I'm a big fan of coincidences. I guess the universe was looking out for me in some weird way when my friend and I hit the 'burbs on a recent Sunday afternoon.

We began in Westlake at that suburb-within-a-suburb, Crocker Park. Hey, even city girls like me need to shop every now and then. And I'll tell ya, there isn't too much shopping to be done downtown, these days. Anyone with good tips on that front, pass them along, please.

As we're strolling along the tree-lined avenue -- I mean, along the sidewalk lined with storefronts -- we see my hairdresser and her husband. To make it even more coincidental, I'd seen the two of them earlier in the week at Melt.

Okay. Stores closed, our stomachs growling, we hit the road in search of food. We (finally, and after more than one cell phone call) opted for Danny Boy's in Rocky River. Closed. So we went to the nearby Max's Deli. Over our sandwiches we talked about the people we knew who'd (a) served at, (b) cooked at, and (c) frequented Max's. Lots of people fit in one or more of those categories, it turns out.

We ordered dessert to go (it's Max's!!) and headed down the street for Mitchell's Ice Cream. I originally wanted the Pink Ribbon Peppermint Chip Ice Cream, which won Scene's "Best Reason to Eat More Ice Cream" in its hefty Best of Cleveland issue. I accidentally got the mint chip, but it was still good. I'm funny like that, sometimes.

Finally, as we're sitting on a bench eating our ice cream, we see a couple I'd seen at Lucky's during a recent Saturday brunch. Life gets no cooler, nor more coincidental.