I recently spent wonderful three day weekend visiting one of my college bffs in Chicago and wanted to share a quick trip recap since we were in a couple new to me neighborhoods and ate very well! K and I lived together in DC when first graduated six years ago (four of us had the best, most fun apartment and despite stressors over “adulting” and navigating our first entry-level jobs, that will forever be one of my favorite years!) and she moved to Chicago right after that year and has lived there ever since. The last time I visited her was in January 2015 so not only was it awhile ago, but it was also absolutely frigid. This time was so different…it’s true when they say Chicago is incredible in the summer! I unplugged quite a bit (to the point of posting no IG Stories until I was back in DC, which sadly feels like the definition of a digital detox in 2019) and didn’t focus too much on “content creation,” but we did eat and drink at some great places that I wanted to share! There are a few iPhone snaps but I honestly had my phone in my bag more than I have on any other trip so we just have the highlight reel!
Around Here XVI
I knew August was going to fly by quickly (thanks to a lot of travel and a very busy season at work) but wow, has it really! I’ve had a few different blog post drafts nearly finished but haven’t had the mental energy or time to package them up so here we are hoping that I can mentally catch up a bit this weekend! My day job + freelance work have to come first but I hate taking these mini hiatuses so am determined to get back on track soon, but always prioritize quality over quantity so thanks for bearing with me :)
I’ll be back on Monday with a recap of last weekend’s Chicago trip but for now, a quick look at things happening around here and some finds I’ve been loving!
Lake Pajamas
I finally did it–I splurged on a pair of Lake Pajamas during their summer sale and you guys. I am obsessed. I typically sleep in $5 Old Navy boxers and old t-shirts–most of which have holes–and knew that an indulgent pima cotton set would be a game changer. I got this set and 100% see myself fully transitioning to a full-blown Lake collection over time. I run hot and often wake up sweating or overheating in the middle of the night so light cotton is a must and having the breathability of pima cotton is just the cherry on top. These are going to be prominently featured in my gift guides this coming holiday season and I think they’re the perfect kind of luxury that you can literally enjoy every single day!
Behind the Scenes of a Travel Blog Post + Upcoming Travel Plans
It probably comes as no surprise that some of my favorite content to share on the blog is travel-related, and much of that includes trip recaps and travel guides. They’re usually really fun to put together–both during the content creation stage on the trip, and while compiling the blog post post-travel–but sometimes they can be really cumbersome, depending on the length of trip and how I took the photos (whether they were all on my DSLR, or split between that, my phone, and sometimes J’s phone). I feel like it’s been well-received whenever I’ve shared behind the scenes blog content so figured it was high time to give a little insight into how I put together this type of post!
Travel posts typically take the longest to put together out of any other vertical–there’s just a lot with the details (including relevant background, historical references, travel logistics, and of course the actual recap of what we did), linking to different places (hotels, restaurants, etc.), and narrowing down + editing photos! I’d say the average time spent in total is between 2-5 hours per post and it varies based on the trip length and how many pictures we took.
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