My trip to Chicago began on a Thursday morning, bright & early. I grabbed a Starbucks at the airport & expectantly waited to board First Class for my first time ever.
Tangent: First Class was a huge disappointment. I had to catch a connecting flight in Charlotte, & I didn’t get a meal (only snacks) on either flight. I did, however, have a Bloody Mary at 8:30am. Because I was not letting my First Class ticket go entirely to waste. Honestly, I will never fly First Class again, unless it’s a long flight that really counts. The positive things I noticed were: more leg room & a larger space between seats, & that I got to get on & off the plane before passengers seated in coach. That being said, I was continually unimpressed by US Airways, & won’t fly them again. So there’s my little First Class review, sorry it’s such a downer!
I landed in Chicago late that afternoon, & was met at the airport by my beautiful friend Julie. Julie & I have been the best of friends since we were 13; she was the maid of honor in my wedding. She went to Chicago 6 years ago for college & never left, & I’m so glad I finally made it up North to see her & the city with which she has fallen in love.
We went out for mediterranean food that night (a place called Babylon), then to grab some cupcakes at Sweet Mandy B’s. Apparently I fell in love with an almond cupcake with chocolate frosting, while Julie preferred to flirt with a caramel apple cupcake. Both were delicious & it was great to catch up on some serious girl talk. Later, we walked around the industrial part of the city & saw inside various buildings where they were mixing & pouring metal (can you tell I don’t know what I’m talking about?).
{While in Chicago, my hair decided it wanted to be red. I didn’t do anything to it, it just decided. I guess it has a mind of its own? So now I’m practically a redhead. Just FYI.}
{L-R a peek inside one of the industrial buildings; view from the bathroom window in a skyscraper}
The next day I finally met the boy she’s been talking so much about lately, & we all went to brunch at a place called Yolk. Julie had to go back to work afterwards, so her boyfriend walked me back to her apartment. Except Julie had left a note & keys on the counter that morning, I hadn’t seen them, & her roommates were gone. Locked out of my apartment in the city of Chicago! I’m already so good at this whole city life thing! So her boyfriend drove me back to her office & I basically followed her around while she finished her work for the day. Next time, I’ll check the kitchen counter before I leave the apartment.
That night, we walked around Miracle Mile* & saw some amazing shops. I even got to visit my love, H&M (hello, when are they going to bring one to Houston?)! Then we had deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s & hot chocolate at Ghirardelli. A delicious evening, to say the least.
The next day, I was ready to see more of the city. What better way than by boat? We took an architectural boat tour & saw all the gorgeous architecture Chicago has to offer. The weather was crisp & sunny. Perfect! Then we grabbed Starbucks & walked around some more, taking a break to hang out in the lobby of the new Trump Tower (& pretend like we were really important/supposed to be there).
That night we went out for Chicago dogs at Portillo’s & saw some pretty interesting characters dressed up for Halloween. We stopped by another bakery (Molly’s Cupcakes). By now, I had gained approximately 27 pounds.
“You’d think if Peter were getting married, he would have announced it in the Tribune.”
“We read the Sun Times.”
The next day we went to Julie’s church, then to a beyond delicious brunch at a place called Nookie’s. That afternoon we did a little more shopping, then went to the Art Institute of Chicago. I loved looking at the modern art exhibits & pretending like I was a cultured city girl, even if only for an afternoon.
That night, Julie & I went out for a very special dinner of fondue at Geja’s Cafe. Cheese & chocolate for dinner? Yes please! Then back to her apartment to soak our tired feet (I have never walked so much in my life!), drink peppermint tea from Trader Joe’s, & watch While You Were Sleeping.
While You Were Sleeping is a special movie for Julie & me. In the 11+ years we’ve been friends, we’ve watched it more times than we can count. It’s funny that the movie is set in Chicago, & that’s where Julie ended up. It was really fun to watch it together again, this time after seeing the city with my own eyes.
{L-R: moonlighting as a city girl; the famous Art Institute lion}
I left early Monday morning & had a hellish 14-hour travel day which included bus, train, plane, another plane, car ride from airport, & then I had to drive home. Which explains why I haven’t blogged since; clearly I needed over a week to recover. All in all, though, the trip was definitely worth the travel time. It was wonderful to see Julie, meet her boyfriend, & discover the Windy City.
*Julie corrected me via comments; it’s actually called Magnificent Mile. I’m sure I put Miracle Mile because I was thinking of the Kenny Chesney song. See, you can take the girl out of Texas…
Comments on The Windiest City
From storytimewithnicole:
I.LOVE.YOU.TWO. Gah. I haven’t seen Julie in years. I literally teared up just getting to see her face.
From Julie:
NICOLE!!! Hi friend. :) Your blog is private. That’s no fun; how am I supposed to stalk your life?! It is really good to hear/see you via Lauren’s blog!!!
From storytimewithnicole:
AHHH! JULIE!!! HIIIIII!!!!!
Um. Yeah. I saw that. It’s linking it to the wrong blog. That blog is private only because I’m not done working on it.
I WANT TO CATCH UP SO FRIGGIN’ BAD!!!
Can you send me a quick email so that I’ll have your email address and then I can send you a love note? My email is my first and last name, no space or anything, at yahoo dot com.
From Julie:
Woo hoo; I’m so glad you made it!!! I LOVED showing you my Chicago life! :) And remembering back to when you got locked out of the apartment guess what I did last night…yup, locked myself out. So I had to find someplace to bum around for three hours until one of my roomies was able to come home, which thankfully it is not hard to find a place to bum around in chicago. Oh life.
P.S. You called it “Miracle Mile” and while that mile is a miracle it is technically called “Magnificent Mile” ;) LOVE YOU! Come back again! How does next week sound??? I know, I know something about having a husband to take care of and rent and education to pay for. I suppose those are alright excuses. :)
Can have I have copies of your chicago trip pics? I forgot to get them off your card before you left!
From Kathleen:
Sounds like a perfect trip! I hope to see Chicago one day. Also, you look beautiful as a redhead. :)
From Rachel:
My only first class experience was on Air Canada, on a 5 hour flight. It was wonderful. We’ve also done the same flight in coach. Not as comfortable, but, we still got there. Glad you had fun. Chicago is a city I’ve never been to, but would like to experience.
From Marlena:
I had such a long beautiful inspiring comment (okay maybe not the last part) written and the universe just erased it. The jist: LOVE the outfit where you’re wearing the chic hat + vest-ish-thing. LOVE IT. I’ve learned that the only time 1st class is truly worth it is for International flights. They get to recline their seats into beds, get the good blankets, amazing food, etc. I may have crashed for a bit on my Paris flight back in 2008. We didn’t get to stay (full flight) but thanks to my flight attendant friend we did get their ice cream sundaes and free drinks. :-)
From Clare:
Lauren! Now I want to:
a) get on a plane
b) eat cupcakes and hot chocolate
Not very conducive to a productive Thursday. Looks like an amazing trip!
From Cole:
Uncle Matt lured in Chicago for a little while after college, but that was before I was born so I’ve never been. Looks like you had a great – and delicious – trip! Mommy and I are especially jealous of the two brunches, CUPCAKES, and Ghirardelli hot chocolate – yum!
From Suburban Sweetheart:
I haven’t been to Chicago since I was in high school, when I visited with my mom & grandma. Somehow, I doubt I got the full experience. My cousin lives there now, & I’d love to go again!
From Elizabeth:
It sounds like you had a fabulous trip, but it’s not fair for you to be talking about donuts in the morning! ;)
From Liz:
You are so adorable; looks like you had a fun time! Can’t wait to talk about it all on iChat :)
From Victoria:
I just LOVE all your pictures!!!! :) And “While You Were Sleeping” is a fave of mine too!!!! So sweet!!!! :) I am so glad that you and Julie had a great time visiting!!!! :)
From San:
Oh Lauren, what a wonderful trip and wonderful reunion with your friend… I can’t wait for some of my friends to come visit me in California. (I only get to see them when I go back home, but none of my friends have been to CA yet…. *bummer*).
From Nora:
Firstly, yet again you are just too cute!
secondly, I dyed my hair earlier this summer with highlights, that went blond (should have been caramel colored). I dyed over it what started out as dark brown and quickly became RED. I had to go back to my hair dresser and get it professionally done and so far it’s staying brown! No idea what the heck happened.
Glad you had such a good time on your trip. Next time make a pit stop in STl!? =)
From Stephany:
It sounds like such a fun trip, especially being able to catch up with an old friend! Chicago is the one city I’ve wanted to visit for a while now and could definitely see myself staying at in the future.
Glad you had a fun time – even with the terrible travel day while coming home!
From MelissaOklahoma:
Looks like a fantastic trip! I’ve never been to Chicago, but have always wanted to visit. Your hair does look reddish annnnd fantastic! You’re lucky that you can pull off so many different hair colors and styles. Me…not so much. :-/
From zburrows:
Dear LFT. I just love you! You look so cute in all your fall outfits! See… arent cold places nice in October?
I found myself reading your blog and wishing i was right there in the middle of it all… girl talking and cupcake eating.
From Kaci Johanna:
Hi.
You’re adorable.
That is all.