A quick trip to the windy city

 This week I had the opportunity to travel with my husband to Chicago.

A city that I grew up near and visited often as a child,

but that I haven't been to in over a decade.

This guy had a work convention and when I heard that it was in Chicago, 

I asked if I could join him.

Thankfully, the in-laws were happy to watch the kids and we made arrangements to fly out together for a quick trip.

When I was a kid, I used to travel with my dad quite often for work.

It's a great way to be able to see the country {or the world}

 since the hotel and travel expenses for your spouse or loved one are already taken care of.

We used our credit cards separately

{him with a work credit card, and me with our personal card}

and while I was on my own most of the day, we did have evenings that we could spend together.

We didn't want to miss a second in the city, 

so we put on our coats and headed out into the city after we checked into our hotel.

Chicago has some amazing architecture.

We missed most of the excitement because of a late flight, 

but the city was still on fire about the Nik Wellenda tightrope walk.

We caught evidence of it on our walk around the city.

That bright light is the anchor and base point for one end of the tightrope.

The bean sculpture in Millennium park wasn't a part of the city on my previous visits,

so we made sure to stop on this trip.

It gives off some amazing reflections of the city.

Especially at night.

Our morning started early with a 5 mile run along the lakefront.

Running in a new city {or one I'm visiting}

is one of my favorite things to do.

We made it back to the hotel, showered and headed our separate ways.

We didn't have a car, so we were thankful for a hotel located in the heart of downtown.

I ducked into this centuries old church on Michigan Ave.

The pews were lined with homeless men and women, but it felt like just what a church should be.

It was open and welcoming.

The hallways were filled with art from their developmentally disabled adults and I was impressed by the community that I felt just by walking inside.

 My all time favorite store in Chicago was All Saints.

We walked past it on Sunday night after the store was closed and I was drawn in by the hundreds of vintage sewing machines they had in their display window.

Walking inside did not disappoint either!

Even the clothing displays were large pieces of vintage industrial manufacturing equipment.

And did I mention that the clothes were amazing?!

A bit out of my price range, but it was fun to look and dream.

I hear there's an All Saints store in Seattle.

I'm going to have to check it out.

My tween daughter is a budding fashion designer so I knew she would love these candy dress displays.

If you look closely, the clothing is made of candy and wrappers.

Pretty awesome aren't they!

The weather was in the low 60's on Monday so I thought I would take advantage of it by taking an architectural boat tour of the city.

It didn't disappoint!

I had no idea that Chicago had a locks system.

The boat tour offered some fantastic picture opportunities of the city.

They don't call it the windy city for nothing!

I spent a lot of time shopping while in Chicago.

However, with prices like these, I didn't spend a lot of time buying!

I got lost {and loved it}

in Ralph Lauren.

I felt like I was wandering around a countryside estate in England.

And while I think it's quite early to be decorating for Christmas, 

I loved seeing all of the Christmas displays in the city.

Think they would notice if I hosted my next dinner party in their shop?

Or perhaps I will grab a glass of wine and a book and sit by the fire.

Right next door to Ralph Lauren was Anthropologie.

It's such a different design vibe, but I could embrace either one.

Anthro is all ready for Christmas!

My hubs spent the day working, while I spent the day playing, 

so when I dragged him into Antro that day 

{my second visit his first}

he was happy to sit and wait for me on this couch.

I found him sleeping when I returned.

I simply adored the dressing rooms!

The best part of the trip, by far was being able to catch up with some of my sorority sisters.

Some of them work in the city, most live hours outside of the city,

all of us have kids 

{19 of them between the 7 of us!}

so it was so nice that they made the time to drive in or be away from their families so that we could reconnect.

We stayed at the Park Hyatt in Chicago and it was gorgeous!
I loved the succulent arrangements around the hotel.

It's a shame I can't seem to keep mine alive!

We had a fabulous view of the city from our 16th floor window.

I had the best hot chocolate each morning from Leonidas.

Mike had to hit the city for work early, so I was on my own.

I decided that instead of running on the lake front that I would borrow one of the hotel bikes and ride it instead.

It was a fantastic ride!

I started off at my hotel, went past Northwestern University,

down by Navy Pier and continued south through the city.

I ended my ride past Soldier field and decided to head back.

I rode back up by Millennium park so that I could see it in the daylight.

And then I took the lakefront path back to the hotel.

Passing the most gorgeous fire department ever.

I soaked in the tub in our room for a bit before hitting the shops again!

One of the must have stops in Chicago is to Garrett popcorn.

I got the Garrett blend of cheddar cheese and caramel corn.

An interesting mix for sure.

And then like that, our trip was over and we hopped on the L train 

and went back to the airport to go home.

Thanks for the great visit Chicago!

Until next time!