Hi everyone!
Back again with another mashup – can you believe it’s already winter?? Though it’s chilly this time of year in Chicago, I was fortunate enough to spend at least a little bit of it in sunny Florida too. First up on the list, a little escape that you can visit while still in the city: The Hampton Social! I’ve been here multiple times but never for brunch (nor at this new Streeterville location) so I was really excited to finally experience it in person. My friends and I loved seeing the rooftop (though it was too cold to sit outside – next time!) and the decor is gorgeous! We all split parmesan garlic fries with truffle aioli to start out – yes they were as delicious as they sound! As for the main courses, we went with grilled cheese, avocado toast, and chilaquiles. I would definitely come back for brunch – so good and everyone loved what they got!
Shop the look below!
In order of farthest left: avocado toast, chilaquiles, parmesan fries with truffle aioli and grilled cheese
Next up, one of my new favorite beauty brands, Winky Lux, has a pop-up in the Shops at North Bridge right now and we got to check out the best part of the store: their free (yes, FREE) experience rooms! Like an Instagram museum/installation similar to Wndr or 29 Rooms, Winky Lux has multiple rooms in the store that each go back to a product they sell – genius marketing in my opinion! I got to try the coffee eyeshadow palette (which actually smells like coffee) and I honestly love it. I brought it on vacation with me and haven’t stopped using it since! I tried the disco lipglosses too, didn’t love as much but a cool idea, moisturizing and not overly sparkly. I ordered a few products on Black Friday so stay tuned to see how those turned out. I’m excited because pricing is super affordable and the quality is great as well as cruelty-free!
Flower room for their flower lipstick that changes color based on your ph level!
Coffee room for the coffee palette and bronzer
Disco room for the disco lipglosses
Pillow room for their purple eyeshadow palette
We then ventured over to London House to take in some city views – it’s so gorgeous up here! You can see the Wrigley and Hancock buildings from the top of the rooftop as there are two levels on it. I feel like it would be a great engagement spot!
As mentioned when I went to Create & Cultivate, I have a future blog post coming with advice I’ve gained from conferences/blogger panel events so same goes for this next one, Content Sugar, I went to at Lil’ Epic Design with Cliquish, a blogger/biz woman resource for all things branding and success. With special guest Blake Von D, I got to learn about how to start forming your personal brand into something you can actually pitch for campaigns – super interesting! Cliquish is hosting another event in January called Life’s a Pitch in January that I’m thinking of going to if you guys want to see what they’re about.
Blake Von D
After a friend and I had been hearing so much about Mott St. burgers that when Mini Mott opened up we thought why not try there first since it’s a little bit closer to us and it’s new. We got the garlic fries (would skip next time to be honest) and “Da Bears” collaborated burgers with the Chicago Bears – so yummy! Topped with gruyere cheese, crispy red onions and truffle sauce (I left the giardiniera off mine), I hope this burger stays on their menu because I would love to have it again.
The final food highlight this month is Eli’s Ark, a new Wicker Park gelato shop. Like Noah’s Ark, this spot has tons of animal designs that you can choose from as your gelato, like this cute monkey! I got the apple cider gelato – such a nice citrus meets sweet flavor, I really enjoyed it! I’ll definitely come back soon.
Ring Set: https://shopstyle.it/l/Xjbp
And the final stop: Marco Island, Florida! We got to bring along more family this time around and it was a blast! We went boat riding, beach walking, and hung out by the pool to catch some rays! Read more about Marco from last year’s trip, here.
American Eagle Suit: https://shopstyle.it/l/VW7q
Sunnies: https://shopstyle.it/l/Xi9G
Local Spots I Checked Out: The Hampton Social Streeterville, Winky Lux Pop-Up, London House Chicago, Lil’ Epic Design, Mini Mott, Eli’s Ark
Events I’m Looking Forward To Next Month: Exploring all the holiday pop-up bars, Christkindlmarket, Zoolights, holiday parties, Christmas + St. Louis trip, 2019!
See you in the next post!
