it was our two year anniversary! my how time flies and how things change {aka having a baby!}.
we started our day with a delicious brunch at bite cafe. very yummy. i just wanted some good old fashioned breakfast goodies. we had a very relaxing morning…chill & calm.
[anniversary breakfast]
we headed back to our place {it’s just around the corner from bite} and rested for the afternoon. we logged onto the computer, we watched some t.v., we chillaxed our time away. before we knew it, it was time to get ready and i couldn’t get off the computer! ya know, pinning can be addictive! hc kept nudging me to get ready but i had a plan…i knew i could whip myself together in 15 minutes {noooo problem!}. so there ya go, i jumped off the computer, freshened up the face, threw on the dress, and voila! i was ready! hc was doubtful of me, he really thought i wasn’t going to put in any effort for our anniversary night out! ha!
we headed to boka, a michelin star restaurant, for a lovely evening of noshing and imbibing. it was calm and serene inside. we were greeted with a “happy anniversary” welcome by the hostess. we were seated at the corner table {a favorite of mine in any resutarant}. who doesn’t love the best seat in the house?!
[at boka!]
[menu]
we ordered drinks {my mocktail was concocted by the bartender through my request of having something fruity!} and perused the menu to determine what were we going to eat at this fabulous place! once our orders were placed, we dived deep into our conversations and really enjoyed ourselves on our special night.
[cheers!]
[ready to order]
[complimentary sweets]
it was a perfect day and a perfect end to our two year anniversary celebration. we can’t wait to celebrate next year with our little one in our lives!
well that time had come, it was father quyen’s 40th year as an ordained priest! we celebrated at the altar villa banquet hall out in addison. it was quite a fete! i could be exaggerating but i think it was close to 600 folks at the event.
[mingling]
[coaster favors]
[me + hc]
[honoring cha quyen]
[with tricia!]
[vietnamese entertainment]
[with chu thong!]
[with the man of the hour]
[dad, mom, old friend, + dan]
i, as usual, cruised there straight from work. i waited in the parking lot for my hubby charming to meet up with me, he was driving in from the city. once we were together, we walked in and ran straight into my mom and dad. yay! we were immediately pinned with a rose flower {identifying us as family of cha quyen’s} and shuffled to our table. although, we were amongst only a few who had tables reserved for us, i still have to fight off a bunch of vietnamese peeps from stealing the table! they don’t care it says reserved, they will steal it from under this pregger lady! so there i sat, waiting for the rest of my family to arrive.
[old friends]
in the mean time, i was so excited to see my grandma [in from l.a.} and my parent’s old friends, di thu and chu thong {in from texas!}! it was a total reunion that night! we saw so many people we haven’t seen in awhile, it was so good to catch up! it was a great evening except for the singing {oy…it was so loud, it was uncomfortable!}, it’s not a vietnamese event without some loud music and loud singing. my brother dan said all vietnamese music/songs sound like a james bond theme song {funny statement of the night!}.
[love!]
[family]
[grandma! as huy calls her, ‘lil shorty]
anyhoo, after much socializing, eating, and picture taking, it was time to go home! we said our goodbyes and jetted out! it truly was a good night!
it’s been two years since we had the most wonderful day ever!!
[relive the magic]
or check out our wedding that was featured on 100 Layer Cake!!!
our wedding day was seriously magical. i know that sounds cliche but it’s true!!! we had the best time of our lives! our wedding weekend was so perfect. from our fabulous rehearsal dinner {the grill on the alley}, to our beautiful wedding day {st. clement + a new leaf}, to our sunday brunch {roy’s}, and a family dinner, sunday night, at my parent’s with our out of town guests…it was a euphoric weekend!
of course, a special shout out to our friends and families who were able to share in this joyous occasion with us. y’all truly made the day fantastic…it’s what makes life go round!
happy anniversary to my loving hubby charming! the most wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, caring, romantic, sweetest, funniest, handsome, incredibly loving man {not in any order and not enough words to describe him!} that i know.
he’s my cliche ‘soulmate’ idea, the cliche ‘you complete me’ statement, and the bestest partner in life.
i love you.
[a semi private moment after becoming husband and wife]
we also get a pet for a week! ms. nellie. how cute is she?! i’m excited for some quality time with hc. having some delicious meals together. going on lovely walks together in this warm weather. chilling. snuggling. doing nothing. spending time together. period.
hc is loving our new waffle maker {thanks dave + carrie!}. waffles, hashbrowns, grilled cheese sammies, oh my! we are loving this new device!
mother’s day has come and gone, and we seriously had the best time ever!
our mother’s day gifts were little onesie! Signifying for them that they were going to soon have a new grandchild addition to the family!
the day before, i went to the t-shirt deli {in bucktown} to have personalized onesies made for each set of grandparents! one set in vietnamese {for my parent’s…duh!} and the one set in english. it truly turned out adorbs!
[t-shirt deli goods]
on mother’s day morning, we set out to attend the 9:30 mass. it was a beautiful service and a beautiful day!
we headed up north, to argyle, to meet my family at hai yen restaurant for lunch {it was also my lovely mother’s birthday!}. after much comical bickering over the menu, we finally decided on our entrees {phew}!
so, after getting our order in, it was the right time to have my mom open up her gift {really it’s, obviously, for both of them!}. my mom was struggling, more confused by the gift itself. therefore, my dad started helping her but he was fumbling a bit as well, so i intervened and ripped open the package {notice the lack of patience on my part!}. my dad picked up the onesie and knew right away what it was. he finally showed my mom and she freaked out! they were so happy! my dad’s face, who shows little emotion, lit up and turned red from excitement! my mom teared up and both of them gave us hugs. everyone was so excited! another addition to our family!
[hmm, what’s this?]
[i love the looks on their faces!]
[little vietnamese onesie]
[my daddy]
[bun rieu]
[auntie kim]
after lunch, we walked the streets and went shopping. my mom went to town at the local vietnamese market. r really wanted a lucky cat. b begged for a broom. it was cute! we sashayed our way over ba le to pick up some banh mi’s {vietnamese sandwiches…i love them!}. we bought little treats, drinks, delicious macarons…so many yummy tidbits!
[having fun in front of the frozen fish at the market]
[r relaxing on his mini chair and stool]
[the cuties and their momma]
after shopping, we headed to the garden center in andersonville. we perused the gorgeous flowers and plants. shopped the knick knacks inside their little shop and had the kids play around the garden furniture and outdoor fountains.
we finally retired and headed back to our apartment to get some stuff done before we went on our next journey, to missy’s house for a mother’s day dinner with the heintz’s.
at missy’s we rested and relaxed as john prepared our dinner from the grill. it was time to eat {i couldn’t wait until we opened presents!}; burgers, fries, and a yummy salad {prepared by missy}.
[cute packaging]
after our meal, dessert was served {cheesecake – so delish, fruit cobbler, and cookies} and it was time to open presents! i was so excited. missy opened a few of hers, jane gave us each a gift, and it was time for her to open our gift. john was really digging the packaging {it’s a doggie bag…how could you not love it?!}. so, i prepped the gift {explaining what the t-shirt deli is about} and as she opened it, she looked over all the details {inside, i was shouting “open the wrapped package!!”}. she finally got to the package, she opened it up and started screaming! she said, “you are pregnant!”. i was then attacked with hugs! it was so awesome! such a great moment! of course she cried!
[action shots // precious!]
[showing off the onesie]
[happy family]
lots o’ hugs given all around, lots of tears of joy, and lots of very happy people around us. all in all, it was a pretty awesome mother’s day/mom’s birthday! yay!
yes, it is true! we are pregnant {wow!}! i am currently a smidge over 3 months! we are so excited for this growing, little baby inside of me!
baby heintz is arriving in november! just in time for thanksgiving!
i still can’t believe this is happening. it’s planned but unplanned…ya know what i mean?! what a whirlwind it’s been and it will continue to be one! we have been bursting at the seams to tell everyone and finally, the cat is out of the bag!
is it a boy? is it a girl? all we want is a healthy baby…then maybe we can debate the gender {i’m taking tallies!}!
we are so joyous and feel so blessed to be on this wonderful journey. we are very thankful and thankful for the overwhelming love and support from our friends and family!
our one year anniversary photos are featured in utterly engaged magazine {page 82}! how exciting!!!!
it’s a feature called he said/she said! the editor of the magazine asked us to answer the questions separately, honestly, and privately to really have some fun around comparing answers! we did, i promise! no cheating on our replies!
it’s so much fun to read our individual answers. i’m quite succinct and hubby charming was very verbose! it makes me smile to read our responses and feel the connection through our words. of course, jen huang did an amazing job capturing our love through the photos we took in central park this past fall. i’m so happy with how they designed the spread and so ecstatic to share our story with the world!
[photos by jen huang]
i hope this happy article helps brighten your day!
i was soooo excited hubby charming was coming home for the evening! what a sweet surprise!
we talked, we hung out, and just enjoyed our time together {when i’m with him, the words i’ll use to describe my feelings are comfort and happiness!} before we headed out for our evening plans.
we went to mass and then headed on our way to dinner! we went to our favorite sushi place, coast. we love coast. i/we have been going there for years. what we love most about coast is the fact that it is consistent in quality and taste every single time. it’s delicious and fresh. the rolls are the perfect size {none of the fancy, large rolls most trendy restaurants try to do…yuck}. it’s byob, so we brought some tasty wine to imbibe. the appetizers, the soup {the fried tofu – i die}, and the rolls {hands down best? the white dragon, it’s so stinkin’ good} fulfilled our tantalizing tastebuds {my brain said ‘i’m full + satisfied’}.
[mood lighting // two of hearts // best sushi ever]
after spending a lovely evening together, we scooted our way home to get those loose, comfy pajamas on!
we are going to visit our first new year’s together {hold on to your horses!}. i’m taking you back to 2008…whoa! well, really the end of 2008 because this was new year’s eve. i can’t believe that was many a years ago, time sure flies by! it’s amusing to think that we were only together for, barely, a few months in these photos {wow}!
we started out the evening imbibing and noshing at leyla’s {old} condo in river north. a little kookiness, a little goofiness, and a lot of fun. when you’re with this bunch, it gets cray!
the girls…meow!
appetizers
the boys
after some jovial moments with our friends + famille, we went on our merry way to broadway cellars {it’s been ages since we’ve been back and seeing this makes me want to go again!}. we had reservations for two! after many courses, after many wine pairings, and desserts, we were dunzo {i mean, how much can one consume without bursting? i really don’t want to find out!}. we gladly rang in the new year with all the wonderful folks in the restaurant, it was so jubilant! we were happily stuffed, happily in love, and happy it was 2009!
celebrate!
should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne!
for auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne. we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.
tonight’s meal: chicken pot pie! oh em geeeeeee, it was so good!! seriously, freakin’ delish! i love hubby charming for his culinary skills. at least his desire to do so, ’cause me, not so much in that department. i like cooking {just the basics for me} but would rather have someone else do it. am i right or am i right? although, i’m a great cleaner upper…spic and span is my best friend 😉
chicken pot pie
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 1 cup sliced fresh carrots 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1-1/2 cups chicken broth 1-1/2 cups milk 4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast 1 cup frozen peas 1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimientos, drained
1 teaspoon salt
biscuit topping
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
2/3 cup milk
[via tasteofhome.com]
Directions
*In a large saucepan, saute the mushrooms, carrots and onion in butter until tender; sprinkle with flour. Gradually stir in broth and milk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, pimientos and salt ; heat through. Pour into a greased shallow 2-1/2-qt. baking dish; set aside.
*In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in milk just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. Pat or roll out to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter.
*Place biscuits over chicken mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown
*Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
*Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer
*Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness.
*Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.
[via allrecipes.com]
i hope your evening was just as good + full of love, laughter, and silliness.
