Lots of talk about goals this past week (12 hour drive from DC to Chi means lots o’ talking in general), ready to put some on paper and make some moves.
(image via)
Chicago Dancing Festival
I won this picnic basket 5 years ago and last night, it finally made its debut.
The Chicago Dancing Festival concluded last night with the grand finale at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion. Joffrey Ballet and the River North Dance Company were among the performers taking the stage on one of the most perfect summer evenings we’ve had this year.
The dancing was stunning, the music was gorgeous and sharing the evening (and wine and eclairs) with 2 of our closest friends made for a whole lot of jazz hand excitement- so much love for Chicago last night! And I wasn’t the only one- Mayor Emanuel was on hand to kick-off the evening, giving mad love to his city and our growing dance community.
Summer, please don’t end.
On My Radar This Weekend
Randolph Street Market: Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm
Bucktown Arts Fest: Saturday and Sunday, 11am-7pm
Taste of Greece: Saturday and Sunday 12-11pm, Greektown
NoMI Garden: The weather will be perfect this weekend to hit up this 7th floor Park Hyatt garden terrace. I haven’t done any rootopping this summer so I say now is as good a time as any!
Happy Friday!
Crabs. The Good Kind.
The highlight of this vacay week- crabs!
Ryan used to be a Marylander and since we were back on his boyhood territory, a stop for some all-you-can-eat crabs was a must. Smart money was that I was going to make a few failed attempts at cracking these bad boys, get grossed out, give up and order crab cakes.
However…
It turns out that I am AWESOME at eating crabs! I was a cracking, pulling, don’t-stop-until-all-the-meat-was-out machine.
A few orange crushes, 3 dozen crabs, 2 ears of corn and a few baskets of fries later, Ryan and I had in the books one of our favorite dates of all time. So much fun, so much aggression (I used my mallet with force), so much surprising each other (*me surprising him, actually- I am so proud of how proud he was of me for showing those crabs who was boss!).
I don’t know about football but crabcakes and crabs in general is definitely what Maryland does.
Mile of Style c/o the Girls of Lincoln Park
Attention Chicago ladies: the Magnificent Mile Shopping Festival is about to begin this Friday, August 26th. This two-week event includes celebrity appearances, designer meet-and-greets, as well as trunk shows, concerts, cooking demonstrations, discounts, and more.
The kick off is bright and early Friday morning with giveaways from stylist and fashion designer, Carson Kressley (former Bravo’s Queer Eye), at 401 N. Michigan. Other events to note: an appearance by Project Runway designer Mondo Guerra at Macy’s Water Tower (Friday, 8/26 at 5:30pm) and a Vosgos Haut-chocolat and cocktail tasting at Escada (Tuesday, 8/30 from 6-8:30pm). The festival will end on Fashion’s Night Out Thursday, 9/8. Get ready to get your shop on! – GOLP
(Reblogged via GirlsofLincolnPark. These girls are my new go-to for style/design inspiration, inspiration inspiration and share my mad love for sweet home Chicago- what’s not to love about their darling blog?! )
Pippa Wins Again…and again and again
I sure hope this isn’t going to turn into one of those “Who Wore It Better” situations.
Because it’s no contest- Pippa would clean up (literally- I think it’s obvious who actually showered before this photograph and who did not).
More proof that it’s not the dress that makes the woman but the woman who makes the dress.
(via theviesociety)
Ocean City’ing
Ocean City, Maryland.
Unlimited putt-putt golf AND free ice cream.
Beaches and boardwalks reminiscent of the 1940s.
Crab in every form of food possible.
In vacation and sort of high school mode- I haven’t dominated in mini-golf in over a decade! (editor’s note: Ryan beat me by 1 lousy point- I still showed strong athletic mini-golf prowess, okay???).
Happy Tuesday!
Eastern Market- Crepe Love
Hey there, best crepe in the world here.
I had this little gem yesterday morning at the Eastern Market in DC. With the mad love for the Green City Market, I wanted to see how it’s done in another city. Our friends rave about the crepes that are apparently so good that the large line is worth it- right, right they were! This peach/blueberry/blackberry and sweet cheese crepe was really, really delicious and it was so much fun chowing down on it while wandering through the rest of the market filled with fresh farm goods and homemade art and crafts. Ryan opted for a traditional strawberry-banana-nutella crepe and was finished before I could even get a bite if that’s any indication of how much he loved his crepe. I haven’t had a crepe since I was in Paris- where do you even get them in Chicago?
Saturday morning in DC= success.
Leavin’ On a Jet Plane
As of tomorrow evening, I will be DC-bound! I cannot wait to get to our nation’s capital to lobby Congress, pass some bills and enact change!
Just kidding.
I’m really just going to meet up with Ryan before we take a little coastal vacation. I got you though- very “A Chi Town Girl Goes to Washington”, right?!?
I spent tonight list making and packing and I am so excited to spend some time with my man, take a little road trip and then come back to Chicago- together! He’s been gone for 10 weeks and it’s high time he gets back to city life. And life with Luna Bell and I!
Happy Friday, kittens!
(image via CupcakesforBreakfast)