the windy city...

 chicago is simply amazing. i envy any person that has the opportunity to call this city their own. in three very short days, we covered every stretch she had to offer. the food is perfection, the people are warm and friendly, and the general vibe of the city is amazing. surprisingly, chicago feels so different from nyc, but very alike in some ways. there isn't the major hustle and chaos of nyc, yet it's happening every where you turn. we stayed at a great hotel (with an amazing upgrade!) and were standing on the magnificent mile within steps of our front door.

the shopping... oh, the shopping. we covered every store from tiffany's to the vintage consignments in wicker park. we ate pizza twice - unbelievable pizza, had italian beef sandwiches and chicago style hot dogs, a brunch that was to die for at a fantastic restaurant called yolk, and our anniversary cupcakes at an adorable spot called molly's cupcakes. we also treated ourselves to garrett's popcorn... The chicago mix they called it, a blend of cheese an caramel. sweet and salty, who wouldn't love that?!?! and as always, i photographed the grub... so here ya go :) 

pizza pot pie... are you kidding me??? 

6 inch slices of pizza... seriously???

a dipped italian beef sandwich that was very hard to handle, but also very delish.

and this hotdog - a bit odd in appearance... was ahh-mazing.

molly's cupcakes in lincoln park is just the cutest little shop ever, and they have any flavored cupcake that your heart could possibly desire. this is the one tradition that we have kept since the wedding. we served cupcakes instead of wedding cake... red velvet cupcakes to be exact, so we have one (two) every year to celebrate the occasion. 

we spent about 10 minutes at the navy pier but it was so unbearably cold that we had to get away from the water. 37 degrees may not sound too cold, but when you left sunshine and 75 the previous day... you definitely feel the sting.

and this was us freezing our tails off... 

there was two bars i had to experience (per david). one was the green mill, which I constantly called the green mile. it was a great spot with jazz music and a super friendly bartender. we even made friends with a girl until we realized she was just the spokesperson for the place. (seriously, she did everything to promote the place including begging us multiple times to come back).

the second bar was the matchbox. it was about the size of a matchbox, but very amazing. again, super awesome staff, and a margarita to die for. i was told they were strong... little did I know that my non-alcohol friendly body couldn't tolerate just two drinks. (really two and a half). 

 after getting my composure back, david hurried me to a fabulous thai restaurant and I over-indulged a massive plate of pad thai smothered with fresh cilantro! it was a seriously fun night!

and back to the shopping - 

filenes basement is one of my favorite stores in the world, and of course, chicago has one.  i've been in the nyc and dc stores, and this one is just as grand. i also recently discovered that they opened one in ATLANTA!!!! so pumped for that... already planning a day shopping trip ;-)
  i already miss the big city life and dream of one day living in the beautiful lincoln park... wearing flats but carrying high heels in my bag, walking where i need to go instead of driving, and grocery shopping for the day instead of the week.
what. a. life.