June 3, 2013

My trip to Chicago

This past weekend I headed down to Chicago with five of my girlfriends for a bachelorette-of-sorts, but mostly just to escape our city and explore a new one! We woke up at 3:30 AM on Friday morning and drove for over 15 hours (normally it would take 12-13 hours, but we got stuck in long weekend rush hour traffic). This trip was exactly what we all needed. We walked absolutely everywhere, ate amazing food, and shopped till we dropped. We arrived in the evening and headed out for a drink (after that long drive we all needed one!) and then had dinner at Weber Grill. I don't know if I've had that much meat in one meal in my life, but it was so good! We headed back to the hotel and crashed hard and woke up early the next morning, grabbed breakfast and started exploring. 
Meet my pals.
From left - Jill (& Puddin' - the name her 3 year old named her baby to be!), Amy (Jill's sister), Sam (the bride-to-be), Crystal, myself & Tiff! These guys are just the best.

We shopped for most of the day and in the evening we went on the river architecture tour and it was a definite highlight of the trip even though it was very cold! 

This was my favorite building on the tour - so Jetsons'-esque! Later that night we went to The Publican for dinner and then out dancing and ended up staying out until the sun was coming up.

Naturally after a night of drinking and dancing, we went for a late pizza breakfast! Ha!

We went to Uno's for deep dish pizza and it was so delicious!

One of the things I love about Chicago is the beach, and it's right downtown which is so crazy! It was super chilly for most of our weekend, but it magically warmed up for the hour we spent on the beach! 

We grabbed coffee and parked our butts in the sand. It was heavenly.

While in Chicago, Sam had made two appointments for wedding dress fittings! One at J.Crew and the second at BHLDN. In the above photo she's carrying a dress that was a possibility, but once we went to BHLDN it wasn't even in the running anymore! We had such a lovely afternoon, drinking champagne with friends while Sam tried on some of the most beautiful gowns I've ever seen in my life. Holy moly she looked incredible. 

We did a lot of shopping on the trip and I bought a bunch of vintage dresses, some sandals for Summer, this cast iron pan (which I'm clearly pretty excited about) and this coat from Zara. We also grabbed popcorn from Garrett's in the morning and there is nothing quite like that smell of caramel in the air when you are waiting in line like the biggest tourist of life. Whatever, it was worth it!

Next we headed to Wicker Park on the subway and did some poking around in the shops.

One bummer was that Glazed and Infused was closed when we tried to go,  but I've only heard good things.

Another highlight was going to Big Star in Bucktown for the best tacos! The line up for the restaurant was super long and we were starving, so we hopped next door and got em to go and sat at the picnic table and enjoyed every last bite!

Chicago is an amazing city and I will definitely be returning one day hopefully soon! 

xo, Erin

24 comments:

  1. Love the snapshots, so much fun! xx

    http://reindeertrails.blogspot.com.es

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  2. I love chicago! it's an amazing city, and it looks like you had an amazing time! :)
    Rebecca @ tr[i]b[e]cca

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  3. This looks like such a fun time! I really want to go to Chicago and see the Anish Kapoor sculpture!

    Becky
    xx

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  4. Looks like you had lots of fun! I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE your new haircut! It looks great on you!

    <3 Kelsey
    Be Like The Fox

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  5. Yay! Glad you had fun in my city! (We call those building the "corn cobs." :))

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  6. Nice to see you having fun in my stomping grounds! Sad about Glazed and Infused, though, it really is divine. You'll just have to come back!

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  7. Looks like you had a great time! Thanks for mentioning the places you checked out. I'm heading to Chicago at the end of the month, and you've given me a lot of inspiration:) I love your new coat...and your new pan!

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  8. Next time you're in town, you HAVE to go to Antique Taco in Wicker Park! Its a lot like Big Star, with its "fancy" tacos and such, but the entire place is loaded with vintage maison jars, old school candy, and many other cute things. I live in Wicker Park and its one of my absolute favorite places ever!

    -Lauren

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  9. Great pics! Looks like such a fun trip!
    xx
    http://thescreensiren.com
    Stella & Dot giveaway on the blog

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  10. I have yet to visit Chicago - but it looks like you had a lovely time!

    I love the Jetson's style building!! So cute.

    Alex from www.polkadottedpixels.com

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  11. Wish I'd known you were going to be here! I would have said you MUST get the Chicago Mix at Garretts Popcorn! It really isn't to be missed! A delicious tradition!!!

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  12. loved the architecture tour when i was there in the fall - SO interesting! (but a little chilly :)

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  13. love love Chicago :) such a great city! I hope to move there someday soon!
    xoRach
    (also hilarious pan ;D)

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  14. This sounds like fun! I've always wanted to visit Chicago. x

    Melissa
    wildflwrchild.blogspot.com
    international OASAP giveaway on my blog!

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  15. Looks like you guys had a blast! I went to chicago for a bacherlorrette weekend last summer and really enjoyed the city!

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  16. That is so great that you guys were able to do that! I live really close to Chicago and haven't been in a while. Now I feel inspired to get some girlfriends together and go for a day and relax!

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  17. I haven't been to Chicago in ages. Your photos make we want to revisit. I love your Zara coat.

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  18. whoaaaaa.... Looks amazing trip. Looking you have an amazing trip with your friends,, really makes me jelous.. Love your post!! :D

    xo,Rist!
    http://ristlicious.blogspot.com/2013/06/june-giveaway-free-jewelry-from.html#.Ua10H9JOL48

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  19. Looove Chicago!!!! I have family that lives near there so we always take the train downtown to walk around and go to the beach. Thanks for sharing!!! It brings back some great memories!

    <3Lauryn

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  20. The architectural tour in Chicago is one of my favorite things to take visitors on and Big Star tacos are to die for! Glad you had fun in Chicago!

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  21. I recently happened upon your wonderful blog. I love how organized and easy to follow it is! And what do I see as I am purusing today? You were in Chicago! I have lived here for the past 10 years, and I work in Wicker Park where see you did some shopping! Next time you are in town, come by to say hi! I am the manager at a French Perfume/Candle shop called Diptyque on Damen Ave. You may have even walked by! Anyway...what shops did you go into and find your vintage dresses? I'm always on the lookout for new, fun vintage shops!

    Darcie

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  22. oh wow! sounds like a mint trip! xx

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  23. That building was one of my faves on a short trip to Chicago I made with my husband (back then we were only fiance'd) last year! I made him take pics with his phone, and seeing your photo has reminded me to ask him to send them to me! I also marvelled at the gargoyles at the top of the public library.

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  24. Great blog post! I felt like a visitor in my own city, as I saw it through your eyes. You definitely hit a lot of great places! I just signed my husband and I up for the architecture tour - can't wait!

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