trail of lights

monday night was spent at the austin christmas staple – the trail of lights. one of our dear friends worked on putting together this awesome event {more like slaved over}, and it was time to celebrate her accomplishments. she gave us the vip treatment. this means alcoholic beverages, heaters, and golf cart tours. and so much more. 
 

^^ remember beetnik? their booth was killing it with delicious chili and cocoa. believe it or not austin has been fa-reezing
 

afterwards we headed to our 11pm dinner reservations to one of my favorite spots in austin, justines. the food / wine / ambiance is killer. and they really started the whole "east side" thing, in my opinion. after spilling my glass and eating a few too many mussels, it was time to head home. thank you so much AS for such a fun night ! and happy friday !
 

a saturday in the east bay

three day weekend, what's up! saturday started with some *much needed* yoga at yttp– afterwards we hopped on our bikes and with a little assistance from the bart, we were exploring oakland in no time. we're kinda oakland junkies lately. some highlights include an amazing lunch at the trappist, followed by a 30 minute ride thru some interesting parts of town... over to missouri lounge, hello dive bar.
 

later that night we hit up velvet cantina for dinner – my recent trip to austin has me on a queso kick. after dinner we had a few drinks in the back yard of el rio. i LOVE this place. one day i hope to actually try their famous flatbreads. 
 

^^ our night ended at little baobab – though we were disappointed by the recent expansion {we used to love the small sweaty feel of the old grungy spot, but oh well} – we still had a great time dancing the night away and closing out our evening with a nutella crepe. cheers! 

mission double date | trick dog + flour & water

thanks to our friends mg + mg, we finally made it to a bar we've been dying to try, trick dog, also by the same folks as some of our favorites – salumeria, central kitchen, and flour + water. it did not disappoint!

we shared some tasty cocktails and caught up as we waited for our table around the corner for dinner. i'll definitely be back here. next we went to f+w and it was even better than i remember. the quality of food there is just.. i mean... i kinda get why you have to make a reservation months in advance? a bottle of rose´and literally 5 pasta/pizza dishes later we topped our meal off with some chocolate amazingness and left with happy tummies.
 

girls weekend in chicago

saturday and sunday were jam-packed full of awesomeness. some highlights include: 
brunch, shopping, drinks with a view, the most ridiculous seafood platter, maudes {i frickin loved this place}, legit chicago blues, DONUTS! on the water, strolling the zoo and the lily pools, and of course some good quality cozy time at c + e's amazing apartment. 
 

^^ probably busting it to mustang sally or something like that
 

hello, windy city [weekend in chicago]

it's about dang time! last weekend i finally went to visit and celebrate CL {soon to be CR!!}... this also came with checking chicago off my bucket list. it was so great to see my two favs. shall we start with friday? – we spent our morning snuggling with each other followed by lunch at au cheval aka home of the most delicious burger ever. afterwards we went to the j. parker, which had the best view {um, are we in cancun?} and the best rose´. i could have stayed here all day.
 

^^ my first batch of sprinkles and boy was i honored!
 

day drifted to night and we spiffed up for drinks at billy sunday. they put so much TLC into those cocktails i mean my goodness. next we went to the much anticipated girl and the goat. cal really is a fabulous chicago tour guide! the rest of our weekend to follow....