Lost + Wander Dress // Brown Leather Slides (also love these affordable white ones I recently bought!) // Wicker Purse

Good morning friends! First of all, apologies in advance for things being a little quiet over here over the past few weeks. Between life and work, and trying to soak up the (finally) beautiful weather in Chicago, I’ve been spending more time out in the real world than in the blog world recently. I wouldn’t change a thing, but I still definitely feel pangs of guilt for a neglect of this site from time to time.

So, what’s been new? A lot of travel, for one.  My boyfriend Tom moved to San Francisco a few weeks ago, and it’s been a bit of an adjustment for me not having him so close in Chicago anymore. I definitely used to be of the opinion of “long distance is the wrong distance” – so I wasn’t super thrilled when he got a job opportunity he couldn’t pass up, thousands of miles away. But I’m also not the type of person who’s going to stand in someone’s way to go off on an adventure of try something new – especially when it’s too good of an opportunity to not go for it. It’s been tough, and quite the adjustment (Neither of us are that big on talking on the phone, so we’re working on that now!), but we’re luckily seeing each other a lot this summer with him flying back to Wisconsin for weddings and me going out there almost once a month to make the distance a little more bearable. We’re taking it a month at a time for now, looking forward to seeing each other next and relaying on snail mail and phone calls in between. If you have any advice for long distance relationships – I’d love to know. The adjustment period has been a little tough, but hoping it gets better once we’re both in a groove and he’d adjusted to a new city.

A lot of people have asked me if I’m planning to move too – and honestly, I don’t totally know. I love Chicago, and I like my job, so it’s hard to imagine moving across the country – especially since my family is in Madison and I’ve always lived in the Midwest. I won’t never say never, but right now I’m just trying to enjoy the Chicago summer after surviving through the last 8 months of winter. I went to San Francisco last weekend to visit, and I forgot that it’s only like 60- degrees in San Francisco in the summer! I’d happily take 75-degree summer days in Chicago any day of the week 🙂   

And how can you not love Chicago in the summer? There’s nothing better than catching a Cubs or White Sox game, going to an aggressive amount of street festivals (bonus points that there’s a new one every weekend!), hanging at North Avenue Beach, enjoying patio season and strong cocktails, and everything else the city has to offer. I’m excited to refocus my energy back in Chicago on spending time with my friends and exploring the city.

One new place in the neighborhood I stumbled upon with Hannah a few weeks back was Maison Marcel’s new Lincoln Park location that’s in the alley at the entrance of Armitage from Halstead! I’d seen photos from Instagram, but it was even more magical in real life. You can go and order an iced coffee or tea from the window and there’s even some cute seating to hang in the alley oasis (seriously, I don’t know if there’s a more beautiful alley in Chicago). If you’re shopping or walking by Armitage, you definitely need to swing by this summer and check it out. It felt wonderfully tropical steeping into an alley – which made my new dress from Shopbop feel like a fitting choice for the scene. Speaking of, I love this new dress – it’s the perfect floral pattern for spring and it’s stretchy enough to be super comfortable. I ended up sizing up so it wasn’t as tight in the shoulders, and I love the cut and length of it for an easy summer look.  Hope you’re all enjoying the nice weather we’re finally having! Any fun plans this weekend? I’m super excited to spend the weekend at home with friends – and crossing my fingers that the weather stays beautiful! Xx