your mistakes, forgiving others or yourself, do something better for anyone, and try, try again.
thank you for my family, thank you to my family. my greatest support system. through trials and turbulence, family will always be there no matter what. i am blessed to have this through the doan’s and the heintz’s. two wonderful families, truly special people…hc and i are so fortunate to be surrounded by such strong foundations.
thank you to my friends who always stand by me. they are the most amazing people and i am lucky to be surrounded by such good people. as life goes on, it’s good to have some solid peeps in there.
///
we spent our new year’s eve with friends and family. we trekked our way out in this crazy weather to have dinner at rpm. i loved the ambience and the food was delicious! so freakin’ yummy.
[don’t mind me a glass of presecco]
[our artsy, dramatic attempt]
we settled in at the bar, waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. it’s great when you live 10 minutes away and no one is really on the road! we ordered drinks and conversed our time away. since everyone was running a bit behind {holy snow!}, we decided to order apps. we had the smoked salmon crostini, prime beef meatballs, gnocchi alla romana, and the crispy ravioli. small bites that were way too small ’cause every morsel was so yummy, i wanted more!
[the ladies bedazzled for the evening…obviously i don’t know which direction to look at]
anyhoo, our party finally got there {phew! safe and sound!}, and we were seated! yay! and away we went with our over consumption of food for the evening!
we ordered a whole bunch of plates to share. i loved tasting all the different flavors. we then moved onto desserts…i had the tartufo, so decadent!
[our pasta course // my yummy tartufo]
it was a snowy, wintery night for a new years’s eve celebration.
After dinner, we headed back home to ring in the new year with olive and hc’s family.
[midnight kiss]
on new year’s day, we celebrated with a fun breakfast. Complete with sparkles, mimosas, and lots o coffee! it was a perfect beginning to a fabulous new year!
[our new year’s table spread!]
[starting off the new year right…family and a super yummy breakfast by hc]
[olive’s one month birthday cake]
papa insisted on having cake for olive’s one month. ask and you shall receive. i love a good ol’ home baked cake!
we had a whirlwind week! we had visitors friday, saturday, and sunday {love to all my friends who have come over to our abode see baby olive}. then later on sunday, we mustered up the energy to go to marina and corey’s house for a festive get together {hello…football!}. we wanted to meet up with everyone for the holidays and not only that, carol was in town and pammy was going to be there too! so we had to see everyone!
[carol, pampers, and rina]
the next night, we had the wee christmas party at the werner’s. it’s an annual party they throw every year {for decades now, actually} and it was my fifth wee christmas with them! there is a lot of good food, lots of friendly faces, and santa claus comes to the party!
baby olive was passed along to everyone at the party…she was a hit! how can you not love a little baby?! plus, a warm thank you to pat and pete who gave baby olive a wonderful, generous gift from pottery barn kids! so thoughtful and kind of them! she’s so lucky!
i love going there every year. that’s what i love about the holidays, you get to see people you don’t always get to see and that is always wonderful!
[christmas at the werners // they have many trees! // i love this family shot!]
[olive and santa…santa claus was loving olive’s little feet]
christmas eve has always been the big celebration amongst the doan’s. over the years, it has evolved from a very late night to now, an earlier evening since we have kids!
we headed over to my parent’s house early {or as early as we could}. we ran some errands prior and then we were stuck in awful traffic on our way there. we arrived an hour or two later than we planned {oops!} but hey, we got there safe and sound!
i scurried inside with baby olive and my parents freaked out. they hadn’t seen baby olive in awhile and were so excited to have the little babes in their arms. she was sound asleep in her carseat so we left her in there for awhile but my mom pretty much had the baby in her arms the entire night!
my mom insisted on feeding us so {how can you say no?!} we waited around a bit until the food was ready. what was on the menu? chicken soup with rice and egg rolls. so good. it’s so good that grace ate it!!!
right after eating, i needed to make a pit stop at target to do some last minute exchanges. hey, if i can get out without the bebe and quickly do some stuff, i’m on it! thuy and i went together and it turned into a much longer trip than expected. oh well! i got some stuff done {although the target was a wreck and it was hard to locate items} and was satisfied.
[baking sugar cookies!]
we went home and started cooking and baking right away! kim, huy, and thuy did the cooking and i went upstairs to do the baking. i wanted to make sugar cookies for the kids to decorate later!
[the pretty plaid table spread by kim}
[place cards!]
[it’s not christmas without poinsettias!]
once dinner was had {um, best dinner ever! thanks kim, thuy, and huy for the delicious meal}, the kids were summoned to decorate cookies while everyone else cleaned up. once all that was done, the gifting began!
[thuy’s homemade cupcakes…how cute!!!]
it was so cute to see reagan, bennett, and grace open up their gifts. they get so excited and they all absolutely made out with some stellar stuff! once the kids were done, the adults randomly opened theirs. we, for the past several years, have done secret santa for each other. as we have gotten older, it just made sense. we can buy our own stuff but it’s fun to do this just to partake in the holiday spirit! we get to guess who was our secret santa and i nailed mine! i knew it was my brother dan!
[cutest cousins! ready to open presents!]
[christmas jammy photo!]
[the boys]
[grace loving her horse snow globe!]
after gifts, the kids played and played and played. they had such a fun time! they ate cookies and drank hot chocolate and ripped their toys apart.
[my most favorite gifts // christmas mouse book personalized just for olive! thank you kim and thuy…such an awesome gift for her // rifle iPhone case from dan // my birthday gift from kim and thuy – a jonathan adler bowl!]
it was a very lovely weekend and christmas eve {and it was a white one…i love it when it snows on christmas eve!}! such a great time shared with our friends and family. we are truly blessed and thankful for all that we have.
well, actually, i was not looking forward to waking up early {yuck! i just despise waking up early} but definitely looking forward to what was to come after my court appointment {don’t ask, so lame}.
then came news of the snow. everyone was abuzz {yesterday} about the snow that was coming. i was skeptical, as usual {i mean, c’mon…it’s chicago aaandddd it snows every year aaanddd the weatherman always claims “it’s going to be the worst snowfall of the year!” every time!}. so, as predicted, the snow was coming down early this morning. i geared up and went out to abolish this silly court thing. trudging through the snow towards the daley center…it was pretty heavy. i had my trusty sorels on, my earphones in {with some good walking jams on}, and my umbrella {i laugh at those peeps who walk by with the worst looking dandruff on their heads}. i got there early and was quickly called up in front of the judge. my ticket was dismissed {duh!} and i was on my merry way back home.
as i was walking, the snow wouldn’t stop. i was looking forward to having lunch with my dad and then, later, dinner with the sis + bro-in-law and the two cutest nephews alive. but i digressed with the idea of driving out to the ‘burbs. it made me sad. i love my days off and i love making the most of my time and i love seeing my family. damn you snow!
so, i went home. i was cooped up in my place {with no hubby charming // can you see my sad face?} and felt a little stir crazy. it’s so not me to sit around in my apartment, especially by myself! so i stared out the window, i did a little cleaning, i did a little web surfing, and i did a little crafting. time started to fly by {phew!}. finally, i did a little cooking. cooking for one seems more pragmatic and conventional than cooking for two or more, right? i’ll just cook whatever is available or i tend to eat breakfast for dinner! it’s not that important on what i cook, as long as i am fed.
[catching up on some reads // street watching // ombre // painting // ingredients // mushroom + green onion scrambled eggs with jarlsberg cheese]
anyhoo, that was pretty much my day in a nutshell. my snow day was uneventful and mundane.
and i absolutely do not look forward to shoveling my car out of the street!!!! ugh. that is no bueno. oooooohhhhh, spring time, hurry up!
it’s pretty much has been a snow-free winter here in good ol’ chicago up until this past week! {whoa, snow} i must say, though, it’s nothing like the snowpocalypse we had a few years back! that was cray.
anyhoo, i’m loving my sorels in this weather! they’re just tough…and i like tough and little fuzzy at the same time.
snow, snow, snow
my valentine
i heart oliva
well, i was super duper excited to be able to host miss olivia at our place. {hubby charming is away making some dough, so a little company is always welcomed!} i cooked pasta, we had some wine, and talked non-stop {we loooooooove to talk}. i just love girl time and catch up time and just about anything time. she came over with the cutest homemade valentine’s day card *sigh* and homemade cake pops! what a gal! it just got me all excited for the holiday! i’m so sure the little cupid is looking over my shoulder right now 🙂
