Five.

This past weekend, I got to meet a blog friend of mine, Nikki from My Life My Way!  This was my very first blog meet-up, and I was really excited to meet Nikki after emailing with her almost every single day and learning about her life for months!

Photo courtesy of Nikki

If you don't know Nikki, go check out her blog!  She's so real and so down to earth.  In person she's great too!  She's super friendly and so much fun to be around!

We met for Sunday brunch at Made With Love Artisan Bakery & Cafe in downtown Jersey City, NJ.  Made With Love is a bakery/cafe (as the name suggests) with a focus on organic, sustainable ingredients.  My kind of place!

After walking in and immediately diving into conversation with Nikki - seriously, I feel like I've known this girl for years! - we placed our orders.  The food was amazing!  We shared the guacamole and chips, and both ended up having the award-winning Quinoa & Black Bean Chili - it truly was award winning.  I could have eaten it by the bucketful.  Luckily Nikki didn't notice me shoveling it by the spoonful into my mouth.

There were also specialty coffees (espresso, cappuccino, etc.) and teas available, as well as egg dishes and quiches to suit any palate. Not to overlook the plethora of sweets - cookies of every shape and size, cinnamon apple pies and chocolate cupcakes were just a few treats that lined the counter.

After brunch, Celeste, the super-sweet owner invited us back to the kitchen to have a look around.  Four braid bread, a mouth-watering focaccia loaf made with sea salt and rosemary, and croissant bread pudding were some of the freshly baked goods cooling on the rack.

We discovered that Celeste also offers private cooking lessons for small groups.  Nikki and I are already planning to bring the men back for a private couples cooking class, complete with wine and candlelight dining.  Can't beat that!

After brunch, of course we went to Target.  I kept running off in different directions because I have no attention span ("ooh shiny!").  But Nikki hung right in there with me.  She's a trooper!

If you're in the Jersey City area, you've got to check out Made With Love.  You will not be disappointed!  And let Nikki or I know if you are in the area so that we can meet you, too!