If you’re from the Chicagoland-area, you’re familiar with the term “The Region” used to refer to anyone that isn’t from Chicago proper. Specifically, those of us from Northwest Indiana. I hate saying that I’m from The Region because it makes me feel like a townie and really? Who wants to be a townie?

So, I’m from Chicago. And that’s where I visited last weekend.

If you’re in Chicago, you’re kind of obligated to eat at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. Best pizza in the city. Guaranteed. So good, in fact, that I had my wedding reception there and even now that I’m divorced I’d still shank someone for a pizza pot pie.

(And if you’re in Austin, you’re kind of obligated to eat at hopdoddy Burger Bar.)

Not pictured: Garrett’s Popcorn and Lincoln’s Bunny Girl. I need some veggies, stat.

My partners in crime as we ate our way through Chicago. Jenn, Toni, Julie, and Michelle. Bitches gotta eat.

Whenever I’m home, I always end up in the basement rummaging through old photos. If these snaps don’t sum up my fashion philosophy, I don’t know what does.

And what trip home is complete without a trip to see grandma, babies in beer goggles, and a wicked game of foursquare?

Quality time was spent with Mister Floyd (aka “The Original Gangsta” per my sister) and I may have Skyped with Ollie who spent the weekend back in Austin. What? I missed him.

Visiting home is exhausting.

I’m flying home to Chicago today to celebrate my birthday with friends and family! What are you doing this weekend?

• I had lunch with the Elizabeth Street Cafe with coworkers this week and it’s another place you have to visit if you’re ever in Austin. Pork belly bánh mì – do I need to say more?
• I expect Orla Kiely for Bed, Bath & Beyond to be even more amazing than the Target line from a few years ago.
• I love these layered iphone cases. Like, love love.
• Fuck your Missoni hand towels. This Tumblr made me laugh.
• After hearing all the buzz, I downloaded Fifty Shades of Grey. Yeah for smutty fiction! Have you read it?
• 40 secret iPhone features because the iPhone continues to amaze me.
• Ryan Gosling as a young Walt Disney would be perfection. He was  a Mouseketeer.
• 22,000 Hot Wheels. Just in case you ever wondered what that would look like.
• A stamp that looks like my glasses. I’m going to go on a stamping spree!
• How comfy would this rug be to step out of bed onto every morning? Too bad the yarn is $125 a skein!
• I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect mac & cheese for pretty much my entire adult life. This goat cheese mac & cheese may come pretty close.
• Apparently Marilyn thinks more highly of the Olive Garden than she does bloggers.
• I had way too much fun earlier this week live streaming the JayZ SXSW concert and dancing in my kitchen. (More fun, it looks, than some of the people in the audience. Nerdie white guys weren’t appreciating Hova!)
• I want this clutch. Bad.

It’s been two weeks since my last Instagram recap, because honestly? I needed something exciting to happen. Not that anything exciting actually happened, but at least I’ve got two weeks worth of photos to make my life look awesome.

Hoop de hoop!

No, it ain’t. White pizza with spinach from Home Slice Pizza will always treat you right.

Iced coffee made with vanilla almond milk is how I’ve started my day for the past week. Cotton candy champagne with rock candy is how I’ve ended every day.

Traffic on South Congress stopped me right in front of Austin Motel and my mind went straight into the gutter. (If you’re not seeing what I’m seeing, then you’re a better person than I am.)

I used to pass a young homeless girl who always had a yoyo in her hand on the way to and from work every day, but recently a little memorial has sprung up on her corner. (A corner where I’ve seen her punch another homeless man for trying to take over and kick a car for only giving her some change.) I hope she’s in a better place now.

Dinner at Home Slice was in the company of two little Corgis that sat beside our table. They were a constant tangle of leashes and very adorable.

I had Ollie all setup for the cutest picture ever next to the first bluebonnet of the year. And then he did that.

And my favorite photo of the last two weeks, because I’m a 13-year-old boy. (The little red nubs are supposed to be the nipples. I don’t know whose nipples, but someone’s. Not mine.)

• I’ve all but banned sky-high heels from my life, so I’ve been rocking the sliver wedge trend for seasons. Excited to stock up now that they’ve caught on!
• If you love meringue (like I do) Strawberries & “Cream” from Spoon Fork Bacon looks delish.
• The Chicago Neighborhoods Project is fantastic. It’s nostalgic and modern and I love the idea of giving each neighborhood it’s own gorgeous logo.
• Who doesn’t love a good gif? I can’t stop watching the girl in the sunhat. She’s mildly creepy but oddly captivating.
• 24 hour Sprinkles. It’s like all my dreams have come true. Now, if I could only get one installed in my bedroom.
• 13 cheeses everyone should know. No excuses.
• This dog. I have no idea who his (I always assume dogs are boys) owner is, but I love this dog.
• Goats in sweaters. Just because.
• Penguin cam! Say goodbye to your afternoon.
• L’amour Fou. A documentary about the 50 year relationship of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé is high on my to-see list.
• I need new furniture and I would like a great big chair and a half with matching ottoman for my living room. So comfy!
• I stocked up on summer reads (even though most were on my spring reading list) and I can’t wait to dive in!

The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Smut by Alan Bennett
The Odditorium by Melissa Pritchard
The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams

I know my sister is mortified by the sheer number of photos I take and share but it’s so fun! And all my friends do it! And it’s good for my self esteem! So here we go…

Smitten Kitchen’s shakshuka recipe is to die for – I made a giant batch and ate it all week. Artichokes and broccoli were also on the menu in abundance – 17 day diet approved! And then I found myself back at Easy Tiger. This time for the smoke salmon spread on baguette. You’ll end up smelling like a stray cat, but it is tasty.

Saturday was the perfect weather for my Gavin DeGraw hat (a Christmas present from my sister – she should have expected it would end up on Instagram). While the rest of the week was warm and sunny, calling for new Minnetonkas, statement necklaces (only $12!), and sundresses.

We had a visitor at work this week – Sir Franklin Spencer (who is half wiener dog, if you can believe it). I wanted to put him at the CEO’s desk but had to settle for a coworker’s. I stripped the bed to wash the sheets and blankets and found out that my dog is a hoarder and that I’ve basically been sleeping in his toy box. Which means that the logical thing to do was buy him a bed of his own. Now, iff he’d only stop barking at it. If I had a backyard, I feel certain that little white pup would have come home from the pet store with me. (He was up for adoption, not for sale.)

My absolute favorite Instagram of the week was taken during a weeknight trip to the grocery. Not only was the cutest elderly couple in the world wearing some stylin’ hats, they were pushing the cart together. Side-by-side. I wanted to wiggle between them and have a group hug.