car night

Posted on September 11, 2017 by tandem in love

all summer long, we didn’t go to one car show {not one!} and we typically hit up a few throughout the season {sometimes in neighboring towns}. well, the other month, we fiiiiiinally went to our local downtown downers car show…quite the popular show around these parts!

it was a beeeeeeautiful evening. the weather was puuuuurfect! we jumped into hc’s jeep and took a scenic ride to the show. we drove around a bit, looking for parking {hc doesn’t mind driving around the town – showing off his jeep}, and finally found a spot and walked our way towards the cars.

we started with the police cars. there were all sorts of cool vehicles where you could sit inside, get into the driver’s seat, and pretty much examine the cars inside and out. i thought it was awesome but olive was unimpressed. hahaha! she didn’t care for any of the cars and was excited for two seconds when a firefighter gave her a sticker.

right about then, we ran into our neighbors {and olive’s sitter!}, chuck and mary! we ended up exploring the car show with them, well, actually it was really chuck and hc that did all the looking. i just chatted with mary and took care of the babes.

olive spied a toy store and really wanted to go inside. i told her that once we looked at a few cars that dada wanted to see, we could go back. on our way around, olive saw the water fountain and had a blast watching it. she danced and giggled and was so darn cute. we finally made our way around and i took olive to the toy store {thank goodness it was still open!}. she was so excited! once inside, she immediately found a unicorn in a fringed bag. oh how she wanted it. i let her look at all the other toys but her mind was fixated on the unicorn, so i let dada make that decision. aaaaaand of course, he bought it for her.

after that, we headed on home. we got our car show in for the summer, it was a fun, beautiful evening out, and olive was a happy camper with her new unicorn in a bag toy. happy end of summer!

[poor babe was bit by a mosquito all over her eyelids and forehead. ugh!]

[hc was digging this jeep!]

[that’s a big ass truck]

[she’s a junior firefighter!]

[she wasn’t too keen on going inside]

[i love this babe who’s growing up so fast]

[she loooooooves fountains]

[dancing to the music]

[she wanted this horse so bad!]

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

festival

Posted on August 1, 2017 by tandem in love

summer time.

i love warm weather, being able to just hang outside and be comfortable is something we look forward to every year. cold chicago winters gives you a different appreciation for the summer season and along with warm temps, brings festival season around here!

i thoroughly enjoy jubilees, festivals, carnivals…you name it, i love going to any of the named events. summer isn’t complete unless you attend at least one!

with olive being three years old, she has this new awareness and enjoyment that has arose and i find so much satisfaction and joy in seeing her content and happy!

we hit up a fest close to home. it was a festival that i actually attended while growing up around here and it was pretty cool to be able to bring olive. of course, they have rides, games, really bad food for you, and plenty of libations!

parking can be a b*tch around there but we were lucky enough to find a close spot {riding into town in hc’s jeep!}. we walked into the fest and grabbed some drinks first {priority people!}. we decided stroll around and check out the offerings. we did a once over and decided to grab some grub. if you’re on a diet, you’re screwed. no festival foods for you! we ate really unhealthy food and continued to check out what this festival had to offer.

one big mistake was taking olive near the rides. she isn’t big enough, so there was no way she could go on any of them and fact: hc and i will not, i will repeat, will not go on any of these carnival type rides. we don’t like them. we don’t trust them. we don’t care for them. she was so upset. she didn’t have a tantrum or anything of that extreme but she did cry. i felt so bad for her but that was a solid no – no rides whatsoever!

anyhoo, we walked around a bit more, explored, play some games, and then called it quits. everything currently revolves around ellie’s nap times right now, and we needed to skadaddle to get her to bed for the night.

i’m all about olive’s first time experiences and i was super happy she was able to enjoy our time at the summer fest! it was a fun family evening together! happy summer y’all!

[summer essentials]

[summer festival in downers grove]

[hello hc! she looks just like him!]

[my sweet babe]

[typical festival food]

[enjoying junky food]

[her first time playing a festival game]

[she won!]

xoxo

summer wear

Posted on May 19, 2017 by tandem in love

i went through a long dry spell around clothes the last several years. i never purchased anything for myself. like neverrrrrr. once i was pregnant with olive, that was it. one – i obviously didn’t buy clothes for myself being so pregnant and big. two – as soon as olive was born, my world, my money, my everything revolved around her! so new clothes for me? pshhhhhh! i didn’t bother. plus, the baby weight had me in leggings all day errrrrvyday.

now, after having ellie, i find that i have renewed interest in clothes, style, and expression. i’m really anti the mom look. yeah, y’all know that mom look. the undone hair, the undone face, and work out gear or sweats are your best friends. not i said the cat! i have always been a pretty casual kind of gal. my casual always consisted of make up, tees, jewelry, leggings, and comfort. that was my typical every day look and when i dressed up, i added in extra make up, heels, and dangly earrings. i know most peeps wouldn’t consider that casual but i sure do! i’m a faaaaaaaancy casual mommy.

i am loving the modern preppy look right now but i love all sorts of trends and style. i definitely can’t label myself because one day i will be a bit hipster, one day i will be preppy, and one day i will be trendy. it all depends on my mood and what lies ahead of me for the day. maybe i want to be comfortable and functional or pretty and feminine, and i will select pieces that best fits my persona for the day. sometimes i have a shoe in mind that i will coordinate an outfit around or a statement necklace i want to wear and that will be my focal piece.

i found a cute little shop called tobi and i am loving all the fun clothes they offer! i had fun styling three items from their collections, check it out down below! i felt like these dresses and romper were perfect summer wear that you could dress up, down, or wear alone on those hot summer nights {bonus…these articles of clothing are very inexpensive!}! click on the links below to find out where you can purchase the clothes!

happy shopping!

[shoes: target romper: tobi jacket: H&M]

[shoes: ann taylor dress: tobi jacket: j crew]

[shoes: tori burch dress: tobi earrings: ann taylor hat: gigipip]

xoxo

june snapshots

Posted on July 21, 2015 by tandem in love

i remember june. warm days. rain. brunch dates. photo sessions. sweet time with olive. family time. a whole lotta goodness.

some of the highlights: cubs family day. we had such a blast going to that! we love the cubbies. it was fantastic to explore wrigley field and not just experience it from the seats! we were so happy to have attended the gay pride parade in chicago…especially since marriage equality became a federal law! woot! woot! we enjoyed many get together’s with friends and outings with the family. life is good. it’s summer y’all! woo!

june’s weather was interesting. not too warm and at times, too rainy and cool. but honestly, i will take it over the cold. i do love winter but nothing beats summer and the long sunny days. ahhhhhhhh.

of course, there were so many precious moments with olive. she’s so amazing and i enjoy every moment with her. i’m such a sap…i cherish, cherish, cherish every second i have with her. i soak in every hug, kiss, and sweet smile she gives. i savor every word. every look. every quirky action. my heart breaks every time with sadness and happiness because i never, ever want her to not need me. i look into her eyes and hope that she becomes solid, strong, powerful, and finds happiness in life. the love is so overpowering and my purpose in life is so intense with this little one in it. the circle of life is pure awe!

anyhoo, please enjoy our june’s snapshots! muwah!

[she loves crawling into our just made bed…]

[dorito eating babes // i’d like to add that she was under hc’s care at this moment]

[kt and me]

[hi morning bedhead]

[sprinkle doughnut anyone?]

[holding bunny’s hand]

[starbucks mini]

[i love this pic…jodi’s face and olive’s face…]

[cubs family day]

[mmmmm ice cream at auntie kim’s]

xoxo

crosstown showdown

Posted on July 15, 2015 by tandem in love

months ago when hc asked me if i wanted to go to the cubs/sox game, my response was “hells yes!”. i love the cubs, i love wrigleyfield, and i love me a baseball game in the middle of july! swell!

the day couldn’t come fast enough but before i knew it, it was game day! i was super excited and couldn’t wait to get there! we drove by aunt wendy’s house to pick up grace and some parking passes for the area. we headed on in to the city, traffic was meh but no matter, we were right on track with our time. we circled around only once before we scored a fabulous parking spot…only two blocks away from wrigley!

we had a few snags on our way in {our tickets wouldn’t scan at the gate} but we were finally inside and it was bustling! we wanted to find our seats first before we bought food…who really wants to walk around looking for their seats with their hands full of food? not moi. well, big mistake. ugh. we were smack dab in the middle of what seemed like the longest row of seats in wrigley! hahaha. we felt bad getting up {and making EVERYONE stand up in their seats} to go get food and drinks. so, we waited until someone next to us stood up to leave and we followed suit. woot!

[how cooooool is this?! our seats happen to be the same numbers as our anniversary!]

[almost there!]

[excited for the game…cubbie sandwich]

[it was a beautiful day!]

[love this mobile band]

[grabbing some grub // we were twinsies!]

[your typical baseball fare]

we settled back into our seats and didn’t leave them again. we were content. the game was pretty amazing. every second of it! the cubs were ahead and we were coasting to the end. one of my most favorite moment of any baseball game? the seventh inning stretch! i looooooove singing along to that song. it’s summer, it’s american, and it’s soooo baseball, america’s favorite pastime!

fast forward to the ninth inning and cubs win! cubs win! woooooo hooooooo! at the very end of the game, they will play the song go cubs go and i love screaming to it. i do apologize to those who were around me. sorry if you get the wrath of my off key singing voice. baahahaha.

[7th inning stretch…take me out to the ballgame!]

[cubs win! cubs win!]

after the game, all my friends there were texting me to hang out {um, half the people i know were at the game that day!}! booooo! we couldn’t because we had grace and that meant no bars for us {hey, grace, do you mind sitting at the front stoop of the bar while your dad and i hang out inside…not}! although, i was a little sad we couldn’t stay afterwards to celebrate the win!

nevertheless, it was a great game {just a smidge over two hours…shortest game ever for me!}! it was a gorgeous, perfect day to watch and cheer on our beloved cubbies!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on January 9, 2015 by tandem in love

today takes us back to 2009.

wow…this picture definitely makes me wish for summer. look how tan i am?! it’s probably remnants of a vegas trip we took prior to this photo op anndddd, lookey at little grace! she’s so tiny and cute.

we were at a wedding {hc’s best friend michael & ruth} and it was a very warm day out! i had been on a crazy hunt to find the dress grace is wearing in the picture {don’t we look so cute matchy matching?}. it was definitely an unpleasant buying experience at a major department store that shall remain unnamed. my only friend who probably can recall this event {the almost throw down i had with a sales associate} is matt. if i am correctly recalling the incident, i do remember meeting matt for drinks and dinner after the purchasing debacle and duly venting to him about my crazy experience and terrible, terrible service i had received.

anyhoo, i finally received the fun dress in the mail for little grace and we all got bedazzled for the wedding. we had a grand ol’ time eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. i do remember grace getting down on the dance floor with gramma! it was very cute to watch.

ahhhh, such fond memories. well, enough randomness and ramblings from me. i hope you have a wonderful friday and weekend! stay warm chicago friends…i hope our chiberia ends soon! brrrrrrrrrr.

xoxo

olive’s first time in a pool!

Posted on September 22, 2014 by tandem in love

another fun activity crossed off our summer to do list!

well, we did do this awhile ago, but i’m finally getting around to posting it. life is just so busy sometimes and getting a blog post published can take up so much time and it’s harder since i have the little one! i used to go, go, go but now {ok, now some people might say i’m still like that} but now i slow down and put things to the side because i’d rather have a little more snuggle time with olive, more one on one time with her, and more cuddly moments. the truth is…i know these moments don’t last forever and i am doing my best to cherish her little baby moments.

ok, so this was fantastic! i was so excited for olive and couldn’t wait to see her reaction. after a lovely brunch with my friend andrea and her friends and family, we headed to the hotel {palomar}, that they were staying at, to hang out at the pool.

i, unwillingly, changed into my swimsuit {um, having a baby does cray things to your body and i just ate lunch, hello!} and i dressed olive in her minnie mouse swimsuit {a present from gramma jane!}. we excitedly scurried to the pool, i couldn’t wait to get her into the water! i wasn’t worried she wouldn’t like it, i was sure she would love it! she loves bath time and has become so fascinated by the water.

so there i went, gingerly stepping into the pool {it was cold!}, my feet hit the ground and in olive went. she immediately loved it! yaaay! it was too presh. she cooed, mumbled, and splashed her way all around the pool. she was having the best time evah! annddd so was her momma! i loved watching her and i was super happy to see her love it so much!

[here we go!]

[she’s loving it! or am i loving it more?!]

[look at that face!]

[in the water!]

[honestly, olive really did have a blast, although it looks like i am having more fun]

we actually stayed in the pool for quite some time. maybe 45 minutes? the only reason we got out was because i needed to head home. it was time for another nap for the little one and a car ride home would suffice. so, we got our raisin hands and toes out of the water, changed our clothes, and went on our merry way. baby girl zonked, i mean zonked out in the car! out like a light once we started moving on the road.

it was so fabulous to have experienced olive’s first time in the pool. we both had a blast! we can’t wait for future pool dates together!

here’s a little vimeo of her in action!

xoxo

concert in the park

Posted on September 2, 2014 by tandem in love

we crossed off two summer to do’s on our list! we attended a concert in the park and then some.

we met up with my famille in downtown hinsdale. it was a beautiful evening. hc and i parked up the street, south of the tracks, and walked our way towards the park. it was a lovely, leisurely, short stroll. there was a band playing there called 7th heaven. apparently, way, way, way back in the days, they were an opening band for bon jovi.

my sister had already popped a squat by the fountain and we made our way back there. everyone started to gather within the hour. terry came by, then mike and sam, thuy, then helen and gabrielle! we mingled around a bit; the boys eventually went towards the booze and food area to grab us some grub and drinks.

[seventh heaven was the band]

olive was out. she fell asleep in the car {she was a tired little peanut…she didn’t have much of any naps that day} and was zonked out with all the craziness and noise around her. she finally awoke an hour later and everyone got a chance to dote on her!

[baby girl fell asleep and slept through all the noise]

[big ass taco…it was prob 10″ wide in diameter!]

[sister, sister]

[ready for some bubbles…on our summer to do list!]

we were relaxing, enjoying our surroundings, and reveling in the wonderful weather and temps. then it was time for me to break out some bubbly {uh, no, not that kind of bubbly!}! the boys were so excited! they went nutty over the bubble guns and so did the kids around them. they were like pied pipers with these bubble machines! wherever they were, the kids followed and surrounded them to break all the bubbles and break out in sweet giggles!

[sisters, olive, and helen]

[we were watching the train roll by as we were leaving the park]

it was getting late {late by baby standards} and we had to go. it’s always this: leave early, get olive home, give her a bath, feed her, and put her down…all by 9pm, every night.

we walked our way back to the car {such a beautiful night!} and as we were crossing the tracks, a freight train rolled by! we stopped to watch the train go by…olive wasn’t very impressed. so move along we did. we got home, scurried around, and everyone got settled and snuggled in.

it was another fabulous summer evening with friends and family! yay to warm weather! we love you!

xoxo

movies on the green II

Posted on August 24, 2014 by tandem in love

we did it again! this time with the legos movie. annndddd it was actually bennett’s birthday!

we gathered on the green to hang out, ‘watch’ the movie, and eat some food. kim’s friend, helen, came along with her family…gabrielle, sam, and her husband mike! so it was a picnic party in full swing!

[my chunker]

[tete a la tete]

[mimicking]

[awww, so cute]

hc ran to macy’s and picked us up some grub. it was actually quite delicious. he had picked out salmon, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, and carrots. i wolfed my meal down…i was so hungry! we were chatting it up, we ate, and we all played with miss olive while we hung out. helen was loving olive! i must say…she is quite the doll! gosh, i love her too! 😉

[a really good meal from macy’s]

[she wears short shorts]

[feeding miss olive some fruit]

since it was bennett’s birthday, i had purchased cupcakes so we could celebrate! i brought plates, flatware, napkins, and a candle. yes, i was going to light a fire right on the grass. hey, it was his birthday, and birthday cupcakes and the birthday boy deserved a lit candle!

bennett picked out his cupcake {chocolate}, i lit the candle and he made a wish! perfect! i passed out the cupcakes and plates…they were a success {yum, yum}. perfectly sweet and delicious. we devoured our cakes and continued to have a swell time together.

[happy birthday bennett! make a wish]

after the cupcakes, the kids and boys ran amuck within the mall. the kids wanted to play at the fountain and go to the microsoft store, while the boys went into the tesla dealership. oh boy…hc came back with a plethora of information around the cars…he droned on and on about it but it was actually quite interesting and informative learning about these cars!

once the movie was over, we gathered our belongings and headed home. it was another wonderful night with movies on the green and celebrating mr. bennett’s birthday! yay!

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: summer

car night

ice cream man

festival

summer wear

june snapshots

crosstown showdown

flashback friday

olive’s first time in a pool!

concert in the park

movies on the green II