Stranded in Chicago

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As I write this, my husband and I are currently 'stranded' in Chicagoland due to a car problem we discovered yesterday as we tried to leave town and head back to West Michigan. Thankfully, my parents were able to pick us up and we are holed up at their place working today.

Friday night we had some very exciting news to toast to, so we had a nice dinner and a bottle of wine at my in-laws' with a view of the lake to boot. How gorgeous is this set up?

On Saturday morning, we recovered from said wine, made some eggs, and eventually left West Michigan around noon for a quick, expected-to-be 24 hours trip to Chicago. 

Most of the drive was pretty simple, but traffic was awful once we got into the city (there is virtually no traffic in West Michigan). It was a vivid reminder that, while Chicago is indeed a very fabulous city, it has its 'cons' just like anywhere else. Pack that one in the memory bank for when I'm missing the Second City...

^Can't wait to get out into the sun!

The weather was pretty amazing though, in the 70s and sunny, so I decided to be brave and don a crop top. I could probably get away with it in Grand Rapids, but I figure it'll blend right in here in Chicago.

We arrived at The Drake Hotel in the early afternoon. I had never stayed here before, but we booked the trip last minute and they had a good rate available, so we jumped on it. Not the most modern or updated of the Chicago hotels by any means, but it has its own old fashioned charm to be found in the vintage chandeleirs.

We quickly dropped our things in the room and headed back out. One of my best friends from college was in town, and my mom and dad were in town to see a play that night, so we all met up in the afternoon for a few cocktails at Rock It Bar and Grill.

We walked inside to ask for patio seating only to find out they were closing their patio, so my dreams of sitting and enjoying a drink outside were squandered. Oh well. Good thing we had amazing company!

After a few hours of chatting away, and a few mimosas and old fashioneds, my parents had to head out to get to their play, and they drove my girlfriend back to her hotel while my husband and I walked around a bit. It was a pretty nice day out, and we are huge fans of walking, so the fact that we could shop on the way was just icing on the cake...

Pet peeve: The board to the left says "mimosa's" instead of "mimosas." I'm just saying...

We passed this hilarious sign on our way to the stores, and I had to get a picture of it. My next plan is to find a way to put a chalkboard in our next kitchen and come up with clever notes like this for when people come over.

A few hours later, after I bought myself my husband bought me a few shirts, a dress, a necklace, and a hair bow (oh, the random things you purchase after drinking a few cocktails...), we were ready for dinner.

Hanging out in River North / Streeterville / Mag Mile is fun, but it is also extremely crowded and touristy on a Saturday night (read: tons of people randomly stopping in the sidewalk to look up at the buildings, thus causing a HUMAN traffic jam - yes, Chicago is not just the home of vehicular traffic). So, we opted to head to J. Patrick's, our old standard pub in West Town. 

The next morning, we packed everything back into the car (there wasn't much for a one nighter!) and headed up north to Andersonville. We met with some of our friends for breakfast at Lady Gregory's, and we were sitting outside when the temperature suddenly dropped like 15 degrees. It was crazy.

We started heading back and had just gotten on LSD (Lake Shore Drive) when we started hearing a weird sound in our Touareg. Eventually, we had to get off and drop it off at a nearby Volkswagen dealership. We were lucky my parents were able to pick us up and bring us home for a steak dinner!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you ever do small 24 hour trips? I like short weekend trips because they are a short little surprise from life, and not quite as hard to "come down from" afterward.
• Any Midwest suggestions for a short-and-easy trip?

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

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Last night, I met one of my bridesmaids, Emily, at the J. Crew on Michigan Avenue for some dressing room fun. I've picked a set fabric and color of the J. Crew bridal line, but wanted my girls to try on the various dresses and cuts to see what fits them.

Fact: I am a horrible bride and was late. I pulled a total bonehead move and missed my stop on the 151 Bus. I usually cab it or take the blue line, so sometimes, I get totally distracted and forget to pull the string to get off the bus. Oops. I ended up being exactly 9 minutes late, and Emily was already in her first dress. Sorry, Emille... 

She's sassy and funny and cute, right?
See, now you know why I'm friends with her.

I've already been to the J. Crew Bridal Suite on Michigan Ave with my sister and two cousins, who are both in my wedding, so I had a good idea of who would end up with which dresses. Still, it's always interesting to see how people react to various dresses!

We spent about a half hour trying things on, and, while all of the dresses looked great, it was a pretty easy decision because one dress was just extremely flattering. I love when life makes those decisions so easy! #Grateful

Here are a few sneak peaks from my various sessions there. I've been 3 times now, so I'm practically a regular, right? [Shout out to Rachel and Andrew, who have both helped me out at various times!] They have you try dresses on in some crazy colors (it's all about finding the right fit), so don't start thinking I'm having a rainbow wedding. Totally not my thing. In fact, we're going for almost the opposite... Hint hint.

After dress shopping, we headed over to Farmhouse. My fiance works in the building almost immediately across the street, and has always commented on how interesting this restaurant looks. I checked their Yelp reviews and then made a reservation via Open Table (which is now integrated into Yelp, yay) right from my phone. Perfect.

We arrived early, with a little time to kill, but they seated us very quickly. The music was perfectly hipster-ey and, at times, a blast of songs I used to binge on in High School. Dispatch's "The General" and The Shins' "New Slang" definitely made an appearance. As did a delicious Gin cocktail that included dill and cucumber. I'm sold.

I had the half roasted Amish Chicken, which I pretty much only ordered because it came with brussels sprouts and cheesy pecan sweet potato grits, both things that are on my favorites list. As expected, it was delicious. And, to top it off, the server wrote the cutest note ever on my to-go box (what, you thought I could actually eat half a chicken?).

What about you?

• What's your favorite restaurant in Chicago?
• How do you feel about mis-matched bridesmaids dresses?