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Open House Chicago 2016 Series – Part 3

Architecture

The next stop on the Open House Chicago was the Nineteenth Century Club House and Oak Park Art League. Nineteenth Century Club House in Oak Park, IL This clubhouse was established by a group of women who believed that education, charitable activities, and civic involvement were an important elements to a prosperous community. (Girl power!) This neoclassical structure was built in 1928 and designed by James L. Fyfe who had ties to the club through his wife and mother-in-law. The clubhouse is still used to support educational and cultural endeavors. At the time of my visit there was a dance class going on, which was fun to watch! Oak Park Art League in Oak Park, IL The Oak Park Art League was founded after World War I and this structure was designed in 1902 by Eben Ezra Roberts. (I like how colorful and fun this building’s exterior is) It was a place for artist collaboration…

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Saint Edmund Parish in Oak Park, Chicago

Open House Chicago 2016 Series – Part 2

Architecture

Saint Edmund Catholic Parish in Oak Park, Chicago Another site on the Open House Chicago 2016 was the Saint Edmund Catholic Parish. It is the first Catholic Parish in Oak Park, IL and was founded by Archbishop James Quigley in 1907. It is a 14th Century English Gothic style church which was designed by Henry Schlacks and dedicated in 1910. For a more detailed history, you can click here. It is one of those places which one has to see in person because the photographs do not do justice. The details of the ceiling is impeccable. It all looks like tiles, but if you got closer to it, you would see that it’s actually little squares of paint that are made to imitate tiles, so brilliant! I could not get enough of it but we had to move on if we wanted to see more sites on the tour!

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Snapchat Story Series – Road Trip Silver Spring, MD to Glen Ellyn, IL

Road Trip

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and have been having an eventful summer! I sure have been which is why I’m a bit behind on my blog posts! However, I just got back from exploring around the east coast so it’s time to get back on track. While you wait around for me to catch up and get organized, here is a little video of my road trip from Silver Spring, MD back to my house in Glen Ellyn, IL. What you saw in this video is: Fun things in Pittsburgh, PA Random farmers market Cute places in Vermilion, OH Lake Erie Beautiful skies! What have you been up to this summer?

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Taste of Chicago

Taste of Chicago 2016 Review

Eating Out

Yesterday, I went to the Taste of Chicago and it felt necessary to share my experience with you this morning rather than Monday morning in case someone out there is debating whether they should go or not and are dying to know what I thought about it. For those that don’t know, It’s a food festival where various local restaurants and food vendors set up booths so people can come and sample some of their popular dishes. Basically, a foodie’s heaven! How it works is, once you are in, you buy tickets at the gate which ends up being your “money” to purchase the food. For 12 tickets it’s $8.50 which I thought was pretty reasonable. The cool thing is that most of the vendors had sample size portions for 3-5 tickets so you can try more than one place and not feeling like you are going to explode. I went with a friend so…

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Maggie Daley Park – Chicago, IL

Tay Explores

Two weekends ago, Chicago did a weird thing. It was 55 degrees on a Saturday in February! So, of course I had to be out! I had family over which meant there were 3 kids in the house that needed to be entertained. I had been hearing about the Maggie Daley Park for a while since I moved here because people have suggested I take my nieces there. So naturally I looked it up but haven’t had the chance to go check it out yet. I took that beautiful Saturday to do so. So glad I did because it was such a cool place. Not for the kids only but the adults enjoyed it too! You get to it by crossing a bridge that is next to the Jay Pulitzer pavilion in Millennium Park. Once on the bridge, you immediately start to see various fun things like a rock climbing wall…

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Portage, Indiana

Portage Lakefront & Riverwalk, IN

Tay Explores

I posted about the Indiana Dunes State Park last week and decided I wanted to share just how I decided I wanted to explore this area. When I first moved to Chicago, I met someone who lived in Valparaiso, Indiana (which is about an hour and a half from Chicago). She told me she also moved here pretty recently, from Canada (about four months before me). Another person who just moved here from a different place? YAY! We can connect and talk about how much we miss where we used to live and hate on the Chicago winters! (These are the first thoughts I had when meeting her…lol) Well, she is from Canada so the whole winter thing doesn’t really bother her as much. Moving is something that I’ve done a lot and each time it’s not easier than the previous time. If anything, it gets harder. For some people, it isn’t the biggest deal in…

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Mindy’s Hot Chocolate – Chicago, IL

Eating Out

In my last post I was remembering the warmth. However, since I have no control over the weather, I embrace winter by drinking lots and lots of hot chocolate. And lucky for me, there are several places in Chicago dedicated to just that much like Mindy’s Hot Chocolate. One of my friend’s had been wanting to try this place after reading so many great reviews. So a couple of weeks ago we finally got the chance! It’s located in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood in the middle of shops and restaurants. As soon as I walked in, I loved the interior. And the very first thing that I noticed when I walked in was a beautiful brick wall that was painted white and embellished with wall planters made from glass bottles. So simple, yet so eye catching too. I was happy when they seated us right by it. We both ordered the Medium Hot Chocolate made…

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Inspiration Kitchen, Garfield Park, Chicago

Eating Out

I went to this restaurant after visiting the Garfield Park Conservatory which I wrote about in my previous post. When we were done, it was lunch time so when looking up places to eat around this area, Inspiration Kitchen showed up with really good reviews. We got fried chicken and biscuits from here and I just have to say that this was probably some of the best friend chicken and biscuits I have had! The chicken was perfectly crisp and seasoned really well. The biscuits had cheddar cheese in them and were so delicious! The side of Macaroni and Cheese was just okay (I’m not the biggest Mac-n-Cheese fan in general though). The menu changes seasonally and I think that if a restaurant does this, most likely it means that they get the most fresh local ingredients. In addition, they also have a great story on how they help with the poverty stricken areas in Chicago.…

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Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL

Indoor Activities

I have this random obsession with conservatories (as you will notice while following along my blog). When my friend was visiting me last March, I wanted to find some things to do that were different than just going into the city. I was on Instagram and found some beautiful posts of the Garfield Park Conservatory and kept reading that it was FREE so that was a no-brainer. I think one of the reasons why I love going to them is because especially in the winter months when all you see are dead trees everywhere, all the colorful flowers and greenery is refreshing for the eyes. Plus it’s indoors so you won’t be freezing your butt off! The room with the umbrellas was my favorite. This was the spring installation from last year called “Sun Showers”. The art installations change seasonally and I’m pretty sure they have a new piece now which I am going…

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Blackberry Market, Glen Ellyn, IL

Eating Out

One thing that I’ve liked about the Chicago suburbs is that they all have downtown areas that are unique. And Glen Ellyn is no exception. I really enjoy walking through it and going to all the small boutiques, restaurants and cafes. A place that I go to often is Blackberry Market. They make things fresh in house and try to get most of their ingredients locally. I come here and do my work, drink hot chocolate and occasionally have lunch. I love the colors used in the interior as well as the art all over the walls. I’ve tried three of their sandwiches (Grilled Cheese, Grilled Gouda and Caramelized Onions and Braised Beef Brisket). Everything has been delicious so far. There is a tomato chutney that is inside the grilled cheese which is phenomenal! In addition, you can find a variety of fresh salads that are changing throughout the year. My favorites are the Southwest Salad and the…

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