Chicago Day 3: a “What to Wear?” Challenge

Saturday was our last day in Chicago, and we planned to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo during the day, and then head to a suburb to see a college friend star as Elle Woods in a production of Legally Blonde, the musical (SNAPS FOR ANNIE!).

The challenge: We had to check out of the hotel in the morning, so I wouldn’t be able to change between city-trekking and theater-going.

The solution: this trusty sundress. During the day, I kept it casual with a braided belt and my comfy hippie sandals.20120729-195342.jpg

20120729-195415.jpgAnd for evening, I just kept some wedges, a clutch, and my bubble necklace easily accessible in my suitcase. A little switcheroo in the theater parking lot led to this:20120729-195438.jpg

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20120729-195513.jpgThe only problem with this dress is that I can’t even take a freaking pee without someone stopping to tell me how CUTE I look. My life is really hard, you guys. But you know who else has a hard life? My friend Annie, who has a real job AND is working on getting her Master’s AND has the lead role in Legally Blonde. I might be a little biased because I know her, but seriously…she is effing amazing in this show. Anyone who lives near University Park, IL, needs to go see it. Or else. There are two more shows next weekend; check out the theater’s website here.20120729-195535.jpg

Omigod you guys, I know her.

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Kristin, Annie (the blonde one, obviously), and me after her show

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And here are some meerkats. Just cuz.

Chicago Day 2

You guys, day two in Chicago was my favorite kind of day: one where I get to wear two outfits. The first outfit was possibly even more touristy than my Day 1 outfit. Sneakers, shorts, ponytail? Hey, it was a hot day with lots of walking. I did what I had to do.20120729-130003.jpg

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20120729-130059.jpgAs you can see, we visited Millennium Park. The Grant Park Orchestra happened to be rehearsing for a show it had that night, so we had a little listen. We also stopped by Daley Plaza where the Picasso statue is (you can kind of see it from the side in the picture above – you may have been distracted by my adorable yellow bow the first time). After lunch, we went to Shedd Aquarium. It’s hard to get photos through glass, but here are a couple of my favorites:

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20120729-131257.jpgThe second picture is beluga whales; how cool are they?!

Now on to outfit #2, where I got a little gussied up to go out to dinner. Oh, I almost forgot: I did a little more shopping on day two. Are you shocked? I got some boots from Nordstrom, along with a super cute belt. It turned out to be a very good thing that I got this belt, because when I put on my dress and cardigan-jacket-thing, I felt like there was something missing. Something missing right around the middle. If only I had…A BELT! Best day ever.

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20120729-132529.jpgThere you have it, friends! I’ll have one more Chicago post comin’ atcha tomorrow, and it’s a good one! Trust me, you’ll like it. I would feel so bad for you if you missed it. It might be a good idea to follow me on Bloglovin’ or Twitter to make sure you don’t forget to come back. Just a thought.

See how I wore this crochet dress last