week in chicago.

i got back around midnight last night from nearly a week-long visit to chicago, and what a relaxing trip it was! although i lived in chicago for nearly three years, returning there for a visit offered a new experience - one where i felt a nostalgic appreciation for all the things that differentiate chicago from manhattan. so here is my list of things that captured my fondness this week in the midwest.



1. in chicago, even if you are a not-yet-established twentysomething, you can live in a castle with a frontyard and a backyard in a trendy area occupied mostly by the hip and young-spirited.

this is the street that my boyfriend lives on! of course, those are not real castles [although i read somewhere that immigrants to chicago did mimic the architecture of eastern european castles], but multi-unit buildings with beautifully rehabbed apartments that have all the desirable modern amenities as well as preserved vintage fixtures - vinny's apartment has pillars!



2. in chicago, you can also lounge around sipping on beers in your spacious backyard, watching the sun set and wasting time just as you please. and you can fire up the grill if you get hungry. thus leading to a most delicious dinner of savory grilled tofu accompanied by roasted corn, greens and a cold beer.

3. in chicago, you can hear and watch nightlife go by from the platform of the elevated rail system. below, my old 'hood, as seen from the damen blue line platform. amazing for people-watching. if you happen to be there past 1 or 2 am on a weekend, my guess is that the odds of catching someone ralfing it up on the sidewalk are quite high...

see the upper lefthand corner? i lived just around the corner from there, a surprisingly quieter safe haven from the perpetual madness that is the six corners (or 'crotch') of wicker park.



4. in chicago, you can attend large, multi-stage, three-day outdoor music festivals without having to travel to a different state or even outside city limits. such as pitchfork music festival. this was my third and possibly best year!

just as i suspected...yoni wolf from WHY? was greeeeeeat!

and here's my sad little picture of wolf parade. notice a poorly-captured spencer krug on the left side. my hasty point-and-shoot skills do not do their pitchfork set justice!



5. in chicago, i can also wear flip flops without feeling too uncouth or grody. i cannot bring myself to wear flip flops through the grimy, sticky streets of manhattan. in the wide, grass-lined sidewalks of chicago, however, it seems fine! while i don't particularly care for the look of flip flops, i do ultimately enjoy the comfort and freedom they can provide in hot, hot weather...and boy was it hot all week...

here's the pair i sported throughout the weekend - some threadless x havainas flip flops that vinny won from the threadless prize wheel at pitchfork. cute, eh?



6. in chicago, you can get dinner and drunk for $7.50....

on the menu at the boiler room in logan square. oh, alright, maybe this one is a wash because there are many ways to cheaply drink and eat in nyc as well...



7. so, last but not least, in chicago, i get to enjoy brunches with my boyfriend!!!

at cozy corner restaurant and pancake house in logan square.



now it's back to nyc and back to the grind of getting my life together. starting with announcing the winner of the csn stores giveaway: the winner is hannah from heart city vintage! yay! we'll be contacting you shortly.