We have been in Chicago with the family for a few weeks for our big family summer trip, and it has been the best trip ever! I adore Chicago. Our time living here was so special, and we have so many friends and family here that it still feels like home. It’s hard to have your heart in two places. We love Houston, and we are so happy to be raising our babies there, but there is so much that draws us back to Chicago.

It has been great to be here for awhile and not feel so rushed to do all of the things. But we have still managed to do (and eat and drink) all of the things. We still have a few more places to try, but I promise I will report back with my updated Chicago restaurant/bar guide. (This is the one I did 5 years ago– some of the favorites on that list still hold up!) I will also add in some of the activities we have done with the kids- Chicago in the summer is the BEST for kids. We have spent hours playing in Lincoln Park, hitting up the farmers market, zoo, lake, it’s just so easy!

I never really got over having to sell our house here- it recently sold again and I tried to convince Pete we should buy it back and he reminded me that I was actually being insane. But I still do fantasize about having a little pied-à-terre in the city so we could visit friends and family as often as we wanted! This months House Beautiful is their small spaces issue, which is ALWAYS my favorite. I just love a tiny jewel box home, and this issue had Amir Khamneipur’s teensy perfect 700 sqft apartment in NYC and it is a total delight.

That got me on a pinning spree on my recently neglected “city mouse” board. Here is a sampling of my small space favorites…

I’ll be back next week with a rundown of our favorite things we got up to this trip!