our dear friend neidre was in town!

she came to chicago to run a race and we planned on a date to meet up. we texted back and forth on a place to eat, where to hang, and what time we were going to get together. we finally settled on a day!

neidre decided for all of us to meet at cumin, an indian restaurant in wicker park. perfect! first off, it’s our old hood {sigh} and we actually had never eaten here, living there for years. so we were excited to try it out.

we got there in a snap, found an amazing parking spot, and strolled our way to the restaurant. there was quite a wait, so we sat at the bar and ordered drinks. i got this mango concoction that was delish!! it was a perfect blend of sweetness and not too overpowering with the alcohol taste. the type of libation that can get you in trouble!

[i miss the city!]

[cheers!]

we sipped our cocktails and waited for neidre and friends to arrive. after ten minutes or so, neidre and liwani showed up! we were so happy to see them. neidre lives in florida and we were fortunate to be able to see her this past holiday in march! so, the fact that she was in chicago, there was no way we were going to miss her!

neidre also invited her friend jim, he arrive shortly after them and the party really began! we engrossed ourselves in some amazing conversations, tasty bites, and cocktails.

[me and my lady neidre]

[neidre and jim]

i ordered some apps for us {i love hanging out with a group of peeps who have no limitations on tastes, spice, or flavors!!!} and then we all decided on our entrees and placed our order. the service there was fantastic…the entire staff was so accommodating, friendly, and attentive. i love mom and pop type of places, it encompasses all good things when it comes to service, food, and ambiance.

[appetizers: chicken momo and chicken chilli]

[liwani and neidre]

[vegetable tandoori]

[garlic naan]

we ate, drank, and truly, truly enjoyed the company around us. we shut the place down! we were the last to leave and leave we did not want! we headed outside {the temperature and weather were perfect} and proceeded to walk the streets of wicker park.

hc and i arrived at our car and we said our goodbyes. we had to get home to relieve the babysitter {our fabulous neighbor, sarah}.

[we love you neidre!]

on our way back home, we sidetracked to our old apartment and said hello to our old neighbors there! it was fantastic to see matt, maggie, jeremy, his wife, and our former second floor neighbor, stacey! they invited us upstairs to check out our old apartment. that was pretty cool to see. after a half hour or so, we went on our merry way. this time to really get home to let the babysitter go!

it was a whole combination of delightful things this evening. seeing our great friend neidre, meeting new friends, connecting with our old city neighbors, and sarah having a great first time babysitting little miss olive!

cheers to good things!

xoxo