Parlours in the City

Fresh off the heels of their network television debut ("I Dream of Chicago" feat. in Fox's The Chicago Code finale), Parlours set out for the Windy City on a whirlwind mini-tour.

In addition to a club show, house show, and two radio interviews, the band performed at the Threadless Store in part of their Warehouse Sessions series.

Here's a little onesie that Papa Wayde picked up for Baby Stover at Threadless. It's called, "Fake Pandas Have More Fun" & it's super cute!

We're only days away now from Baby's arrival and we couldn't be more excited!!

Renegade Chicago!

The Renegade Craft Fair hit Chicago this past weekend and I had an amazingly fun time assisting my dear friends from Urban Posture at their spectacular booth!

Our first night in the city was spent at an Etsy Success Panel live webcast (I'll try to tweet the link when it gets posted).

The panel consisted of Etsy employees, Renegade organizers, and local artisans. It was definitely an interesting perspective to get on selling handmade goods at both fairs & online.

The first day off Renegade kicked off with...rain. Set up was most certainly a challenge as we manuevered around puddles and worked to keep everything off the ground. Only a few pieces succombed to the wetness, but luckily the showers subsided as the shoppers trickled in.

The booth looked AMAZING. Leslie and Sarah have worked so hard to create a space that has a cohesive aesthetic and it showed. Their attention to detail did not go unnoticed!



It was a lot of fun to sell goods that were so well loved and sought after. To overhear customers saying that Urban Posture was their favorite booth was such a treat and I am so proud of my friends! Renegade = SUCCESS.

Our booth neighbors, and fellow Des Moinesians, Jen of Hey! Jen Renee and her assistant, Erin of Stella James.



A trip to Chicago isn't complete without brunch at Southport Grocery & Cafe. I got the Sweet & Savory French Toast this time around and it was CRAZY DELICIOUS.

Overall, I had a great time helping out at Renegade and meeting lots of crafty people. I'm definitely feeling inspired to keep making & selling my goods. Who knows...maybe even becoming an Renegade seller someday.

Lollapalooza Weekend!

The Hubby & I spontaneously decided to visit Chicago for Lollapalooza this past weekend and it was COMPLETELY worth the trip!

Our one & only requirement when spending time in a different city is to indulge ourselves in the best FOOD & COFFEE.

Our lovely (and very last-minute) hostess, Tiffany, recommended Southport Grocery & Cafe, a fabulous little place in her neighborhood. The bread-pudding pancakes (above) were unimaginably delicious!!

(Photo courtesy of Southport website)
Before hitting the fest, we stopped into Intellegentsia Coffee for a little caffeine fix (which is a Mecca-like establishment in the barista world--trust me, I would know). The Black Cat Classic Espresso is SECOND TO NONE.

(Photo courtesy of Intellegentsia website)
Sporting the latest Urban Posture tee at my 3rd (and Wayde's 1st) Lollapalooza Festival!

Blitzen Trapper, Minus the Bear, Yeasayer, Mute Math, and MGMT were some of the acts we caught, all leading up to the true reason we came...

ARCADE FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trusty jumbo-tron pics.
This is a little more what our view actually looked like.

The set was OUT OF CONTROL as they played heaps of new songs from The Suburbs album. Which I'll stop going on about someday, but it really is that good.

Do yourself a solid and FIND A WAY to see this band live. And preferably, at an outdoor music festival...