Pop the champagne because it’s {almost} the weekend! I don’t know about you, but short weeks really don’t seem so short when you’re playing a serious game of catch up – oofta.

And speaking of catching up, I thought I’d share a few life updates + an extra bonus round of things I’m looking forward to in the coming weeks! I have to give life some real props lately because it’s been pretty darn good 🙂

Life Lately: 

While I kinda alluded to the fun of Door County in a few posts back, I’m desperately trying to relive the fun after such an amazing long weekend. Between biking, hiking, beaching and eating pretty much everything in sight {so many Wisconsin brats and too much cheese!}, I’m seriously missing everything about Door County now that I’m back in Chicago. Don’t get me wrong – I’m definitely Chicago’s #1 fan, but there’s something kinda magical about Wisconsin in the summer, especially up north. We spent the weekend in Sister Bay {if you’re looking for a cute town for a weekend getaway from Chicago, it’s the perfect place!} and explored cute restaurants, neighborhood bars and even hit up a bowling alley that I’m pretty sure has stayed the same since 1985. Even the beer pitchers look like a serious blast from the past and you had to score the old fashioned way, which took more mental math energy than I’ve used in years! It’s the cutest little town, and we spent most of our time there hopping from restaurant to bar to beach to restaurant and then beach again…it was the perfect way to spend the holiday. When we weren’t in the city, we spent our days exploring state parks, islands and beaches around the area. We hiked and had a picnic on the beach at Peninsula State Park {with that pretty incredible view of the lake below!} and saw more trees in a half mile than there are in the entire city of Chicago {at least, that would be my guess…}. The second day we spent our time on Washington Island, riding around the island with potentially the worst bikes ever invented, but it was still fun nonetheless 😉 It was the perfect time of year to be there because the lavender fields were in full bloom and the beaches were so incredibly clear and beautiful. Plus, we got our fill on fish fry on the island, which always makes this Wisconsin girl incredibly happy. I’m crossing my fingers we make another trip before the summer’s officially over! Let’s all pretend that’s never going to happen, okay?

Good things to come!

The next few weeks are straight up crazy, which is exactly how I like to spend my summers. Since we all collectively struggle through the winter {begrudgingly, might I add}, it’s everyone’s prerogative to pack in as much fun as possible throughout the summer. So the next few weeks, I have so many great things to look forward to, which include…

• A quick stop in at Simply Stylist, an annual fashion + beauty event that’s hosted downtown! If you’re in the Chicago area and love blogging, you defintiely have to check it out!
• Swinging by Windy City Smokeout for the first time EVER! I can’t believe it’s taken me over 4 years of living in Chicago to finally make it to the BBQ + Country festival! Also, until midnight tonight you can get 3 day passes for just $75 using code “STYLED” at checkout! The tickets are usually $110, so this is a pretty rocking deal!
  • Plus their hosting the Biggest Happy Hour of the Summer on that Friday at 2pm, and ladies can get festival-ready with fun, gorgeous braids from the stylists at Goldplaited salon while sipping on Moët & Chandon Impérial. I mean, is this not the dream or what? Who’s coming with me?!
• Going to a Table Makers Dinner at the end of the month hosted by my favorite gal, Lauren Kelp! I’ve always creeped on her gorgeous dinners and events from afar, and I’m so excited to go to one in the coming weeks! Stay tuned for some serious entertaining inspiration…
• Celebrating my boyfriend Tom’s birthday weekend this weekend {with a super secret surprise…more to come!}
• Hosting a little picnic party with my friends at Drizly and Stella Artois/Cidre! Can’t wait to share more pictures in a few weeks on the blog 😉
• And having my cute parents swing by to say hello next weekend {and hopefully fitting in a trip to Madison the weekend after}

….Are you tired yet? I have a feeling I might be!

But really, I’m excited – it’s so nice to have plans in the summer and I’m going to try to soak up this sun and beautiful weather every chance I get. I’m headed out for some weekend celebrations early this week, but I hope you all have a lovely weekend! xx