please & thank you | louisville, ky

i drove ellyn down to louisville last weekend & then took some time to work & brainstorm at please & thank you. new coffee drinks, records, soup w/ biscuits & a bright coffee shop atmosphere always motivate me to be productive:)

this time around i tried the mexican latte & goodness was it yummy! their tomato bisque was pretty near perfect too:) 

a few of these images i pulled from the archives & were taken on my visit there last year (hence the reflection of a woman in summer clothes in the first picture! ha! and they've also replace the front counter with another glass display case for pastries & other treats)

^^ my workspace before i sprawled my stuff over half the table:) ^^

 

birthday trip | chicago | part three

monday morning-- our *actual* birthday -- we slept in, took our time getting ready & read through birthday texts:) then we hurried through the slush & bitter wind to catch a bus downtown. brunch came from a corner cafe & then we caught the metro down to the museum of science & industry. such a cool place! i love museums anyway! we only made it through two exhibits before we had to catch the metro back downtown for our reservation at the drake...but it was worth it! can't wait to go back someday!

we had afternoon tea at the drake & it was marvelous. i think we spent over two hours relaxing, drinking tea & talking. loved that! afterwards, we headed back out into the sleet to do a little shopping on magnificent mile. power walking in the wind brought back our appetites and we were thinking, "when in chicago...", so to giordano's we went!! our pizza would have been cold by the time we got back to chrissi's so we got a frozen one, caught a bus back & ate chicago deep dish while once again talking all things italy with chrissi & jan. perfect end to our birthday weekend!

the next morning, as i was driving aunt laura to the airport, the sun decided to come out and the city skyline looked beautiful! can't wait to come back in warmer weather!!

waiting on the freezing platform for our train!

 March 18th!!!

 The Chicago Museum of Science & Industry

 a foggy day... in chicago town!

The Drake. 

this new European store on Michigan Ave that had hundreds of sewing machines in the display window! I wanted to check out the inside so badly but it wasn't opened yet:/

 Giordano's. yum!

 until next time!!

 hurray for a lovely weekend!!

birthday trip | chicago | part two

on our second day in chicago, we met my uncle & two cousins for brunch at a new yummy place called waffles. gourmet waffles, sandwiches & intelligentsia coffee. what more could you ask for?! so yummy! it was super busy but such a great atmosphere. 

we said our goodbyes to the cleveland crew and spent the afternoon exploring wicker park. it's the super eclectic part of town... overflowing with vintage stores, boutiques, locally owned restaurants, coffee & tea shops and a hodge podge of other random businesses. 

as the sun was beginning to set, we caught a bus back to the oak st/rush st/michigan ave area to find a place to have dinner. a friend had recommended a place called the purple pig so we decided to check it out...and fell in love. perfect way to wrap up our day!

 our crew:)

My waffle flight: Leige waffle w/ cream & blackberry sauce | Green Tea waffle w/ lemon ginger Chantilly cream, ground pistatio & candied ginger | Red Velvet waffle w/ strawberry compote, whipped cream cheese & candied walnuts | Mexican Chocolate Waffle w/ orange Anglaise, spicy cocoa powder & shaved dark chocolate

 Andrew's BLT

 Aunt Laura's Red Velvet waffles

 Wicker Park -- swankiest Walgreens I have EVER seen! 

 Native Foods. delish!

 beautiful!

We grabbed a snack of Roasted Corn & Basil Polenta Bites, watermelon fresca & lavender lemonade. yumm.

got some super yummy tea here!

 walkin'!

 it was so cold that we stepped inside a corner laundry mat to warm up while waiting for our bus:)

 Oak Street/Rush Street

 they were giving away samples of her favorite chocolate!! yay!

 The Purple Pig. cheese,swine & wine. amazing small plates place.

 the lighting was dim so the pictures of food aren't great... but what we ate was delicous!!

 Fried Brussel Sprouts w. thyme, lemon & red pepper flakes

Butternut Squash w. pumpkin seeds, brown butter & ricotta salata cheese

Salt Roasted Beets w. whipped goat cheese & pistachio vinaigrette

Panino Con Nutella (Nutella, banana & marshmallow panini sandwich)

it was super crowded & the table wait was 2 hours but the bar was first come first serve so we got seats there & had a birds eye view of the chef's cooking!