Half of my life I lived near the Pacific Ocean-- first during my childhood in Maui, Hawa'ii and later on in Los Angeles during my college years. Since moving to Chicago five years ago I've missed having access to the rolling surf but fortunately we have ready access to Lake Michigan and its stretch of adjoining beaches. The scale of the lake means the other side can't be spotted, so sometimes I like to pretend it's the ocean. Unlike California and Hawa'ii, Chicago has a limited beach season and unfortunately my schedule hasn't aligned with the best "beach weather" days this summer. Last Friday, however, there was plenty of sunshine on hand so my friend Sarah and I headed to Montrose Harbor to view the sailboats and hit the beach afterwards.
We both wore vintage straw hats for our outing, Sarah's is a classic straw boater hat style.
Dozens of sailboats were still parked in Montrose Harbor as most people were working on a Friday.
I'm sporting a 1960s straw hat made in Italy. Sadly this might be its only outing as the straw is very dry and it kept shedding everywhere.
OUTFIT DETAILS:1960s Straw Hat: Antique Store, Chicago
1950s Blouse: Vert Modern Vintage, a vendor at Vintage Garage Chicago
1950s Circle Skirt: Poly Go Lightly Vintage, Chicago
1970s Straw Market Bag, Watch, Amber Ring: Buffalo Exchange
1970s/80s sunglasses: Seek Vintage, Chicago
Vintage Wood & Lucite Bead Necklace: Pure Vintage Chicago
Lace Up Espadrille Sandals: Ann Taylor via Salvation Army, Chicago
See Sarah's outfit details on her blog.
Of course we had to fortify ourselves before hitting the beach so ate a quick brunch at Lovely, Too; a new bakery cafe in the Edgewater neighborhood. They took over the space that housed one of my favorite bakeries, Flourish, so I was happy to see how they'd transformed it.The space is airy and light filled, with raw wood ceiling beams and dainty touches like vintage china. Even the chair cushions caught our attention, they were re-upholstered with what looked to be old chenille bedspreads.
Being a bakery, Lovely offers many tempting treats included the mini pound cakes above and scrumptious mini bundt-cake style muffins below.
My absolute favorite item at Lovely were these beautifully iced sugar cookies depicting the Chicago skyline and the Chicago flag. Yes, we have pride in our city!
I was also tempted by these sturdy mugs bearing the Chicago flag.
Sarah and I both ordered the breakfast sandwich on a croissant and large iced coffees.
I also tried the blueberry muffin as I'm a fan of both salty and sweet items for breakfast/brunch.
A delicious and inexpensive brunch, I'd recommend Lovely, Too if you're in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. Buy a few extra treats to bring along to the beach too!