chicago

these photos are from all the way back in february. in the middle of the semester i had the chance to visit chicago and attend the annual conference of the college art association. i am so glad i went. i had never really visited chicago before and it had been at the top of my list for a long time. it was a great trip because i loved getting to attend conference sessions with my art history friends, but i also had a lot of freedom and flexibility, so i was able to explore a lot of the city on my own. if you know me, it's probably not surprising to you that i made trying chicago's best donuts a priority and visited no less than three donut shops during my trip. i also loved the art institute, which has a really incredible collection and is of course featured in this classic scene from ferris bueller's day off. i loved seeing american gothic in person and those stained glass windows by chagall are amazing. my other favorite thing was anish kapoor's cloudgate aka the bean. seriously, so awesome. what was not awesome was walking around in front of the bean and asking a dozen different tourists to take my photo before i finally got one that was decent (the story of traveling alone haha). i had such a great time in chicago, so i thought i'd share some things to do below! a lot of these i owe to the wonderful alex steele, a friend of lauren's who sent me the greatest and most comprehensive email guide to chicago before my trip. thanks, alex! here are my recommendations (most of them are food... sorry not sorry)

THINGS I DID:

art institute of chicago—do not miss the art institute! so fun to explore and see such familiar artworks

john hancock observatory—it's cheaper and faster to just get dessert in the restaurant at the top and you get the same view!

millenium park/the bean—great photo opps, anish kapoor is awesome

frank lloyd wright's home and studio—i highly recommend this tour, esp. if you love architecture

chicago theatre—walk by to get the iconic photo, it's right by magnolia bakery and do-rite donuts

mag mile—aka michigan avenue, best-known shopping area, fun to wander

madewell—my favorite store, this one was in a really nice shopping area

THINGS I ATE:

glazed & infused—best donuts i tried, great selection of flavors and you can sit down and  eat inside

do-rite donuts—also awesome donuts, mostly i never met a donut i didn't like

doughnut vault—had the longest line and they were sold out of some flavors but it was worth it

jeni's splendid ice creams—so worth the train ride to get there, my fave was the buckeye pb

magnolia bakery—skip the cupcakes and get the banana pudding

lou malnati's—authentic chicago deep dish, the pizza was good but the bruschetta was the best

portillo's hot dogs—popular chicago dogs, but i've heard hot doug's is way better

epic burger—great burgers and shakes, comparable to shake shack (my fave)

roti mediterranean grill—fast casual mediterranean, was great for a quick lunch

potbelly—sandwich chain, another good option for a cheap and quick breakfast or lunch

bongo room—amazing brunch, humongous portions, so glad i went here

THINGS I DIDN'T DO/EAT BUT OTHERS RECOMMENDED:

sears (willis) tower

architecture river tour

wrigley field tour

cubs or white sox game

museum of contemporary art

field museum of natural history

bucktown/wicker park

lake shore drive

beaches

hot doug's (i think they're closing soon!)

grange hall burger bar

black dog gelato

southport grocery

xoco

star of siam

pastoral

big star

rpm italian

grass fed

homeslice

little goat diner
dmk burger bar
city dough
bang bang pie shop
sprinkles cupcakes

hope this is helpful! chicago is a really cool place.

empire state of mind

lauren and i spent friday in new york, our favorite city. our dad went to the temple and we hung out in the flatiron district. we went to the empire state building, ate shake shack in madison square park, and then stuffed our faces at doughnut plant. it was delightful.

lauren made the cute video above and i've probably watched it a million times. she also just redesigned my blog for me and taught me how to make my blog posts look a bajillion times better with html. lauren is my little sister but she's always upstaging me with her talents. hopefully that doesn't sound bitter; i'm just constantly impressed by her and everything she has taught herself to do. lauren has this drive and determination and i'm really excited to see her grow and thrive at BYU. we leave this friday for utah and i can't wait to have both my sisters in provo with me! it's going to be so much fun. lauren, i sure love you!

san francisco

i am so glad that liz and i took this trip. it was great. i even enjoyed the two 12 hour drives, in which we listened to plenty of christmas music and hilary duff and this song about a million times. as soon as we got into the city, we were walking around and neither of us could stop saying "i'm so happy! i love this place!"

we spent thanksgiving walking around beautiful muir woods and checking out the golden gate bridge. we ate lots of delicious food the whole week, like salted caramel ice cream, mint milkshakes from ghirardelli square, macarons, donuts, sandwiches, pastries, margherita pizza, and our favorite things from trader joe's. we visited the legion of honor (where i saw works by several artists i've learned about in my northern baroque art class this semester!) and the san francisco museum of modern art. we went black friday shopping (i love you, madewell) and explored the ferry building and union square. we stayed at a lighthouse/hostel with the prettiest view on the drive every day. it was pretty much perfect.

i almost left my heart.

things to do: washington dc

this summer i really wanted to go to washington dc. i hadn't been in a really long time, so i convinced my dad to go with me and we headed down there one saturday. i'm so glad we did it! it's an easy day trip from new jersey and i had forgotten how much i love that city! i would love to go there more often. here's what we did.

first we headed to the national gallery of art (it's free, like many of the museums in washington). i was in heaven. their collection is amazing, especially the impressionist and post-impressionist pieces, which are my favorite. walking through those galleries is so impressive because you already recognize almost every work!

after wandering those galleries and other galleries of european and american art, we went to the other building of the national gallery, which houses many of the modern and contemporary works. it was also really neat.

after leaving the national gallery, we walked around capitol hill and then we ate lunch. my dad got a burger and i got a milkshake from good stuff eatery. it was gooood. and i got a slice of spinach and artichoke pizza from we, the pizza next door. oh man, it was amazing.

also, isn't my dad cute?

after lunch we headed to the national portrait gallery. it was so interesting! i've never been to another museum like it. it's so unique in that it's an art museum but it's all about people. my favorite things were the amelia earhart exhibit and the gallery of presidential portraits.

it was a long day, so after the portrait gallery we decided to head home. but first, we got some gelato from pitango! it was delicious.

we had a really great time. there are so many things to do in washington dc, and as a museum-lover, i am dying to go back there soon! hope this is helpful for your next dc trip!

up next? things to do: monticello, philadelphia, southern california, and los angeles! be excited.