fashion week: The Second City

I was able to knock another item off of my Before 30 List by going somewhere I had never been... Chicago.

My husband, some friends and myself spent an extended weekend in Chicago. The main purpose of the trip was for Chris to run the Rock n Roll Half Marathon held this past weekend. We got to spend lots of time in the city and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Here's a recap.

We spent a lot of time in the park including at Cloud Gate.

I was amazed at how beautiful the city was particularly along the museum campus.

My little half marathon runner after the race.

We went to the Navy Pier, walked around, enjoyed a hot dog and took an architecture cruise. I loved the cruise. It was very beautiful.

We saw Second City and it was hilarious.

We visited the Art Institute including the amazing Modern Wing. This is one of my favorite museums and they have loads of famous pieces including lots of Monet.

Finally, the Chicago Theatre.

Finally our flight home. Bye Chicago.

The Shopping.

Amazingly enough I did not shop that much in Chicago. We did shop a little though and these are my favorite spots.

Oak Street. Located off N. Michigan Ave. Gorgeous to walk down even if you aren't buying a thing.

Wicker Park had by far the best "non-chain" stores in my opinion. I wish I had more time but these were some of my faves.

Renegade Handmade. They had Joan finger puppets!

Elevenzees. Jonathan Adler, Earthworks, etc. etc.

Asrai Garden. Gorgeous!

Favorite Eats.

These are some of my favorite places we ate. I also loved Trattoria 10. I had roasted corn ravioli that was covered with squash blossom flowers. One of the best meals I have ever eaten.

On the recommendation of a fellow blogger and a friend, we had pizza at Piece in Wicker Park. It was a great. Highly recommend it and it's just steps from the train.

If Trip Advisor tells me to I will do it.... Yolk was a great recommendation for breakfast. Located on S. Michigan Avenue.

My favorite find by far was Milk & Honey in Wicker Park. We stopped in for a chai (order it!), a latter and a piece of oatmeal blueberry cake. Amazing.