Girl & the Goat - Chicago

Having only 3 days in the big foodie city of Chicago, we knew we had our work cut out for us. First stop was to Girl & the Goat, Top Chef season 4 winner Stephanie Izard's restaurant. Loved the casual vibe, warm staff, and insanely good food. We even got a picture with her, she was so sweet!

Remix of tomato bisque with all the components but presented in a creative way. Bread, tomato oil, and cream of mushroom butter.

Skate, goat belly, and fried egg. I can eat eggs all day, when I see it as an ingredient on the menu I always tend to incline toward it.. the fish, goat belly, and egg together created a perfect bite.

Kabocha squash ravioli, mushroom raisin ragout, brussels leaves, and shroom creme fraiche. The squash was subtly sweet, complemented well by the other flavors.

Grilled baby octopus with serrano, reviso, celery root, braised pistachio, and red bliss potato. Quality ingredients made it taste so fresh. We sat near the grill so the rest of the night our hair and clothes smelled like grilled octopus, what a tease.. perpetually made me long for this dish.

Blood orange sorbet, parsnip pot de creme, pistachio cake, and three sisters cornmeal crust with cheddar cheese. Got this dessert because our server raved about it, at first I was wary of how parsnip and cheddar cheese would play in it, but this was amazing! All the parts came together so well, great end to a happy meal.

My head's like a kite, all my thoughts run astray

Dolce Vita elbow cutout cropped sweater, Loden Dager tee, Rag & Bone jeggings, Marc Jacobs and Chanel necklaces

These past couple months have been a frenzy, pretty much living out of a suitcase. Been flying to different cities every few weeks at a frequency that makes unpacking inefficient. Currently in Chicago, thanks to those who suggested awesome places to eat and drink! So far we loved all the restaurants and bars we've been to, especially Girl & the Goat (Top Chef season 4 winner Stephanie Izard's restaurant and she even took a photo with us!) and Longman & Eagle (voted GQ's top 10 restaurants in America). Definitely having fun in this foodie city with lots of beautiful architecture and design, except I don't think I was prepared for the excruciating subzero weather. Waiting 2 hours in line outside at Hot Dougs today was brutal even with two coats on, but ordering 4 gourmet hotdogs kinda made up for it. So glad I brought what I call my sleeping bag coat by Spiewak that has a funnel neck and is down to my shins, covers a great deal of surface area on my body, probably the best purchase I've ever made that was underappreciated until now.

Anyway, these pics were taken at the Art Institute of Chicago museum (lots of dreamy Claude Monet pieces in the Impressionism exhibit that almost transported me to the Seine.. will visit one day) and Grahamwich (remix on classic sandwiches). Love this cropped Dolce Vita sweater for the long sleeves, crew neck, and elbow cutouts that are always falling awkwardly at my triceps.

Concrete jungle

AllSaints Spitalfields slouch beanie, Earl Grey asymmetrical sweater, Vera Moda maxi dress, Zara boots

Loving maxi pieces for spring, easy to layer while still keeping a long silhouette. Threw on this off-the-shoulder cropped asymmetrical (three keywords that make it hard for me to pass it up) sweater with ballooning sleeves, and wore leggings and over-the-knee boots under this dress to try to retain body heat. Thankfully it was warm under the sun to take some shots in front of the Flatiron Building, then stop by Eataly nearby for espresso and imagine I was in a market in actual Italy..

Photojournal of New York City

Listening to 21 by Adele, her voice always creates this longing in me, strangely a perfect soundtrack for sorting through hundreds of NY photos. Hard to be uninspired in such a fluid city where everything is in constant motion. Modern to gritty architecture, innovative food, flashing lights. I just put up a few of my favorite pictures.

Random memories.. The last night we made a quick trip to Times Square (I'm not a fan of touristy activities but figure we owed it to the concrete jungle to go) and popped out of the subway to thousands of neon lights flooding the darkness all around and for an instant everything was extraordinarily still, hard to even explain. Then there's (crazy) people watching on the subway that makes my mind wander all over.. The streets serving as a canvas for graffiti art. Fun molecular gastronomy dinner at wd-50, creeping on Chef Wylie Dufresne whenever he popped out of the kitchen. Walking in Nolita wondering how life would be in one of those tiny apartments with a cast iron fire escape outside my window. A week with lots of eating, shopping, and dreaming.

Tell me, did you sail across the sun?

ASOS faux fur snood, 3.1 Phillip Lim trench coat, Dries Van Noten boots

Could not have picked a more freezing day to venture our way to Brooklyn. You would think by now after over two decades of living I'd know sunshine does not equal heat, but a girl can hope. I actually layered a black wool peacoat inside the Phillip Lim trench because it's really lightweight. I love the construction of this coat, the material feels like silk but the edges are raw so it has a refined but unfinished look. Can't wait to be able to just throw it on for a warm spring evening.

Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony

Earl Grey sweater, Rag & Bone jeggings, Givenchy tall laceup boots

We stayed at the fun Ace Hotel in NYC, a vintage boutique hotel with quirky decor and personality. The lobby had this white marble staircase with a black and white tagged wall. Fitting stark backdrop to shoot the new Givenchy boots I bought this trip, the hectagonal hooks and lacing are so fierce. Honestly in these pictures I was feeling awful and that night it turned out I had food poisoning from the ramen at Ippudo, I can never look at ramen the same which is a tragedy because of how I used to love it so.

Also, keeping Japan in my prayers. Please donate to help.

American graffiti

Lush cutout dip hem top, Topshop leopard belt, Madison Marcus silk cargo pants, Tory Burch patent flats

Been in NYC for the past week, having a blast = totally neglecting blog. Oops, but here are some pics we snapped while walking off crab pork soup dumplings from Joe's Shanghai when we came across this condemned building. I liked how even though it's defaced, the graffiti gives this urban architecture a gritty and eerily desolate feel in a neighborhood that's mixed with old and new, showed the contrast of the city. Cool enough that I withstood the pee smell on the steps to get some shots.

Anyway, I've been wanting the perfect pair of cargo pants for the past few months but never liked any enough to commit until I came across this Madison Marcus pair which girlifies (this word wouldn't fly in Scrabble) the typical utility cargo. The silk and paper bag waist make it easier to dress up even though cargoes are usually casual. Switched out the standard belt it came with for a leopard one I picked up from Topshop.

Every place I go, I'll think of you

AllSaints Spitalfields beanie, H&M elbow patch blazer and eternity scarf, Acne tee, PRPS drop crotch jeans, Aldo metallic cutout oxfords, Banana Republic suede fringe bag

I used to be an avid jeans girl but after converting to jeggings I don't remember the last time I wore actual denim. Except I've always had an eye out for boyfriend-esque jeans and these PRPS drop crotch ones are a perfect casual wash and sag. Looking forward to spring/warmer weather so I can pair them with sandals and cropped tops (and also so my skin can finally be overexposed to some much needed vitamin D).

Leaving for New York City for a week tomorrow! Can't wait for all the amazing restaurants, sights, and shopping. Will have some fun travel, food, and outfits photos to come. :)