Oh hey there, friends! It’s been ages since I’ve shared a little Life Lately post, mostly because life has been a little crazy lately! And lucky for me it’s all crazy good things, but the days have been packed with work, blogging and of course some fun adventures in between – so I thought I’d share some of the moments that fall into the “fun” category today. That’s the best category when it comes to live anyways 😉

A few weeks back I finally checked out the Saved By The Bell pop up restaurant {aka The Maxx} with a few of my favorite blogger friends. As someone who was never super into Saved By The Bell, I didn’t quite know what to expect – but it was pretty freaking amazing that they completely recreated the diner from the TV show here in Chicago! From the 90’s-tastic neon lights and colors, to the Bayside Tigers announcement booth – everything was recreated to a T. Even as someone who wasn’t a die hard Saved By The Bell fan, I immediately recognized the place and felt transported back into 90’s nostalgia. Weren’t the 90’s seriously the best though? Take me back! *Photo above by Kit!

As it was a restaurant, we scarfed down their pretty impressive breakfast menu – including eggs Benedict {my personal fave} and Chicken and Waffles {Kit’s feast is pictured above!}. The food was surprisingly pretty darn good, and totally hit the spot – especially on a rough Sunday morning after a Saturday out kinda day.  And here are all the cute blogger babes I gotta grab brunch with – hey friends! From left to right – Peggy of Hallways are my Runways, Samantha of Gold Coast Girl, Kit of The Kittchen, Lindzi of The Trendy Sparrow, me {oh hey!}, Sarah of The Kissing Booth Blog and Monica of Caravan of Style. You ladies were the best way to kick off my Sunday! Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that I look like a kid with a backpack on in this picture? #CrushedIt

 One of my favorite traditions I started this summer was going to a farmer’s market each week and picking up fresh flowers + enough produce to make a delicious meal on Sunday night before a full week ahead. I spent the last nice weekends in Chicago perusing produce stands and finding the most beautiful bundle of flowers I could get my hands on. After much debate {and very careful consideration!}, I’ve decided that my two favorite farmer’s markets are the Lincoln Park and Logan Square markets – so if you happen to be a Chicagoan make sure to check them out if you’re a farmer’s market fan! I’m a little heartbroken that the season is almost over, but if gives me an excuse to go to as many as possible before the fall’s over 😉

On the topic of new traditions, I’ve been stopping by my favorite donut store each Friday since it’s dangerously close to work! I’ve been attempting to try every donut on the Donut Vault menu, and I swear that each one is better than the next. I may or may not have a very serious donut problem…oops!

I also mentioned that I had a whirlwind trip to DC a few weekends back over labor day weekend. I hadn’t visited DC since college, so it was nice going back and having my boyfriend Tom as my personal tour guide 😉 After living there for 10 years, he showed me a few of his favorite spots in the city, and we even fit in an afternoon biking around all the monuments {because let’s be real, there’s no way I have the patience to go on that many guided walking tours!}. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and it was so fun meeting a few of Tom’s friends who we’re all now trying to convince to come visit Chicago soon. Needless to say, I’ll be planning another trip to reprise a few of our favorite DC adventures next year!

And one of the most touching highlights of the month was definitely when my sweet 90 year old grandfather joined me for my agency’s parents day last Friday. I’m pretty sure they initially had just parents showing up in mind when they created the event, but since my parents were on a trip to Kansas City, my grandfather {being the champ he is!} decided to step in and hang out with me for the day. While it’s pretty awesome to have your grandpa come to work with you, it was even more meaningful because he’s the one who really inspired me to get my start in advertising. After working for over 30 years at FCB {a big advertising firm in Chicago} as an account VP {and even leading their Germany office for a few years}, he has always been advertising’s #1 fan – and even swears that he loved every single minute of his job. Needless to say, it was pretty incredible showing him around the office and introducing him to everyone I worked with. Plus, he even had lunch with David Ogilvy himself {who founded our agency years and years ago}, so he’s basically more legit than most of the people who work there, including myself haha.

Afterwords we went to dinner at The Pump Room, which coincidentally happened to be a block from where he first lived in Chicago {see a photo of the above, which is right across the street from where his old place used to be!}. Although the neighborhood looks different, he could still rattle off all the places that used to be in the neighborhood, including a dance club where he and my late grandma used to dance in their bare feet – so cute! Anyway, it was pretty special and something I’ll definitely never forget – thanks for being the best, gramps!

Anything new and wonderful in your world? I’d love to know your September highlights {so far!} too! xx