Brian + Laura :: Lincoln Square, Chicago

I met Laura when I was six or seven, I think. She was a curly-haired girl from down the block who appeared at our driveway gate and asked if I wanted to be friends. I said, "Sure." We played velcro paddle ball in the backyard, figured out each other's names, and then she went home. Voila. Instant friendship. For the years that we lived close to each other, we went to each other's birthday parties, made mud pies behind our garages together, and played Wheel of Fortune on the computer that she had... in her BEDROOM. (This was epic, my friends -- computers were rare back in the early 90's, and to be a pre-teen with a computer in your room was, well, absolutely legendary.)

When my family moved out of the neighborhood, Laura and I slowly lost touch. But then, the wonder that is Facebook reunited us via the internet, and I learned that she eventually went to Marquette University in Wisconsin... met a guy... got married... and moved back to Chicago! Laura's husband, Brian, is working toward his PhD. In Physics. (Yes. And Wow.) Laura works in public relations, and she's also starting her own photography business... so when she contacted me asking for some pictures of her and Brian in their cutsey neighborhood, plus a few shots of her and her camera... well, golly be, I got excited.

Laura and Brian live in Lincoln Square, a quiet, beautiful neighborhood on the north side of Chicago with lots of German heritage. Laura has strong family ties to the neighborhood, so it was fun to walk around and get introduced to their favorite places: boutiques, drugstores, delis, restaurants, and bookstores (where, right next to the books, they serve coffee, cupcakes, and wine. How is that not a combo we ever see in the suburbs?!). I -- fancy little suburbanite that I am -- had fun masquerading as a city girl for a morning, and what a treat it was to spend time with my long-lost friend and her sweet husband. 

P.S. Brian loves Laura a lot (just look at the way he looks at her), and as always, when I see one of my friends married to a really great guy... well, that just makes me happy :)

Here's Laura and her Nikon :)

Check out her photography blog here!

Now, remember what I said about how these two met in Wisconsin?

Football fans know what that means -- these two are Packer fans. Die hards.

Intense enough to fearlessly wear Packers jerseys in the middle of downtown Chicago.

(On our way to the park, a guy in a Bears jersey yelled, "GO BEARS" from his truck window.

It's not even football season. Sheesh.)

So, Laura?

Here's to reunited childhood neighbors... 

even if they can't agree on the world's greatest football team.

;-)

Check Brian and Laura's slideshow... (or click here to be redirected!)