Chicago Weekend Getaway!

August 2015

If you follow my Instagram account (@livvylandblog), you’d know I recently got back from a weekend getaway to Chicago to visit two of my very best friends from high school and into college (aka these goofy gals above!). Talk about a weekend of pure BLISS! Not even kidding when I tell you I cried at the airport as I left this duo, ha! Elissa is in the pink top, Kayla is in the backpack…these ladies = my heart. So much gf love it’s ridiculous. Both gals were theater majors at UT and have since spread their wings to NYC (Elissa lives there) and Chicago (where Kayla currently resides). Thus, as sad as I am that I don’t get to see them everyday in Austin, it is such a treat when we can meet up and even more fun to explore different cities together!

Here’s a little Chi-town recap below…
^^Elissa and I spent some much needed time at the beach (..er..lake-beach?) while Kayla worked over the weekend. Luckily with Elissa’s killer navigation skills, we made it to the beach in no time…(for those who don’t know me, I am directionally challenged..it’s really a problem..). If you’re familiar with Barton Springs Pool in Austin, let’s just say the lake in Chicago was MUCH colder than that (inconceivable! 😉 )

I’ll wrap up my swimsuit/outfit details at the end, but how cute are these suits?! Loving the macrame back above and the sporty rainbow suit below…^^Strolling around Kayla’s neighborhood…is this courtyard not the most precious thing?! I loved walking through all of hte different grounds/courtyards, they definitely how to use flowers to make urban spaces more inviting. We would stop and grab coffee around Kayla’s apartment, then go stroll around…it was lovely! ^^We celebrated Elissa’s birthday on Friday night by getting dolled up and hitting Ada Street restaurant. This place is GORGEOUS! Not to mention it was (no joke..) the best meal I’ve ever had. Blake and I pretty much stick to our usuals around Austin, so branching out to a small plates kinda place (I’m generally not one for small plates.. 😉 ) and a swanky atmosphere was a really nice treat…just check out those gorgeous cocktails!

This is also where things went south as we ended up drinking our way to 3am and starting the dance floor at some bar downtown…and though I endured the hangover of death the next day, it sure was perfect dancing like idiots with my besties. 😉 Cheers to that!
^^It’s not a vacation unless you eat your way through the city, duh! 😉 And we definitely wined and dined and stopped for gelato along the way. Ps. If you’re in Chicago and looking for THE best dessert of your life, Ada Street had PRETZEL BREAD PUDDING! Bread pudding is my favorite dessert, so this was particularly exciting. (On the left you have Kayla and Elissa lovin’ on that bread puddin’, while on the right is a screen save from one of my Snapchats over the weekend). ^^Pics or it didn’t happen? Gotcha covered! 😉 Visited The Bean and walked through Mellinium Park! Ah, that skyline is really unbelievably stunning!^^Made it to Intelligentsia Coffeehouse! This was the #1 thing on my Chicago to-do list this time around. Lattes as big as my face and quality espresso. So so delicious. I was in heaven! Cheers to a fabulous weekend with my girlfriends! I could absolutely live in Chicago if only I could just pick up my entire family in Austin (…and get Blake on board, ha!) and place them in Chi-town…Until that day, the galpal getaways will just have to continue!