Sevengrams: CHICAGO

Those of you who follow me on instagram will know that I spent this past weekend in Chicago -- a mother/daughter weekend at its best! Chicago was one of those destinations that encompassed everything I love about exploring a new city: great food, incredible architecture, walkability and diversity. I was able to simultaneously fuel my love for traveling, all the while giving-in to my nerdy architect ways.

I was blown away by the beauty and charm of the city, and can't believe its taken me this long to get there. Everything we did, I would do again (and again), and if you can swing it, I would highly recommend a 3 day weekend to the Windy City. Big thanks to those of you who sculpted our itinerary, we couldn't have done it without your recommendations.

TO SEE //

burnham building

mies' lakeshore drive apartments

aqua condos

marina city car park

wrigley building

tribune tower

monadnock building

sullivan centre

TO DO //

architecture foundation boat tour

tour of frank lloyd wright's home + studio (worth the trek out to oak park)

hancock building (head straight to the 96th floor lounge for a bevy with a view)

art institute (thorne mini rooms in the basement and the impressionism section)

stroll through millennium park and get up close and personal with cloud gate

shop your way along the magnificent mile (michigan ave north of the river)

check out the shops along north milwaukee ave near damen station

TO EAT //

Most of the restaurants we went to weren't in the downtown core. Public transit works really well, and taxis are fairly affordable -- so don't sweat having to travel a bit to track down the good food -- totally worth it, promise!

avec (their sunday brunch blew my mind; get there when they open to avoid the line-up)

mfk (small spanish plates - still thinking of the anchovies on buttered toast)

eataly (never have i ever perused cookbooks and kitchenware with a glass of red wine; 5 sit down restaurants, several first come first serve counters, a grocer and a kitchen store - aka heaven)

publican (sharing plates at their best, and an epic beer menu)

birchwood kitchen (i promise to attempt to recreate my mom's salad of roasted squash, wheat berries, crispy chickpeas and arugula -- sooooo good)

giordano's deep dish (i think i'm still full)

coffee from intelligencia

goose island urban wheat ale