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chicago blogger

Lifestyle, Travel

5 Free Things to Do in Lincoln Park

My husband and I have moved around quite a bit in our 12 years of marriage. We both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and lived a few years in the city before having children and moving back to the suburbs.  However, like many, we moved back to the city five years ago in search for a shorter commute to work for my husband. We now live in the Lincoln Park and absolutely love it’s neighborhood feel and access to fun free things to do. Here is how I am keeping things fun and budget friendly for my family.

  • World Cup Viewing Party
  • Farmers Market
  • Flowers

Benjamin Franklin Park

Just south of Lincoln Park Zoo, near the Benjamin Franklin statue at 72 West LaSalle Drive is a large grassy area where the most robust Lincoln Park events take place. During the summer months, the Green City Market is the BEST farmers market in the city. We also had a great time at the Women’s World Cup viewing party this summer. Keep up with events in the area by joining these Facebook groups:

Lincoln Park Moms

Lincoln Park Cultural Center

The Lincoln Park Patch

HearthSong

Lincoln Park Zoo

Just off the lakefront is Lincoln Park Zoo. With no entry fee the Zoo is the perfect family outing and has amazing city views! They also have fun things to do in the winter,  Follow them on Facebook for events and animal births! Also, be sure to visit during the holidays, they have an amazing Christmas lights display.

Views From The Zoo

OZ Park

The Wizard of Oz themed park is nestled in the heart of Lincoln Park on the corner of Lincoln and Webster. It has dog free picnic areas, baseball diamonds, basketball courts and of course a playground. This has fun for people of all ages and best of all, it doesn’t cost a dime!

Kids at Oz Park

Bike The Beach – Fullerton Beach

A quick walk or bike ride will take you to Fullerton beach.  With sweeping views of the Chicago skyline this is a beautiful way to play in the sand, swim in the lake and create wonderful family memories to last a lifetime!

HearthSong

Adams Park 

With a small splash pad for children under the ages of 12, Adams park makes for the perfect family day!  Located near Armitage Avenue and Seminary Street, this park has a splash pad, sandbox, play set and plenty of swings!  All free!

Adams Parks

PAWS Chicago 

As a dog owner and lover, I enjoy taking the kids to play at PAWS Chicago. At no cost you can go visit animals at the shelter who need homes at PAWS Chicago. There is no obligation to adopt and the dogs and cats could surely use the love!

I hope you discovered something new on this list!

Your Chick,

Sonia

Beauty

Lifestyle Makeup : trèStiQue Review of Three Products

Chicks And Salsa is fortunate and have been on the radar for this brand for a while.  My little sister Shelly was sneaky and ‘borrowed’ my trèStiQue lipsticks on her last visit to Georgia, so I was grateful when I received some new goodies from the brand. (Check out all of our beauty posts here.)

trèStiQue is best known for making makeup that is easy to use and carry! For example, their eyeliner has a sharpener BUILT INTO the pencil, how convenient is that! I know that I have been frustrated by not having a sharpener when I needed it SO MANY TIMES.  It’s the double duty that all their products include that make them truly unique.

Check out my video review below or on YouTube.

“I created trèStiQue to solve a problem. In the midst of building a career, traveling and starting a family, my beauty routine just couldn’t keep up – my makeup bag was messy and heavy to carry, full of complicated products that didn’t perform the way I wanted them to. It was time to reevaluate the way we use, carry + apply makeup.”

– Jennifer Kapahi, Co-Founder of trèStiQue

The Look

Eye Crayon in Venetian Gold

Eye Pencil in Santorini Black

Lip Crayon in Tuscan Wine

All three of these products have a buttery soft application that required little to no pressure to apply. Its creamy texture makes it effortlessly fall onto the skin in a way that looks natural yet glamorous. The color of the lip crayon is STUNNING and, as you can see in the video, it is the red that dreams are made of.

I hope you enjoyed this review, I enjoy learning and sharing new beauty finds with you! Check out all of our beauty posts here.

Your Chick,

Rina

Trestique Review
Lifestyle

Dating Your Spouse

It is said that time flies, and boy do I believe it more than ever now!  I’ve been married for 11 years and, truth be told, it feels like it’s only been 2!  Granted 11 years may seem like honeymooners to some, if feels like an eternity to me!

In the early stages of our marriage, impressing each other was still very much a part of our daily routine. As time has gone on and children have entered the picture, we have learned to grow our friendship stronger than ever before. Aligning our values through parenting has created a bond stronger than I ever knew I would have with my spouse. I’ve always been in search of the perfect friendship, and what I’ve realized over time is they are hard to come by. Similarly, it would be unrealistic to find the perfect marriage. What I have found in my marriage is the perfect friendship. My husband and I have had our fair share of ups and downs, but honestly I feel like we are #FriendshipGoals. 

I feel very fortunate to have known my husband since I was 8 years old. We were next-door neighbors growing up, and even went to elementary school, middle school, and high school together.  Having gone through all those stages, I feel like we know a lot about the ins and outs of how each other work. Despite that, it wasn’t until after we got married that I really saw who my husband was as a person and as a partner in life. 

The Takeaway

Marriage is no easy feat. It takes effort, energy and understanding. Making time for the other person, especially with little humans, takes skill and willpower. The only thing that has kept us going over the years is our strong bond over communication. Trying to talk things out and make space for each other has encouraged us to continue finding the silver lining in this crazy journey we call life. I couldn’t think of a better person than my best friend to do it with.  It’s not the materialistic things, but the small things that matter.  If I could do  it all over again in the next life I would do it all over again with him. #FriendshipGoals #DateYourSpouse

Your Chick,
Sonia

Chick Picks:

Beauty, Lifestyle

How to Use Purple Shampoo With Highlights

Listen up brunettes!  I love to dye my hair, and have been highlighting and dying it for several years. In college I was always on a mission to find the cheapest hairdresser.  This usually meant that I wasn’t going to spend any extra money on specialized shampoos.  Of course, as the saying goes….”as you get older you also get wiser.”   I’ve often heard my hairdressers of yesteryear and today talk about using specialized shampoos to neutralize yellows, but I have blissfully ignored them.  Shame on me!

Feeling great with fresh looking highlights!

Let me explain, I am of Indian decent, I have naturally dark brown to almost black hair. I have always loved playing with the color of my hair to change up my look.  I have gone from partially blonde, to just highlighted, back to my original color, to completely blonde.  In all of those transitions I have never bought a specialized shampoo to neutralize the yellows that appear when you bleach and then dye your hair. 

Shop this Shampoo Here

The last treatment I did, I went from a blonde balayage back to almost my original color by transitioning to darker low lights. My hairdresser had suggested that I use a purple shampoo. My original thought in my head was “are you crazy!” I was afraid that putting purple on a lighter color on dark hair would turn the light parts purple, but boy was I wrong!  Truly, it depends on what kind of look you’re going for.  Transitioning back to my original hair color from blonde, I wanted to keep my darker color looking semi-natural. The purple shampoo made my hair less bronze and kept a very subtle light highlight on my dark hair. I absolutely love my results, and cannot stress more the importance of using a purple shampoo if this is the look you’re trying to achieve.  I’m just trying to save you the time and energy, get the purple shampoo if your hairdresser recommends that, you won’t regret it!

Your Chick,
Sonia

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