As soon as I saw that The Blog Societies Conference would be held in Chicago this year, I was on board. I had only been to Chicago once with my besties right before I got married. I decided instead of a Bachelorette Party I wanted my favorite girls and I to take a fun shopping, eating and drinking trip around the Windy City for #jennyschitownthrowdown. So, having the chance to hit up Chicago once again with one of my besties, Paula Rallis, made me super pumped.
In between the conference I had the opportunity to try out some amazing restaurants. Salero being a favorite! Salero is a modern spanish restaurant located in the West Loop, which was my favorite area for dining and cocktails. Paula and I first stopped at the bar for a refreshing cucumber cocktail. Once we finished those we headed to our table where our waiter Andrew, suggested we try a bunch of small plates to share so we could try a little bit of everything. We were on board and let the chef choose each course for us. Everything was absolutely delicious from the burrata to the suckling pig and paella mixta. We were so full we almost skipped dessert but Andrew wouldn’t let us leave without ending the night with the amazing torrijas. We will definitely be going back to Salero next time we are in town as the service was just as amazing as the food. Thank you Salero for treating us to such a wonderful night!
Some other fun stops for cocktails included Soho House Chicago. Honey’s which has a super cute atmosphere and great cocktail list. Bad Hunter for their mermaid water (yes, I said mermaid water…it tastes just as good as it sounds). Nico Osterica for their Italian pastas, and don’t leave without getting the meatballs. They are to die for. And Eataly, if you haven’t been trust me and go! It’s a must, we went twice while in town!
I wore this Free People dress to the Blog Societies welcome party at Sugar Factory hosted by Vera Bradley. It was so fun to meet so many new blogger friends from all over and connecting with girls I have been following on Insta for some time now. Scroll below to see my other looks from the weekend!
Dress: Free People | Bag: Gucci | Earrings: Revolve | Shoes: Marc Fisher
This printed maxi dress was perfect for Day 2 of the Conference. The windy city lived up to its name this day and I needed the sleeves for the 60 degree weather, so I’m glad that I packed this dress! Day 2 was filled with workshops and lots of networking and meeting with the brands. After the workshops we loaded into the bus for a delicious lunch hosted by Marc Fisher at The Boarding House.
After lunch we headed back to the W to meet with brand reps from amazing companies such as Marc Fisher, Lilla P, Lauren James and many more.
Dress: Line & Dot | Bag: Gucci | Earrings: Revolve
The final day of the conference was filled with tips and inspiration from some amazing key note speakers. The girls that run the blogs A Southern Drawl and Shop Dandy shared their experiences on adding the travel vertical platform to their fashion blogs and the best advice on pitching hotels.
Blogger, Rach Martino, who I have loved and followed since her early You Tube days spoke on how she grew her blog and gave the best tips on working with brands and building relationships.
A new blogger friend, Brittany from Lawyer Lookbook covered all things legal from how to use the FTC guidelines to protecting yourself through legal contracts.
The day ended with Q&A from the brand panel who gave us lots of great insight on how to best pitch to and reach out to brands. The weekend was an amazing learning experience and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to attend this year!
Dress: Anthropologie | Lash Extensions c/o Verb Beauty Studio | Tan: Verb Beauty Studio
A huge shoutout to my girl Ashley at Verb Beauty Studio for helping me look my best for the conference weekend! I visited Ashley a couple of days before I headed out of town for Lash Extensions and a sun kissed Spray Tan. Read more about her lash extensions here and spray tan here.
Before heading back home we had to make two tourist stops. The Sky Deck was not nearly as scary as it looks. We grabbed our fast passes and hopped on the first elevator bypassing all 700 people waiting in the ticket line. If you are in town definitely go check it out just for the experience. We were in and out in about 45 minutes, pictures and all, the fast pass was definitely worth it.
The Bean was our second tourist stop. There were so many people all over the place especially with the Lollapalooza Festival in town that we can’t believe we got a picture in front of it without people all over us.
See ya next time, Chicago!
{SHOP THE LOOK}
Great post! I am so jealous, I would LOVE to go to Chicago!!
…maybe someday…
K A T E L A T E L Y
http://www.katelately.co/beach-day/
Thank you Kate! If you haven’t been to Chicago you should def take a trip, it’s one of my favorite places!