What I Loved About Chicago

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

Riverwalk

View from the Ferris Wheel

Navy Pier

Downtown

I am a new fan of the Windy City! -- I had such an amazing time in Chicago. The only thing that could have made it better was to have Jon there! Here is a list of my most favorite things:

* Garret's Popcorn - Every time we passed by Garret's, there was a line out the door for their popcorn. The beautiful smell of fresh caramel filled the streets...I HAD to get some. I got two small bags of their Chicago mix. Caramel cheesy goodness in my mouth!

* Hyatt Regency Hotel Beds - I don't know what it is about hotel beds...but I slept like a baby. So comfy!

* Renegade Handmade - My new favorite store of ALL time. I bought myself a couple of early birthday gifts from iamhome & Scarlet Garnett -- I also found a new handmade shop, shelter, that I just love and I have my eye on a couple of her handmade backpacks!

* Sally Hogshead - The closing speaker of the HOW Design Conference. Besides the fact that she was an amazing speaker...she has developed a really neat tool about assessing what fascinates others about you. It's less about your perception of the world and more about how others perceive you and how you can translate that to your workplace. Oooo ahh!

* The "L" - Public transportation in Chicago is amazing compared to Atlanta. I loved it. 

* Books! - I purchased a couple books from the conference on design and I can't wait to dive into them! 

* Vintage - My favorite little vintage//handmade//new items shop, Una Mae's...so cute and the owner is precious! I bought a couple pieces of vintage clothing and a new pocket watch necklace.

There was a lot more that I really loved and there's a lot more I wish I could have done! Until we meet again Chicago... :) 

The Windy City

Chicago is amazing! Jenny and I spent some time today, before our conference, exploring the Wicker Park area. We went to the Renegade Handmade shop and LOVED it. We probably spent over an hour 1/2 just browsing and swooning over all of the beautiful handmade goodies. We saw stuff from some of our favorite artists: Paper Sparrow, Foundling, Bird Mafia...If you love the Renegade craft fairs, you would love their sweet little shop! I could just gush over it all day! I took a couple photos of the shop:

See the photo above?? They had all of their old craft fair posters for sale and I was able to snag the very last 2004 Wicker Park Craft Fair poster! (Second row from the bottom, far right.) After spending half the day trying to make up our mind on what we wanted to leave with, we finally picked out some great goodies! -- If you ever get the chance to go to Chicago, you should definitely stop by! 

Here are a couple other photographs from the day:

Shops we LOVED:

Buffalo Exchange - Gently used clothing & accessories

Una Mae's - New & vintage clothing as well as some local handmades

Renegade Handmade - Handmade

Free People - Clothing shop

Store B - Vintage

US #1 - Vintage

We had our first session of the conference tonight and learned about "being in the moment," so that we can be at our best frame of mind for creativity and being present. Afterward, we spent a couple hours at the expo collecting paper samples and resources for design! -- I can't wait for a busy day of sessions tomorrow!

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Chicago

Artwork Via Matte Stephens

Today, I am going to Chicago! -- I probably forgot to mention that...BUT I am seriously so, so excited. We leave for the airport in one hour! I'll be attending the HOW Design Conference in downtown Chicago with Jenny. We have been planning and dreaming about this conference for months and we can't wait!

We have a little time before and after the conference to explore the city. Anyone have any MUST SEE//EAT//DO suggestions?? I'm bringing along this city guide from Design*Sponge and I had a friend of mine who used to live there give me the brief Chicago 101...So I'll be riding the "L" and definitely getting some deep dish pizza! Mmmm...

I will still be posting while I'm gone and will most definitely plan to show you some pictures along the way! --- Geeky awesome design conference, here I come! Trends, technology, & fonts! Oh my!

PS - My huge Sponsor Love giveaway is still open for entries HERE & my Sponsor Ad Space giveaway is also still open for entries HERE -- Winners will be chosen and announced on the 29th!