Daily Gnome: Design | Home | Family

  • about me
  • daily
  • home + projects
  • design
  • the fam
  • discoveries

BFFs + Littles in the Windy City

April 24, 2015 by dailygnome Leave a Comment

Our first ever trip with my college girlfriends and our mini mes. We stayed in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and were treated to spring temps during our long weekend in Chicago.

wc

Hads and I arrived a day early to spend the morning at American Girl Doll’s flagship store on Michigan Avenue.  She’d been anticipating meeting Julie since around Christmas and the day did not disappoint. We arrived just after opening so we practically had the store to ourselves. Overwhelmed, she didn’t know which direction to go first. She’s been diligently saving her pennies the past few months and had her list in hand.

AG
And of course, as with all our trips, we made it a point to hit some good restaurants.

Hadley experienced her first taste of Chicago-style pizza at Lou Manati’s.
Mandatory brunch at Nookies. Chicago has hundreds of B.Y.O.B. restaurants which I think is such a novel idea. Cheers to two rounds of mimosas for under $10. Would love for the trend to catch on in Portland.

chicago_restaurantsabb

We spent a long sunny afternoon at Maggie Daley Park in the heart of downtown. Hadley’s fav?  Sliding down a slide with her back airborne the entire ride. Must return in the winter months to experience the Ice Ribbon.

magie_daley_park

It was so sweet to see our daughters bond and play together…

bff  chi

Rooftop dance party on the last night…

Related Posts:

  • Catching A Flight
  • The Christmas Box
    The Christmas Box
  • Besties, Chi-town + the Next Generation
    Besties, Chi-town + the Next Generation
  • Windy City
    Windy City

Our Little Nutcracker

January 3, 2014 by dailygnome 2 Comments

Alongside her BFFs Hadley recently performed a Nutcracker dance at our local community center. A huge inspiration is her amazing teacher Katarina Svetlova of The School of Oregon Ballet Theater. Arabesque, sautée, pirouette and jeté! Followed by wild applause, bows and bouquets of flowers.

DSCN1353

DSCN1343

DSCN1349

Related Posts:

  • Another First
    Another First
  • Dance Party Birthday Party at Sound Roots School of Music
    Dance Party Birthday Party at Sound Roots School of Music
  • Client Shout Out
    Client Shout Out
  • Oh Christmas Tree
    Oh Christmas Tree

Thank You Amsterdam*

October 23, 2013 by dailygnome 2 Comments

I have a milestone birthday approaching at the end of the month and each weekend I’ve been marking it with some sort of celebration.  I recently gathered up my closest Portland friends and spent the evening pedaling the Pedalounge, barhopping and cycling the streets in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. Great friends, my own soundtrack, good beer and so much laughter.  I knew it would be fun but it went down as one of my all time favorite nights.

pedalounge

IMG_2732

pda IMG_2748 IMG_2745

I brought along my Polaroid instant for some fun snapshots throughout the night:

polaroid  IMG_2714

* The Pedalounge is a brilliant invention that sprouted from fertile Dutch brains

Related Posts:

  • You've Got Mail
    You've Got Mail
  • First Christmas
    First Christmas
  • Chicago Weekend
    Chicago Weekend
  • Happy New Year!
    Happy New Year!

Besties, Chi-town + the Next Generation

May 4, 2012 by dailygnome 1 Comment

With Kel due with babe #2 in June, the clock was ticking to plan a trip to the Windy City and spend a weekend with my college besties and my favorite girl in tow.

First stop: The Kleins just outside of the city. Perfect BBQ weather and with Ryan manning the grill the meal did not disappoint. Deans whipped up a mad Brussels sprouts dish and I was reminded why I heart them all over again.

Best part of the trip by far: watching our kids effortlessly bond with one another…

Spent an afternoon at The Morton Arboretum, minutes from Dena’s front door. Needed another day {or two} to explore all the grounds.  If not for naps Jack and Hads could have spent all day in The Children’s Garden.

Back to the city for an evening at The Roches!

Kel’s the ultimate hostess despite being seven months preggers. 

We’re having guests? Let me see what I can throw together…white bean hummus, aged cheddar, brie, snap peas, cracked pepper crackers… a bottle of cab we picked up on our trip to Sonoma… Let’s hit the veranda to nosh on an appetizer!

Rooftop view of Wrigley Field did not disappoint.

Hit the Green City Market on Saturday morning. In off-season it’s held at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. The always-resourceful Kel scored a museum pass card at the library so after the Market we spent the morning checking out exhibits free of charge.

Fav Market Finds:
Prairie Pure Cheese {heavenly grilled cheese sandwiches}
River Valley Ranch {handcrafted portabella salsa}


Getting a front row seat into a day in the life of butterflies:
And waiting {patiently} for one to land. Aside from the Butterfly Room the Bike Exhibit was quite spectacular.
Kel mentioned Athleta just opened shop a blocks away. Although my first instinct was to sprint out the door right then, I made it my mission to hit it before heading home. Scored some great summer dresses while justifying the 10% Chicago sales tax {ouch!} by not having to pay shipping.
One more Squeezie for the road!

Related Posts:

  • Windy City
    Windy City
  • BFFs + Littles in the Windy City
    BFFs + Littles in the Windy City
  • Girl Time
    Girl Time
  • Chicago Weekend
    Chicago Weekend
Next Page »

{ daily feed }

subscribe in a reader or email

Looking Back

My Filing Cabinet

{ daily quotes }

As long as you embrace struggle and mistakes, you can learn anything.
–Salman Kahn

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.
– Henry David Thoreau

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
– Hodding Carter, Jr.

{ daily chatter }

  • dailygnome on Portland Bungalow Remodel: Before and After Exterior
  • Gillian on Portland Bungalow Remodel: Before and After Exterior
  • dailygnome on 100 Things About Me
  • Sarah G. on 100 Things About Me

{ Daily Pics }

Daily Gnome | life. family. home | Website Design by SimplyFine Design