The windy city in pictures

Waiting in line for deep dish pizza at Gino's East.

Enjoying a photo op at "The Bean" in Millennium Park.

Margaritas a la Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill...

followed by a late night ride on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

Waking up to a sunny day...

and a White Sox game at Comiskey Park.

Dinner at Art Smith's Table 52 — orecchiette and a slice of Hummingbird Cake.

Last stop of the night: The Publican for Belgian beers.

Farewell Chicago! Thanks for a lovely weekend! xo

The weekend is here!

My dear readers, what do you have planned for the weekend? I'm off to Chicago tonight for two and a half days of food, fun and catching up with friends. Any tips for exciting adventures in the Windy City? The last time I was in Chicago, it was February (and negative degrees) so for trip #2, I have some exploring to do!

Before I go, take a peek at a few happy posts from around the web to get your weekend started right:

Pink Parasols as cocktail accessories.

DIY pillow shams from Design Sponge. (You should know I'm on the hunt for my own pillow shams — after reading this, maybe I should just make them myself?)

New (and artfully designed) roll-on cologne from Diptyque. I agree with Julie Earle-Levine, I want to try L'Eau.

Photographer Thomas Marlow's paint-happy engagement shoot. 

(Photo by Eric Tenin via ParisDailyPhoto.com)