Chicago Travel Guide

Will and I love to travel and Chicago has been a city we have wanted to check out for quite some time now. Last week we had the opportunity to visit and although it was cold and rained the majority of the time, we defiantly enjoyed ourselves and did as much exploring as we could fit into our schedule! Below I've put together a small travel guide of things we did that I find worth noting and highly recommend. Since Chicago is a large city, I know I've likely missed a bunch of other great places, so feel free to leave a comment with any other recommendations!

TO SEE
1. Magnificent Mile - Known for it's dining and retail, this area has it all! We particularly love that it's surrounded by so much architecture and photo-worthy buildings.

2. Navy Pier - It rained most of our trip so we didn't get to check out this hot spot.

3. "The Bean" at Millennium Park - The park as a whole is really nice and the "Bean" is one of the most known Chicago tourist spots. I wish we had come later in the year though so we could have checked out their Summer Film and Music Series at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

4. Chicago Riverwalk - Because well, the views of the waterway are great and the atmosphere surrounding are lively and fun.

TO DO

1. Zanies Comedy Club - This was a spur of the moment idea we decided on and so worth it! It was also our first time going to a standup comedy show and it won't be our last. Before the show began, they had two comedians; Calvin Evans and Denise Ramsden come out to "loosen up the crowd" as they told us before the main performer, Nick Vatterott, came out. He was HILARIOUS!

2. Shopping wasn't high on our list of things to-do but I did read a handful of reviews before our trip that said you can find unique shops for souvenirs and antiques on Oak Street, Armitage Avenue, and State Street.

3. Museum of Science and Industry - We went here on an afternoon when it was raining and probably spent about three or so hours there. Aside from exploring the museum as a whole, we also signed up to see the Coal Mine and U-505 Submarine exhibits. If we had to pick our favorite experience it was hands down the Submarine tour. I mean, who can say they've walked through a submarine? The ONLY German submarine in the United States on exhibit as a matter of fact. It truly was one of the coolest learning experiences. Oh, and the Yesterday's Main Street exhibit was also fun.

TO EAT

1. Kanela Breakfast Club - A Greek-infused American spot we went for brunch before heading back to North Carolina. We went to the Oldtown location and the atmosphere was cozy and the food very filling.

2. Kingsbury Street Cafe - This cafe was a recommendation and within walking distance to the Airbnb we stayed at. The service was quick and the menu options were perfect for what we were looking for. I got the lemon pancakes which were topped with fresh blueberries, creme anglaise and lemon sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

3. Lou Mitchell's - We didn't have the chance to eat here but it's been around since 1923 so it's obviously well established and is an affordable option for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

4. Pequod's Pizza - We went here for dinner one night and arrived before 6:00 PM and it was already filled with people! The deep dish pizza stole a PIZZA my heart. Sorry had to add a pizza pun!

5. Homeslice - It was between here and Pequod's but if we're ever in Chicago again, and the weather is nice and warm, we will defiantly try to enjoy their fun patio!

 

6. Nando Milano Trattoria - This Italian restaurant is located in the Wicker Park area and had really unique dinner options. For instance, I got the Nido Di Paglia E Fieno Con Gamberi (aka fettuccine) and Will got one of the specials; the wild boar. 

7. Copper Fox - After exploring Magnificent Mile and Michigan Avenue we had walked up an appetite and came across this gastropub. Let me just say that the fried avocado is to die for and the baked gouda mac and cheese is delicious.

8. Sweet Mandy B's - Lord have mercy...this bakery in the heart of Lincoln Park is a MUST! After dinner at Pequod's Pizza we were in the mood for something sweet and our waitress told us about this place and said we had to go. I highly recommend any of their cookies (I had the chocolate chip) or the red velvet cupcake which is what Will got.

Wine Hour at Hotel Palomar Chicago

Wine Hour at Hotel Palomar Chicago

Making it Happen

Make. It. Happen.   Three words I've been constantly repeating, especially when I'm having a hard time getting motivated to check items off my to-do list. Have you been there? One day I'll wake up feeling ready to see what the day will unfold, and confident I'll be able to do so gracefully. Then there are the days that I just struggle. The anxiety starts to build as soon as I start working on a task and then BOOM! I'm a hot mess. On one of these particular days when I was stressed and couldn't think straight, I decided to drop everything I was doing and ran over to my bookcase and picked up Make it Happen by Lara Casey. I already knew a lot about the author Lara from reading Southern Weddings Magazine for a number of years and admired her love for the Lord, her passion for the South and her joy for all things weddings. Without really knowing what the book was about, I decided to purchase it because I knew whatever Lara wrote about would be good. But y'all, I didn't know it would be as life changing as it was. It was challenging, an eye opener, and so good for my soul.   This was a book I could have finished in a couple of days it was THAT good. But the content was so rich and powerful that I didn't want to rush through any of it! Just like a conversation with a dear friend, I invested my time and full attention on every word, every question and every task. Without going into all the details of the book (I think you should really just go ahead and purchase it after you finish reading this post!), I thought I would share a few things I highlighted and found valuable.   - Doubt can turn into desperation.   - "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going" - Beverly Sills   - God's way isn't always easy, but it's always worth it.   - It's in the depths of our challenges, when we are left with what feels like nothing, that we sometimes see more clearly. I couldn't agree with this statement more. I've never gone longer then a couple of weeks without working until recently. Being unemployed is NOT fun. It's stressful, causes doubt and a whole slew of other things. But over the weeks I've been able to see more clearly all the blessings I have in my life.   - Making it happen is a life lived on purpose and comes by surrendering control.   - Done is better than perfect, and doing one thing well is better than doing a thousand mediocre things. Can I get an amen? I need to write this one down and put it on my fridge.   - Don't let your unhappiness make you ungrateful.   - You will learn from your failures than you will from any of your successes. Your failures are gifts, allowing you to learn, grow, redirect, and take new and potentially better paths.   - Making things happen is about taking positive, purpose-filled action. Learning how to break things down into action steps in an essential skill.   - When you know where you are leaping, the how doesn't matter as much as the why.   - Busy is the enemy of peace. It takes us away from our purpose. Busy is not truly productive in the big picture. Busy means life's joys and surprises can't find a way into our lives as easily because we move too fast to see and experience them.   - I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection. No one is perfect. There is no such thing as the perfect life, the perfect home, the perfect job, or the perfect look. So if that's true, then why spend so much time trying to create something that's not possible?   Can you relate to any of the above? Which one is your favorite? If you've read the book, what other things did you take away? I hope y'all found this encouraging and have a great week!!

March Review + April Goals

March
- Went the month (minus two days) without soda. This was a success in my book! I'll be doing this again in June, September and December.   - Went to the Abundance Conference in Asheville with my dear friend Chelsea, and y'all, this conference was one of the best ones I've been too! So much truth was spoken through some amazing speakers at this two day event. One of my favorite parts besides getting to hear Lysa TerKeurst speak was getting to hear and sing along to some of my favorite worship songs lead by Natalie Grant and Christy Nockels. And if you haven't heard of Annie Downs or Lisa Harper you have GOT to look them up! These two are hilarious and know how to lighten the mood while having a deep conversation on tough topics. Insert #girlcrush!   - Planned a surprise birthday dinner for Will with the Mackvick's. The day I got back from the Abundance Conference, I had less then four hours to unpack, bake a cake and get ready. Will thought we were going to meet up with his dad and brother for dinner since they were in town but when we pulled into the parking lot, his whole family was there! It was fun seeing him completely surprised! - Celebrated Will's 27th birthday with private golf lessons and a visit to Sugar Creek Brewery!   - Got my third and final steroid neck injection. For those who may be new around here, I have degenerative disk disease in my C5-C6, C6-C7 regions and have tried anything and everything over the past eight years to find something to relive the pain. The neck issues have recently been worsening and have led to TMJ which just sucks. Unfortunately, the steroid injections haven't been working so we are going to reach out to a Neurosurgeon at Duke Hospital to get a second opinion on possible next steps which will likely be surgery or continued physical therapy. In the meantime, prayers would be appreciated!   - Finished reading Make It Happen by Lara Casey and wrote a blog post recapping my favorite parts that I'll be sharing next Tuesday!   April
- Go to the Alabama Shakes concert. I haven't listened to them that much but Will is a big fan of them. Even though I don't know a lot of the songs they play/sing, you won't find me saying no to quality time with my husband or being able to spend time outdoors!   - Visiting Chicago! Neither of us have been and are excited to explore a new city. Leave a comment below if you have any recommendations!   - Review bank accounts and set financial goals. We had planned to do this last month but didn't get around to it but are making it a priority this month.   - Print out photos from our honeymoon.   - Back up files and photos on my computer. I try to do this at least once a year but I can't tell you the last time I did this and it's way overdue. I wouldn't want to find myself in a situation where my computer dies and I lose everything saved to my Mac. Can't be too prepared these days!   - Update my passport. I've still yet to do this since Will and I got married and think I need to just go ahead and get the process over with. NO MORE EXCUSES!  

A Birthday Celebration

First of all, HAPPY Monday! Secondly, doesn't the above wisteria display at Anthropologie scream springtime? It's whimsical and amazing and defiantly my favorite display to date.

In other news, how was everyone's weekend? If you follow me on Instagram (@mmackvick) you probably saw that I spent mine celebrating my husband Will's birthday! I had been brainstorming activities for him to do for a few weeks and wanted whatever I went with to be extra special because this was the first birthday I got to celebrate him as my husband!

Golf is a past-time we both enjoy (I drive the cart while Will plays) and I knew Will had been wanting to improve his game for some time, so I thought a private lesson would be equal parts unique, beneficial and fun. With some research, I found Marc Lapointe Golf at Fort Mill Golf Club and immediately booked a two hour private lesson with Drew Kiger. Hands down the best decision I made!

 

Will had never taken any sort of golf lesson so neither of us knew what to expect, but as soon as we arrived at the golf course and met up with Drew we knew the day was going to be a lot of fun. One aspect I have to point out since Will said it was helpful was the full analysis they do on your current "state of game" at the beginning of each private session. Basically Drew had Will practice as he normally would while he recorded him using a software called V1 Pro video analysis. This allowed Will to see his posture, how he swings, his grip, etc. and helped Drew tailor the lesson towards the areas Will needed to work on the most. Drew even sent Will a summary video after the lesson so now he can watch it at home and practice on his on time. Pretty neat if you ask me!

 

After Will's lesson, I took him to lunch at a fun spot right down the road from where we live, followed by a visit to a local brewery, one that neither of us had been to and were excited to try! I don't drink beer so I was happy to find they had a good selection of wines to also choose from. The atmosphere was lively and we happily sat outside at one of the picnic tables, watched people play corn hole and enjoyed each others company. Just what we needed after a busy and productive morning.

By this point in the day, we were ready to head home and relax. We made a quick stop by the grocery store before arriving at home, took a nap and then made steaks, vegetables and sweet potatoes for dinner. It was DELICIOUS! Sunday morning rolled around (Will's actually birthday) and I was excited to continue the celebration, so I went and picked up bagels from Will's favorite spot first thing that morning. When I got back home, Will was still asleep so I decided to use my time wisely and bake him a mini red velvet cake to surprise him with when he woke up! There is nothing better then pulling of a fun surprise am I right?! Especially when it leaves the speechless! And who says no to dessert for breakfast? Not us!

February Review + March Goals

Do you guys feel like January and February were here and gone in the blink of the eye or what? It feels like yesterday I was ringing in the New Year, and here we are three months into 2016 already. Last night before I settled down for the day, I took a few moments to think back on all that I did in February and feel pretty proud of all the things I accomplished! To be honest, I've actually found it fun and really helpful to keep track of my yearly goals and to review them at the start of each month. It's been an eye opener and a reminder that I should "strive for progress, not perfection" because there's no such thing as perfect. With that said, here's a look into last month and my goals for March.

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February   - Hosted a game night with one of our favorite couples.   - Finished reading Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst and The Artist's Daughter by Alexandra Kuykendall. I'm planning to do a book review on Unglued in the coming weeks!   - Booked an apartment through Airbnb and started planning our trip to Chicago this April. Leave a comment below and let me know your recommendations for restaurants to try and fun things to do!    - Started a list of weekly meal ideas for Will and I. Y'all, meal planning is HARD! Cooking is not my favorite thing to do by any means but I don't mind it all that much. I dread grocery shopping and have had a hard time figuring out different meals for us to try each week but through some recommendations from friends and a few hours on Pinterest, I've come up with a handful of new recipes to experiment with.    - Was part of a Southern Newlywed feature for Southern Weddings Magazine and got to work with a favorite local photographer of mine; Allison Kuhn! You can see the photos and read about our coffee date here.   - Welcomed my second niece (Isabella Rose) into the world and we are absolutely smitten!   - Attended a friends engagement party.

March   - Attend the Abundance Conference.   - Continue to increase my prayer life with Will and in my quite time. Thanks for the recommendations I've received! Having a prayer journal has been a huge help!   - Review our bank accounts and set financial goals.   - Go the whole month without a single soda. I don't drink soda all that often but I've set the goal to go a full month each quarter (4x a year) doing this with the hopes of decreasing my cravings overtime. To some this may be easy, but I tried to do this last month...and yeah...baby steps remember?!   - Continue finding meal planning ideas and eat dinner at home four times a week.   - Finish reading Make it Happen by Lara Casey. I've been going through this book with my sweet friend Sarah Scott and having someone to discuss this book with has helped me hold myself accountable at answering the questions in the book. Lara is a powerful writer and every time I finish a chapter I feel empowered. This is hands down a MUST read!   - Finish planning Will's birthday weekend which is a few weeks away. I've got most of his "surprise date" figured out but have to finalize a few details and we are all set! Fun fact: I love surprising people but have a hard time keeping them to myself. I just get so excited. Ha!