it was a cloudy morning with scattered showers. but the forecast was promising after 10am until mid afternoon {before the rain was suppose to hit again}. we were looking forward to hosting a brunch for our friends aaron and olivia.

i was hoping that we would go into the city to meet up with them but after a rigorous week of traveling every day with miss olive, i just didn’t have the energy to haul her around in the car anymore. we were on the road every.single.day that week and i didn’t want to put her in the car, what would have been the 8th day in a row. i was super thankful aaron and olivia didn’t mind coming on out to us! for sure, the next outing together will be on their turf!

as they arrived, we were ready with brunch! hc whipped up waffles with fresh fruit, maple syrup, crispy bacon, and seasoned potatoes. deeeeelish! we sat down for our feast and had a jolly ol’ time catching up. i love these two…i loved seeing their relationship grow over the years and it continues to grow. where they are now and where they were years ago is so different. we love hanging out with them…aaron and hc get along so well {total bromance} and obvs olivia is my girl!

[brunch and old fashioned’s]

[intense bacon eating]

[smorgasbord of food // fruit, potatoes, bacon, and waffles]

after brunch, we just hung out. it was great. the boys did their thing, we did our thing, and then sometimes we hung out together. i love that it’s so casual and relaxing when we are together. olive went down for a early afternoon nap so olivia and i were able to have some one on one time.

[olivia and moi]

[that’s aaron’s rad jeep in the background]

[warming up to olivia…again.]

hours just flew by! olive woke up from her nap and it took playing some videos for her to warm back up to olivia! next thing we knew, it was almost mid afternoon and olivia and aaron had to jet {they were hosting some peeps at their place that evening!}.

it was a total blast having them over {always}. we love them and can’t wait until our next couples date in the city!

xoxo

matt and i run into each other once in awhile but it had been a month or two since we had gotten together for a brunch. so, we finally hashed out our schedules and decided to meet up at cafe salmerie in lincoln square…i’ve never been there before and it was super yummy!

we were cruising along the street in the cute little neighborhood of lincoln square. it’s a quaint, unique area tucked way up north of chicago. as we strolled down the street, i was delighted by all the cute shops around. of all the years i have lived in chicago, i never frequented this area. i think i have been up there once or twice ever. so, it was refreshing to visit this area again…or it felt like for the first time since it had beens so long since my last visit!

we walked right into a pastry counter so i knew this place was going to be great! i met up with matt at a corner table and we got down and dirty with our conversations. we laughed, we gasped, we were in awe over our life’s happenings.

we had ordered our food {which took a very long time to get}, i had selected their bacon and boursin sandwich, which was sooooo good! olive had buttered pasta and fruit and plenty of libations to fill her cute little belly.

[my kind of place…first thing you walk into is a pastry case!]

[we had just gotten to the restaurant and she was soooo clingy! p.s. don’t mind the crazy hair…since the pregnancy, i can’t tell my bangs from the baby hair that has been growing in!]

[glug, glug, glug]

[this bacon and boursin sandwich was sooo delish!]

[dearest matt]

[her thing of late…sitting on the floor of the restaurant]

after spending quite a bit of time inside the restaurant, we finally paid our bill {of course i picked up some pastries on the way out} and walked the street to do a little shopping. we stopped at starbucks {natch…that’s a no brainer with me and matt!} and got ourselves some coffee. i am loving the fact that starbucks came out with a mini version of the frappuccino cup. sooooo stinkin’ cute for miss olive! she had her first starbucks drink that day! a mini vanilla bean frappe!

[shopping around in lincoln square]

[olive’s first starbucks drink! i love their mini frap cup!!! so cute!]

[merz’s apothecary]

after perusing a few mores stores around the street {it’s such a perfect area for holiday shopping, so many gift ideas!}, we parted ways. miss olive needed her nap!

it was fantastic seeing matt. i love him! he’s such a great guy and a wonderful friend. until next time!

xoxo