Lost Eras has easily become one of my favorite shops to explore; hidden just outside of Chicago, it stretches far and narrow, crowded with lost treasures. Walking through it, it's hard not to begin imagining the stories of the objects that turn up in its walls, and the people that once held them. Not to mention the building itself is a piece of history, as in the 1920's it was home of the night club the "Club Detour" which had many artists play in it's halls such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basey and Ella Fitzgerald.

Chicago is a gigantic open-air museum of hand painted signs and murals where you can still find gold leaf lettering in shop windows and ghost signs litter the city's brick walls. This handmade sign is on the wall of a Mexican garage near my apartment.

Coziest Cafe on the south side

This is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's first domestic structure in the United States, and it is a beautiful example of Minimalism. The house is located outside Chicago, but is worth the drive and the tour guides are pretty great. Due to flooding, the house and the property will undergo major preservation changes beginning in the next decade, so it's hard to tell how long the house will remain in it's current state.

Ongoing favorite place to sit at the bar or more covertly, at a table, chatting with a friend over the seasonal best. Continuous rotation of ingredients creatively meshed with tradition, their food is divine. Similarly, their personnel is familiar, friendly, fashionable and warm.